Data / Rankings / Median annual wage, all occupations / US states

US states by median annual wage, all occupations

District of Columbia had the highest median annual wage, all occupations of 51 states in 2014, at $64,890. Mississippi had the lowest, at $28,630. The median was $34,230 and the figure for the United States was $35,540. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest64,890District of Columbia
Lowest28,630Mississippi
Median34,23051 states
United States35,540History

Map of states, 2014

Alabama: 30,850 USDAlaska: 45,200 USDArizona: 34,230 USDArkansas: 29,140 USDCalifornia: 39,190 USDColorado: 38,020 USDConnecticut: 42,990 USDDelaware: 37,490 USDDistrict of Columbia: 64,890 USDFlorida: 31,060 USDGeorgia: 32,840 USDHawaii: 37,450 USDIdaho: 31,060 USDIllinois: 36,590 USDIndiana: 32,500 USDIowa: 33,100 USDKansas: 32,930 USDKentucky: 31,830 USDLouisiana: 31,620 USDMaine: 33,890 USDMaryland: 40,830 USDMassachusetts: 44,670 USDMichigan: 34,740 USDMinnesota: 38,070 USDMississippi: 28,630 USDMissouri: 32,790 USDMontana: 31,520 USDNebraska: 32,570 USDNevada: 33,550 USDNew Hampshire: 36,420 USDNew Jersey: 40,680 USDNew Mexico: 31,810 USDNew York: 40,870 USDNorth Carolina: 32,510 USDNorth Dakota: 36,920 USDOhio: 34,250 USDOklahoma: 31,550 USDOregon: 36,400 USDPennsylvania: 35,640 USDRhode Island: 38,330 USDSouth Carolina: 30,660 USDSouth Dakota: 29,880 USDTennessee: 31,250 USDTexas: 33,650 USDUtah: 33,690 USDVermont: 36,170 USDVirginia: 37,550 USDWashington: 41,090 USDWest Virginia: 29,410 USDWisconsin: 34,350 USDWyoming: 37,770 USD
  • Under 31K
  • 31K to 33K
  • 33K to 34K
  • 34K to 37K
  • 37K to 39K
  • 39K and over
USD, 2014. Source: BLS, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May estimates, state cross-industry file: annual median wage, all occupations (00-0000). Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All states, 2014

