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Highest-Paying States

Ranked by average median salary across all occupations.

Top 15 highest-paying states by median salary

BLS average median salary across all occupations

  1. 1
    District of Columbia $89,678
    100% of the leader · rank #1 of 15
  2. 2
    Washington $86,472
    96% of the leader · rank #2 of 15
  3. 3
    New York $83,188
    93% of the leader · rank #3 of 15
  4. 4
    California $83,172
    93% of the leader · rank #4 of 15
  5. 5
    Massachusetts $81,220
    91% of the leader · rank #5 of 15
  6. 6
    New Jersey $80,365
    90% of the leader · rank #6 of 15
  7. 7
    Minnesota $79,900
    89% of the leader · rank #7 of 15
  8. 8
    Alaska $79,598
    89% of the leader · rank #8 of 15
  9. 9
    Maryland $79,476
    89% of the leader · rank #9 of 15
  10. 10
    Rhode Island $78,208
    87% of the leader · rank #10 of 15
  11. 11
    Connecticut $78,018
    87% of the leader · rank #11 of 15
  12. 12
    Colorado $76,492
    85% of the leader · rank #12 of 15
  13. 13
    Oregon $75,924
    85% of the leader · rank #13 of 15
  14. 14
    New Hampshire $75,724
    84% of the leader · rank #14 of 15
  15. 15
    Illinois $74,900
    84% of the leader · rank #15 of 15

District of Columbia pays the most at $89,678 median salary; the #15 cutoff, Illinois at $74,900, is still higher than 71% of all 51 ranked states.

Source BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

The bar to make this list

Median salary across all 51 ranked states

$74,900 71st percentile higher than 71% of 51 US states

#15 cutoff $55,000 $90,000 every ranked state, bucketed by value

Each bar is a $5K-wide band; taller bars hold more US states. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

# State Avg Median SalaryTotal Employment
1 District of Columbia $89,678 681,990
2 Washington $86,472 3,502,220
3 New York $83,188 9,618,120
4 California $83,172 18,087,660
5 Massachusetts $81,220 3,559,020
6 New Jersey $80,365 4,250,070
7 Minnesota $79,900 2,930,390
8 Alaska $79,598 314,960
9 Maryland $79,476 2,717,280
10 Rhode Island $78,208 468,240
11 Connecticut $78,018 1,647,290
12 Colorado $76,492 2,848,420
13 Oregon $75,924 1,940,130
14 New Hampshire $75,724 673,020
15 Illinois $74,900 6,050,620
16 Vermont $74,077 288,770
17 Virginia $73,983 4,039,600
18 Hawaii $73,975 605,850
19 Arizona $72,019 3,200,320
20 Wisconsin $71,762 2,910,210
21 Delaware $71,613 461,220
22 Pennsylvania $70,617 6,045,030
23 North Dakota $70,390 421,920
24 Maine $70,351 622,250
25 Michigan $70,101 4,375,670
26 Ohio $69,736 5,526,920
27 Georgia $69,371 4,827,220
28 Nevada $69,352 1,527,000
29 Texas $68,700 14,038,620
30 Nebraska $68,498 1,009,590
31 Indiana $68,360 3,184,820
32 Utah $68,194 1,692,730
33 Iowa $68,184 1,548,780
34 New Mexico $68,120 858,230
35 Florida $67,772 9,802,200
36 North Carolina $67,684 4,901,660
37 Missouri $67,599 2,897,890
38 Idaho $67,243 840,070
39 Tennessee $66,637 3,259,070
40 South Carolina $66,429 2,284,980
41 Kentucky $66,084 1,984,080
42 Wyoming $66,072 271,740
43 Montana $65,917 499,050
44 Kansas $65,074 1,420,940
45 South Dakota $64,417 450,790
46 Alabama $63,962 2,067,680
47 Oklahoma $63,871 1,700,050
48 Louisiana $62,928 1,910,380
49 West Virginia $62,234 692,070
50 Arkansas $58,446 1,290,100
51 Mississippi $57,873 1,136,310

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Every figure on PlainCompare is loaded directly from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OEWS, NCES, DOL, EPA, and the Census Bureau, no number is typed in by an editor. This ranking is computed directly from the BLS wage data cited above. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026.