Hourly Wage Percentiles in the US: What the 10th to 90th Mean
See how US hourly wage percentiles work, what the 10th, 25th, median, 75th and 90th percentile pay, and how to find your own occupation's percentile wages.
By the Salary Atlas editorial team · Published
An hourly wage percentile tells you the share of workers who earn less than a given rate. At the 25th percentile, 25% of workers earn less and 75% earn more. In the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) May 2025 data for all occupations, the median hourly wage is $24.51, and the annual percentile wages work out to roughly $15.00 an hour at the 10th percentile and about $61.81 at the 90th. Below, we explain where those numbers come from, how to read them, and how to look up your own job.
TL;DR
- A percentile is a rank, not an average. The median (50th percentile) is the wage at which half of workers earn less and half earn more.
- For all US occupations in BLS data for May 2025, the median hourly wage is $24.51 and the mean is $33.54. The gap shows a few high earners pulling the average up.
- Converted at 2,080 paid hours a year, the BLS annual percentile wages equal about $15.00 (10th), $18.07 (25th), $38.71 (75th) and $61.81 (90th) an hour.
- Sources differ. BLS employer surveys, household surveys and Census income reports measure different things, so never compare figures across them without checking the definition.
- Percentiles inside your own occupation and state are far more useful for pay decisions than the national all-jobs figure.
Table of Contents
- What an hourly wage percentile actually measures
- US hourly wage percentiles for all occupations
- Why other sources show different numbers
- Low-wage thresholds and the bottom of the distribution
- How to read percentiles inside one occupation
- Using percentiles to negotiate or set pay
- Common mistakes with hourly percentiles
- Our perspective
- Look up your own percentile wages
- FAQ
- Sources
What an hourly wage percentile actually measures
Line up every worker in a group from lowest to highest hourly pay. The wage at the 10th position out of 100 is the 10th percentile. The wage at the 50th position is the median. The wage at the 90th position is the 90th percentile.
This is why percentiles beat averages for pay questions. The mean adds everything up and divides, so a surgeon or a CEO drags it upward. The median ignores how far the top stretches. If you want a refresher on the middle point, our guide to calculating a median wage walks through it step by step.
Five points are usually published:
| Percentile | Plain meaning |
|---|---|
| 10th | 10% of workers earn less, 90% earn more. A common stand-in for entry-level or low-end pay. |
| 25th (lower quartile) | The bottom quarter earns less. |
| 50th (median) | The typical worker. Half earn less, half earn more. |
| 75th (upper quartile) | Only a quarter of workers earn more. |
| 90th | Only one worker in ten earns more. Often seasoned specialists or top-paying employers. |
US hourly wage percentiles for all occupations
The BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program is the largest source of employer-reported wages by occupation. The May 2025 estimates were released in May 2026. For all occupations combined, BLS reports a median annual wage of $50,980, a mean annual wage of $69,770, and a median hourly wage of $24.51.
The table below converts the BLS annual percentile wages into hourly rates by dividing by 2,080 (40 hours times 52 weeks). That is our own arithmetic, a standard approximation, so it can differ by a few cents from a figure BLS publishes directly for hourly-paid workers. The conversion reproduces the published median exactly: $50,980 divided by 2,080 is $24.51.
| Percentile | Annual wage (BLS OEWS, May 2025) | Approx. hourly (annual / 2,080) |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
If you want to see how these figures are organized by job title and state, our overview of BLS salary data by job and state explains what each column means.
Why other sources show different numbers
Search for hourly wage percentiles and you will see numbers that do not match. That is usually a definition problem, not an error.
Employer survey versus household survey. OEWS asks employers about wages for their payroll employees. The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) uses Current Population Survey household data instead. EPI reported that the 10th-percentile wage fell 0.3% to $14.56 in 2025, while the median rose 0.8% to $25.67 and the 90th percentile rose 0.4% to $64.52. Those figures sit close to BLS OEWS values but are not identical, because the survey, the population and the method differ. Hourly pay versus income. The Census Bureau's Income in the United States: 2023 report covers household income before taxes, not hourly pay. It reports that the top 5% of households had incomes of $316,100 or more and that the highest quintile started at $165,300. A household can include several earners, so these numbers should never be read as individual hourly wages. Wage and salary workers only. OEWS covers nonfarm payroll employees. It leaves out the self-employed, so a freelancer's hourly rate has no place in these percentiles. All occupations versus one occupation. The national all-jobs distribution blends cashiers, nurses and engineers. It describes the economy, not your market.The practical rule: write down the source, the survey month or year, and the population before you quote any percentile.
Low-wage thresholds and the bottom of the distribution
People often search percentiles because they want to know where $15 an hour or $20 an hour lands. On the BLS all-occupations data, $15.00 an hour is almost exactly the 10th percentile. That means roughly one in ten wage and salary workers earns less than that, with the caveat that the figure is an annual conversion.
The Congressional Research Service's report on recent wage trends finds that real wage growth at the 10th percentile stayed strong through the post-pandemic period it examines (2014 to 2024), and suggests state laws may be part of the reason. Over short windows, though, the bottom can stall, as the 2025 EPI figure above shows.