District of Columbia: 64,890 USDDistrict of Columbia64,890Alaska: 45,200 USDAlaska45,200Massachusetts: 44,670 USDMassachusetts44,670Connecticut: 42,990 USDConnecticut42,990Washington: 41,090 USDWashington41,090New York: 40,870 USDNew York40,870Maryland: 40,830 USDMaryland40,830New Jersey: 40,680 USDNew Jersey40,680California: 39,190 USDCalifornia39,190Rhode Island: 38,330 USDRhode Island38,330Minnesota: 38,070 USDMinnesota38,070Colorado: 38,020 USDColorado38,020Wyoming: 37,770 USDWyoming37,770Virginia: 37,550 USDVirginia37,550Delaware: 37,490 USDDelaware37,490Hawaii: 37,450 USDHawaii37,450North Dakota: 36,920 USDNorth Dakota36,920Illinois: 36,590 USDIllinois36,590New Hampshire: 36,420 USDNew Hampshire36,420Oregon: 36,400 USDOregon36,400Vermont: 36,170 USDVermont36,170Pennsylvania: 35,640 USDPennsylvania35,640Michigan: 34,740 USDMichigan34,740Wisconsin: 34,350 USDWisconsin34,350Ohio: 34,250 USDOhio34,250Arizona: 34,230 USDArizona34,230Maine: 33,890 USDMaine33,890Utah: 33,690 USDUtah33,690Texas: 33,650 USDTexas33,650Nevada: 33,550 USDNevada33,550Iowa: 33,100 USDIowa33,100Kansas: 32,930 USDKansas32,930Georgia: 32,840 USDGeorgia32,840Missouri: 32,790 USDMissouri32,790Nebraska: 32,570 USDNebraska32,570North Carolina: 32,510 USDNorth Carolina32,510Indiana: 32,500 USDIndiana32,500Kentucky: 31,830 USDKentucky31,830New Mexico: 31,810 USDNew Mexico31,810Louisiana: 31,620 USDLouisiana31,620Oklahoma: 31,550 USDOklahoma31,550Montana: 31,520 USDMontana31,520Tennessee: 31,250 USDTennessee31,250Florida: 31,060 USDFlorida31,060Idaho: 31,060 USDIdaho31,060Alabama: 30,850 USDAlabama30,850South Carolina: 30,660 USDSouth Carolina30,660South Dakota: 29,880 USDSouth Dakota29,880West Virginia: 29,410 USDWest Virginia29,410Arkansas: 29,140 USDArkansas29,140Mississippi: 28,630 USDMississippi28,630District of Columbia: 64,890 USDDistrict of Columbia64,890Alaska: 45,200 USDAlaska45,200Massachusetts: 44,670 USDMassachusetts44,670Connecticut: 42,990 USDConnecticut42,990Washington: 41,090 USDWashington41,090New York: 40,870 USDNew York40,870Maryland: 40,830 USDMaryland40,830New Jersey: 40,680 USDNew Jersey40,680California: 39,190 USDCalifornia39,190Rhode Island: 38,330 USDRhode Island38,330Minnesota: 38,070 USDMinnesota38,070Colorado: 38,020 USDColorado38,020Wyoming: 37,770 USDWyoming37,770Virginia: 37,550 USDVirginia37,550Delaware: 37,490 USDDelaware37,490Hawaii: 37,450 USDHawaii37,450North Dakota: 36,920 USDNorth Dakota36,920Illinois: 36,590 USDIllinois36,590New Hampshire: 36,420 USDNew Hampshire36,420Oregon: 36,400 USDOregon36,400Vermont: 36,170 USDVermont36,170Pennsylvania: 35,640 USDPennsylvania35,640Michigan: 34,740 USDMichigan34,740Wisconsin: 34,350 USDWisconsin34,350Ohio: 34,250 USDOhio34,250Arizona: 34,230 USDArizona34,230Maine: 33,890 USDMaine33,890Utah: 33,690 USDUtah33,690Texas: 33,650 USDTexas33,650Nevada: 33,550 USDNevada33,550Iowa: 33,100 USDIowa33,100Kansas: 32,930 USDKansas32,930Georgia: 32,840 USDGeorgia32,840Missouri: 32,790 USDMissouri32,790Nebraska: 32,570 USDNebraska32,570North Carolina: 32,510 USDNorth Carolina32,510Indiana: 32,500 USDIndiana32,500Kentucky: 31,830 USDKentucky31,830New Mexico: 31,810 USDNew Mexico31,810Louisiana: 31,620 USDLouisiana31,620Oklahoma: 31,550 USDOklahoma31,550Montana: 31,520 USDMontana31,520Tennessee: 31,250 USDTennessee31,250Florida: 31,060 USDFlorida31,060Idaho: 31,060 USDIdaho31,060Alabama: 30,850 USDAlabama30,850South Carolina: 30,660 USDSouth Carolina30,660South Dakota: 29,880 USDSouth Dakota29,880West Virginia: 29,410 USDWest Virginia29,410Arkansas: 29,140 USDArkansas29,140Mississippi: 28,630 USDMississippi28,630
USD. Source: BLS, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May estimates, state cross-industry file: annual median wage, all occupations (00-0000). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankStates2014
USD		Change on 2013
1District of Columbia64,890+1.9%
2Alaska45,200+1.9%
3Massachusetts44,670+1.9%
4Connecticut42,990+1.7%
5Washington41,090+0.4%
6New York40,870+1%
7Maryland40,830+0.3%
8New Jersey40,680+1.1%
9California39,190+0.7%
10Rhode Island38,330+2.2%
11Minnesota38,070+1.8%
12Colorado38,020+1.3%
13Wyoming37,770+2.1%
14Virginia37,550+1.6%
15Delaware37,490+0.5%
16Hawaii37,450+1.5%
17North Dakota36,920+3.6%
18Illinois36,590+2.4%
19New Hampshire36,420+1.7%
20Oregon36,400+1.5%
21Vermont36,170+2.2%
22Pennsylvania35,640+0.9%
23Michigan34,740+0.2%
24Wisconsin34,350+1.2%
25Ohio34,250+1.5%
26Arizona34,230+0.2%
27Maine33,890+1.5%
28Utah33,690+1.2%
29Texas33,650+2.3%
30Nevada33,550+0.6%
31Iowa33,100+2.2%
32Kansas32,930+2.6%
33Georgia32,840+1%
34Missouri32,790+1.4%
35Nebraska32,570+2.3%
36North Carolina32,510+1.1%
37Indiana32,500+1.6%
38Kentucky31,830+2%
39New Mexico31,810+1%
40Louisiana31,620+1.2%
41Oklahoma31,550+2.7%
42Montana31,520+2.4%
43Tennessee31,250+0.8%
44Florida31,060+1.3%
44Idaho31,060+1.7%
46Alabama30,850+1.5%
47South Carolina30,660+1.3%
48South Dakota29,880+1.6%
49West Virginia29,410+1.3%
50Arkansas29,140+0.8%
51Mississippi28,630+1.4%

Other periods

About this ranking

Median 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. Half of jobs pay more and half pay less. Estimates refer to May of each year.

A wage per job, not household or personal income: for those use median_household_income or per_capita_personal_income. 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. BLS converts hourly rates to annual pay at 2,080 hours a year.

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 median wage, all occupations (00-0000). https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14st.zip. 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). Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May estimates, state cross-industry file: annual median wage, all occupations (00-0000) (US states by median annual wage, all occupations, 2014) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14st.zip

MLA 9

Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May estimates, state cross-industry file: annual median wage, all occupations (00-0000), US states by median annual wage, all occupations, 2014. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 15 May 2026, https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14st.zip. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/median-annual-wage/us-states?period=2014. 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 median wage, all occupations (00-0000). US states by median annual wage, all occupations, 2014. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14st.zip. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/median-annual-wage/us-states?period=2014.

Harvard

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May estimates, state cross-industry file: annual median wage, all occupations (00-0000), US states by median annual wage, all occupations, 2014 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14st.zip, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/median-annual-wage/us-states?period=2014 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_us_states_by_median_2014,
  author = {{U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics}},
  title = {{Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May estimates, state cross-industry file: annual median wage, all occupations (00-0000): US states by median annual wage, all occupations, 2014}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14st.zip},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/median-annual-wage/us-states?period=2014. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May estimates, state cross-industry file: annual median wage, all occupations (00-0000). https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14st.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 median wage, all occupations (00-0000): US states by median annual wage, all occupations, 2014
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/05/15
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14st.zip
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/median-annual-wage/us-states?period=2014
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/median-annual-wage/us-states?period=2014.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May estimates, state cross-industry file: annual median wage, all occupations (00-0000). https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14st.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which state has the highest median annual wage, all occupations?

District of Columbia, with $64,890 in 2014, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which state has the lowest median annual wage, all occupations?

Mississippi, with $28,630 in 2014.

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 median wage, all occupations (00-0000). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

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