Altoona, PA Salaries
Local wages where BEA prices sit below the US average (RPP 89.5) - BLS OEWS May 2025
Observed metro pay change
What changed, BLS OEWS 2024–2025
- BLS's published All Occupations median in Altoona, PA moved from $43,100 in May 2024 to $44,270 in May 2025 (+2.7%).
- Across the 393 metros priced in both releases, the median place changed +3.1%.
- Altoona, PA sits -0.4 pp near that median, nominal dollars, no price deflator applied.
Transparent derived index from BLS and BEA data, not an official government rating. Based on wage level, year-over-year wage growth, and regional-price-parity-adjusted purchasing power, not job availability, industry mix, or day-to-day livability. See the exact dimensions, weights, and formula.
Retail Salespersons shows the widest metro-area vs national median gap in Altoona, PA
Retail Salespersons publishes $28,370 here versus $35,410 nationally (-19.9%; 2,090metro-area jobs).
- Retail Salespersons$28,370 in Altoona, PA sits 19.9% below the national Retail Salespersons median of $35,410 (2,090 published local jobs).
Retail Salespersons and the other occupations above are descriptive OEWS endpoints for Altoona, PA; they are not findings about taxes, employers, or worker experience.
BLS OEWS metro wage desk
MSA 11020 · Altoona, PA $53K mean
MEAN-TRACE · RPP-LOW · OCC-MID · TOP-LEAD · EMP-MIX · TREND-INLINE · PHOTO-FINISH · BOOK-MOST
- MEAN-TRACE #410/528
- RPP-LOW 89.5
- OCC-MID 241 occs
- TOP-LEAD Physicians, Al… · $279K
- EMP-MIX Medical and…
- TREND-INLINE -0.4 pp
- PHOTO-FINISH Jackson, MS
- BOOK-MOST 239 rows · May 2025
Read with Jackson, MS ($14 on published-row mean) · Salary vs. cost of living
Instrument codes from this MSA’s OEWS published-row mean, BEA RPP, occupation book, employment lead, All Occupations pay change, and nearest peer, not a moving recommendation.
Published-row mean neighbourhood around Altoona, PA
Where Altoona, PA already employs the upper wage tier
Medical and Health Services Managers and Physicians, All Other lead published employment inside Altoona, PA's top-pay sample, order follows OEWS job counts, not median wage.
- 1. Medical and Health Services Managers 360 jobs · $95,100
- 2. Physicians, All Other 240 jobs · $279,160
- 3. Financial Managers 230 jobs · $113,980
- 4. Civil Engineers 220 jobs · $93,680
- 5. Physician Assistants 190 jobs · $123,270
- 6. Software Developers 180 jobs · $101,670
- 7. Sales Managers 160 jobs · $100,710
- 8. Physical Therapists 150 jobs · $97,710
- 9. Managers, All Other 130 jobs · $102,150
- 10. Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary 130 jobs · $100,790
- 11. Pharmacists 120 jobs · $129,480
- 12. Industrial Production Managers 120 jobs · $99,660
- 13. Computer and Information Systems Managers 110 jobs · $128,380
- 14. Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers 90 jobs · $95,920
- 15. Computer Systems Analysts 90 jobs · $92,880
- 16. Nurse Practitioners 80 jobs · $119,930
- 17. Construction Managers 80 jobs · $93,460
- 18. Marketing Managers 70 jobs · $119,670
Occupations Tracked
241
with wage data
Published-Row Mean
$53,168
employment-weighted, 239 complete rows
Top Salary
$279,160
Physicians, All Other
Cost of Living
89.5
10% below US avg
Top-pay occupations in Altoona, PA, by employment
Same top-pay sample as the salary ranking, sorted by published local jobs so the title sequence follows the OEWS mix.
