State salary profile · Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico Salaries

Occupation-by-occupation wages, highest- and lowest-paying roles, and metro detail for Puerto Rico, from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS survey (May 2025).

$99,380
Top 50 avg
553
Occupations
7
Metro areas
34,760
Workers (top tier)

Puerto Rico occupations report a top-tier average wage of $99,380.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS survey, the most recent release covers 553 reported occupations in Puerto Rico, each with a national percentile band and metro-level detail. The highest-paying reported occupation, Physicians, All Other, earns $172,230, versus $21,960 for Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse at the bottom of the range. Detail is available for 7 metro areas within the state.

Puerto Rico, the picture in one line

Puerto Rico ranks #54 of 54 states and territories by employment-weighted average wage, led by Physicians, All Other at $172,230.

#54
of 54 states by typical pay
$172,230
top-paying: Physicians, All Other
0th
percentile among all states

Rank reflects employment-weighted pay across the full occupation mix, not any single role; see the full breakdown below.

· Source: BLS OEWS May 2025

The Puerto Rico labor market shows up in BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics data across 553 reported occupations; the top- and bottom-paying tiers shown on this page (75 occupations) cover roughly 34,760 workers in that sample. The May 2025 OEWS release captures base pay, mean pay, and percentile bands for each SOC code that has enough state-level employment to report without confidentiality suppression. Averaging the medians of the top 50 highest-paying occupations gives $99,380 per year, the upper-tier benchmark, NOT a state-wide median (BLS does not publish that aggregate; specialty roles skew this number significantly higher than what a typical worker earns).

At the top of the ranking, Physicians, All Other pays a Puerto Rico median of $172,230, the highest-paying reported occupation in the state. The number-two spot goes to Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers at $167,050, followed by General Internal Medicine Physicians at $133,120. At the bottom of the reported range, Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse pays $21,960 - the 7.8× spread between top and bottom is characteristic of U.S. state labor markets, where specialized professional roles and entry-level service work coexist within the same regional economy. BLS reports wage data for 7 metropolitan statistical areas inside Puerto Rico, letting you drill below state averages into city-by-city variation.

State-level wages reflect three compounding forces: local industry mix (a state with heavy finance, tech, or oil-and-gas concentration shows higher medians than one dominated by retail and hospitality), cost of living (expensive states pay nominally more to attract talent), and employer competition (areas with few large employers for a given specialty pay below average regardless of state prestige). Before treating any median on this page as a personal benchmark, drill into the specific metro within Puerto Rico where you work, pair it with rent and cost-of-living indices to see real purchasing power, and remember OEWS figures exclude benefits, bonuses, and overtime. Every occupation row links to the full occupation profile so you can see the 10th-to-90th percentile spread and compare Puerto Rico to the national median for that specific role. See our methodology for exactly how these figures are sourced, computed, and verified.

Top-Tier Sample

75

occupations shown below

Avg. Median Salary

$99,380

top 50 occupations

Top Salary

$172,230

Physicians, All Other

Where Puerto Rico ranks on pay

Employment-weighted average wage vs. all 54 states & territories

$34,523 Bottom 1% higher than 0% of 54 states & territories

$0–$5,000: 0 states & territories (0%). Below this entry. $5,000–$10,000: 0 states & territories (0%). Below this entry. $10,000–$15,000: 0 states & territories (0%). Below this entry. $15,000–$20,000: 0 states & territories (0%). Below this entry. $20,000–$25,000: 0 states & territories (0%). Below this entry. $25,000–$30,000: 0 states & territories (0%). Below this entry. $30,000–$35,000: 1 states & territories (2%). This entry sits in this band. $35,000–$40,000: 0 states & territories (0%). Above this entry. $40,000–$45,000: 1 states & territories (2%). Above this entry. $45,000–$50,000: 3 states & territories (6%). Above this entry. $50,000–$55,000: 7 states & territories (13%). Above this entry. $55,000–$60,000: 13 states & territories (24%). Above this entry. $60,000–$65,000: 12 states & territories (22%). Above this entry. $65,000–$70,000: 7 states & territories (13%). Above this entry. $70,000–$75,000: 6 states & territories (11%). Above this entry. $75,000–$80,000: 3 states & territories (6%). Above this entry. $80,000–$85,000: 0 states & territories (0%). Above this entry. $85,000–$90,000: 0 states & territories (0%). Above this entry. $90,000–$95,000: 0 states & territories (0%). Above this entry. $95,000–$100,000: 0 states & territories (0%). Above this entry. $100,000–$105,000: 1 states & territories (2%). Above this entry. This state $0 $105,000 every state & territory, bucketed by value

