St. Louis, MO-IL Salaries
Highest published occupation medians in St. Louis, MO-IL - BLS OEWS May 2025
Observed metro pay change
What changed, BLS OEWS 2024–2025
- BLS's published All Occupations median in St. Louis, MO-IL moved from $48,290 in May 2024 to $49,990 in May 2025 (+3.5%).
- Across the 393 metros priced in both releases, the median place changed +3.1%.
- St. Louis, MO-IL 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.
Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators shows the widest metro-area vs national median gap in St. Louis, MO-IL
Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators publishes $82,270 here versus $59,850 nationally (+37.5%; 4,190metro-area jobs). Next is Construction Laborers at $64,500 locally versus $47,120 nationally (+36.9%).
- Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators$82,270 in St. Louis, MO-IL sits 37.5% above the national Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators median of $59,850 (4,190 published local jobs).
- Construction Laborers$64,500 in St. Louis, MO-IL sits 36.9% above the national Construction Laborers median of $47,120 (8,670 published local jobs).
- Multiple Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic$62,090 in St. Louis, MO-IL sits 31.6% above the national Multiple Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic median of $47,180 (4,480 published local jobs).
- Computer Network Architects$103,370 in St. Louis, MO-IL sits 22.9% below the national Computer Network Architects median of $134,050 (2,010 published local jobs).
Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators and the other occupations above are descriptive OEWS endpoints for St. Louis, MO-IL; they are not findings about taxes, employers, or worker experience.
BLS OEWS metro wage desk
MSA 41180 · St. Louis, MO-IL $66K mean
MEAN-HIGH · RPP-MID · OCC-MOST · TOP-LEAD · EMP-MIX · TREND-INLINE · PHOTO-FINISH · BOOK-FULL
- MEAN-HIGH #89/528
- RPP-MID 95.1
- OCC-MOST 652 occs
- TOP-LEAD Radiologists · $469K
- EMP-MIX Financial Ma…
- TREND-INLINE +0.4 pp
- PHOTO-FINISH Kansas City, MO-KS
- BOOK-FULL 629 rows · May 2025
Read with Kansas City, MO-KS ($29 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 St. Louis, MO-IL
Employment scale inside St. Louis, MO-IL's top-pay list
Financial Managers and Computer and Information Systems Managers lead published employment inside St. Louis, MO-IL's top-pay sample, order follows OEWS job counts, not median wage.
- 1. Financial Managers 7,190 jobs · $158,780
- 2. Computer and Information Systems Managers 6,160 jobs · $167,130
- 3. Lawyers 6,100 jobs · $142,690
- 4. Marketing Managers 3,540 jobs · $137,900
- 5. Pharmacists 2,910 jobs · $138,530
- 6. Physicians, All Other 2,470 jobs · $246,440
- 7. Human Resources Managers 1,940 jobs · $133,880
- 8. Architectural and Engineering Managers 1,280 jobs · $162,660
- 9. Physician Assistants 1,260 jobs · $136,120
- 10. Dentists, General 1,250 jobs · $210,430
- 11. Chief Executives 1,120 jobs · $202,840
- 12. Purchasing Managers 700 jobs · $135,400
- 13. Nurse Anesthetists 650 jobs · $232,300
- 14. Natural Sciences Managers 650 jobs · $158,820
- 15. Optometrists 340 jobs · $135,090
- 16. Pediatricians, General 320 jobs · $223,910
- 17. Athletes and Sports Competitors 320 jobs · $203,390
- 18. Radiologists 170 jobs · $468,860
Occupations Tracked
652
with wage data
Published-Row Mean
$65,961
employment-weighted, 629 complete rows
Top Salary
$468,860
Radiologists
Cost of Living
95.1
5% below US avg
Highest Paying Jobs in St. Louis, MO-IL
| # | Occupation | Median Salary |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Radiologists | $468,860 |
| 2 | Psychiatrists | $298,160 |
| 3 | Emergency Medicine Physicians | $276,550 |
| 4 | Physicians, All Other | $246,440 |
| 5 | Nurse Anesthetists | $232,300 |
| 6 | Pediatricians, General | $223,910 |
| 7 | Dentists, General | $210,430 |
| 8 | Physicians, Pathologists | $207,450 |
| 9 | Athletes and Sports Competitors | $203,390 |
| 10 | Chief Executives | $202,840 |
| 11 | General Internal Medicine Physicians | $199,310 |
| 12 | Computer and Information Systems Managers | $167,130 |
| 13 | Architectural and Engineering Managers | $162,660 |
| 14 | Natural Sciences Managers | $158,820 |
| 15 | Financial Managers | $158,780 |
| 16 | Lawyers | $142,690 |
| 17 | Computer and Information Research Scientists | $142,660 |
| 18 | Pharmacists | $138,530 |
| 19 | Marketing Managers | $137,900 |
| 20 | Physician Assistants | $136,120 |
| 21 | Purchasing Managers | $135,400 |
| 22 | Optometrists | $135,090 |
| 23 | Human Resources Managers | $133,880 |
| 24 | Chemical Engineers | $133,450 |
| 25 | Nurse Midwives | $133,330 |
Lowest Paying Jobs in St. Louis, MO-IL
| Occupation | Median Salary |
|---|---|
| Gambling Dealers | $28,600 |
| Food Preparation and Serving Related Workers, All Other | $28,600 |
| Locker Room, Coatroom, and Dressing Room Attendants | $28,930 |
| Physical Therapist Aides | $29,250 |
| Personal Care and Service Workers, All Other | $30,010 |
| Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers | $30,730 |
| Cooks, Fast Food | $30,860 |
| Amusement and Recreation Attendants | $31,200 |
| Ushers, Lobby Attendants, and Ticket Takers | $31,200 |
| Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop | $31,200 |
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 ($65,961 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 St. Louis, MO-IL? ▼
Which published medians lead St. Louis, MO-IL? ▼
What is the cost of living in St. Louis, MO-IL? ▼
Where does BLS salary data for St. Louis, MO-IL come from? ▼
Related federal data
What to do with this data
How to use St. Louis, MO-IL wage figures in a real decision
- Radiologists leads published medians in St. Louis, MO-IL at $468,860/year; open the occupation for percentile bands and state rows. Radiologists
- The employment-weighted published-row mean of $65,961 adjusts to about $69,368 on a national-price basis at BEA RPP 95.1. 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.