OCCUPATIONAL PAY / BLS MAY 2025

Salary by city. Not just salary by headline.

Browse published occupation-based wage estimates for major U.S. metropolitan areas, then compare your own offer against rent and monthly expenses.

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Explore 30 major metro areas with wage tables by occupation, price-index context, and real city-to-city comparisons.

Browse 30 cities and compare actual median wages →

Explore salaries for a specific occupation

These are real referenced wage distributions for paired metropolitan areas, not advertisements for jobs. Select a role to see metro wage tables, 25th–75th percentile ranges and important caveats.

29-1141 · 327 metros

Registered nurses

Compare median pay, wage ranges and geographic price-level context.

Explore occupational pay →15-1252 · 293 metros

Software developers

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Explore occupational pay →29-1171 · 262 metros

Nurse practitioners

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Explore occupational pay →13-2011 · 384 metros

Accountants and auditors

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Explore occupational pay →25-2021 · 320 metros

Elementary school teachers

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Explore occupational pay →11-1021 · 386 metros

General and operations managers

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Explore occupational pay →47-2111 · 352 metros

Electricians

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Explore occupational pay →11-9021 · 250 metros

Construction managers

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Explore occupational pay →53-3032 · 382 metros

Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers

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Explore occupational pay →29-1123 · 235 metros

Physical therapists

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Explore occupational pay →11-2021 · 165 metros

Marketing managers

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Explore occupational pay →13-2051 · 149 metros

Financial and investment analysts

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Explore occupational pay →13-1071 · 364 metros

Human resources specialists

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Explore occupational pay →27-1024 · 148 metros

Graphic designers

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Explore occupational pay →29-1292 · 214 metros

Dental hygienists

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Explore occupational pay →15-1212 · 113 metros

Information security analysts

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Explore occupational pay →43-3031 · 386 metros

Bookkeeping and accounting clerks

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How to choose the right number

Start by matching the official occupation category to the actual responsibilities. The median is the midpoint of reported wages in that metro category. The 25th and 75th percentiles show a broader range, but they are not synonymous with junior and senior roles. Smaller metros and specialized roles may have missing or suppressed observations.

Why we do not calculate rent from a wage table

BLS metropolitan employment regions and HUD housing-market regions do not always align. A market-level wage cannot identify the cost of a particular home or commute. We keep housing inputs separate: choose a county-level HUD reference where available, or use a real lease quote in the salary-after-rent calculator.

Would this salary actually work for your move?

Compare an actual written offer to your monthly rent, tax assumptions and all other expenses. The published median alone cannot answer the relocation question.

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