Chicago vs. Washington
Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive. Median, spread and buying power, side by side.
Data released May 2025
BLS OEWS · SOC 43-6014
Fig. 1 — Side by side
Both distributions, one scale
10th to 90th percentile, median struck in red
Table 1 — Adjusted
Washington's median is 6.4% higher — but at national prices the two medians buy almost exactly the same.
Chicago's median $50,440 buys $48,700 at national prices (price parity 103.6); Washington's $53,660 buys $49,300 (108.9).
Table 2 — The figures
Point by point
Published percentiles for both metros; the last column is Washington against Chicago.
| Chicago | Washington | Δ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | 50,190 | 37,010 | −26.3% |
| 10th percentile | $34,300 | $37,890 | +10.5% |
| 25th percentile | $42,260 | $44,750 | +5.9% |
| Median | $50,440 | $53,660 | +6.4% |
| 75th percentile | $62,970 | $64,090 | +1.8% |
| 90th percentile | $78,820 | $79,660 | +1.1% |
Sources
How this page was made
- Wage data
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 release. Public domain.
- Price parity
- Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.
- Full pages
- Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive in Chicago · Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive in Washington
Percentiles are reported exactly as released. Derived (price-adjusted) figures round to the nearest hundred. We take no payment for how any figure is presented.