Wealthy PotAverage Salary in the US (2026): Mean, Median, by State and Job
What is the average salary in the US? The Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the average (mean) wage at $69,770 a year across all U.S. jobs in May 2025. The median is $50,980: half of workers earn more, half earn less. For full-time workers only, the median was $1,251 a week in the second quarter of 2026. This page breaks those numbers down by state, job group, sex and education, all from BLS and Social Security Administration data.
The Short Answer
There is no single "average salary." Three official numbers answer the question in different ways:
| Measure | Figure | Who it covers |
|---|---|---|
| BLS OEWS mean annual wage, May 2025 | $69,770 | All wage and salary jobs, full-time and part-time (155.5 million jobs) |
| BLS OEWS median annual wage, May 2025 | $50,980 | Same jobs; the middle wage |
| BLS CPS median weekly earnings, Q2 2026 | $1,251 a week ($65,052 if paid 52 weeks) | 120.9 million full-time wage and salary workers |
| SSA national average wage index, 2025 | $72,800.33 | Average wages reported for Social Security purposes |
The OEWS figures come from a large survey of employers and count every job, including part-time ones. The CPS figure comes from a household survey and counts only people who usually work full time. The SSA index is used to adjust Social Security benefit formulas each year. It was 4.2% higher than the 2024 index of $69,846.57.
Full-time median pay of $1,251 a week was 4.6% higher than a year earlier, BLS said, while consumer prices (CPI-U) rose 3.9% over the same period.
Why the Mean and Median Differ
The mean adds up every wage and divides by the number of jobs. The median is the wage in the middle. In May 2025 the mean was $18,790 higher than the median, or about 37% higher.
The gap comes from the top of the pay scale. A relatively small number of very high wages pull the mean up. BLS reports that pediatric surgeons earned an average of $502,050, and general and operations managers $134,940. At the other end, eight of the ten largest occupations paid below the national average, from $32,150 for fast food and counter workers to $46,590 for customer service representatives. The largest occupation of all, home health and personal care aides, employed 4.3 million people.
If you want to know what a typical worker earns, use the median. If you want to know total pay divided by total jobs, use the mean. Many sites quote the mean as "the average salary" without saying so.
Average Salary by State
BLS publishes the mean and median wage for every state from the same May 2025 survey. By our count, 17 states plus DC have a mean above the national $69,770, and 20 states plus DC have a median above the national $50,980.
- Highest mean: District of Columbia $111,010, Massachusetts $85,610, Washington $83,330, New York $82,460, California $80,690.
- Lowest mean: Mississippi $50,810, Arkansas $54,890, West Virginia $56,470, Louisiana $56,600, Oklahoma $56,950.
- Highest median: District of Columbia $91,540, Massachusetts $63,590, Washington $62,990, Alaska $61,000.
- Lowest median: Mississippi $40,120, Arkansas $43,630, West Virginia $45,300.
| State | Mean annual wage | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $57,500 | $45,670 |
| Alaska | $74,720 | $61,000 |
| Arizona | $67,620 | $50,060 |
| Arkansas | $54,890 | $43,630 |
| California | $80,690 | $58,240 |
| Colorado | $77,190 | $59,800 |
| Connecticut | $77,420 | $59,690 |
| Delaware | $69,880 | $52,190 |
| District of Columbia | $111,010 | $91,540 |
| Florida | $64,670 | $47,880 |
| Georgia | $65,920 | $48,170 |
| Hawaii | $70,270 | $56,320 |
| Idaho | $61,170 | $47,970 |
| Illinois | $71,130 | $51,960 |
| Indiana | $60,840 | $47,860 |
| Iowa | $59,830 | $48,540 |
| Kansas | $60,640 | $48,010 |
| Kentucky | $58,990 | $46,920 |
| Louisiana | $56,600 | $45,520 |
| Maine | $65,780 | $51,430 |
| Maryland | $77,580 | $59,510 |
| Massachusetts | $85,610 | $63,590 |
| Michigan | $64,920 | $49,270 |
| Minnesota | $71,160 | $56,920 |
| Mississippi | $50,810 | $40,120 |
| Missouri | $62,160 | $47,800 |
| Montana | $60,880 | $48,740 |
| Nebraska | $62,400 | $48,980 |
| Nevada | $62,050 | $47,660 |
