Hourly PayJobs that pay $40 to $50 an hour: 67 occupations, May 2025
Occupations in the United States whose median hourly wage was $40 to $50 an hour in May 2025, with the range from the lowest-paid tenth to the highest-paid tenth. Together they hold 11,722,910 jobs, about 8% of all jobs counted.
No occupation in this pay band matches.
| Occupation | Median an hour | Lowest 10% below | Top 10% above | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Registered Nurses | $46.90 | $33.14 | $66.09 | 3,379,720 |
| Accountants and Auditors | $40.23 | $26.93 | $69.27 | 1,449,500 |
| Project Management Specialists | $49.19 | $29.61 | $80.76 | 1,066,670 |
| Management Analysts | $48.97 | $29.15 | $82.52 | 898,280 |
| Civil Engineers | $48.48 | $32.81 | $78.47 | 367,840 |
| Industrial Engineers | $49.25 | $35.76 | $76.85 | 365,740 |
| Financial and Investment Analysts | $49.40 | $30.64 | $86.95 | 361,980 |
| Network and Computer Systems Administrators | $47.66 | $30.11 | $74.55 | 314,340 |
| Physical Therapists | $49.40 | $37.09 | $64.97 | 267,330 |
| Dental Hygienists | $47.16 | $36.00 | $60.60 | 222,740 |
| First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers | $42.08 | $24.19 | $78.88 | 214,390 |
| Speech-Language Pathologists | $47.05 | $30.24 | $64.50 | 183,390 |
| Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists | $49.72 | $31.15 | $85.47 | 172,340 |
| Occupational Therapists | $48.24 | $34.47 | $63.44 | 162,450 |
| Producers and Directors | $43.44 | $22.01 | $95.45 | 143,120 |
| Occupational Health and Safety Specialists | $43.34 | $26.44 | $64.88 | 140,610 |
| Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers | $45.83 | $24.74 | $61.87 | 131,070 |
| Detectives and Criminal Investigators | $45.09 | $26.63 | $77.18 | 114,430 |
| Operations Research Analysts | $42.76 | $27.43 | $76.88 | 108,510 |
| Architects, Except Landscape and Naval | $47.73 | $29.95 | $77.61 | 106,770 |
| First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers | $44.96 | $25.69 | $67.31 | 99,140 |
| Computer Programmers | $48.26 | $27.74 | $77.15 | 92,230 |
| Diagnostic Medical Sonographers | $46.44 | $32.60 | $62.20 | 90,160 |
| Chemists | $43.87 | $28.11 | $77.32 | 82,770 |
| Clinical and Counseling Psychologists | $48.36 | $26.53 | $87.00 | 75,990 |
| Web Developers | $44.54 | $23.12 | $78.03 | 70,190 |
| Financial Examiners | $45.27 | $27.04 | $83.75 | 67,830 |
| Labor Relations Specialists | $45.87 | $24.27 | $75.09 | 64,810 |
| Credit Analysts | $40.15 | $27.04 | $81.36 | 64,390 |
| School Psychologists | $46.15 | $30.32 | $68.43 | 63,940 |
| Biological Scientists, All Other | $47.56 | $29.05 | $80.77 | 55,850 |
| Education Administrators, All Other | $45.77 | $24.96 | $77.41 | 55,130 |
| Budget Analysts | $44.06 | $29.93 | $65.70 | 47,160 |
| Technical Writers | $43.46 | $27.62 | $69.84 | 45,500 |
| Urban and Regional Planners | $42.94 | $28.85 | $64.66 | 44,230 |
| Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technologists | $45.91 | $33.12 | $61.38 | 43,390 |
| Social Scientists and Related Workers, All Other | $48.61 | $31.79 | $77.07 | 37,100 |
| Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels | $44.45 | $22.80 | $82.04 | 36,850 |
| Musicians and Singers | $47.80 | $20.35 | $132.56 | 36,180 |
| Commercial and Industrial Designers | $40.34 | $25.70 | $67.20 | 33,490 |
| Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers | $46.50 | $27.46 | $55.71 | 33,160 |
