Columbia, MO Salaries
Local wages where BEA prices sit below the US average (RPP 89.4) - BLS OEWS May 2025
Observed metro pay change
What changed, BLS OEWS 2024–2025
- BLS's published All Occupations median in Columbia, MO moved from $45,670 in May 2024 to $47,260 in May 2025 (+3.5%).
- Across the 393 metros priced in both releases, the median place changed +3.1%.
- Columbia, MO sits +0.4 pp near that median, nominal dollars, no price deflator applied.
Based on wage level, year-over-year wage growth, and regional-price-parity-adjusted purchasing power from BLS and BEA sources, not job availability, industry mix, or day-to-day livability.
General and Operations Managers shows the widest metro-area vs national median gap in Columbia, MO
General and Operations Managers publishes $75,410 here versus $105,770 nationally (-28.7%; 3,440metro-area jobs). Next is Waiters and Waitresses at $29,250 locally versus $35,230 nationally (-17.0%).
- General and Operations Managers$75,410 in Columbia, MO sits 28.7% below the national General and Operations Managers median of $105,770 (3,440 published local jobs).
- Waiters and Waitresses$29,250 in Columbia, MO sits 17.0% below the national Waiters and Waitresses median of $35,230 (2,120 published local jobs).
- Registered Nurses$84,330 in Columbia, MO sits 13.6% below the national Registered Nurses median of $97,550 (3,680 published local jobs).
- Retail Salespersons$31,390 in Columbia, MO sits 11.4% below the national Retail Salespersons median of $35,410 (2,610 published local jobs).
General and Operations Managers and the other occupations above are descriptive OEWS endpoints for Columbia, MO; they are not findings about taxes, employers, or worker experience.
BLS OEWS metro wage desk
MSA 17860 · Columbia, MO $59K mean
MEAN-MID · RPP-LOW · OCC-MID · TOP-LEAD · EMP-MIX · TREND-INLINE · PHOTO-FINISH · BOOK-FULL
- MEAN-MID #218/528
- RPP-LOW 89.4
- OCC-MID 336 occs
- TOP-LEAD Physicians, Al… · $312K
- EMP-MIX Financial Ma…
- TREND-INLINE +0.4 pp
- PHOTO-FINISH Hagerstown-Marti…
- BOOK-FULL 332 rows · May 2025
Read with Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV ($2 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 Columbia, MO
Where Columbia, MO already employs the upper wage tier
Financial Managers and Medical and Health Services Managers lead published employment inside Columbia, MO's top-pay sample, order follows OEWS job counts, not median wage.
- 1. Financial Managers 660 jobs · $124,120
- 2. Medical and Health Services Managers 530 jobs · $111,760
- 3. Lawyers 400 jobs · $107,890
- 4. Education Administrators, Postsecondary 390 jobs · $117,570
- 5. Computer and Information Systems Managers 340 jobs · $129,700
- 6. Nurse Practitioners 330 jobs · $128,930
- 7. Managers, All Other 330 jobs · $123,150
- 8. Pharmacists 280 jobs · $139,430
- 9. Marketing Managers 210 jobs · $119,520
- 10. Physicians, All Other 190 jobs · $312,080
- 11. Administrative Services Managers 190 jobs · $105,640
- 12. Human Resources Managers 150 jobs · $130,190
- 13. Construction Managers 150 jobs · $106,210
- 14. Physician Assistants 140 jobs · $132,220
- 15. Business Teachers, Postsecondary 130 jobs · $120,590
- 16. Nurse Anesthetists 90 jobs · $310,170
- 17. Chief Executives 90 jobs · $159,890
- 18. Computer Network Architects 80 jobs · $111,310
Occupations Tracked
336
with wage data
Published-Row Mean
$59,203
employment-weighted, 332 complete rows
Top Salary
$312,080
Physicians, All Other
Cost of Living
89.4
11% below US avg
Top-pay occupations in Columbia, MO, 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 | Financial Managers | $124,120 |
| 2 | Medical and Health Services Managers | $111,760 |
| 3 | Lawyers | $107,890 |
| 4 | Education Administrators, Postsecondary | $117,570 |
| 5 | Computer and Information Systems Managers | $129,700 |
| 6 | Nurse Practitioners | $128,930 |
| 7 | Managers, All Other | $123,150 |
| 8 | Pharmacists | $139,430 |
| 9 | Marketing Managers | $119,520 |
| 10 | Physicians, All Other | $312,080 |
| 11 | Administrative Services Managers | $105,640 |
| 12 | Human Resources Managers | $130,190 |
| 13 | Construction Managers | $106,210 |
| 14 | Physician Assistants | $132,220 |
| 15 | Business Teachers, Postsecondary | $120,590 |
| 16 | Nurse Anesthetists | $310,170 |
| 17 | Chief Executives | $159,890 |
| 18 | Computer Network Architects | $111,310 |
| 19 | Industrial Production Managers | $107,880 |
| 20 | Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers | $105,640 |
| 21 | Dentists, General | $207,450 |
| 22 | Engineers, All Other | $104,760 |
| 23 | Architectural and Engineering Managers | $140,040 |
| 24 | Natural Sciences Managers | $126,440 |
| 25 | Physics Teachers, Postsecondary | $106,680 |
Lowest Paying Jobs in Columbia, MO
| Occupation | Median Salary |
|---|---|
| Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop | $28,600 |
| Bartenders | $28,600 |
| Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers | $28,600 |
| Childcare Workers | $29,070 |
| Cooks, Fast Food | $29,110 |
| Physical Therapist Aides | $29,130 |
| Waiters and Waitresses | $29,250 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | $29,390 |
| Food Preparation Workers | $29,710 |
| Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers | $29,860 |
Other BLS Wage Areas in MO
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 MO. Same-state wage areas above stay geographic; these neighborhoods are cross-state nearest neighbors on employment-weighted published-row mean wage ($59,203 here) and summed published employment.
Similar mean wage
Nearest other metros by employment-weighted published-row annual mean wage.
Similar employment scale
Nearest headcount peers (floor 100,000 summed published jobs), distinct from the mean-wage column.
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 Columbia, MO wage reading? ▼
What is the highest paying job in Columbia, MO? ▼
What jobs pay the least in Columbia, MO? ▼
Which federal tables feed Columbia, MO's wage and price figures? ▼
Related federal data
What to do with this data
How to use Columbia, MO wage figures in a real decision
- Physicians, All Other leads published medians in Columbia, MO at $312,080/year; open the occupation for percentile bands and state rows. Physicians, All Other
- The employment-weighted published-row mean of $59,203 adjusts to about $66,194 on a national-price basis at BEA RPP 89.4. Salary vs cost of living
- Compare this metropolitan statistical area against the statewide occupation table for MO 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.