US states by mean annual wage, all occupations
District of Columbia had the highest mean annual wage, all occupations of 51 states in 2021, at $98,370. Mississippi had the lowest, at $42,700. The median was $53,380 and the figure for the United States was $58,260. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Map of states, 2021
- Under 48K
- 48K to 52K
- 52K to 53K
- 53K to 59K
- 59K to 63K
- 63K and over
All states, 2021
Full ranking
| Rank | States | 2021 | Change on 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 98,370 | +3.2% |
| 2 | Massachusetts | 72,940 | +4.2% |
| 3 | New York | 70,460 | +3.8% |
| 4 | Washington | 68,740 | +2.8% |
| 5 | California | 68,510 | +4.2% |
| 6 | New Jersey | 67,120 | +5.4% |
| 7 | Connecticut | 66,130 | +1% |
| 8 | Maryland | 65,900 | +3.6% |
| 9 | Alaska | 63,480 | +2.8% |
| 10 | Colorado | 62,900 | +3.4% |
| 11 | Virginia | 62,330 | +3.6% |
| 12 | Rhode Island | 62,120 | +3.1% |
| 13 | Minnesota | 60,480 | +3% |
| 14 | Delaware | 59,820 | +5.5% |
| 15 | Hawaii | 59,760 | +2.7% |
| 16 | Illinois | 59,650 | +2.7% |
| 17 | New Hampshire | 59,270 | +4.5% |
| 18 | Oregon | 59,070 | +3.9% |
| 19 | Pennsylvania | 55,490 | +2.9% |
| 20 | Vermont | 55,450 | +3.8% |
| 21 | Arizona | 55,170 | +3.3% |
| 22 | Michigan | 55,160 | +3.3% |
| 23 | Texas | 54,230 | +3.5% |
| 24 | Georgia | 53,940 | +3.9% |
| 25 | Utah | 53,400 | +3.8% |
| 26 | North Dakota | 53,380 | +1.8% |
| 27 | Maine | 53,230 | +3.9% |
| 28 | Ohio | 53,170 | +3.2% |
| 29 | Wisconsin | 53,120 | +3.6% |
| 30 | North Carolina | 53,100 | +4.1% |
| 31 | Nebraska | 52,110 | +3.7% |
| 31 | Wyoming | 52,110 | +1.8% |
| 33 | Florida | 51,950 | +3.9% |
| 34 | New Mexico | 51,860 | +4.5% |
| 35 | Missouri | 51,390 | +2.5% |
| 36 | Iowa | 51,140 | +3.8% |
| 37 | Nevada | 51,080 | +1.4% |
| 38 | Indiana | 50,440 | +3.7% |
| 39 | Kansas | 49,680 | +2.2% |
| 40 | Montana | 49,340 | +4.4% |
| 41 | Tennessee | 49,330 | +3.8% |
| 42 | Oklahoma | 48,360 | +2.2% |
| 43 | Kentucky | 48,170 | +4.7% |
| 44 | Alabama | 48,110 | +2.7% |
| 45 | Idaho | 47,940 | +2.4% |
| 46 | Louisiana | 47,740 | +2.8% |
| 47 | South Carolina | 47,490 | +2.7% |
| 48 | South Dakota | 46,810 | +4.1% |
| 49 | Arkansas | 46,500 | +3.8% |
| 50 | West Virginia | 46,490 | +2.4% |
| 51 | Mississippi | 42,700 | +2.6% |
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/oesm21st.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, 2021) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21st.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, 2021. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 15 May 2026, https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21st.zip. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/mean-annual-wage/us-states?period=2021. 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, 2021. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21st.zip. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/mean-annual-wage/us-states?period=2021.
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, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21st.zip, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/mean-annual-wage/us-states?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{bureau_us_states_by_mean_2021,
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, 2021}},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Data set},
url = {https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21st.zip},
urldate = {2026-10-12},
note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/mean-annual-wage/us-states?period=2021. 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/oesm21st.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, 2021
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/05/15
PB - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB - Invokely
UR - https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21st.zip
L2 - https://invokely.ai/rankings/mean-annual-wage/us-states?period=2021
Y2 - 2026/10/12
N1 - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/mean-annual-wage/us-states?period=2021.
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/oesm21st.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER -
Use this data in your AI agent
Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:
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}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=mean_annual_wage&level=region&within=United%20States&limit=10Questions
Which state has the highest mean annual wage, all occupations?
District of Columbia, with $98,370 in 2021, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Which state has the lowest mean annual wage, all occupations?
Mississippi, with $42,700 in 2021.
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.