| # | Occupation | Median Salary |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Medical and Health Services Managers | $95,100 |
| 2 | Physicians, All Other | $279,160 |
| 3 | Financial Managers | $113,980 |
| 4 | Civil Engineers | $93,680 |
| 5 | Physician Assistants | $123,270 |
| 6 | Software Developers | $101,670 |
| 7 | Sales Managers | $100,710 |
| 8 | Physical Therapists | $97,710 |
| 9 | Managers, All Other | $102,150 |
| 10 | Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary | $100,790 |
| 11 | Pharmacists | $129,480 |
| 12 | Industrial Production Managers | $99,660 |
| 13 | Computer and Information Systems Managers | $128,380 |
| 14 | Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers Small sample: Small sample: this BLS estimate rests on 90 workers (fewer than 100). | $95,920 |
| 15 | Computer Systems Analysts Small sample: Small sample: this BLS estimate rests on 90 workers (fewer than 100). | $92,880 |
| 16 | Nurse Practitioners Small sample: Small sample: this BLS estimate rests on 80 workers (fewer than 100). | $119,930 |
| 17 | Construction Managers Small sample: Small sample: this BLS estimate rests on 80 workers (fewer than 100). | $93,460 |
| 18 | Marketing Managers Small sample: Small sample: this BLS estimate rests on 70 workers (fewer than 100). | $119,670 |
| 19 | Computer Occupations, All Other Small sample: Small sample: this BLS estimate rests on 70 workers (fewer than 100). | $98,060 |
| 20 | Chief Executives Small sample: Small sample: this BLS estimate rests on 60 workers (fewer than 100). | $197,360 |
| 21 | Architectural and Engineering Managers Small sample: Small sample: this BLS estimate rests on 60 workers (fewer than 100). | $133,050 |
| 22 | Human Resources Managers Small sample: Small sample: this BLS estimate rests on 60 workers (fewer than 100). | $104,010 |
| 23 | Electrical Engineers Small sample: Small sample: this BLS estimate rests on 50 workers (fewer than 100). | $105,270 |
| 24 | Personal Financial Advisors Small sample: Small sample: this BLS estimate rests on 40 workers (fewer than 100). | $125,820 |
| 25 | Dentists, General Small sample: Small sample: this BLS estimate rests on 30 workers (fewer than 100). | $117,110 |
Small sample marks a row whose BLS estimate rests on fewer than 100 workers. It is still a published figure, but BLS reports more sampling error for cells this small: the median relative standard error of the mean wage is 3.4% under 100 workers against 2.1% at 100 or more (May 2025 metro estimates). Small gaps in rank between neighbouring rows may not be meaningful.
Lowest Paying Jobs in Altoona, PA
| Occupation | Median Salary |
|---|---|
| Bartenders | $22,460 |
| Ushers, Lobby Attendants, and Ticket Takers Small sample: Small sample: this BLS estimate rests on 40 workers (fewer than 100). | $23,830 |
| Cooks, Fast Food | $25,020 |
| Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers Small sample: Small sample: this BLS estimate rests on 70 workers (fewer than 100). | $25,170 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | $26,090 |
| Dishwashers | $26,960 |
| Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop | $26,980 |
| Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers | $27,160 |
| Home Health and Personal Care Aides | $27,390 |
| Childcare Workers | $27,520 |
Small sample marks a row whose BLS estimate rests on fewer than 100 workers. It is still a published figure, but BLS reports more sampling error for cells this small: the median relative standard error of the mean wage is 3.4% under 100 workers against 2.1% at 100 or more (May 2025 metro estimates). Small gaps in rank between neighbouring rows may not be meaningful.
Other BLS Wage Areas in PA
Other metropolitan or nonmetropolitan OEWS areas assigned to the same state. Cross-state pay and employment peers live in Nationwide similar metros below.
Nationwide metros with similar published-row mean pay or employment scale
Two OEWS peer sets outside PA. Same-state wage areas above stay geographic; these neighborhoods are cross-state nearest neighbors on employment-weighted published-row mean wage ($53,168 here) and summed published employment.
Similar mean wage
Nearest other metros by employment-weighted published-row annual mean wage.
Peers are nearest-neighbor matches on BLS OEWS employment-weighted published-row mean wage and summed occupation employment. Employment peers exclude metros already listed in the mean-wage column so the two link sets stay distinct. Mean wage here is not a worker-level median.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the lower price level do to Altoona, PA wage reading? ▼
What is the highest paying job in Altoona, PA? ▼
What jobs pay the least in Altoona, PA? ▼
Which federal tables feed Altoona, PA's wage and price figures? ▼
Related federal data
What to do with this data
How to use Altoona, PA wage figures in a real decision
- Physicians, All Other leads published medians in Altoona, PA at $279,160/year; open the occupation for percentile bands and state rows. Physicians, All Other
- The employment-weighted published-row mean of $53,168 adjusts to about $59,401 on a national-price basis at BEA RPP 89.5. Salary vs cost of living
- Compare this metropolitan statistical area against the statewide occupation table for PA before treating one geography as the other. State wage page
BLS OEWS estimates reflect the May 2025 reference period; small occupation-area cells can be suppressed, and figures are not employer offers.
Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Occupation rows use BLS OEWS May 2025. The metro benchmark is WageDex's employment-weighted mean of published occupation means; where BEA RPP is available, the price-level figure divides that benchmark by the published area parity. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.