Occupation Salaries by State — BLS Real Wage 2026.
BLS Occupational Employment Statistics percentile (P10–P90) by state, BEA RPP-adjusted real wage, licensing path, and transition routes. No self-report aggregation, no anchoring to crowdsourced ranges.
Software Engineer Salary
BLS W-2 wage + Levels.fyi-style FAANG total comp (L3-L8) on same page (most pages do one or the other) + state real-wage with BEA RPP + industry-segmented BLS NAICS data + bootcamp 2026 placement context
→Registered Nurse Salary
Specialty wage table covering 14 RN paths (CRNA-track ICU $95-110K → school nurse $58-74K) + state real take-home with NLC overlay + travel/per-diem/staff net comparison + ADN→BSN→MSN→DNP ROI flowchart
→Data Scientist Salary
Clean title boundary table (DS $108K vs DA $84K vs MLE $135-155K vs DE $125K) + 2024-2025 DS market contraction context + level-by-level FAANG comp comparison vs SWE + industry premium analysis showing DS-in-non-tech earns 40-50% of DS-in-tech
→Physical Therapist Salary
PT Compact reciprocity integration + DPT ROI calc + setting breakdown (outpatient/inpatient/SNF/home health) — none of which BLS or USC offer in one place
→Electrician Salary
5-level wage ladder (apprentice yr1 → contractor) blending BLS + IBEW Local scales + state real take-home with RPP + union/non-union lifetime-earnings math + solar/EV/IoT specialty premium quantified + trade-vs-EE-bachelor's ROI table
→Accountant Salary
5-level career table (staff → partner/CFO) public vs industry split + CPA 10-20% premium quantified + 150-hour rule + busy-season annualized BLS interpretation + state real wage with BEA RPP + AI/RPA outlook by specialty
→Mechanical Engineer Salary
Industry split (defense / aerospace / auto / HVAC) at every level + PE license premium where it pays vs where it doesn't + BS/MS/PhD ROI specific to MechE + state real wage with BEA RPP + EV/battery/aerospace specialty premiums
→Truck Driver Salary
OTR vs regional vs local real-per-hour math (most pages quote gross only) + owner-operator gross-$300K-net-$100K explicit + CDL school <6mo payback + hazmat/oversize/reefer specialty premium quantified + Teamster LTL union scale + state real wage with BEA RPP
→Pharmacist Salary
Setting-by-setting pay table (retail/hospital/clinical/industry/federal) + PharmD ROI in 2026 honest math (12-18yr retail breakeven) + PGY-1/PGY-2 residency math + BCPS/BCOP/BCACP specialty premium + saturated-vs-rural market bifurcation + state real wage
→Marketing Manager Salary
Tech vs CPG vs agency split at every level + RSU equity adds 25-60% at director+ (gap from BLS W-2) + PMM/demand-gen/brand specialty bands + MBA-where-it-pays explicit + AI leverage-not-displacement at manager+ level + state real wage with BEA RPP
→Dental Hygienist Salary
Hourly-rate × annualized W-2 reconciliation (4-day workweek bias) + DSO chain vs private-practice split + per-state expanded-function scope premium + BEA RPP real wage
→Police Officer Salary
Pension actuarial value (BLS excludes) + court / detail / off-duty income breakdown + federal LE (33-3052) vs state trooper vs city PD vs sheriff comparison + state real wage
→Firefighter Salary
56-hour-week shift normalization + paramedic dual-cert premium (5-15%) + career vs volunteer/POC distinction (BLS only counts career) + IAFF union wage scales + state real wage
→Web Developer Salary
Web developer (15-1254) vs software engineer (15-1252) SOC distinction + front/back/full-stack split + agency vs in-house vs freelance + WordPress/CMS-only band vs modern-stack band
→Financial Analyst Salary
Buy-side (HF/AM/PE) vs sell-side (IB/ER) vs corporate (FP&A) split + W-2-bonus inclusion vs carry/RSU exclusion + CFA charterholder premium + state real wage
→Lawyer Salary
BLS W-2 only (excludes partner K-1) + BigLaw associate scale + in-house vs gov vs solo split + state bar reciprocity tie-in
→Dentist Salary
Practice-owner K-1 income excluded by BLS + DSO consolidation reframing + specialist (ortho/oral surg/endo) cross-link + DDS tuition ROI
→Paralegal Salary
Cert (NALA CP / NFPA RP) premium + practice-area split (litigation/corp/IP) + BigLaw paralegal manager band + JD transition NPV math
→Plumber Salary
UA union (20-40% premium with benefits) + service vs new-construction split + master plumber owner-operator economics + apprentice→journeyman→master ladder
→Veterinarian Salary
Corporate consolidation (Mars/VCA) impact on owner economics + DVM debt-load ROI math + rural USDA VMLRP + specialty board cert paths
→Medical Assistant Salary
AAMA CMA / AMT RMA cert premium + specialty practice gap + MA-to-RN bridge financial logic + FQHC PSLF tracks
→Automotive Mechanic Salary
Dealership flat-rate distribution mechanics + ASE Master + EV/hybrid manufacturer training premium + tool-investment net realization
→Real Estate Agent Salary
BLS W-2 vs 1099 commission reality (largest single BLS limitation) + 2024 NAR settlement post-effects + brokerage cap economics + IRS Schedule C / NAR survey reconciliation
→Financial Advisor Salary
Wirehouse W-2 vs RIA principal K-1 (BLS gap) + AUM-fee economics walkthrough + CFP/CFA credential premium quantified + book-size threshold to BLS median
→Self-reported salary data has well-known selection bias.
People who report tend to skew higher-comp. BLS OES is the only federally-collected, employer-reported, percentile-broken dataset in the US. We surface it cleanly, layered with BEA RPP for real purchasing power. Each state click reveals P10–P90 percentiles, ranking among all 51 states (nominal and real basis), and licensing/compact status where applicable.
- Why these 24 occupations first?
High search volume, clear federal data coverage (BLS publishes detailed state-level percentiles), and high-value adjacent decisions (bootcamp, certification, licensure prep).
- Why no Glassdoor / Levels.fyi numbers?
Self-report data has well-known selection bias. BLS OES is the only federally-collected, employer-reported, percentile-broken dataset in the US.
- Where do I find state-specific salary data?
Each occupation page lists every state with BLS data — click any state to see P10–P90 percentiles, real wage, and ranking among all 51 states.