State College, PA Salaries
Highest published occupation medians in State College, PA - BLS OEWS May 2025
Observed metro pay change
What changed, BLS OEWS 2024–2025
- BLS's published All Occupations median in State College, PA moved from $50,250 in May 2024 to $49,220 in May 2025 (-2.0%).
- Across the 393 metros priced in both releases, the median place changed +3.1%.
- State College, PA sits -5.2 pp behind 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.
Fast Food and Counter Workers shows the widest metro-area vs national median gap in State College, PA
Fast Food and Counter Workers publishes $27,790 here versus $31,200 nationally (-10.9%; 2,320metro-area jobs).
- Fast Food and Counter Workers$27,790 in State College, PA sits 10.9% below the national Fast Food and Counter Workers median of $31,200 (2,320 published local jobs).
Fast Food and Counter Workers and the other occupations above are descriptive OEWS endpoints for State College, PA; they are not findings about taxes, employers, or worker experience.
BLS OEWS metro wage desk
MSA 44300 · State College, PA $57K mean
MEAN-LOW · RPP-MID · OCC-MID · TOP-LEAD · EMP-MIX · TREND-BEHIND · PHOTO-FINISH · BOOK-MOST
- MEAN-LOW #304/528
- RPP-MID 96.8
- OCC-MID 237 occs
- TOP-LEAD Chief Executives · $204K
- EMP-MIX Software Dev…
- TREND-BEHIND -5.2 pp
- PHOTO-FINISH Charleston, WV
- BOOK-MOST 235 rows · May 2025
Read with Charleston, WV ($1 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 State College, PA
Employment scale inside State College, PA's top-pay list
Software Developers and Medical and Health Services Managers lead published employment inside State College, PA's top-pay sample, order follows OEWS job counts, not median wage.
- 1. Software Developers 450 jobs · $103,620
- 2. Medical and Health Services Managers 320 jobs · $102,590
- 3. Computer and Information Systems Managers 260 jobs · $128,410
- 4. Financial Managers 260 jobs · $125,550
- 5. Managers, All Other 180 jobs · $105,580
- 6. Sales Managers 140 jobs · $109,200
- 7. Lawyers 140 jobs · $107,850
- 8. Facilities Managers 140 jobs · $104,440
- 9. Pharmacists 110 jobs · $135,010
- 10. Nurse Practitioners 110 jobs · $124,470
- 11. Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary 110 jobs · $123,640
- 12. Marketing Managers 90 jobs · $122,660
- 13. Construction Managers 90 jobs · $101,970
- 14. Physician Assistants 80 jobs · $128,480
- 15. Industrial Production Managers 80 jobs · $103,700
- 16. Chief Executives 70 jobs · $203,960
- 17. Architectural and Engineering Managers 70 jobs · $150,520
- 18. Dentists, General 60 jobs · $168,340
Occupations Tracked
237
with wage data
Published-Row Mean
$56,666
employment-weighted, 235 complete rows
Top Salary
$203,960
Chief Executives
Cost of Living
96.8
3% below US avg
Highest Paying Jobs in State College, PA
| # | Occupation | Median Salary |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chief Executives | $203,960 |
| 2 | Dentists, General | $168,340 |
| 3 | Architectural and Engineering Managers | $150,520 |
| 4 | Pharmacists | $135,010 |
| 5 | Veterinarians | $131,500 |
| 6 | Physician Assistants | $128,480 |
| 7 | Computer and Information Systems Managers | $128,410 |
| 8 | Human Resources Managers | $127,570 |
| 9 | Financial Managers | $125,550 |
| 10 | Nurse Practitioners | $124,470 |
| 11 | Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary | $123,640 |
| 12 | Natural Sciences Managers | $122,930 |
| 13 | Marketing Managers | $122,660 |
| 14 | Computer Network Architects | $112,410 |
| 15 | Sales Managers | $109,200 |
| 16 | Chemists | $107,890 |
| 17 | Lawyers | $107,850 |
| 18 | Managers, All Other | $105,580 |
| 19 | Facilities Managers | $104,440 |
| 20 | Industrial Production Managers | $103,700 |
| 21 | Software Developers | $103,620 |
| 22 | Labor Relations Specialists | $103,460 |
| 23 | Medical and Health Services Managers | $102,590 |
| 24 | Construction Managers | $101,970 |
| 25 | Administrative Services Managers | $99,590 |
Lowest Paying Jobs in State College, PA
| Occupation | Median Salary |
|---|---|
| Amusement and Recreation Attendants | $22,130 |
| Shuttle Drivers and Chauffeurs | $27,490 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | $27,790 |
| Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop | $27,920 |
| Cashiers | $28,090 |
| Manicurists and Pedicurists | $28,100 |
| Bartenders | $28,100 |
| Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers | $28,720 |
| Dishwashers | $28,950 |
| Cooks, Fast Food | $29,020 |
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 ($56,666 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 is the average salary in State College, PA? ▼
Which published medians lead State College, PA? ▼
What is the cost of living in State College, PA? ▼
Where does BLS salary data for State College, PA come from? ▼
Related federal data
What to do with this data
How to use State College, PA wage figures in a real decision
- Chief Executives leads published medians in State College, PA at $203,960/year; open the occupation for percentile bands and state rows. Chief Executives
- The employment-weighted published-row mean of $56,666 adjusts to about $58,562 on a national-price basis at BEA RPP 96.8. 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.