Chicago vs. Los Angeles
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
Los Angeles's median is 22.2% higher — but after local prices, Los Angeles still leads by 11.5%.
Chicago's median $37,840 buys $36,500 at national prices (price parity 103.6); Los Angeles's $46,240 buys $40,700 (113.6).
Table 2 — The figures
Point by point
Published percentiles for both metros; the last column is Los Angeles against Chicago.
| Chicago | Los Angeles | Δ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | 46,770 | 53,010 | +13.3% |
| 10th percentile | $31,200 | $37,220 | +19.3% |
| 25th percentile | $32,780 | $38,450 | +17.3% |
| Median | $37,840 | $46,240 | +22.2% |
| 75th percentile | $46,210 | $48,890 | +5.8% |
| 90th percentile | $48,100 | $60,010 | +24.8% |
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 Chicago · Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary in Los Angeles
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.