About WagesByCity

WagesByCity publishes salary data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program. Our goal is to make BLS data easy to find and understand for job seekers, hiring managers, and researchers.

Data source

All salary figures on this site come from the BLS OEWS May 2025 release, published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The OEWS program surveys approximately 1.1 million establishments every six months and produces employment and wage estimates for over 800 occupations across the United States. BLS data is in the public domain.

What the numbers mean

Median salary — The midpoint wage. Half of workers in that occupation and metro area earn more, half earn less. This is the most reliable single figure for comparing salaries across locations.

Percentiles — The 10th, 25th, 75th, and 90th percentile figures show the salary distribution. The 25th percentile is roughly what entry-level workers earn; the 75th percentile is what experienced workers earn. The 90th percentile represents top earners.

Hourly vs annual — Some occupations report hourly wages, some annual salaries. We show both where available. Annual figures assume a standard 2,080-hour work year.

Buying power comparison

Our compare tool shows salary as a percentage of local median household income (from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey). This helps you understand how far a salary actually goes in a given city — a $80,000 salary means something very different in San Francisco than in Nashville. Unemployment rates come from the BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program.

Coverage

  • 825 occupations (BLS SOC classification)
  • 581 metro and nonmetro areas across all 50 states, DC, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands
  • 231,702+ occupation × location combinations
  • Data updated annually when BLS releases new OEWS figures (typically each spring)

Metro areas

Metro areas follow BLS definitions, which are based on the Office of Management and Budget's Core-Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs). Nonmetro areas (labeled "nonmetropolitan area") represent the balance of each state not covered by a defined metro area.

Limitations

OEWS data represents wage and salary workers only — it does not cover self-employed workers, business owners, or unpaid family workers. Some occupation × location combinations are suppressed by BLS where employment is too small to report reliably. Figures represent conditions as of May 2025 and do not reflect real-time market changes.

Contact

Questions or corrections? Email [email protected]