Each bar is a $5K-wide band; taller bars hold more states & territories. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS · May 2025

Puerto Rico ranks #54 of 54 by employment-weighted average wage ($34,523), a measure of typical local pay across the whole occupation mix rather than any single role.

Highest-paying occupations in Puerto Rico

Median annual wage by occupation, top 15 reported roles

median / yr
Source U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS As of May 2025

BLS publishes wage data for 553 distinct occupations in Puerto Rico. The table below shows the top 50 by median annual wage. Drill into the full top-100 ranking or the fastest-growing list for deeper coverage.

Highest Paying Jobs in Puerto Rico

View all 100 →
# Occupation Median Salary
1 Physicians, All Other $172,230
2 Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers $167,050
3 General Internal Medicine Physicians $133,120
4 Optometrists $132,790
5 Obstetricians and Gynecologists $131,890
6 Architectural and Engineering Managers $130,560
7 Industrial Production Managers $129,740
8 Architecture Teachers, Postsecondary $126,700
9 Air Traffic Controllers $125,780
10 Natural Sciences Managers $119,430
11 Family Medicine Physicians $112,990
12 Pharmacists $111,270
13 Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Workers, All Other $108,890
14 Dentists, General $107,560
15 Education Administrators, All Other $105,580
16 Postmasters and Mail Superintendents $101,580
17 Computer and Information Systems Managers $99,780
18 Pediatricians, General $98,350
19 Chief Executives $97,510
20 Compensation and Benefits Managers $97,500
21 School Psychologists $97,210
22 Physical Scientists, All Other $97,150
23 Database Architects $95,620
24 Training and Development Managers $94,310
25 Financial Managers $90,660
26 Veterinarians $89,810
27 Purchasing Managers $89,600
28 Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers $88,530
29 Agricultural Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary $85,850
30 Computer Hardware Engineers $85,660
31 Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary $85,320
32 Biological Science Teachers, Postsecondary $84,590
33 Sociology Teachers, Postsecondary $84,090
34 Physics Teachers, Postsecondary $83,830
35 Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers $83,560
36 Healthcare Diagnosing or Treating Practitioners, All Other $83,350
37 Engineering Teachers, Postsecondary $83,150
38 Communications Teachers, Postsecondary $82,880
39 Medical and Health Services Managers $82,580
40 Managers, All Other $82,250
41 Industrial Engineers $81,820
42 Electronics Engineers, Except Computer $81,790
43 Engineers, All Other $81,370
44 Commercial Pilots $81,070
45 Foreign Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary $81,050
46 Recreation and Fitness Studies Teachers, Postsecondary $80,500
47 Education Administrators, Postsecondary $80,410
48 Data Scientists $80,350
49 Bioengineers and Biomedical Engineers $80,210
50 Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary $80,130

Lowest Paying Jobs in Puerto Rico

Occupation Median Salary
Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors $21,840
Gas Compressor and Gas Pumping Station Operators $21,840
Packers and Packagers, Hand $21,840
Parking Attendants $21,840
Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing $21,840
Sewers, Hand $21,840
Sewing Machine Operators $21,840
Metal Workers and Plastic Workers, All Other $21,840
Coil Winders, Tapers, and Finishers $21,840
Highway Maintenance Workers $21,840
Communications Equipment Operators, All Other $21,840
Personal Care and Service Workers, All Other $21,840
Baggage Porters and Bellhops $21,840
Funeral Attendants $21,840
Ushers, Lobby Attendants, and Ticket Takers $21,840
Food Servers, Nonrestaurant $21,840
Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers $21,840
Security Guards $21,840
Home Health and Personal Care Aides $21,840
Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment $21,890
Hoist and Winch Operators $21,890
Shuttle Drivers and Chauffeurs $21,890
Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners $21,890
Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers $21,910
Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse $21,960

