US states by mean annual wage, all occupations
District of Columbia had the highest mean annual wage, all occupations of 51 states in 2015, at $80,150. Mississippi had the lowest, at $37,620. The median was $45,310 and the figure for the United States was $48,320. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Map of states, 2015
- Under 41K
- 41K to 43K
- 43K to 45K
- 45K to 48K
- 48K to 53K
- 53K and over
All states, 2015
Full ranking
| Rank | States | 2015 | Change on 2014 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 80,150 | +2% |
| 2 | Massachusetts | 59,010 | +2.4% |
| 3 | New York | 57,030 | +2.5% |
| 4 | Connecticut | 56,280 | +2.2% |
| 5 | Alaska | 55,760 | +3.2% |
| 6 | California | 55,260 | +2.5% |
| 7 | New Jersey | 54,950 | +1.9% |
| 8 | Maryland | 54,630 | +2.2% |
| 9 | Washington | 54,010 | +2.8% |
| 10 | Virginia | 51,670 | +1.8% |
| 11 | Colorado | 51,180 | +2.6% |
| 12 | Rhode Island | 50,780 | +2.4% |
| 13 | Delaware | 50,300 | +1.6% |
| 14 | Illinois | 49,970 | +2.4% |
| 15 | Minnesota | 49,740 | +3% |
| 16 | New Hampshire | 48,710 | +3.5% |
| 17 | Oregon | 48,100 | +2.7% |
| 18 | Hawaii | 47,740 | +3.3% |
| 19 | Texas | 46,560 | +2.7% |
| 20 | Pennsylvania | 46,550 | +1.7% |
| 21 | Michigan | 46,310 | +2.6% |
| 22 | Vermont | 46,060 | +3.4% |
| 23 | Wyoming | 45,850 | +2% |
| 24 | North Dakota | 45,660 | +3.5% |
| 25 | Georgia | 45,420 | +1.7% |
| 26 | Arizona | 45,310 | +1.6% |
| 27 | Ohio | 44,750 | +1.9% |
| 28 | North Carolina | 44,170 | +2.1% |
| 29 | Utah | 44,130 | +1.3% |
| 30 | Wisconsin | 43,930 | +2.4% |
| 31 | Missouri | 43,640 | +2% |
| 32 | Maine | 43,260 | +2.7% |
| 33 | New Mexico | 43,170 | +2.2% |
| 34 | Kansas | 42,930 | +2.2% |
| 35 | Florida | 42,860 | +2.5% |
| 36 | Nevada | 42,800 | +1.2% |
| 37 | Nebraska | 42,630 | +3.8% |
| 38 | Indiana | 42,070 | +1.4% |
| 39 | Alabama | 41,920 | +2.5% |
| 40 | Iowa | 41,840 | +1.8% |
| 41 | Oklahoma | 41,820 | +2.4% |
| 42 | Tennessee | 41,300 | +1.6% |
| 43 | Kentucky | 40,880 | +2.1% |
| 44 | Idaho | 40,810 | +2.6% |
| 44 | Louisiana | 40,810 | +1.5% |
| 46 | Montana | 40,620 | +1.9% |
| 47 | South Carolina | 40,580 | +2.6% |
| 48 | West Virginia | 39,100 | +3.2% |
| 49 | South Dakota | 38,820 | +4.1% |
| 50 | Arkansas | 38,540 | +1.6% |
| 51 | Mississippi | 37,620 | +2.4% |
Other periods
About this ranking
Average (mean) annual wage of wage and salary jobs in all occupations, in US dollars, from the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Estimates refer to May of each year.
An average: high earners pull it above the median, so for the typical job use median_annual_wage. Covers employees of nonfarm establishments; the self-employed, farm workers and private household workers are excluded. Pay is straight-time gross pay: base rate, cost-of-living allowances, commissions, production bonuses and tips. Overtime, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses and employer-paid benefits are excluded.
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. Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May estimates, state cross-industry file: annual mean wage, all occupations (00-0000). https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15st.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.Citation styles
APA 7
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2026). Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May estimates, state cross-industry file: annual mean wage, all occupations (00-0000) (US states by mean annual wage, all occupations, 2015) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15st.zip
MLA 9
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May estimates, state cross-industry file: annual mean wage, all occupations (00-0000), US states by mean annual wage, all occupations, 2015. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 15 May 2026, https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15st.zip. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/mean-annual-wage/us-states?period=2015. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.
Chicago (author-date)
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2026. Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May estimates, state cross-industry file: annual mean wage, all occupations (00-0000). US states by mean annual wage, all occupations, 2015. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15st.zip. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/mean-annual-wage/us-states?period=2015.
Harvard
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May estimates, state cross-industry file: annual mean wage, all occupations (00-0000), US states by mean annual wage, all occupations, 2015 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15st.zip, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/mean-annual-wage/us-states?period=2015 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{bureau_us_states_by_mean_2015,
author = {{U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics}},
title = {{Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May estimates, state cross-industry file: annual mean wage, all occupations (00-0000): US states by mean annual wage, all occupations, 2015}},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Data set},
url = {https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15st.zip},
urldate = {2026-10-12},
note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/mean-annual-wage/us-states?period=2015. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May estimates, state cross-industry file: annual mean wage, all occupations (00-0000). https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15st.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY - DATA
AU - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
TI - Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May estimates, state cross-industry file: annual mean wage, all occupations (00-0000): US states by mean annual wage, all occupations, 2015
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/05/15
PB - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB - Invokely
UR - https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15st.zip
L2 - https://invokely.ai/rankings/mean-annual-wage/us-states?period=2015
Y2 - 2026/10/12
N1 - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/mean-annual-wage/us-states?period=2015.
N1 - Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May estimates, state cross-industry file: annual mean wage, all occupations (00-0000). https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15st.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER -
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Rank US states by mean annual wage, all occupations using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"mean_annual_wage","level":"region","within":"United States","limit":10}
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Which state has the highest mean annual wage, all occupations?
District of Columbia, with $80,150 in 2015, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Which state has the lowest mean annual wage, all occupations?
Mississippi, with $37,620 in 2015.
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, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May estimates, state cross-industry file: annual mean wage, all occupations (00-0000). Retrieved 2026-10-12.