Hourly PayJobs that pay $15 to $20 an hour: 111 occupations, May 2025
Occupations in the United States whose median hourly wage was $15 to $20 an hour in May 2025, with the range from the lowest-paid tenth to the highest-paid tenth. Together they hold 44,253,950 jobs, about 28% of all jobs counted.
No occupation in this pay band matches.
| Occupation | Median an hour | Lowest 10% below | Top 10% above | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home Health and Personal Care Aides | $17.21 | $13.00 | $21.65 | 4,305,810 |
| Retail Salespersons | $17.03 | $13.08 | $23.02 | 3,897,860 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | $15.00 | $10.98 | $20.51 | 3,854,050 |
| Cashiers | $15.81 | $11.79 | $19.43 | 3,089,410 |
| Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand | $19.35 | $15.03 | $26.51 | 2,950,280 |
| Stockers and Order Fillers | $17.95 | $14.48 | $23.68 | 2,833,810 |
| Waiters and Waitresses | $16.94 | $8.70 | $31.12 | 2,270,910 |
| Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners | $17.71 | $13.77 | $24.17 | 2,209,760 |
| Cooks, Restaurant | $17.98 | $13.80 | $23.03 | 1,409,890 |
| Security Guards | $18.28 | $14.52 | $28.29 | 1,283,470 |
| Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers | $18.82 | $14.98 | $27.28 | 952,640 |
| Receptionists and Information Clerks | $18.27 | $13.83 | $24.01 | 910,180 |
| Food Preparation Workers | $16.98 | $12.41 | $21.80 | 893,600 |
| Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners | $17.07 | $13.29 | $23.35 | 860,670 |
| Bartenders | $16.51 | $9.67 | $35.47 | 756,390 |
| Packers and Packagers, Hand | $17.44 | $13.41 | $22.65 | 559,820 |
| Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers | $16.34 | $10.24 | $22.39 | 542,750 |
| Childcare Workers | $16.82 | $11.66 | $22.12 | 518,910 |
| Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education | $18.34 | $13.94 | $29.52 | 478,780 |
| Dishwashers | $16.73 | $12.59 | $20.61 | 477,450 |
| Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria | $18.01 | $13.69 | $23.88 | 441,050 |
| Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop | $15.00 | $10.74 | $21.15 | 432,690 |
| Driver/Sales Workers | $18.64 | $10.86 | $28.84 | 409,180 |
| Counter and Rental Clerks | $19.86 | $14.33 | $31.43 | 400,810 |
| Amusement and Recreation Attendants | $15.46 | $10.75 | $20.43 | 397,830 |
| Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment | $17.23 | $13.17 | $22.89 | 380,430 |
| Recreation Workers | $17.58 | $13.27 | $24.24 | 331,490 |
| Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists | $17.21 | $13.00 | $34.23 | 305,710 |
| Food Servers, Nonrestaurant | $17.00 | $13.48 | $22.17 | 293,900 |
| Parts Salespersons | $18.57 | $13.58 | $30.24 | 270,070 |
| Animal Caretakers | $17.00 | $13.10 | $24.07 | 266,910 |
| Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse | $17.15 | $15.82 | $21.96 | 265,500 |
| Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks | $16.86 | $13.04 | $21.86 | 261,420 |
| Production Workers, All Other | $19.29 | $15.00 | $29.58 | 251,700 |
| Shuttle Drivers and Chauffeurs | $17.93 | $13.51 | $26.47 | 248,530 |
| Bakers | $17.86 | $13.52 | $23.57 | 236,200 |
| Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers | $16.78 | $13.19 | $20.77 | 198,040 |
| Helpers--Production Workers | $18.78 | $14.97 | $25.68 | 165,700 |
| Merchandise Displayers and Window Trimmers | $18.94 | $14.79 | $28.06 | 165,220 |
| Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers | $16.14 | $12.40 | $21.14 | 157,550 |
| Manicurists and Pedicurists | $17.19 | $13.90 | $24.10 | 152,770 |
| Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers | $18.41 | $14.42 | $23.15 | 145,700 |
| Cooks, Short Order | $17.25 | $11.27 | $22.34 | 138,650 |
| Parking Attendants | $16.90 | $13.00 | $21.42 | 137,880 |