Fastest Growing Jobs

View all 50 →

See the fastest growing occupations nationally and how many people work in each one in Puerto Rico. Based on BLS employment projections 2024–2034.

Metro Areas in Puerto Rico

Aguadilla, PR Arecibo, PR Guayama, PR Mayaguez, PR Ponce, PR Puerto Rico nonmetropolitan area San Juan-Bayamon-Caguas, PR

Salary Guides

Best States for Salaries

Which states pay the most and why

Salary vs. Cost of Living

Compare purchasing power across metros

Fastest Growing Occupations

Where the job growth is heading

Related State Pages

Drill into the highest-paying and fastest-growing jobs in Puerto Rico, or jump back to the national rankings.

Highest Paying in Puerto Rico

Top 100 by median salary

Fastest Growing in Puerto Rico

Projected 2024–2034 growth

National Highest Paying

All occupations ranked

Physicians, All Other

Top-paying role nationally

Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers

National occupation profile

All 50 States

Browse every state page
Compare Physicians, All Other side-by-side with another occupation →

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the median salary across the top 50 occupations in Puerto Rico? ▼
Averaging the median salaries of the top 50 highest-paying occupations in Puerto Rico gives $99,380/year (BLS OEWS May 2025). This is NOT the state-wide median, it's the mean of the top tier only. The full 553 occupations with reported wage data span a much wider range; see the table below for the complete picture.
What is the highest paying job in Puerto Rico? ▼
The highest paying occupation in Puerto Rico is Physicians, All Other with a median salary of $172,230/year according to BLS data. The second highest is Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers at $167,050/year.
What jobs pay the least in Puerto Rico? ▼
The lowest paying occupation in Puerto Rico is Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse with a median salary of $21,960/year. Entry-level and service occupations generally have the lowest wages in the state.
How many metro areas are in Puerto Rico? ▼
BLS reports wage data for 7 metropolitan statistical areas in Puerto Rico. Salaries can vary significantly between metro areas due to cost of living, industry concentration, and local labor demand.
How many jobs are tracked in Puerto Rico? ▼
BLS publishes wage data for 553 distinct occupations in Puerto Rico. The top-paying tier shown on this page alone (the 50 occupations in the table below) covers approximately 34,760 employed workers. Data comes from the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey of employers.

Related federal data

BLS OEWS, state wage tables → BLS QCEW state series → BLS LAUS, state unemployment → BEA, personal income by state → OSHA establishment data → DOL Wage & Hour Division →

What to do with this data

How to use Puerto Rico wage data in a real decision

  • A wage here stretches differently by local cost of living than the same number would elsewhere, so weigh pay against rent and prices before relocating, not just the raw dollar figure. Compare states
  • Open a specific occupation to see its full pay band, percentiles, and metro detail for this state, statewide figures blur real variation between roles. Browse occupations
  • Treat this as a state benchmark, not a personal prediction. Your offer depends on your exact role, employer, experience, and the metro you work in. Salary calculator

BLS OEWS estimates reflect the May 2025 reference period and exclude self-employed workers; some small occupation-area cells are suppressed.

Last updated: May 2025. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025.

State-level employment totals and metro breakouts from BLS OEWS State and Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates, May 2025. Data reflects cross-industry estimates for all ownership types.

Every figure on WageDex is rendered directly from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data, no number is typed in by an editor. State wage figures are computed directly from BLS OEWS state-level data. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

This page is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or career advice. Statewide figures are aggregates and may not reflect pay in your specific metro area or employer, consult a qualified career counselor or financial advisor before making decisions based on this data.