BLS OEWS May 2025 · released May 2026
Salary Percentile Calculator
Enter your annual salary and see where it lands on the real wage distribution for all U.S. wage and salary jobs — the one the Bureau of Labor Statistics actually published, not an interpolated guess.
| Percentile | Annual | Hourly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $31,200 | $15.00 |
| 25th | $37,590 | $18.07 |
| 50th (median) | $50,980 | $24.51 |
| 75th | $80,520 | $38.71 |
| 90th | $128,560 | $61.81 |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 release. Occupation: All Occupations (SOC 00-0000). Area: United States.
Methodology
Source. The single "All Occupations" national row of the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025 reference period, released May 2026 — a federal survey of about 1.1 million business establishments covering roughly 155 million wage and salary jobs. Data is ingested on a schedule into pre-computed tables; nothing is fetched from BLS at page load, and no self-reported salary data is used or blended in.
How placement works. BLS publishes five points of the wage distribution: the 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentiles. Your salary is bracketed between the two published points it falls between — never converted into a fake-precise single percentile, because computing one would require interpolating between values BLS never published. The chart draws one bar per bracket, sized so each bar's area equals the share of workers in that range; the 10% below the 10th and above the 90th percentile are noted but not drawn, since BLS publishes no boundary for those tails.
Scope and limitations. OEWS measures the wages of jobs, not the incomes of households: it covers base pay, commissions, tips, and production bonuses, and excludes overtime premiums, stock and equity compensation, self-employment earnings, and capital income. It counts jobs, not people — someone holding two jobs appears twice. For equity-heavy roles the true total-compensation distribution sits above these figures. Estimates are a May 2025 snapshot published annually.
Informational only, not professional or financial advice. Last reviewed: July 2026.
Frequently asked questions
What data is this calculator based on?
The "All Occupations" national wage estimate from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025 reference period, released May 2026 — covering roughly 155 million wage and salary jobs at about 1.1 million surveyed establishments. Nothing here is self-reported or blended from other sources.
Is this the same as an income percentile?
No, and the difference matters. OEWS measures the wages of jobs — base pay, commissions, tips, and production bonuses. It excludes self-employment earnings, capital income, stock and equity compensation, and it counts jobs rather than households. An income percentile calculator (usually built on Census or IRS data) answers a different question. This tool tells you where a wage ranks among U.S. wage and salary jobs.
Why doesn't it give me an exact percentile like "73rd"?
Because BLS publishes exactly five points of the distribution — the 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentiles — and computing a precise rank between them would mean inventing data BLS never published. Calculators that report a single exact percentile are interpolating. This tool brackets your salary between the published points and says so plainly.
What counts as "salary" here?
Use your gross annual wage: base pay plus commissions, tips, and production bonuses, before taxes. Don't include overtime premiums, employer benefits, or stock/equity compensation — OEWS excludes those, so including them would overstate your position on this distribution.
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