Chicago vs. Los Angeles
Waiters and Waitresses. Median, spread and buying power, side by side.
Data released May 2025
BLS OEWS · SOC 35-3031
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 14.9% higher — but after local prices, Los Angeles still leads by 4.8%.
Chicago's median $31,200 buys $30,100 at national prices (price parity 103.6); Los Angeles's $35,850 buys $31,600 (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 | 54,100 | 85,210 | +57.5% |
| 10th percentile | $31,200 | $34,380 | +10.2% |
| 25th percentile | $31,200 | $35,010 | +12.2% |
| Median | $31,200 | $35,850 | +14.9% |
| 75th percentile | $35,800 | $37,230 | +4.0% |
| 90th percentile | $50,410 | $59,200 | +17.4% |
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
- Waiters and Waitresses in Chicago · Waiters and Waitresses 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.