Chicago vs. Washington
Training and Development Specialists. Median, spread and buying power, side by side.
Data released May 2025
BLS OEWS · SOC 13-1151
Fig. 1 — Side by side
Both distributions, one scale
10th to 90th percentile, median struck in red
Table 1 — Adjusted
Washington's median is 22.9% higher — but after local prices, Washington still leads by 16.9%.
Chicago's median $67,050 buys $64,700 at national prices (price parity 103.6); Washington's $82,400 buys $75,700 (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 | 10,940 | 11,490 | +5.0% |
| 10th percentile | $39,430 | $39,920 | +1.2% |
| 25th percentile | $48,590 | $53,360 | +9.8% |
| Median | $67,050 | $82,400 | +22.9% |
| 75th percentile | $96,170 | $110,560 | +15.0% |
| 90th percentile | $124,110 | $136,250 | +9.8% |
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
- Training and Development Specialists in Chicago · Training and Development Specialists 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.