Average Salary in the U.S.
The average U.S. job paid $69,770 a year ($33.54 an hour) in May 2025, while the median was $50,980 ($24.51 an hour), according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Mean annual
- $69,770
- Median annual
- $50,980
- Median hourly
- $24.51
- Jobs on record
- 155,495,730
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, national file, May 2025, all-occupations row. Wage and salary jobs only; the self-employed are not counted. OEWS pay excludes overtime, shift differentials and non-production bonuses.
What is the difference between the average and the median salary?
The mean is $18,790 higher than the median, or 37%, because a small number of very high salaries pull the average up. Half of U.S. jobs paid less than $50,980 and half paid more.
What do the percentiles look like?
One job in ten paid under $31,200 and one in ten paid over $128,560, a ratio of 4.1 to 1.
| Percentile | Annual | Hourly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $31,200 | $15.00 |
| 25th percentile | $37,590 | $18.07 |
| Median | $50,980 | $24.51 |
| 75th percentile | $80,520 | $38.71 |
| 90th percentile | $128,560 | $61.81 |
| Mean | $69,770 | $33.54 |
Source: BLS OEWS national file, May 2025. See where your pay falls for a specific occupation.
Is $100,000 a good salary?
On the Bureau of Labor Statistics May 2025 scale, a $100,000 salary is about the 81st percentile of U.S. jobs, higher than roughly 4 in 5.
By state, the same salary is about the 54th percentile in the District of Columbia, which has the highest median, and above the 90th percentile in Puerto Rico, which has the lowest.
| Annual pay | Position among U.S. jobs |
|---|---|
| $40,000 | About the 29th percentile |
| $50,000 | About the 48th percentile |
| $60,000 | About the 58th percentile |
| $75,000 | About the 70th percentile |
| $100,000 | About the 81st percentile |
| $125,000 | About the 89th percentile |
| $150,000 | Above the 90th percentile |
| $200,000 | Above the 90th percentile |
Source: BLS OEWS national and state files, May 2025, published percentiles. The $100,000 position is interpolated between the published 75th percentile ($80,520) and 90th ($128,560). Positions between the published points are interpolated by WageDex; above the 90th or below the 10th percentile BLS publishes no point.
Why do other sources give a different average salary?
They count different people over different periods. This page uses Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, which covers wage and salary jobs, full-time and part-time, and leaves out the self-employed; most annual figures are an hourly rate times 2,080 hours. Its median is $50,980 and its mean $69,770 for May 2025.
The Current Population Survey counts full-time wage and salary workers only, and put their median at $1,232 a week in the third quarter of 2026, about $64,064 over 52 weeks. That median is higher mainly because part-time jobs are left out.
The Social Security Administration reports average wages for 2025 of $69,861.77 from wage data subject to federal income tax and deferred compensation contributions. Its national average wage index for 2025 is 72,800.33, which it builds from that series.
Sources, read November 10, 2026: BLS OEWS technical notes; BLS Usual Weekly Earnings, released October 21, 2026; Social Security Administration, National Average Wage Index.
What is the average salary in each state?
The District of Columbia has the highest median at $91,540 and Puerto Rico the lowest at $28,680.
| State | Mean | Median | 10th | 25th | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | $111,010 | $91,540 | $39,650 | $55,460 | $144,680 | $195,190 |
| Massachusetts | $85,610 | $63,590 | $36,330 | $44,730 | $102,580 | $163,010 |
| Washington | $83,330 | $62,990 | $38,670 | $47,020 | $101,710 | $153,630 |
| Alaska | $74,720 | $61,000 | $34,930 | $43,470 | $92,910 | $128,720 |
| Colorado | $77,190 | $59,800 | $36,350 | $43,680 | $93,220 | $136,330 |
| Connecticut | $77,420 | $59,690 | $35,450 | $40,390 | $95,110 | $135,790 |
