Salem, OR Salaries
Highest published occupation medians in Salem, OR - BLS OEWS May 2025
Observed metro pay change
What changed, BLS OEWS 2024–2025
- BLS's published All Occupations median in Salem, OR moved from $50,810 in May 2024 to $55,310 in May 2025 (+8.9%).
- Across the 393 metros priced in both releases, the median place changed +3.1%.
- Salem, OR sits +5.8 pp ahead of 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.
Registered Nurses shows the widest metro-area vs national median gap in Salem, OR
Registered Nurses publishes $131,750 here versus $97,550 nationally (+35.1%; 4,010metro-area jobs). Next is Home Health and Personal Care Aides at $45,200 locally versus $35,800 nationally (+26.3%).
- Registered Nurses$131,750 in Salem, OR sits 35.1% above the national Registered Nurses median of $97,550 (4,010 published local jobs).
- Home Health and Personal Care Aides$45,200 in Salem, OR sits 26.3% above the national Home Health and Personal Care Aides median of $35,800 (7,040 published local jobs).
- Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive$55,660 in Salem, OR sits 17.1% above the national Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive median of $47,540 (3,220 published local jobs).
- Office Clerks, General$50,650 in Salem, OR sits 12.5% above the national Office Clerks, General median of $45,010 (3,160 published local jobs).
Registered Nurses and the other occupations above are descriptive OEWS endpoints for Salem, OR; they are not findings about taxes, employers, or worker experience.
BLS OEWS metro wage desk
MSA 41420 · Salem, OR $67K mean
MEAN-HIGH · RPP-MID · OCC-MOST · TOP-LEAD · EMP-MIX · TREND-AHEAD · PHOTO-FINISH · BOOK-FULL
- MEAN-HIGH #69/528
- RPP-MID 103.6
- OCC-MOST 433 occs
- TOP-LEAD Physicians, Al… · $374K
- EMP-MIX Lawyers
- TREND-AHEAD +5.8 pp
- PHOTO-FINISH Cincinnati, OH-K…
- BOOK-FULL 427 rows · May 2025
Read with Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN ($44 on published-row mean) · Highest-paying careers
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 Salem, OR
Employment scale inside Salem, OR's top-pay list
Lawyers and Medical and Health Services Managers lead published employment inside Salem, OR's top-pay sample, order follows OEWS job counts, not median wage.
- 1. Lawyers 780 jobs · $156,070
- 2. Medical and Health Services Managers 660 jobs · $137,400
- 3. Financial Managers 620 jobs · $141,400
- 4. Computer and Information Systems Managers 490 jobs · $158,390
- 5. Physicians, All Other 330 jobs · $373,970
- 6. Nurse Practitioners 320 jobs · $162,600
- 7. Pharmacists 300 jobs · $169,210
- 8. Sales Managers 270 jobs · $152,090
- 9. Human Resources Managers 200 jobs · $136,990
- 10. Physician Assistants 190 jobs · $144,190
- 11. Family Medicine Physicians 180 jobs · $295,170
- 12. Computer Network Architects 180 jobs · $138,930
- 13. Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers 180 jobs · $134,500
- 14. Marketing Managers 170 jobs · $132,770
- 15. Dentists, General 140 jobs · $212,310
- 16. Architectural and Engineering Managers 140 jobs · $162,640
- 17. Clinical and Counseling Psychologists 130 jobs · $143,980
- 18. Natural Sciences Managers 130 jobs · $136,150
Occupations Tracked
433
with wage data
Published-Row Mean
$67,285
employment-weighted, 427 complete rows
Top Salary
$373,970
Physicians, All Other
Cost of Living
103.6
4% above US avg
Highest Paying Jobs in Salem, OR
| # | Occupation | Median Salary |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Physicians, All Other | $373,970 |
| 2 | Family Medicine Physicians | $295,170 |
| 3 | Chief Executives | $261,650 |
| 4 | Pediatricians, General | $256,710 |
| 5 | Dentists, General | $212,310 |
| 6 | Nurse Anesthetists | $174,260 |
| 7 | Pharmacists | $169,210 |
| 8 | Compensation and Benefits Managers | $163,270 |
| 9 | Architectural and Engineering Managers | $162,640 |
| 10 | Nurse Practitioners | $162,600 |
| 11 | Computer and Information Systems Managers | $158,390 |
| 12 | Lawyers | $156,070 |
| 13 | Sales Managers | $152,090 |
| 14 | Physician Assistants | $144,190 |
| 15 | Clinical and Counseling Psychologists | $143,980 |
| 16 | Financial Managers | $141,400 |
| 17 | Healthcare Diagnosing or Treating Practitioners, All Other | $140,670 |
| 18 | Computer Network Architects | $138,930 |
| 19 | Medical and Health Services Managers | $137,400 |
| 20 | Human Resources Managers | $136,990 |
| 21 | Natural Sciences Managers | $136,150 |
| 22 | Purchasing Managers | $136,050 |
| 23 | Optometrists | $134,590 |
| 24 | Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers | $134,500 |
| 25 | Marketing Managers | $132,770 |
Lowest Paying Jobs in Salem, OR
| Occupation | Median Salary |
|---|---|
| Ushers, Lobby Attendants, and Ticket Takers | $31,760 |
| Driver/Sales Workers | $32,850 |
| Cooling and Freezing Equipment Operators and Tenders | $33,180 |
| Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse | $33,450 |
| Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers | $33,570 |
| Amusement and Recreation Attendants | $33,760 |
| Cooks, Fast Food | $33,870 |
| Automotive and Watercraft Service Attendants | $34,100 |
| Cashiers | $34,340 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | $34,520 |
Other BLS Wage Areas in OR
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 OR. Same-state wage areas above stay geographic; these neighborhoods are cross-state nearest neighbors on employment-weighted published-row mean wage ($67,285 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 is the average salary in Salem, OR? ▼
Which published medians lead Salem, OR? ▼
What is the cost of living in Salem, OR? ▼
Where does BLS salary data for Salem, OR come from? ▼
Related federal data
What to do with this data
How to use Salem, OR wage figures in a real decision
- Physicians, All Other leads published medians in Salem, OR at $373,970/year; open the occupation for percentile bands and state rows. Physicians, All Other
- The employment-weighted published-row mean of $67,285 adjusts to about $64,916 on a national-price basis at BEA RPP 103.6. Salary vs cost of living
- Compare this metropolitan statistical area against the statewide occupation table for OR 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.