| Butchers and Meat Cutters | $19.30 | $14.17 | $27.94 | 136,430 |
| Data Entry Keyers | $19.88 | $15.00 | $28.26 | 127,080 |
| Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers | $18.34 | $14.48 | $23.63 | 126,580 |
| Ushers, Lobby Attendants, and Ticket Takers | $15.82 | $11.33 | $20.42 | 121,770 |
| Tire Repairers and Changers | $18.13 | $14.43 | $24.15 | 108,410 |
| Sewing Machine Operators | $17.63 | $13.39 | $23.00 | 104,880 |
| Automotive and Watercraft Service Attendants | $17.15 | $13.76 | $22.14 | 102,010 |
| Helpers--Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers | $19.05 | $14.09 | $26.87 | 95,580 |
| Crossing Guards and Flaggers | $18.32 | $14.83 | $29.66 | 94,360 |
| Library Assistants, Clerical | $17.74 | $13.33 | $26.59 | 85,520 |
| Food Preparation and Serving Related Workers, All Other | $17.23 | $12.25 | $22.86 | 84,630 |
| Gambling Dealers | $16.50 | $11.56 | $37.06 | 83,910 |
| School Bus Monitors | $16.88 | $13.52 | $20.79 | 78,420 |
| Slaughterers and Meat Packers | $19.29 | $16.03 | $24.56 | 69,950 |
| Couriers and Messengers | $18.85 | $15.17 | $24.20 | 68,640 |
| Food Processing Workers, All Other | $19.08 | $15.49 | $23.05 | 65,000 |
| Demonstrators and Product Promoters | $18.91 | $15.00 | $30.70 | 64,520 |
| Telemarketers | $17.04 | $13.00 | $24.21 | 58,430 |
| Mail Clerks and Mail Machine Operators, Except Postal Service | $18.89 | $14.80 | $26.36 | 55,230 |
| Tour and Travel Guides | $18.33 | $13.71 | $29.29 | 53,500 |
| Orderlies | $18.41 | $15.50 | $24.33 | 52,440 |
| Concierges | $18.73 | $15.20 | $27.68 | 49,240 |
| Physical Therapist Aides | $16.94 | $12.19 | $22.97 | 48,150 |
| Motor Vehicle Operators, All Other | $17.87 | $12.76 | $31.97 | 46,880 |
| Machine Feeders and Offbearers | $19.82 | $15.49 | $27.96 | 42,330 |
| Medical Transcriptionists | $19.43 | $13.58 | $26.90 | 41,550 |
| Floral Designers | $17.96 | $13.75 | $24.52 | 40,590 |
| Pharmacy Aides | $18.12 | $14.34 | $26.93 | 39,530 |
| Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service | $18.57 | $14.42 | $28.59 | 34,280 |
| Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, and Aquacultural Animals | $17.63 | $13.15 | $26.00 | 32,810 |
| Dietetic Technicians | $18.09 | $14.29 | $25.97 | 31,560 |
| Aircraft Service Attendants | $19.45 | $16.26 | $27.70 | 31,300 |
| Funeral Attendants | $17.16 | $13.50 | $23.30 | 31,090 |
| Baggage Porters and Bellhops | $17.83 | $13.00 | $24.81 | 28,510 |
| Passenger Attendants | $18.14 | $13.45 | $22.40 | 27,110 |
| Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials | $16.85 | $13.07 | $20.70 | 26,120 |
| Graders and Sorters, Agricultural Products | $17.18 | $14.22 | $21.39 | 25,180 |
| Office Machine Operators, Except Computer | $19.69 | $15.27 | $27.87 | 25,130 |
| Textile Winding, Twisting, and Drawing Out Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders | $18.59 | $15.29 | $23.76 | 22,020 |
| Gambling Change Persons and Booth Cashiers | $17.41 | $11.76 | $29.01 | 21,530 |
| Cooks, All Other | $18.12 | $13.00 | $24.59 | 19,350 |
| Animal Trainers | $19.22 | $14.23 | $36.29 | 18,770 |
| Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians | $18.97 | $16.12 | $27.59 | 18,660 |
| Entertainers and Performers, Sports and Related Workers, All Other | $18.82 | $14.48 | $56.12 | 16,550 |
| Locker Room, Coatroom, and Dressing Room Attendants | $17.45 | $12.79 | $26.09 | 15,560 |
| Barbers | $18.37 | $13.75 | $36.76 | 15,000 |
| Gambling Cage Workers | $18.07 | $13.99 | $23.76 | 14,430 |
| Gambling Service Workers, All Other | $17.46 | $11.14 | $31.48 | 14,140 |
| Textile, Apparel, and Furnishings Workers, All Other | $17.93 | $15.04 | $25.35 | 13,530 |
| Textile Knitting and Weaving Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders | $19.01 | $14.40 | $23.62 | 13,030 |