| New York | $82,460 | $59,670 | $35,760 | $41,160 | $98,810 | $157,500 |
| Maryland | $77,580 | $59,510 | $34,520 | $39,440 | $98,010 | $145,410 |
| New Jersey | $78,040 | $58,570 | $34,450 | $39,400 | $96,720 | $142,750 |
| California | $80,690 | $58,240 | $35,950 | $41,600 | $97,880 | $159,080 |
| Oregon | $72,460 | $57,000 | $35,680 | $42,690 | $83,070 | $129,520 |
| Minnesota | $71,160 | $56,920 | $33,540 | $39,680 | $82,520 | $125,730 |
| Rhode Island | $71,900 | $56,780 | $32,470 | $39,780 | $85,200 | $128,120 |
| Vermont | $69,050 | $56,390 | $35,910 | $43,350 | $79,240 | $111,480 |
| Hawaii | $70,270 | $56,320 | $34,170 | $40,370 | $81,510 | $123,660 |
| New Hampshire | $71,360 | $55,880 | $33,030 | $39,860 | $81,780 | $126,930 |
| Virginia | $74,040 | $55,690 | $30,530 | $37,720 | $89,420 | $139,010 |
| North Dakota | $64,050 | $52,480 | $31,330 | $38,600 | $75,810 | $103,160 |
| Delaware | $69,880 | $52,190 | $31,650 | $37,300 | $81,560 | $127,690 |
| Illinois | $71,130 | $51,960 | $32,900 | $37,960 | $83,060 | $127,770 |
| Maine | $65,780 | $51,430 | $35,140 | $40,120 | $76,230 | $105,510 |
| Wisconsin | $64,270 | $50,270 | $29,980 | $37,700 | $76,350 | $104,990 |
| Wyoming | $61,560 | $50,270 | $28,870 | $37,110 | $74,760 | $104,190 |
| Utah | $66,290 | $50,110 | $30,040 | $37,520 | $78,560 | $119,990 |
| Arizona | $67,620 | $50,060 | $34,190 | $38,160 | $77,830 | $120,180 |
| Pennsylvania | $65,730 | $49,690 | $28,920 | $36,690 | $78,270 | $117,860 |
| Ohio | $64,390 | $49,380 | $29,210 | $36,820 | $77,570 | $106,800 |
| Michigan | $64,920 | $49,270 | $30,290 | $37,070 | $77,910 | $110,650 |
| Nebraska | $62,400 | $48,980 | $30,120 | $37,370 | $73,830 | $103,110 |
| Montana | $60,880 | $48,740 | $29,390 | $37,210 | $72,640 | $100,610 |
| Texas | $65,750 | $48,620 | $27,250 | $35,370 | $77,840 | $125,220 |
| Iowa | $59,830 | $48,540 | $28,930 | $36,570 | $70,290 | $99,630 |
| Georgia | $65,920 | $48,170 | $27,930 | $35,700 | $77,570 | $122,470 |
| Kansas | $60,640 | $48,010 | $28,530 | $35,880 | $72,280 | $103,250 |
| Idaho | $61,170 | $47,970 | $29,300 | $36,660 | $72,320 | $103,240 |
| North Carolina | $64,290 | $47,970 | $28,580 | $36,030 | $75,610 | $119,640 |
| Florida | $64,670 | $47,880 | $30,010 | $36,290 | $75,410 | $114,550 |
| Indiana | $60,840 | $47,860 | $29,120 | $36,500 | $72,000 | $101,160 |
| Missouri | $62,160 | $47,800 | $29,780 | $36,160 | $74,260 | $104,320 |
| Nevada | $62,050 | $47,660 | $28,270 | $36,150 | $74,140 | $106,080 |
| Tennessee | $60,800 | $47,380 | $28,600 | $35,830 | $71,050 | $103,130 |
| New Mexico | $62,330 | $47,210 | $28,760 | $35,260 | $75,030 | $110,070 |
| South Dakota | $57,610 | $47,080 | $29,300 | $36,030 | $64,020 | $94,900 |
| Kentucky | $58,990 | $46,920 | $27,970 | $35,410 | $66,760 | $98,380 |
| South Carolina | $59,280 | $46,490 | $27,070 | $34,630 | $70,340 | $103,010 |
| Alabama | $57,500 | $45,670 | $26,090 | $32,050 | $66,790 | $101,250 |
| Oklahoma | $56,950 | $45,600 | $25,850 | $32,740 | $66,000 | $100,690 |
| Louisiana | $56,600 | $45,520 | $22,710 | $30,350 | $66,340 | $100,110 |
| West Virginia | $56,470 | $45,300 | $26,070 | $31,530 | $64,940 | $98,220 |
| Arkansas | $54,890 | $43,630 | $27,020 | $31,880 | $61,850 | $94,740 |
| Virgin Islands | $52,730 | $42,870 | $26,340 | $31,070 | $62,100 | $89,620 |
| Mississippi | $50,810 | $40,120 | $22,970 | $29,760 | $60,180 | $84,500 |
| Guam | $46,210 | $36,650 | $21,260 | $25,150 | $54,950 | $81,330 |
| Puerto Rico | $38,840 | $28,680 | $21,840 | $22,490 | $44,090 | $64,420 |
Source: BLS OEWS state file, May 2025, all-occupations rows.
What is the average salary by occupation group?
Management occupations have the highest average pay, at $145,347, and Food Preparation and Serving Related occupations the lowest, at $37,151.
Calculated from the BLS OEWS national file, May 2025: each group's figure is the mean of its detailed occupations, weighted by their jobs, for occupations where BLS publishes both.