| Power Plant Operators | $49.06 | $29.71 | $63.44 | 29,320 |
| Transportation Inspectors | $44.28 | $19.39 | $66.67 | 24,500 |
| Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers | $49.00 | $28.52 | $96.26 | 23,470 |
| Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay | $49.53 | $31.60 | $62.46 | 20,720 |
| Special Effects Artists and Animators | $49.06 | $28.17 | $85.15 | 19,970 |
| Microbiologists | $42.30 | $26.28 | $72.12 | 18,940 |
| Gas Plant Operators | $42.22 | $29.50 | $55.54 | 18,030 |
| Nuclear Medicine Technologists | $48.74 | $37.54 | $64.66 | 17,080 |
| Postmasters and Mail Superintendents | $46.47 | $40.91 | $53.72 | 13,810 |
| Audiologists | $46.05 | $31.06 | $64.00 | 13,660 |
| Emergency Management Directors | $44.87 | $26.06 | $80.02 | 13,500 |
| Food Scientists and Technologists | $42.65 | $25.44 | $69.85 | 13,060 |
| Epidemiologists | $41.93 | $29.46 | $66.73 | 12,090 |
| Subway and Streetcar Operators | $41.53 | $26.53 | $43.34 | 10,200 |
| Atmospheric and Space Scientists | $47.63 | $25.51 | $77.83 | 10,000 |
| Signal and Track Switch Repairers | $44.45 | $30.10 | $57.48 | 8,720 |
| Life Scientists, All Other | $45.07 | $28.21 | $89.55 | 7,460 |
| Electrical and Electronics Installers and Repairers, Transportation Equipment | $40.81 | $24.40 | $56.16 | 6,940 |
| Farmers, Ranchers, and Other Agricultural Managers | $43.22 | $26.12 | $76.93 | 6,500 |
| Hydrologists | $46.44 | $30.78 | $73.62 | 5,850 |
| Gambling Managers | $44.82 | $26.90 | $79.01 | 5,030 |
| Transit and Railroad Police | $43.38 | $27.73 | $60.53 | 4,390 |
| Genetic Counselors | $48.09 | $37.63 | $66.71 | 3,740 |
| Makeup Artists, Theatrical and Performance | $46.71 | $11.23 | $80.51 | 2,340 |
| Agricultural Engineers | $47.40 | $32.72 | $80.03 | 1,480 |
| Geographers | $49.06 | $32.10 | $65.70 | 1,400 |
In short
- The occupations with the most jobs in this band are Registered Nurses (3,379,720 jobs, $46.90 an hour), Accountants and Auditors (1,449,500 jobs, $40.23 an hour), Project Management Specialists (1,066,670 jobs, $49.19 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 $40.15 an hour (Credit Analysts) to $49.72 (Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists). For full-time work of 2,080 hours, the edges of the band, $40.00 and $50.00 an hour, come to $83,200 and $104,000 a year before tax. The three largest occupations hold 50% of the 11,722,910 jobs in the band.
The kinds of work
Counted by the Bureau's broad groups of occupations, the band holds most occupations from life, physical, and social science (16), healthcare practitioners and technical (10), business and financial operations (8) and management (5). In all, 13 of the 22 broad groups have at least one occupation here, with a single one from personal care and service and sales and related.
How wide the pay is inside an occupation
A median hides how far pay stretches inside one occupation. The widest range here is Musicians and Singers: the lowest-paid tenth earn under $20.35 an hour and the highest-paid tenth over $132.56, a gap of $112.21. The narrowest is Postmasters and Mail Superintendents, from $40.91 to $53.72. In 58 of the 67 occupations, even the lowest-paid tenth earn more than the national median of $24.51.
Other bands: under $15 an hour, $15 to $20 an hour, $20 to $25 an hour, $25 to $30 an hour, $30 to $40 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.