| New Hampshire | $71,360 | $55,880 |
| New Jersey | $78,040 | $58,570 |
| New Mexico | $62,330 | $47,210 |
| New York | $82,460 | $59,670 |
| North Carolina | $64,290 | $47,970 |
| North Dakota | $64,050 | $52,480 |
| Ohio | $64,390 | $49,380 |
| Oklahoma | $56,950 | $45,600 |
| Oregon | $72,460 | $57,000 |
| Pennsylvania | $65,730 | $49,690 |
| Rhode Island | $71,900 | $56,780 |
| South Carolina | $59,280 | $46,490 |
| South Dakota | $57,610 | $47,080 |
| Tennessee | $60,800 | $47,380 |
| Texas | $65,750 | $48,620 |
| Utah | $66,290 | $50,110 |
| Vermont | $69,050 | $56,390 |
| Virginia | $74,040 | $55,690 |
| Washington | $83,330 | $62,990 |
| West Virginia | $56,470 | $45,300 |
| Wisconsin | $64,270 | $50,270 |
| Wyoming | $61,560 | $50,270 |
| United States | $69,770 | $50,980 |
Higher pay does not always mean more money left over. Prices in DC, Massachusetts or California are also well above average. The cost of living calculator shows what a salary in one state is worth in another, and our guide to the cheapest states to live in compares costs directly.
Average Salary by Job Group
BLS sorts jobs into 22 major groups. Management jobs pay the most on average and food preparation and serving jobs the least. The gap between the top and bottom group means is almost four to one.
| Occupation group | Mean annual wage | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Management | $145,260 | $126,520 |
| Legal | $139,510 | $102,500 |
| Computer and mathematical | $120,080 | $109,280 |
| Healthcare practitioners and technical | $108,700 | $86,530 |
| Architecture and engineering | $106,830 | $99,520 |
| Business and financial operations | $95,230 | $82,660 |
| Life, physical, and social science | $94,600 | $82,530 |
| Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media | $79,790 | $62,750 |
| Educational instruction and library | $67,540 | $60,570 |
| Construction and extraction | $65,360 | $59,540 |
| Community and social service | $63,410 | $58,300 |
| Installation, maintenance, and repair | $63,320 | $59,620 |
| Protective service | $60,720 | $50,080 |
| Sales and related | $54,960 | $38,530 |
| Production | $51,600 | $46,990 |
| Office and administrative support | $51,560 | $47,450 |
| Transportation and material moving | $49,850 | $44,350 |
| Farming, fishing, and forestry | $41,510 | $36,630 |
| Personal care and service | $41,070 | $36,410 |
| Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance | $40,880 | $37,680 |
| Healthcare support | $40,800 | $38,340 |
| Food preparation and serving | $37,150 | $35,050 |
Two familiar jobs show the range inside these groups. Registered nurses averaged $101,420 and general and operations managers $134,940, both well above the national average.
Pay by Sex and Education
BLS does not publish OEWS wages by sex or education. For those, the source is the Current Population Survey, which reports median weekly pay for full-time workers. The annual column below is our own arithmetic (weekly pay times 52). It is an illustration, not a BLS figure.
| Group (full-time, Q2 2026) | Median weekly earnings | Weekly × 52 (our arithmetic) |
|---|---|---|
| All full-time workers, 16 and older | $1,251 | $65,052 |
| Men, 16 and older | $1,380 | $71,760 |
| Women, 16 and older | $1,131 | $58,812 |
Women's median weekly pay was 82.0% of men's in Q2 2026. This is a comparison of all full-time men and women. It does not adjust for job, hours or experience.
| Education (full-time, age 25 and older) | Median weekly earnings | Weekly × 52 (our arithmetic) |
|---|---|---|
| Less than a high school diploma | $803 | $41,756 |
| High school graduate, no college | $994 | $51,688 |
| Some college or associate degree | $1,125 | $58,500 |
| Bachelor's degree only | $1,628 | $84,656 |
| Advanced degree | $1,963 | $102,076 |
| Bachelor's degree and higher | $1,768 | $91,936 |
| All, age 25 and older | $1,330 | $69,160 |
Full-time workers with at least a bachelor's degree had median pay 1.78 times that of high school graduates with no college. The gap between men and women shows up at each level. Among workers 25 and older, men's median was $1,459 a week and women's $1,171. With a bachelor's degree or higher, it was $2,013 for men and $1,549 for women.
