US states by average hourly earnings, private employees

District of Columbia had the highest average hourly earnings, private employees of 51 states in June 2026, at $58.07. Mississippi had the lowest, at $28.91. The median was $34.4 and the figure for the United States was $37.31. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Highest58.07District of Columbia

Lowest28.91Mississippi

Median34.451 states

United States37.31History

Map of states, June 2026

Under 32
32 to 33
33 to 34
34 to 36
36 to 39
39 and over

USD, June 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, June 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	June 2026 USD	Change on June 2025
1	District of Columbia	58.07	+7%
2	Washington	43.75	+3.2%
3	Massachusetts	43.03	+2.4%
4	California	42.22	+2.6%
5	Hawaii	39.97	+6.2%
6	Connecticut	39.76	+2.1%
7	New York	39.72	+1.4%
8	Colorado	39.32	+0.4%
9	New Jersey	38.92	+2.7%
10	Minnesota	38.72	-1%
11	Oregon	38.39	+3.8%
12	Virginia	38.04	+4.2%
13	Alaska	37.96	+1.5%
14	Maryland	37.62	+4.8%
15	Rhode Island	37.36	+2.7%
16	Illinois	36.34	+3.5%
17	New Hampshire	35.95	+2.2%
18	Arizona	35.88	+3.4%
19	North Dakota	35.77	+5%
20	Florida	35.75	+4.1%
21	Texas	35.6	+2.9%
22	Vermont	35.58	+2.2%
23	Utah	35.51	+2.5%
24	Idaho	35.12	+2.7%
25	Georgia	35.06	+1.3%
26	North Carolina	34.4	+1.8%
27	Wisconsin	34.35	+1.7%
28	Michigan	33.94	+2.4%
29	Ohio	33.79	+2.2%
30	Delaware	33.58	+2.6%
31	Pennsylvania	33.53	+3.1%
32	Maine	33.44	+3.5%
32	Missouri	33.44	+2.4%
34	Indiana	33.09	+3.9%
35	Wyoming	33.06	+4.1%
36	Nevada	33.02	+2.7%
37	Montana	32.96	+2.4%
38	South Carolina	32.74	+3.2%
39	Kansas	32.51	+2.9%
40	Nebraska	32.3	-0.4%
41	Alabama	32.12	+2.4%
42	Oklahoma	31.93	+3.8%
43	South Dakota	31.8	+2.5%
44	Tennessee	31.69	+2.7%
45	New Mexico	31.37	+8.9%
46	Louisiana	30.55	+3.6%
47	Kentucky	30.42	+1.9%
48	Iowa	30.37	+0.2%
49	West Virginia	30.07	+0.3%
50	Arkansas	29.39	-1.4%
51	Mississippi	28.91	+3.2%

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, 2026-06) [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, 2026-06. 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=2026-06. 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, 2026-06. 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=2026-06.

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, 2026-06 [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=2026-06 (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, 2026-06}},
  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=2026-06. 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, 2026-06
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=2026-06
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-hourly-earnings/us-states?period=2026-06.
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 $58.07 in June 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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

Mississippi, with $28.91 in June 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.