Official BLS median, low and high pay for nurses, CRNAs, therapists, techs, lawyers, accountants, actuaries, pilots, police, corrections, mail carriers, mechanics, the trades and more, each with its own pay calculator
How much a job pays an hour depends on the job, the state and the employer more than on anything else. This page lists the national median, the bottom 10% and the top 10% for 48 common jobs from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, highest median salary first — from CRNAs at $236,590 a year to CNAs at $42,260 ($20.32 an hour). Each job links to a calculator that starts from its BLS pay in your state and adds your hours, overtime and 2026 taxes.
BLS annual pay is the hourly wage times 2,080 hours, except for airline pilots and flight attendants, whose pay BLS reports only as annual salaries (their hourly column is blank). The figures exclude overtime, shift differentials and on-call pay, which add a lot in jobs like firefighting and line work, and they exclude the self-employed, which matters for dentists, lawyers, psychologists, architects, mechanics, chiropractors, carpenters and court reporters. Mechanics' flat-rate earnings are included, because BLS counts piece rates and production bonuses as wages.
| Job | Median hourly | Median annual | Bottom 10% under | Top 10% over |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nurse Anesthetists | $113.75 | $236,590 | $155,250 | $339,500 |
| Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers | — | $232,140 | $106,710 | $463,830 |
| Dentists, General | $82.19 | $170,950 | $86,250 | $319,630 |
| Lawyers | $76.76 | $159,670 | $78,360 | $351,600 |
| Air Traffic Controllers | $71.19 | $148,080 | $78,420 | $215,610 |
| Pharmacists | $67.75 | $140,910 | $99,290 | $174,230 |
| Optometrists | $65.66 | $136,570 | $74,870 | $202,180 |
| Physician Assistants | $65.33 | $135,880 | $99,380 | $190,280 |
| Nurse Practitioners | $63.61 | $132,300 | $101,340 | $174,420 |
| Veterinarians | $62.55 | $130,100 | $73,920 | $215,700 |
| Actuaries | $62.50 | $130,000 | $78,570 | $215,100 |
| Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers | $52.84 | $109,910 | $59,270 | $158,890 |
| Physical Therapists | $49.40 | $102,760 | $77,140 | $135,140 |
| Clinical and Counseling Psychologists | $48.36 | $100,580 | $55,170 | $180,960 |
| Occupational Therapists | $48.24 | $100,330 | $71,690 | $131,950 |
| Architects, Except Landscape and Naval | $47.73 | $99,280 | $62,300 | $161,420 |
| Dental Hygienists | $47.16 | $98,100 | $74,880 | $126,050 |
| Speech-Language Pathologists | $47.05 | $97,870 | $62,900 | $134,160 |
| Registered Nurses | $46.90 | $97,550 | $68,940 | $137,470 |
| Diagnostic Medical Sonographers | $46.44 | $96,590 | $67,820 | $129,370 |
| Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers | $45.83 | $95,320 | $51,470 | $128,690 |
| Accountants and Auditors | $40.23 | $83,680 | $56,020 | $144,090 |
| Respiratory Therapists | $39.56 | $82,280 | $63,660 | $118,050 |
| Radiologic Technologists and Technicians | $38.52 | $80,110 | $55,980 | $118,660 |
| Chiropractors | $38.08 | $79,200 | $43,460 | $146,080 |
| Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers | $36.64 | $76,210 | $47,510 | $115,120 |
| Court Reporters and Simultaneous Captioners | $34.82 | $72,420 | $42,130 | $130,560 |
| Physical Therapist Assistants | $32.88 | $68,380 | $47,750 | $89,510 |
| Surgical Technologists | $31.08 | $64,650 | $45,940 | $96,940 |
| Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses | $30.96 | $64,400 | $49,740 | $83,440 |
| Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters | $30.67 | $63,800 | $44,150 | $108,420 |
| Flight Attendants | — | $63,580 | $35,110 | $136,430 |
| Electricians | $30.38 | $63,190 | $42,640 | $108,510 |
| Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers | $29.33 | $61,010 | $40,050 | $95,210 |
| Paramedics | $29.13 | $60,600 | $44,230 | $84,850 |
| Carpenters | $29.12 | $60,580 | $40,410 | $99,910 |
| Postal Service Mail Carriers | $29.11 | $60,550 | $42,390 | $81,040 |
| Firefighters | $28.50 | $59,280 | $34,910 | $101,040 |
| Correctional Officers and Jailers | $28.34 | $58,940 | $42,760 | $93,220 |
| Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers | $28.19 | $58,640 | $40,140 | $79,380 |
| Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers | $25.84 | $53,750 | $39,240 | $77,530 |
| Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics | $24.34 | $50,620 | $34,660 | $81,790 |
| Dental Assistants | $23.11 | $48,070 | $37,130 | $62,250 |
| Pharmacy Technicians | $22.00 | $45,750 | $36,020 | $61,040 |
| Medical Assistants | $21.97 | $45,690 | $36,050 | $59,310 |
| Phlebotomists | $21.75 | $45,230 | $35,780 | $58,780 |
| Emergency Medical Technicians | $21.38 | $44,470 | $34,130 | $62,500 |
| Nursing Assistants | $20.32 | $42,260 | $33,940 | $51,980 |
Each calculator has the job's own state-by-state table, schedule and overtime rules and FAQs.
Within every job here the top 10% earn at least 1.5 times what the bottom 10% earn. The biggest official drivers are location (the state tables on each page), employer type (government, hospitals and utilities usually pay more than private contractors and retailers) and experience, which BLS reflects in the percentile spread rather than as a separate figure. Overtime rules differ too: police and firefighters can be paid on work periods of up to 28 days, most interstate truck drivers aren't owed federal overtime, airline crews are exempt from it, practicing lawyers and dentists are exempt at any salary, salaried accountants and architects are usually exempt as learned professionals, dealership mechanics are exempt from overtime but not the minimum wage, EMTs and paramedics in fire departments follow the firefighters' 7(k) rule, state and local corrections officers can be on the same 7(k) rule as police, licensed optometrists are exempt at any salary like dentists, Postal Service carriers are covered by the FLSA by name, and hospitals can use an 8-and-80 system.
Once you know your rate, the next questions are what it is as a salary, what you keep after tax, and whether extra shifts or a side income pay better per hour.
Nurse Anesthetists, at a BLS median of $236,590 a year in May 2025. Of the jobs BLS reports hourly, nurse anesthetists pay the most an hour: $113.75.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, May 2025 estimates, national and by state, downloaded from BLS's own data files. The teacher page uses the National Education Association's salary survey, because BLS reports teacher pay annually rather than hourly.
No. BLS wage estimates are straight-time pay: base pay, incentive pay and tips. Overtime, shift differentials and on-call pay are excluded, so workers who earn them make more than the published figures.
Tax rules, limits and pay data change. Check the current figures with the primary source before acting on them.