US salary data, metro by metro
What 2,000 job-and-city combinations actually pay, taken straight from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. No modelled estimates, no crowdsourced guesses — every figure traces back to a published OEWS survey record, with the median, the full percentile spread, and the local employment count behind it.
Start with a metro area
Each metro guide ranks every occupation with published wage data in that market, from the highest-paid specialists down to the largest job categories.
Or start with an occupation
National pages rank the same job across every metro area we cover, which is the fastest way to see how much location alone moves the number.
Popular salary lookups
| Occupation | Metro area | Median annual | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home Health and Personal Care Aides | New York, NY | $37,990 | 605,590 |
| Home Health and Personal Care Aides | Los Angeles, CA | $34,600 | 350,610 |
| Retail Salespersons | New York, NY | $37,350 | 212,470 |
| Registered Nurses | New York, NY | $113,490 | 195,470 |
| General and Operations Managers | New York, NY | $149,260 | 187,400 |
| Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners | New York, NY | $40,350 | 177,960 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | New York, NY | $35,420 | 175,790 |
| Cashiers | New York, NY | $35,440 | 163,130 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | Los Angeles, CA | $36,480 | 153,840 |
| Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand | Chicago, IL | $40,030 | 146,710 |
| Home Health and Personal Care Aides | Philadelphia, PA | $29,530 | 142,460 |
| Security Guards | New York, NY | $42,030 | 138,940 |
Frequently asked questions
What is the median salary in the United States?
Across the 25 largest metro areas covered here, the typical all-occupation median wage is $51,760 per year. The range runs from $45,410 to $73,960, which is why a single national number is a poor guide to what you will actually be paid.
Which metro area has the highest salaries?
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA shows the highest all-occupation median at $73,960. High medians usually reflect both a concentration of high-wage industries and a higher local cost of living — the figure is not adjusted for prices.
How many salary pages does this site cover?
There are 2,000 occupation-by-metro salary pages, 25 metro guides, and 145 national occupation pages, all built from the BLS OEWS 2024 survey.
Where does the data come from?
Every number comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey for 2024. We do not estimate or model wages — if BLS suppressed an estimate because too few workers were surveyed, the page does not exist.
How this site is built
The pipeline downloads the raw OEWS metro workbook, filters to cross-industry, all-ownership estimates, drops every record BLS suppressed, and generates one page per surviving occupation-and-metro pair. No language model writes the numbers, and no two pages carry the same figures. Read the methodology for the full detail.
Occupations where BLS suppressed the estimate, metros outside the 25 largest, and any adjustment for cost of living. Nominal wages only. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2024.