Hourly Equivalents
BLS publishes hourly figures alongside the annual ones. The mean hourly wage was $33.54 and the median $24.51 in May 2025. BLS converts hourly to annual pay using 2,080 hours (40 hours times 52 weeks).
Using the same 2,080 hours, here is what common salaries work out to per hour. This is our arithmetic and assumes full-time, year-round work with no overtime.
| Annual salary | Hourly equivalent (salary ÷ 2,080) |
|---|---|
| $30,000 | $14.42 |
| $40,000 | $19.23 |
| $50,980 (national median) | $24.51 |
| $60,000 | $28.85 |
| $69,770 (national mean) | $33.54 |
| $75,000 | $36.06 |
| $100,000 | $48.08 |
How to Compare Your Pay
- Compare like with like. If you work full time, the CPS median ($1,251 a week) is a closer yardstick than the OEWS figures, which include part-time jobs. Age matters too: see average income by age.
- Use your state, not the national number. State medians in the table above range from $40,120 in Mississippi to $91,540 in DC.
- Salary is not household income. A household can have two earners plus other income. For that comparison, see average household income.
- Look at take-home pay. Gross salary is before taxes. The paycheck calculator estimates federal, state and payroll tax withholding for your state.
- Adjust for prices. The cost of living calculator shows how far a salary goes in different states and metro areas, and cheapest states to live in lists where costs are lowest.
Sources & Methodology
- BLS, Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2025 (released May 15, 2026): national mean and median wages, largest occupations. National, state and occupation-group figures were pulled from the BLS Public Data API (OEWS series, annual mean and annual median).
- BLS, Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers, Second Quarter 2026 (released July 21, 2026): full-time median weekly earnings, by sex, and by education (Table 5). The next release, for Q3 2026, is scheduled for October 21, 2026.
- Social Security Administration, National Average Wage Index: $72,800.33 for 2025, published with the 2027 cost-of-living adjustment in October 2026. The 2024 index of $69,846.57 is from the Federal Register notice of November 3, 2025.
OEWS annual wages are BLS's hourly wages times 2,080 hours. OEWS does not cover the self-employed. CPS figures are medians for full-time wage and salary workers and are not seasonally adjusted. BLS did not publish CPS earnings for the fourth quarter of 2025 because the survey was not collected in October 2025 during the federal government shutdown. Every "weekly × 52" figure and every hourly conversion on this page is our own multiplication or division, shown for readability. State ranks and counts are our sort of the BLS state data.
FAQ
What is the average salary in the US?
$69,770 a year, the mean wage across all U.S. jobs in May 2025, according to BLS. That equals $33.54 an hour.
What is the median salary in the US?
$50,980 a year across all jobs (May 2025). For full-time workers only, the median was $1,251 a week in Q2 2026, or $65,052 if paid for 52 weeks.
What is the average salary by state?
It ranges from a mean of $50,810 in Mississippi to $85,610 in Massachusetts, and $111,010 in the District of Columbia. The full table above lists the mean and median for all 50 states and DC.
Is $60,000 a good salary?
$60,000 is $9,020 above the national median of $50,980 and $9,770 below the mean of $69,770. It is below the full-time median of $65,052 a year (our weekly figure times 52). How far it goes depends on where you live: state medians run from $40,120 to $91,540. The same method works for any salary: compare it with the median and mean for your state and job group above.
Is $100,000 a good salary?
$100,000 is almost twice the national median of $50,980 and $30,230 above the mean. It is above the mean for every state; only the District of Columbia ($111,010) is higher. It is also above the median for every job group except management, legal, and computer and mathematical jobs.
What is the average hourly wage in the US?
$33.54 an hour is the mean and $24.51 the median, across all jobs in May 2025 (BLS).
What is the national average wage index?
It is the Social Security Administration's measure of average wages, used to index benefit formulas and the taxable wage base. It was $72,800.33 for 2025 and $69,846.57 for 2024.
This article is for general information and is not financial advice. Figures come from BLS and Social Security Administration publications checked on 2026-10-20. Annualized and hourly conversions are illustrative.
