Our Methodology

Data Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

All wage data on WageLookup.com comes directly from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program.

The OEWS program produces employment and wage estimates for over 800 occupations. These are estimates of the number of people employed in certain occupational classifications, and estimates of the wages paid to them.

• Survey period: May 2024
• Published: Spring/Summer 2024
• Coverage: Private industry + state and local government
• Excludes: Federal government, self-employed workers, farm workers

What We Do With the Data

We do not estimate, adjust, interpolate, or modify BLS wage figures. We publish the exact figures from BLS OEWS:

• Annual mean wage (A_MEAN)
• Annual median wage (A_MEDIAN)
• Annual wages by percentile: 10th (A_PCT10), 25th (A_PCT25), 75th (A_PCT75), 90th (A_PCT90)
• Hourly mean wage (H_MEAN)
• Hourly median wage (H_MEDIAN)
• Employment estimates (TOT_EMP)

Where BLS reports a value as unavailable (marked with # or ** in raw data), we display "N/A" rather than estimating.

Cost of Living Adjustment

On state salary pages, we display a "COL-adjusted" figure. This uses the MERIC (Missouri Economic Research and Information Center) State Cost of Living Index with Missouri as the baseline (100).

Formula: adjusted = state_median * (100 / col_index)

This figure shows what a state's salary is worth in terms of Missouri purchasing power. It is not an adjustment to the BLS data - it is a separate comparison metric.

Job Outlook Data

Job growth projections are from the BLS Employment Projections program, 2022-2032 decade projections. These are applied at the SOC major group level (2-digit code) as group-level approximations for occupations within each group.

For occupation-specific projections, we recommend the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook.

BLS OEWS Limitations

The OEWS survey has important limitations to understand:

• Wages are for wage and salary workers only - not self-employed
• Does not include tips, overtime, or bonuses (in most cases)
• Survey is conducted over a 3-year rolling panel - May 2024 data incorporates responses from 2022, 2023, and 2024
• Small occupation/state combinations may be suppressed by BLS to protect confidentiality
• Data represents a point-in-time estimate, not real-time salary data

Update Schedule

BLS releases OEWS data annually, typically in the spring for the prior May survey period. WageLookup.com is updated shortly after each annual BLS release.

Current data: May 2024

Contact & Attribution

WageLookup.com is an independent website. We are not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics or any government agency.

If you use our data in research or publications, please cite the underlying source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024.