Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA Salaries
Local wages against a high BEA price level (RPP 111.1) - BLS OEWS May 2025
Observed metro pay change
What changed, BLS OEWS 2024–2025
- BLS's published All Occupations median in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA moved from $67,510 in May 2024 to $72,610 in May 2025 (+7.6%).
- Across the 393 metros priced in both releases, the median place changed +3.1%.
- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA sits +4.5 pp ahead of that median, nominal dollars, no price deflator applied.
Sheet Metal Workers shows the widest metro-area vs national median gap in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
Sheet Metal Workers publishes $109,830 here versus $61,800 nationally (+77.7%; 2,190metro-area jobs). Next is Gambling Dealers at $60,490 locally versus $34,320 nationally (+76.3%).
- Sheet Metal Workers$109,830 in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA sits 77.7% above the national Sheet Metal Workers median of $61,800 (2,190 published local jobs).
- Gambling Dealers$60,490 in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA sits 76.3% above the national Gambling Dealers median of $34,320 (2,410 published local jobs).
- Chief Executives$370,000 in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA sits 72.9% above the national Chief Executives median of $213,990 (2,060 published local jobs).
- Firefighters$101,090 in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA sits 70.5% above the national Firefighters median of $59,280 (3,760 published local jobs).
Sheet Metal Workers and the other occupations above are descriptive OEWS endpoints for Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA; they are not findings about taxes, employers, or worker experience.
BLS OEWS metro wage desk
MSA 42660 · Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA $91K mean
MEAN-MEGA · RPP-ELEV · OCC-MOST · TOP-LEAD · EMP-MIX · TREND-AHEAD · PHOTO-FINISH · BOOK-FULL
- MEAN-MEGA #3/528
- RPP-ELEV 111.1
- OCC-MOST 691 occs
- TOP-LEAD Cardiologists · $663K
- EMP-MIX Computer and…
- TREND-AHEAD +4.5 pp
- PHOTO-FINISH Washington-Arlin…
- BOOK-FULL 668 rows · May 2025
Read with Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV ($590 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 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
Largest Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA payrolls before the high-cost adjustment
Computer and Information Systems Managers and Financial Managers lead published employment inside Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA's top-pay sample — order follows OEWS job counts, not median wage.
- 1. Computer and Information Systems Managers 13,170 jobs · $214,680
- 2. Financial Managers 8,500 jobs · $185,550
- 3. Architectural and Engineering Managers 4,390 jobs · $204,340
- 4. Physicians, All Other 3,590 jobs · $330,560
- 5. Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers 3,340 jobs · $229,900
- 6. Chief Executives 2,060 jobs · $370,000
- 7. Natural Sciences Managers 1,730 jobs · $203,150
- 8. Computer and Information Research Scientists 1,620 jobs · $211,270
- 9. Anesthesiologists 990 jobs · $646,930
- 10. General Internal Medicine Physicians 850 jobs · $340,010
- 11. Family Medicine Physicians 840 jobs · $306,190
- 12. Nurse Anesthetists 420 jobs · $274,390
- 13. Compensation and Benefits Managers 340 jobs · $216,580
- 14. Surgeons, All Other 250 jobs · $504,360
- 15. Psychiatrists 230 jobs · $307,710
- 16. Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric 180 jobs · $576,130
- 17. Obstetricians and Gynecologists 150 jobs · $343,140
- 18. Physicians, Pathologists 140 jobs · $300,580
Occupations Tracked
691
with wage data
Published-Row Mean
$91,333
employment-weighted, 668 complete rows
Top Salary
$662,760
Cardiologists
Cost of Living
111.1
11% above US avg
Highest Paying Jobs in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
| # | Occupation | Median Salary |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cardiologists | $662,760 |
| 2 | Anesthesiologists | $646,930 |
| 3 | Dermatologists | $641,210 |
| 4 | Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric | $576,130 |
| 5 | Surgeons, All Other | $504,360 |
| 6 | Emergency Medicine Physicians | $380,870 |
| 7 | Chief Executives | $370,000 |
| 8 | Obstetricians and Gynecologists | $343,140 |
| 9 | General Internal Medicine Physicians | $340,010 |
| 10 | Neurologists | $331,080 |
| 11 | Physicians, All Other | $330,560 |
| 12 | Psychiatrists | $307,710 |
| 13 | Family Medicine Physicians | $306,190 |
| 14 | Physicians, Pathologists | $300,580 |
| 15 | Nurse Anesthetists | $274,390 |
| 16 | Podiatrists | $232,970 |
| 17 | Dentists, All Other Specialists | $232,090 |
| 18 | Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers | $229,900 |
| 19 | Compensation and Benefits Managers | $216,580 |
| 20 | Computer and Information Systems Managers | $214,680 |
| 21 | Computer and Information Research Scientists | $211,270 |
| 22 | Medical Dosimetrists | $204,840 |
| 23 | Architectural and Engineering Managers | $204,340 |
| 24 | Natural Sciences Managers | $203,150 |
| 25 | Financial Managers | $185,550 |
Lowest Paying Jobs in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
| Occupation | Median Salary |
|---|---|
| Food Preparation and Serving Related Workers, All Other | $34,650 |
| Medical Transcriptionists | $36,270 |
| Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials | $37,620 |
| Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop | $38,430 |
| Occupational Therapy Aides | $38,550 |
| Gambling Change Persons and Booth Cashiers | $38,610 |
| Demonstrators and Product Promoters | $39,110 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | $39,150 |
| Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers | $39,240 |
| Amusement and Recreation Attendants | $39,330 |
Other BLS Wage Areas in WA
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 WA. Same-state wage areas above stay geographic; these neighborhoods are cross-state nearest neighbors on employment-weighted published-row mean wage ($91,333 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
How do published wages sit against Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA's high price level? ▼
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Related federal data
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.