SalariesHow to read the pay figures on this site
Every figure here comes from one survey: the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) programme of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Knowing what it counts, and what it leaves out, keeps you from reading too much into a number.
Median and average
The median is the pay of the person in the middle: half of the workers earn less, half earn more. The average (mean) adds up all pay and divides by the number of workers. A few very high earners lift the average but not the median, so the median is the better guide to what a typical worker gets. For all occupations in May 2025 the median was $50,980 a year and the average $69,770.
The 10%, 25%, 75% and 90% lines
These are percentiles. "Lowest 10% earn less than $X" means one worker in ten is paid below $X. "Top 10% earn more than $Y" means one in ten is paid above $Y. People new to an occupation are usually nearer the lower lines, experienced people nearer the upper ones, but the survey does not record experience.
What counts as pay
- Included: base pay, cost-of-living allowances, guaranteed pay, hazard pay, incentive pay such as commissions and production bonuses, and tips.
- Left out: overtime pay, shift differentials, year-end and other non-production bonuses, severance pay, and what the employer pays for benefits such as health insurance and retirement.
- All figures are before income tax and other deductions.
Who is counted
Employees of businesses and of federal, state and local government. The self-employed, owners and partners of unincorporated firms, household workers and unpaid family workers are not counted. So for occupations with many self-employed people, the figures describe only those on a payroll.
Yearly and hourly figures
BLS works out the yearly figure as the hourly figure times 2,080 hours (40 hours a week for 52 weeks). For some occupations it publishes only a yearly figure (teachers and pilots, for example) or only an hourly one (actors and musicians, for example), because a 2,080-hour year does not fit them.
"Not published" and "or more"
Where too few employers answered for a reliable figure, BLS does not release it; this site shows "not published". In the state tables BLS does not report pay above $239,200 a year ($115.00 an hour); such cells read "$239,200 or more".
What the figures cannot tell you
- What a particular employer will offer you.
- Pay by years of experience, by city, or by company size.
- Pay outside the United States.
- Take-home pay after tax.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS technical notes and May 2025 estimates. Checked in November 2026. Official statistics, not advice. Original tables: bls.gov/oes.