Methodology
Figures on this site come from one source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), reference period May 2025.
- Source page: https://www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm
- File used: state_M2025_dl.xlsx (oesm25st.zip, file dated 2026-05-15)
- Retrieved: 2026-11-09
- Terms: BLS data are public domain except previously copyrighted photographs and illustrations; see BLS copyright information. The BLS emblem is not used here.
What is included
State-level estimates for the 50 states and the District of Columbia (which is not a state), for the all-occupations total and 829 detailed occupations (SOC). Territories are excluded. Employment excludes self-employed workers and is rounded to the nearest 10 by BLS. Wages are shown as annual and hourly means and percentiles.
Which pages exist
A state site has a page for an occupation only when the source publishes a mean or median annual wage (or reports the mean as at or above the top-coded limit). Occupations with no published wage are listed on the occupations page as "wages not published" and have no page, so no page shows an empty or zero table. The national site has a page only for occupations with a published mean annual wage in at least 5 areas.
Symbols and missing values
*: wage estimate not available. Shown as n/a.**: employment estimate not available. Shown as n/a.#: wage at or above $115.00 per hour or $239,200 per year. Shown as a lower bound (≥).- Blank fields: not reported, shown as a dash.
A missing value is never shown as zero. Rankings include only areas or occupations with a published figure, and say so.
Rankings and comparisons
Ranks are by mean annual wage among the 50 states and DC (51 areas). "Bordering states" are those that share a land border; states that touch only at a corner are not counted. Alaska and Hawaii have no land neighbors, so they are compared with the two states ranked just above and below. The "simple average of state means" on a state home page is an unweighted average of 51 state-level means, not a national statistic.
Limits
OEWS is a survey-based estimate of wage and salary jobs, not a census, and does not cover self-employed workers. Wages do not include bonuses, benefits or hours worked beyond the survey definitions. Cost of living is not adjusted. Estimates for small occupations vary more. BLS revises its estimates with each release.