4 guides · BLS May 2025 data

Salary Guides

Plain-English guides to the numbers on WhereToEarn: what a metro area is, median vs. average pay, salary percentiles and hourly to annual pay, each with real figures from BLS and links to the data.

Read the guides

What is a metro area?How metropolitan areas are drawn and why salary data uses them
Median salary meaningMedian vs. average pay, with real figures
Salary percentilesHow to read the 10th, 25th, 75th and 90th
Hourly to annual salaryConverter and tables for any hourly wage

Put them to use

Salary by occupation818 jobs in 393 metro areas
Average salary by state and cityOfficial statewide figures
Paycheck calculatorTake-home pay by state
Cost of living calculatorWhat your salary is worth elsewhere
RankingsBest-paying jobs and cities
MethodologySources and definitions