| Ambulance Drivers and Attendants, Except Emergency Medical Technicians | $17.04 | $13.15 | $22.10 | 12,630 |
| Textile Cutting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders | $18.64 | $13.78 | $23.76 | 9,000 |
| Gambling and Sports Book Writers and Runners | $16.82 | $10.62 | $23.21 | 8,950 |
| Shampooers | $15.67 | $11.11 | $18.39 | 8,070 |
| Helpers--Painters, Paperhangers, Plasterers, and Stucco Masons | $19.46 | $15.00 | $25.00 | 7,490 |
| Shoe and Leather Workers and Repairers | $18.17 | $13.56 | $25.26 | 7,450 |
| Entertainment Attendants and Related Workers, All Other | $15.69 | $11.21 | $23.29 | 7,060 |
| Cooling and Freezing Equipment Operators and Tenders | $19.87 | $16.07 | $29.97 | 6,900 |
| Cutters and Trimmers, Hand | $18.28 | $12.80 | $27.82 | 6,060 |
| Textile Bleaching and Dyeing Machine Operators and Tenders | $18.36 | $14.57 | $23.12 | 5,310 |
| Photographic Process Workers and Processing Machine Operators | $19.52 | $14.47 | $33.08 | 4,800 |
| Occupational Therapy Aides | $18.83 | $14.15 | $33.75 | 4,310 |
| Agricultural Workers, All Other | $19.16 | $13.35 | $36.99 | 3,620 |
| Shoe Machine Operators and Tenders | $17.14 | $12.77 | $22.94 | 3,280 |
| Door-to-Door Sales Workers, News and Street Vendors, and Related Workers | $19.89 | $15.39 | $24.74 | 2,760 |
| Sewers, Hand | $17.54 | $13.31 | $22.87 | 2,190 |
| Motion Picture Projectionists | $18.40 | $11.25 | $42.46 | 1,480 |
In short
- The occupations with the most jobs in this band are Home Health and Personal Care Aides (4,305,810 jobs, $17.21 an hour), Retail Salespersons (3,897,860 jobs, $17.03 an hour), Fast Food and Counter Workers (3,854,050 jobs, $15.00 an hour).
- The median for all occupations in the country was $24.51 an hour.
- A median is the middle: in every occupation here, half the workers earn more than the figure shown and half earn less, so the columns for the lowest and top tenth matter as much as the median.
- Sorted by number of jobs, largest first.
What is in this band
Inside the band, the medians run from $15.00 an hour (Fast Food and Counter Workers) to $19.89 (Door-to-Door Sales Workers, News and Street Vendors, and Related Workers). For full-time work of 2,080 hours, the edges of the band, $15.00 and $20.00 an hour, come to $31,200 and $41,600 a year before tax. The three largest occupations hold 27% of the 44,253,950 jobs in the band.
The kinds of work
Counted by the Bureau's broad groups of occupations, the band holds most occupations from production (22), personal care and service (20), food preparation and serving related (13) and transportation and material moving (13). In all, 15 of the 22 broad groups have at least one occupation here, with a single one from educational instruction and library, healthcare practitioners and technical and construction and extraction.
How wide the pay is inside an occupation
A median hides how far pay stretches inside one occupation. The widest range here is Entertainers and Performers, Sports and Related Workers, All Other: the lowest-paid tenth earn under $14.48 an hour and the highest-paid tenth over $56.12, a gap of $41.64. The narrowest is Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse, from $15.82 to $21.96. In 54 of the 111 occupations, the highest-paid tenth earn more than the national median of $24.51, although the median of the occupation is below it.
Other bands: under $15 an hour, $20 to $25 an hour, $25 to $30 an hour, $30 to $40 an hour, $40 to $50 an hour, $50 to $75 an hour, over $75 an hour.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025; checked in November 2026. Figures are for employees, before tax, and leave out overtime pay. Official statistics, not advice or a pay offer; original tables at bls.gov/oes.