US states by average hourly earnings, private employees

District of Columbia had the highest average hourly earnings, private employees of 51 states in December 2025, at $56.33. Mississippi had the lowest, at $28.03. The median was $34.5 and the figure for the United States was $36.94. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Highest56.33District of Columbia

Lowest28.03Mississippi

Median34.551 states

United States36.94History

Map of states, December 2025

Under 32
32 to 33
33 to 35
35 to 36
36 to 39
39 and over

USD, December 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, December 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	December 2025 USD	Change on December 2024
1	District of Columbia	56.33	+5.2%
2	Washington	43.64	+4.1%
3	Massachusetts	42.79	+1.1%
4	California	42.22	+3.6%
5	Colorado	40.23	+1.4%
6	Connecticut	39.78	+2.5%
7	New York	39.64	+2.9%
8	Minnesota	39.29	+1.7%
9	New Jersey	38.86	+2.8%
10	Alaska	38.72	+3.1%
11	Hawaii	38.55	+3.4%
12	Oregon	38.43	+5.2%
13	Virginia	37.92	+7.3%
14	Rhode Island	37.81	+4%
15	Maryland	36.58	+2.1%
16	Illinois	35.96	+3.8%
17	North Dakota	35.81	+3.3%
18	Georgia	35.78	+4.7%
19	New Hampshire	35.7	+0.4%
20	Utah	35.52	+3.1%
21	Vermont	35.39	+1.4%
22	Texas	35.27	+3.2%
23	Florida	35.09	+2.9%
24	Arizona	34.85	+2.8%
24	Idaho	34.85	+4.9%
26	Wisconsin	34.5	+1.1%
27	North Carolina	34.23	+2.8%
28	Michigan	33.92	+1.9%
29	South Carolina	33.37	+5.5%
30	Delaware	33.35	+3.4%
31	Ohio	33.33	+1.3%
32	Pennsylvania	33.26	+3%
33	Nebraska	33.25	+2.8%
34	Montana	33.13	+2.6%
35	Maine	33.01	+1.9%
36	Wyoming	32.76	+3.1%
37	Indiana	32.75	+3.3%
38	Missouri	32.62	+0.7%
39	Nevada	32.61	+4.8%
40	Kansas	32.46	+4.6%
41	Alabama	31.85	+3.4%
42	South Dakota	31.77	+1.9%
43	Tennessee	31.47	+2.6%
44	Oklahoma	31.29	+2%
45	Iowa	30.78	+2%
46	Louisiana	30.63	+4.3%
47	Kentucky	30.58	+2.3%
48	West Virginia	30.48	+4%
49	New Mexico	30.09	+4.4%
50	Arkansas	29.72	+1.1%
51	Mississippi	28.03	+0.9%

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, 2025-12) [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, 2025-12. 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=2025-12. 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, 2025-12. 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=2025-12.

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, 2025-12 [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=2025-12 (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, 2025-12}},
  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=2025-12. 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, 2025-12
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=2025-12
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-hourly-earnings/us-states?period=2025-12.
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 $56.33 in December 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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

Mississippi, with $28.03 in December 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.