Los Angeles vs. Philadelphia
Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors. Median, spread and buying power, side by side.
Data released May 2025
BLS OEWS · SOC 21-1018
Fig. 1 — Side by side
Both distributions, one scale
10th to 90th percentile, median struck in red
Table 1 — Adjusted
Philadelphia's median is 12.0% higher — but after local prices, Philadelphia still leads by 24.0%.
Los Angeles's median $51,910 buys $45,700 at national prices (price parity 113.6); Philadelphia's $58,140 buys $56,700 (102.6).
Table 2 — The figures
Point by point
Published percentiles for both metros; the last column is Philadelphia against Los Angeles.
| Los Angeles | Philadelphia | Δ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | 26,960 | 14,920 | −44.7% |
| 10th percentile | $44,270 | $36,940 | −16.6% |
| 25th percentile | $46,800 | $45,600 | −2.6% |
| Median | $51,910 | $58,140 | +12.0% |
| 75th percentile | $76,440 | $70,720 | −7.5% |
| 90th percentile | $103,650 | $86,740 | −16.3% |
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
- Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors in Los Angeles · Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors in Philadelphia
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.