Boston vs. Philadelphia
Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary. Median, spread and buying power, side by side.
Data released May 2025
BLS OEWS · SOC 25-9045
Fig. 1 — Side by side
Both distributions, one scale
10th to 90th percentile, median struck in red
Table 1 — Adjusted
Boston's median is 11.8% higher — but after local prices, Boston still leads by 6.9%.
Boston's median $40,930 buys $37,800 at national prices (price parity 108.3); Philadelphia's $36,080 buys $35,200 (102.6).
Table 2 — The figures
Point by point
Published percentiles for both metros; the last column is Philadelphia against Boston.
| Boston | Philadelphia | Δ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | 26,350 | 26,990 | +2.4% |
| 10th percentile | $31,200 | $26,870 | −13.9% |
| 25th percentile | $34,470 | $32,220 | −6.5% |
| Median | $40,930 | $36,080 | −11.8% |
| 75th percentile | $49,750 | $40,010 | −19.6% |
| 90th percentile | $60,730 | $46,470 | −23.5% |
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
- Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary in Boston · Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary 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.