For example, fewer Black Americans aged 25 and older have completed high school or have a bachelor’s degree than any other race other than Hispanic Americans, according to Pew. Meanwhile, a higher percentage of Asian Americans have reached those educational milestones than any other race, per Pew. A similar percentage of white and Asian Americans live in poverty while a much higher percentage of Black and Hispanic Americans live in poverty, which can make it more difficult to move up the income ladder. The need for multiple incomes often poses challenges with regard to having children.
State With the Highest Average Salary for Teachers
New Yorkplaces a close second, with an average annual salary of $74,870, and California rounds out the top three list with an average salary of $73,220. The high average salaries in these states reflect not only the states’ economic strength, but also add to their allure as top destinations for career growth and opportunities. Our examination of salaries across the U.S. paints a complex picture, influenced by factors such as state, occupation and gender. While strides have been made to improve earnings, the persistent gender pay gap shows there’s still work to be done. As we navigate towards a more equitable future, addressing continuing disparities must remain at the center of discourse and decision making.
Average U.S. income versus average U.S. salary
ProFootballNetwork reports that the average salary for an NFL player is around $2.8 million per year. However, this figure is not reflective of the wage that most players signed to NFL teams can expect to earn. The vast salaries offered to star players, particularly quarter-backs, drag the league-wide figure far higher than the majority of players will ever receive. According to data from ZipRecruiter,3 New York offers the highest average salary for lawyers in the country at $124,309—significantly above the national average lawyer’s salary of $105,797.
Of course, you can’t change your race or age, but a couple of things you can change are the industry you choose to work in and the state or metro area you choose to call home. The number of wage earners in a family naturally affects median family income. The median income for families with one wage earner is $63,534, while with two wage earners the median income jumps to $117,107. Mississippi, Arkansas and West Virginia sit at the other end of the salary spectrum, with Mississippi reporting the lowest average salary across using trailing stop loss orders for maximum profits the U.S. at $45,180. Arkansas isn’t too far ahead at $48,570, while West Virginia comes in at a slightly higher $49,170. While these three states offer the lowest average salaries, it’s worth noting that cost of living often aligns with local income levels, which may counter the drawbacks of a lower salary.
Nurses Can Earn the Highest Median Salary in California
The most important key figures provide you with a compact summary of the topic of „Wages and salaries in the U.S.“ and take you straight to the corresponding statistics. The causes underlying this gap are complex and multifaceted, encompassing factors such as discrimination, age, the types of jobs held by women and men, and societal expectations around parenthood. Addressing this gap is not only a matter of fairness but also an important step towards ensuring women’s financial stability. The state’s diverse legal market, coupled with its economic growth and the globalization of its law firms, has created a high demand for legal services. This high compensation level is complemented by the positive job outlook and high employment rates for nurses in the state, making California an attractive destination for those in the nursing profession. These are all key indicators of the value the state places on its healthcare workforce and its recognition of the pivotal role nurses play in healthcare delivery.
While women’s salaries have grown since 2016, sometimes at a faster rate than men’s, a dent hasn’t been made in unequal gender pay. Gender equality is still far off, as women are making almost the same percentage of what men make as they did in 2016. Women in Massachusetts earn a median salary of $66,536, the highest among women in the U.S.
Families with more wage earners unsurprisingly have a higher median income, although returns diminish above two wage earners. This is likely because high school or college-age children make up for the additional wage earners and bring in much less than their parents. When the median is considerably lower than the average, it means that there are outliers on the top end. So $61,937 may be a more accurate representation of typical household earnings.
Gender and its impact on compensation is a topic of ongoing discussion and analysis. In our exploration of average salaries across the U.S. by state and gender, we analyzed data from the American Community Survey,4 which uses median salary data rather than averages. This approach avoids skewed numbers from outlying high and low figures, providing a more accurate picture of the gender pay gap. In July 2024, the average hourly earnings of all employees in the United States was at 11.19 U.S. dollars. The deflators used for constant-dollar earnings shown here come from the Consumer Price Indexes Programs. The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Employees (CPI-U) is used to deflate the data for financial literacy for millennials all employees.
The average family income changes based on the number of people in your household. The more bodies you need to feed and clothe, the harder it is to keep up with your expenses. Of course, it’s easy to be tempted to move to one of these metros in the hopes of snagging a massive pay boost. But remember, some of these cities are among the most expensive in the country to live in, so what you might gain in earnings, you’ll likely end up spending on rent and other expenses.
The data serves as a stark reminder that the journey towards gender pay equality is far from over. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics1 shows that California, with a median salary of $124,000 for nurses, stands out as a state that understands the value of this critical healthcare profession. But the benefits of practicing nursing in California don’t stop at salary. But remember, many of those same people are hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt from having gone to medical or dental school. But for many people in the medical field, for example, it takes several decades to recoup that investment. The median annual wage in 2021 in the US was $45,760, an increase of 9.08% or $3,801 from 2020.
- The high average salaries in these states reflect not only the states’ economic strength, but also add to their allure as top destinations for career growth and opportunities.
- Men earned a median salary of $52,612 in 2022 while women earned $39,688, 75% of men’s salaries.
- Gender and its impact on compensation is a topic of ongoing discussion and analysis.
- The need for multiple incomes often poses challenges with regard to having children.
For example, in 2022 the average salary for an NFL quarter-back was $7 million. The top ten most expensive contracts currently running in NFL are all for quarter-backs. The mammoth $450 million, ten-year deal tying Patrick Mahomes to the Kansas City Chiefs how to integrate crypto payments: best cryptocurrency gateways is the biggest of the lot. Similarly, research salary data for your industry and present it to your employer if you see that you’re statistically underpaid given your position and line of work. And finally, don’t hesitate to dust off your resume and see what opportunities are out there. You may find that there’s a nearby company that will pay you what you’re worth if your current employer won’t.
The former has a median income of $95,770, while the latter pulls in $113,919. Not surprisingly, most of the top paying occupations require advanced degrees and specialized training. Adjusting for inflation, median household income dropped 2.2% from 2021 to 2022. Adjusting for inflation, the median household income has declined every year since 2019, when it was $78,250. We’ve crunched numbers from Bureau of Labor Statistics1 data to bring you a detailed overview of average salaries across the nation. From the highest earners to the lowest, here are the insights you need to put the U.S. earnings landscape into perspective.
Many families can’t afford child care, but they also can’t afford to slash their household income in half. Answering this question takes us into the heart of the American workforce, for a look into the interplay between where you work and what you do. Whether you live in a bustling city or the rural heartland, your occupation and location can play a key role in your earnings. The NFL is one of the most widely-watched, closely-followed, and well-financed competitions in the world of spots. Top players can sign contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars, often receiving lucrative sponsorship endorsements on the side to compliment their vast playing salaries. The Ascent is a Motley Fool service that rates and reviews essential products for your everyday money matters.