US states by average hourly earnings, private employees

District of Columbia had the highest average hourly earnings, private employees of 51 states in October 2025, at $54.38. Mississippi had the lowest, at $27.97. The median was $34.4 and the figure for the United States was $36.78. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Highest54.38District of Columbia

Lowest27.97Mississippi

Median34.451 states

United States36.78History

Map of states, October 2025

Under 32
32 to 33
33 to 34
34 to 35
35 to 38
38 and over

USD, October 2025. Source: BLS, Current Employment Statistics, State and Area: average hourly earnings of all employees, total private, statewide, not seasonally adjusted (SMU, state, 000000500000003). Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All states, October 2025

USD. Source: BLS, Current Employment Statistics, State and Area: average hourly earnings of all employees, total private, statewide, not seasonally adjusted (SMU, state, 000000500000003). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

Rank	States	October 2025 USD	Change on October 2024
1	District of Columbia	54.38	+6.3%
2	Washington	43.38	+5.6%
3	Massachusetts	42.64	+2.1%
4	California	41.92	+4.4%
5	Colorado	39.76	+2.5%
6	Minnesota	39.6	+3.9%
7	Connecticut	39.42	+2.5%
8	New York	39.31	+3.2%
9	Hawaii	38.3	+2.9%
10	New Jersey	38.29	+2.9%
11	Alaska	38.16	+2.4%
12	Oregon	37.85	+4%
13	Rhode Island	37.22	+3.3%
14	Virginia	37.05	+8.6%
15	Maryland	36.25	+2.5%
16	Illinois	35.7	+4.7%
17	New Hampshire	35.63	0%
18	Utah	35.34	+3.8%
19	Georgia	35.29	+6.1%
20	Arizona	35.22	+5.2%
21	Vermont	35.16	+2.3%
22	North Dakota	35.13	+2.8%
23	Florida	34.87	+4.1%
24	Idaho	34.86	+6.7%
25	Texas	34.77	+4.2%
26	Wisconsin	34.4	+3%
27	North Carolina	34.32	+3.5%
28	Michigan	33.45	+2.4%
29	Delaware	33.3	+5.3%
30	Montana	33.19	+3.5%
31	Ohio	33.11	+2.3%
32	Pennsylvania	32.99	+3%
33	Nebraska	32.85	+4%
34	Maine	32.79	+2.3%
35	Indiana	32.77	+4.2%
36	South Carolina	32.71	+4%
37	Wyoming	32.6	+3.3%
38	Missouri	32.42	+1.4%
39	Kansas	32.23	+3.9%
40	Nevada	32.2	+4%
41	Alabama	31.73	+4.2%
42	South Dakota	31.58	+1.4%
43	Tennessee	31.51	+4.2%
44	Oklahoma	31.29	+3%
45	Kentucky	30.57	+4%
46	Iowa	30.53	+2.2%
47	Louisiana	30.45	+5.7%
48	West Virginia	30.16	+3.5%
49	Arkansas	29.7	+3.1%
50	New Mexico	29.67	+2.6%
51	Mississippi	27.97	+3.5%

Other periods

About this ranking

Average hourly earnings of all employees on private nonfarm payrolls, in US dollars, not seasonally adjusted, from the Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Gross pay before deductions divided by hours paid, including overtime and shift premiums but not irregular bonuses or benefits. Government employees are excluded. BLS publishes state earnings only without seasonal adjustment, so the national value here is the unadjusted series too (CEU0500000003), which differs slightly from the adjusted headline figure. A shift in the mix of jobs moves the average even when no one's pay changes.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the states are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Current Employment Statistics, State and Area: average hourly earnings of all employees, total private, statewide, not seasonally adjusted (SMU, state, 000000500000003). https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/sm/sm.data.56.TotalPrivate.Current. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2026). Current Employment Statistics, State and Area: average hourly earnings of all employees, total private, statewide, not seasonally adjusted (SMU, state, 000000500000003) (US states by average hourly earnings, private employees, 2025-10) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/sm/sm.data.56.TotalPrivate.Current

MLA 9

Current Employment Statistics, State and Area: average hourly earnings of all employees, total private, statewide, not seasonally adjusted (SMU, state, 000000500000003), US states by average hourly earnings, private employees, 2025-10. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 18 Sept. 2026, https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/sm/sm.data.56.TotalPrivate.Current. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-hourly-earnings/us-states?period=2025-10. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2026. Current Employment Statistics, State and Area: average hourly earnings of all employees, total private, statewide, not seasonally adjusted (SMU, state, 000000500000003). US states by average hourly earnings, private employees, 2025-10. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/sm/sm.data.56.TotalPrivate.Current. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-hourly-earnings/us-states?period=2025-10.

Harvard

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026) Current Employment Statistics, State and Area: average hourly earnings of all employees, total private, statewide, not seasonally adjusted (SMU, state, 000000500000003), US states by average hourly earnings, private employees, 2025-10 [Dataset]. Available at: https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/sm/sm.data.56.TotalPrivate.Current, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-hourly-earnings/us-states?period=2025-10 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{bureau_us_states_by_average_2026,
  author = {{U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics}},
  title = {{Current Employment Statistics, State and Area: average hourly earnings of all employees, total private, statewide, not seasonally adjusted (SMU, state, 000000500000003): US states by average hourly earnings, private employees, 2025-10}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/sm/sm.data.56.TotalPrivate.Current},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-hourly-earnings/us-states?period=2025-10. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Current Employment Statistics, State and Area: average hourly earnings of all employees, total private, statewide, not seasonally adjusted (SMU, state, 000000500000003). https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/sm/sm.data.56.TotalPrivate.Current. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}

RIS

TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
TI  - Current Employment Statistics, State and Area: average hourly earnings of all employees, total private, statewide, not seasonally adjusted (SMU, state, 000000500000003): US states by average hourly earnings, private employees, 2025-10
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/18
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/sm/sm.data.56.TotalPrivate.Current
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-hourly-earnings/us-states?period=2025-10
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-hourly-earnings/us-states?period=2025-10.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Current Employment Statistics, State and Area: average hourly earnings of all employees, total private, statewide, not seasonally adjusted (SMU, state, 000000500000003). https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/sm/sm.data.56.TotalPrivate.Current. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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Questions

Which state has the highest average hourly earnings, private employees?

District of Columbia, with $54.38 in October 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which state has the lowest average hourly earnings, private employees?

Mississippi, with $27.97 in October 2025.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics, State and Area: average hourly earnings of all employees, total private, statewide, not seasonally adjusted (SMU, state, 000000500000003). Retrieved 2026-10-12.