Chicago vs. New York
Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents. Median, spread and buying power, side by side.
Data released May 2025
BLS OEWS · SOC 41-3031
Fig. 1 — Side by side
Both distributions, one scale
10th to 90th percentile, median struck in red
Table 1 — Adjusted
New York's median is 66.6% higher — but after local prices, New York still leads by 53.3%.
Chicago's median $100,760 buys $97,300 at national prices (price parity 103.6); New York's $167,890 buys $149,200 (112.6).
Table 2 — The figures
Point by point
Published percentiles for both metros; the last column is New York against Chicago.
| Chicago | New York | Δ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | 24,080 | 59,450 | +146.9% |
| 10th percentile | $50,980 | $59,230 | +16.2% |
| 25th percentile | $67,380 | $100,830 | +49.6% |
| Median | $100,760 | $167,890 | +66.6% |
| 75th percentile | $160,890 | $227,700 | +41.5% |
| 90th percentile | $211,260 | $326,290 | +54.4% |
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
- Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents in Chicago · Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents in New York
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.