WageDex guide
Understanding BLS Wage Data
What the estimates measure, how they are constructed, and which comparisons they can support.
According to BLS OEWS (May 2025 estimates), the survey this guide explains and the source of its wage figures. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics , OEWS May 2025 estimates
The short answer
The May 2025 OEWS estimates combine six employer-survey panels totaling about 1.1 million establishments. Across the 825 occupations with a published national annual median (of 830+ occupations tracked), half of those occupation medians are below $61,390 a year.
- ~1.1M
- Establishments in six panels
- 825
- Occupations with annual medians
- $61,390
- Median of occupation medians
Where BLS publishes them, WageDex shows the 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentile boundaries rather than estimating suppressed values.
How BLS Collects Wage Data
The Bureau of Labor Statistics and state workforce agencies collect employment and wage information from employers through the OEWS program. The May 2025 estimates combine six panels collected over three years. Each panel contains approximately 186,000 to 189,000 establishments, for a full sample of about 1.1 million.
OEWS uses a stratified sample and model-based estimation to represent establishments that were not observed directly. That design avoids relying on a voluntary worker-submission pool, but it does not eliminate sampling error, nonresponse, suppression, or differences in coverage. Compare the population, geography, reference period, and included compensation before comparing headline numbers.
Understanding Wage Percentiles
Where BLS publishes the measures, WageDex shows five wage-percentile boundaries rather than only a mean or median. The percentiles tell you:
- 10th percentile: The wage boundary below which 10% of workers fall; 90% earn more.
- 25th percentile: The lower-quartile boundary; 25% earn less and 75% earn more.
- Median (50th): The boundary with half of workers above it and half below it.
- 75th percentile: The upper-quartile boundary; 75% earn less and 25% earn more.
- 90th percentile: The wage boundary below which 90% fall; 10% earn more.
The spread between the 10th and 90th percentile describes how much reported wages vary within an occupation. Experience, location, industry, employer, credentials, schedule, specialty, and incentive pay may all contribute, but OEWS does not isolate their effects in the percentile table.
Browse any occupation on WageDex to see the full percentile breakdown. Start with the careers directory.
Distribution of published occupation medians
National annual medians for 825 detailed BLS occupations
Each bar is a $20K-wide band; taller bars hold more published occupation medians. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Read the chart as text · as of May 2025
| Band | Count | Share |
|---|---|---|
| $0–$20,000 | 0 published occupation medians | 0% |
| $20,000–$40,000 | 98 published occupation medians | 12% |
| $40,000–$60,000 | 298 published occupation medians | 36% |
| $60,000–$80,000 (this entry) | 209 published occupation medians | 25% |
| $80,000–$100,000 | 82 published occupation medians | 10% |
| $100,000–$120,000 | 58 published occupation medians | 7% |
| $120,000–$140,000 | 32 published occupation medians | 4% |
| $140,000–$160,000 | 14 published occupation medians | 2% |
| $160,000–$180,000 | 9 published occupation medians | 1% |
| $180,000 and above | 25 published occupation medians | 3% |
$61,390 · 50th percentile of 825 published occupation medians
Source WageDex analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS · May 2025
Geographic Wage Variation
OEWS publishes occupation estimates for states and selected territories, metropolitan areas, and BLS-defined nonmetropolitan areas. WageDex exposes the occupation-area rows present in the May 2025 release through its state and territory and metro and nonmetro directories. Coverage varies by occupation and area; an unavailable row is not filled with an estimate.
A geographic wage difference is descriptive. It does not prove that cost of living, worker supply, industry mix, policy, or any other factor caused the gap. OEWS wage rows are not cost-of-living adjusted. Match the occupation, wage measure, and release period first. If you add a Regional Price Parity adjustment, cite it separately and note its geographic coverage.
What BLS Data Doesn't Cover
BLS wage data is powerful but has limitations:
- No benefits data: Health insurance, retirement contributions, and stock compensation are not included. OEWS does include tips, commissions, incentive pay, and production bonuses; overtime premiums and nonproduction bonuses are excluded.
- No experience level: OEWS does not break wages down by years of experience or work level, so a percentile is not an entry, intermediate, or senior classification. BLS publishes separate Modeled Wage Estimates for work-level analysis.
- No company-specific data: You can't look up what Google pays software engineers vs. what Oracle pays. BLS data is aggregated by occupation and geography.
- Limited worker population: OEWS covers wage and salary workers in in-scope nonfarm establishments. It excludes the self-employed, most of agriculture, private households, and military-specific occupations.
- No cost-of-living adjustment: OEWS reports nominal wages. Purchasing-power comparisons require a separate price dataset with a matching geography and reference period.
- Annual lag: Data reflects conditions from the reference period (May 2025 for the current release), not today's market.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the OEWS survey?
The Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program is an employer survey of employment and wage rates for wage and salary workers in nonfarm establishments. The May 2025 estimates combine six survey panels collected over three years, with approximately 186,000 to 189,000 establishments in each panel and about 1.1 million across the full sample.
What is the difference between median and mean salary?
The median is the wage boundary with half of workers above it and half below it. The mean is the sum of wages divided by the number of workers. A mean can be pulled upward by a relatively small number of high wages, while the median does not show how wide the wage distribution is. OEWS publishes both measures where available.
Why does BLS data differ from Glassdoor or Salary.com?
Sources can differ because they cover different workers, compensation components, geographic boundaries, reference periods, and collection methods. OEWS is a designed employer survey and excludes benefits, stock compensation, the self-employed, and some types of premium pay. Before comparing sources, match the worker population, compensation included, place, and date.
How often is BLS wage data updated?
The BLS produces OEWS estimates annually. The current WageDex wage tables use the May 2025 estimates; the reference period is shown beside the figures and in the methodology.
What does "wages not available" mean?
BLS suppresses some estimates that do not meet its publication standards, including reliability and confidentiality protections. Suppression occurs more often in detailed geographic tables than in the national table. WageDex displays those values as unavailable instead of filling the gaps.
Does BLS wage data include benefits?
OEWS does not include employer-paid benefits or stock compensation. It does include tips, commissions, incentive pay, and production bonuses; overtime premiums and nonproduction bonuses are excluded. The BLS publishes separate Employer Costs for Employee Compensation data for benefits.
Sources
This guide describes OEWS occupation-level estimates and their limits. It does not estimate or predict pay for any individual.