Median Salary in the U.S.

Having a strong sense of median salaries can help you choose a career and location, and it can help ensure your pay is fair. This data can be broken down even further to give insights into the median pay by gender, race, and more. Here are a few key government estimates about median pay in the U.S.

Median Salary Information for U.S. Workers

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the median wage for workers in the United States in the second quarter of 2022 was about $1,041 per week or $54,132 per year (assuming 52 weeks of work per year). Wages were 5.2% higher than a year earlier.

What's considered a good salary in one job or metro area may not be in another. For example, workers in professional, management, and related occupations earned the highest pay. In these jobs, men earned a median annual salary of $90,636, while women earned a median annual salary of $65,780. However, in service occupations, men earned a median annual salary of $40,196, while women earned a median annual salary of $34,112.

Jobs in large metropolitan cities, which have higher costs of living, also tend to pay more than jobs in more rural and suburban areas.

Median Salary by State

The BLS breaks down pay data by state. Here are the median state salaries as of May 2021 (assuming 52 weeks of 40-hour schedules).

Median Salaries for U.S. Men and Women

The BLS reports that, in the second quarter of 2022, men earned a median annual salary of $59,488, while women made a median annual salary of $49,036, or 82.4% of men’s earnings.

Median Salary by Race

Race and ethnicity also play a role in salaries for men and women. For example, White women earned 82.3% as much as their male counterparts, compared with 88.1% for Black women, 79% for Asian women, and 85.7% for Hispanic women.

However, Black men made a median annual salary of $49,556, which is only 82.1% of what White men earned ($55,536). The difference for women was a bit less; Black women’s median annual earnings were 87.9% ($43,680) of White women’s median annual earnings ($49,712).

The BLS also provides information on Hispanic and Asian wage earners, who earned a median annual salary of $42,224 and $69,472, respectively.

Median Salary by Age

Salaries also varied by age. For example, men aged 35 to 44 had the highest median annual salary ($69,264). Women earned the highest annual wages between the ages of 45 and 54 ($54,652).

Median Salary Based on Education

The BLS data reveals that completing more education pays off (at least statistically). Workers aged 25 and over without a high school degree had median annual earnings of $35,828 in the second quarter of 2022 compared to $43,576 for high school graduates without a college degree. College graduates with at least a bachelor's degree earned a median salary of $80,444 annually.

Median Salary by Job

The BLS breaks down pay information by career. This can help you pick a career with pay that meets your needs. These median annual figures are based on weekly pay information from the second quarter of 2022 (assuming someone works 52 weeks per year).