What jobs pay, state by state
The median American worker earned $49,500 a year in 2024. District of Columbia has the highest state median at $88,000 and Mississippi the lowest at $39,070.
Commonly looked up
Every state ranked by median pay
| # | State | Median salary | Hourly | Workers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | $88,000 | $42.31 | 708,790 |
| 2 | Massachusetts | $62,270 | $29.94 | 3,642,650 |
| 3 | Washington | $61,590 | $29.61 | 3,539,650 |
| 4 | Alaska | $59,400 | $28.56 | 321,040 |
| 5 | New York | $58,560 | $28.16 | 9,541,880 |
| 6 | Connecticut | $58,400 | $28.08 | 1,682,000 |
| 7 | Colorado | $58,210 | $27.99 | 2,891,210 |
| 8 | Maryland | $58,050 | $27.91 | 2,746,300 |
| 9 | New Jersey | $57,230 | $27.51 | 4,250,430 |
| 10 | California | $56,940 | $27.38 | 18,057,850 |
| 11 | Rhode Island | $54,040 | $25.98 | 493,800 |
| 12 | Minnesota | $53,810 | $25.87 | 2,920,470 |
| 13 | Oregon | $53,390 | $25.67 | 1,965,700 |
| 14 | Hawaii | $53,260 | $25.61 | 620,930 |
| 15 | Virginia | $53,020 | $25.49 | 4,064,640 |
| 16 | New Hampshire | $52,610 | $25.29 | 683,160 |
| 17 | Vermont | $52,410 | $25.20 | 304,170 |
| 18 | Delaware | $51,030 | $24.53 | 476,450 |
| 19 | North Dakota | $50,320 | $24.19 | 424,030 |
| 20 | Illinois | $50,000 | $24.04 | 6,065,230 |
| 21 | Maine | $49,440 | $23.77 | 635,460 |
| 22 | Wyoming | $49,160 | $23.64 | 278,500 |
| 23 | Wisconsin | $48,930 | $23.52 | 2,923,420 |
| 24 | Arizona | $48,810 | $23.47 | 3,196,750 |
| 25 | Utah | $48,600 | $23.36 | 1,709,790 |
| 26 | Pennsylvania | $48,550 | $23.34 | 6,014,180 |
| 27 | Michigan | $48,300 | $23.22 | 4,390,620 |
| 28 | Ohio | $48,060 | $23.11 | 5,526,300 |
| 29 | Nebraska | $47,990 | $23.07 | 1,016,070 |
| 30 | Iowa | $47,670 | $22.92 | 1,561,660 |
| 31 | Texas | $47,500 | $22.84 | 13,846,880 |
| 32 | Montana | $47,360 | $22.77 | 510,020 |
| 33 | Georgia | $47,020 | $22.60 | 4,856,190 |
| 34 | North Carolina | $46,950 | $22.57 | 4,898,270 |
| 35 | Indiana | $46,930 | $22.56 | 3,186,690 |
| 36 | Florida | $46,860 | $22.53 | 9,820,120 |
| 37 | Kansas | $46,850 | $22.53 | 1,431,180 |
| 38 | Idaho | $46,470 | $22.34 | 844,910 |
| 39 | Nevada | $46,440 | $22.33 | 1,529,480 |
| 40 | Missouri | $46,390 | $22.30 | 2,918,050 |
| 41 | Tennessee | $46,120 | $22.18 | 3,274,390 |
| 42 | New Mexico | $45,870 | $22.05 | 860,880 |
| 43 | Kentucky | $45,740 | $21.99 | 1,993,680 |
| 44 | South Dakota | $45,620 | $21.93 | 452,940 |
| 45 | South Carolina | $44,760 | $21.52 | 2,271,770 |
| 46 | Oklahoma | $43,950 | $21.13 | 1,691,930 |
| 47 | Alabama | $43,830 | $21.07 | 2,091,480 |
| 48 | Louisiana | $43,770 | $21.05 | 1,911,530 |
| 49 | West Virginia | $43,320 | $20.83 | 701,470 |
| 50 | Arkansas | $41,020 | $19.72 | 1,288,810 |
| 51 | Mississippi | $39,070 | $18.78 | 1,159,710 |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024 state estimates. Retrieved 2026-09-09.
Metro areas
Pay varies more between cities than between states. 391 metropolitan areas are published, each with its median, its best paid occupations and what it is unusually concentrated in.
| # | Metro area | Median | Hourly | Workers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $82,470 | $39.65 | 1,134,660 |
| 2 | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $73,960 | $35.56 | 2,405,740 |
| 3 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $68,430 | $32.90 | 3,118,630 |
| 4 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $67,510 | $32.46 | 2,082,610 |
| 5 | Boulder, CO | $67,510 | $32.46 | 195,570 |
| 6 | Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $64,620 | $31.07 | 2,707,940 |
| 7 | Lexington Park, MD | $62,970 | $30.27 | 71,670 |
| 8 | Trenton-Princeton, NJ | $62,610 | $30.10 | 239,220 |
| 9 | Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | $61,110 | $29.38 | 1,618,390 |
| 10 | Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA | $61,090 | $29.37 | 93,560 |
| 11 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $60,460 | $29.07 | 9,363,020 |
| 12 | Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT | $60,440 | $29.06 | 402,330 |
| 13 | Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA | $60,300 | $28.99 | 127,360 |
| 14 | Durham-Chapel Hill, NC | $59,740 | $28.72 | 342,530 |
| 15 | Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT | $59,270 | $28.50 | 592,620 |
| 16 | Rochester, MN | $59,220 | $28.47 | 121,610 |
| 17 | Anchorage, AK | $59,060 | $28.39 | 174,740 |
| 18 | Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | $59,040 | $28.38 | 1,213,760 |
| 19 | Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | $58,880 | $28.31 | 1,066,390 |
| 20 | Fairbanks-College, AK | $58,820 | $28.28 | 35,970 |
Showing the 20 highest paying of 391. Every state page lists the metros inside it.
Browse by field
Every occupation is listed on each state page, grouped by field. Pick a state to browse, or use one of the job pages above to compare a single occupation across the country.
Frequently asked questions
Where does this wage data come from?
The Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics programme at the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It surveys employers rather than workers, covering roughly 1.1 million establishments over a three-year cycle, and publishes wage distributions for around 754 detailed occupations. Figures here are the May 2024 estimates.
Why median rather than average?
Because a mean is pulled upward by a small number of very high earners and ends up describing nobody. The median is the midpoint: half of workers earn more, half earn less. Both are published on each page, along with the 10th and 90th percentiles, which show the range better than either single figure.
Does this include self-employed people?
No. OEWS covers wage and salary workers only. For occupations with a lot of self-employment, such as construction trades, hairdressers or writers, the published figures describe the employed portion of the workforce and understate the total number working in the field.
Why does the same job pay so differently by state?
Cost of living is the largest factor, followed by licensing requirements, unionisation and which industries employ the occupation locally. A nurse in a high-cost metropolitan hospital system and a nurse in a rural one are doing recognisably different jobs in economic terms even where the job title is identical.