US states by average hourly earnings, private employees

District of Columbia had the highest average hourly earnings, private employees of 51 states in March 2026, at $58.23. Mississippi had the lowest, at $28.97. The median was $34.98 and the figure for the United States was $37.53. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Highest58.23District of Columbia

Lowest28.97Mississippi

Median34.9851 states

United States37.53History

Map of states, March 2026

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

USD, March 2026. 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, March 2026

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	March 2026 USD	Change on March 2025
1	District of Columbia	58.23	+10%
2	Washington	44.12	+5.7%
3	Massachusetts	43.57	+2.8%
4	California	42.61	+4%
5	Hawaii	40.6	+7.6%
6	New York	40.37	+4.8%
7	Connecticut	40.36	+3.2%
8	Colorado	39.7	+1%
9	New Jersey	39.26	+3.4%
10	Minnesota	39.22	+0.7%
11	Virginia	38.5	+6.9%
12	Oregon	38.34	+5%
13	Alaska	38.23	+1.9%
14	Rhode Island	38.11	+5.9%
15	Maryland	37.83	+5.4%
16	Illinois	36.49	+4.5%
17	Georgia	36.14	+5.1%
18	Utah	36.12	+2.8%
19	North Dakota	36.1	+5.4%
20	New Hampshire	36.09	+1.3%
21	Florida	36.08	+5.1%
22	Vermont	35.94	+2.3%
23	Arizona	35.44	+2.1%
24	Idaho	35.35	+4.1%
25	Texas	35.03	+1.5%
26	Wisconsin	34.98	+2.3%
27	North Carolina	34.8	+3.6%
28	Michigan	34.37	+3.2%
29	Ohio	33.81	+1.8%
30	Maine	33.57	+3.7%
31	Pennsylvania	33.56	+3%
32	Delaware	33.5	+3.4%
33	Wyoming	33.49	+5.9%
34	Missouri	33.46	+2.5%
35	Nevada	33.27	+4.4%
36	South Carolina	33.05	+3.2%
37	Kansas	33.01	+5%
38	Indiana	32.93	+2.7%
39	Montana	32.89	+0.5%
40	Nebraska	32.81	+0.5%
41	Alabama	32.58	+4.2%
42	Oklahoma	32.02	+4.5%
43	South Dakota	31.94	+2.4%
44	Tennessee	31.64	+2.7%
45	West Virginia	31.06	+3.6%
46	Louisiana	30.86	+5.6%
47	New Mexico	30.79	+5.5%
48	Iowa	30.76	+0.2%
49	Kentucky	30.65	+1.8%
50	Arkansas	29.91	+0.5%
51	Mississippi	28.97	+2.7%

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, 2026-03) [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, 2026-03. 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=2026-03. 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, 2026-03. 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=2026-03.

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, 2026-03 [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=2026-03 (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, 2026-03}},
  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=2026-03. 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, 2026-03
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=2026-03
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-hourly-earnings/us-states?period=2026-03.
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 $58.23 in March 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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

Mississippi, with $28.97 in March 2026.

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.