What a given hourly rate buys depends on where you live. Take the $15.00 rate: at 2,080 hours it earns $31,200 a year, or $2,600 a month before taxes. A common budgeting guideline caps rent at 30% of gross income, which would be $780 a month. In many metros that will not cover a one-bedroom apartment, which is why some workers look at renting by the room to keep housing costs under that 30% line.
How to read percentiles inside one occupation
The national distribution is background. The real value is the distribution within a single job. Carpenters, for example, have a very different spread from software developers. Our carpenter salary page shows hourly and annual pay for that trade, and our software developer salary page shows a $135,980 median based on BLS data.
When you look at an occupation's percentiles, use this order:
- Find the median first. It is your anchor for what a typical worker in that job makes.
- Check the 25th to 75th range. Half of workers sit in this band. If your offer or pay falls inside it, you are in the normal range.
- Look at the 10th and 90th as guardrails. Pay below the 10th percentile is unusual for the job. Pay above the 90th usually reflects seniority, a niche skill or a high-cost employer.
- Switch to your state. Percentiles differ sharply by state, and that difference often exceeds the difference between job titles.
- Check the year. OEWS data is released annually, with a reference period of May.
A worked example
Say you are comparing a $22 an hour offer with the all-occupations table above. $22 sits between the 25th percentile ($18.07) and the median ($24.51). You would be paid more than a bit over a quarter of all workers but less than half. That alone says little, because it mixes every job. The useful step is to open the percentile table for your own occupation and state and see where $22 falls there. If it is near that job's 75th percentile, you have a strong offer. If it is near the 10th, you have room to ask for more.
Using percentiles to negotiate or set pay
For job seekers. Percentiles turn a vague ask into a defensible number. Many candidates aim for the median as a baseline and cite the 75th percentile when they bring more experience, certifications or a competing offer. Our guide to negotiating with the 75th percentile salary shows how to frame that request using linked BLS figures. For employers and HR. A pay band that starts at the 25th percentile and tops out near the 75th covers the middle half of the market for that job in your state. Posting below the 25th percentile makes hiring slower. Staying near the median helps retention. If you employ remote staff across states, location-based pay adjustments decide which state's percentiles apply. For students. Compare the 10th and 90th percentiles of a career, not just the median. A wide spread means your choices on employer, location and specialty matter a lot. A narrow one means pay is more predictable. If you are weighing the cost of a degree against pay, an education ROI calculator can help you put those percentile wages next to tuition costs.Common mistakes with hourly percentiles
- Treating the 90th percentile as a goal for everyone. By definition, only one worker in ten can be there.
- Mixing hourly and annual figures without saying how you converted. Annual wages for salaried staff do not always equal hourly rate times 2,080.
- Comparing a percentile from one year to another without adjusting for inflation. A nominal gain can be a real loss.
- Ignoring hours. Part-time workers can have a high hourly rate and low annual pay, and the reverse.
- Using household income percentiles as personal wage percentiles. They answer a different question.
- Forgetting benefits. Percentiles cover wages, not health insurance, retirement contributions or paid leave.
Our perspective
We built Salary Atlas around one belief: a percentile is only useful if you can trace it. Every wage figure we publish comes from the BLS and links back to its origin. We do not estimate wages, we do not use self-reported or scraped numbers, and we refresh the data annually. That means our percentiles can look less dramatic than a crowd-sourced site's, because there are no invented trends.
The most common misreading we see is people comparing their wage to one national number. The question to ask is narrower: what do workers in my job, in my state, earn at the 25th, 50th and 75th percentiles? Once you have those three numbers, you can judge an offer, a raise or a career change with something solid under it. No paywall or signup should stand between you and that answer.
, Joelen Zyoktova
Look up your own percentile wages
If you work in or are considering a specific job, start with its page rather than the national averages. Our software developer salary page shows how we present median, percentile and state data with each figure linked to BLS. You can browse the rest of the site from Salary Atlas, free and without signing up.
FAQ
What is the difference between the median and the 50th percentile?
None. They are the same number: the wage at which half of workers earn less and half earn more. The median is the more common name in wage reports. The mean, or average, is different and is usually higher because high earners pull it up.
What hourly wage puts you in the top 10%?
On BLS May 2025 data for all occupations, the 90th percentile annual wage is $128,560. Dividing by 2,080 hours gives about $61.81 an hour. That is a national all-jobs figure. In a specific occupation or state, the 90th percentile can be far lower or higher, so check your own job's table.
Is $15 an hour a low wage in the US?
It sits near the 10th percentile of the BLS all-occupations wage distribution, using the annual figure of $31,200 divided by 2,080 hours. Roughly 90% of wage and salary workers earn more at the national level. Whether it covers living costs depends heavily on your local rent and household size.
Why do different websites show different hourly percentiles?
They use different surveys, years, populations and conversion rules. BLS OEWS surveys employers, EPI uses household survey data, and Census reports cover household income. Always check the source, the date and whether the figures are hourly, annual or household-level before comparing.
How often do BLS wage percentiles change?
OEWS estimates are released once a year, with a May reference period. The May 2025 estimates came out in May 2026. Any site claiming monthly percentile updates by occupation is not drawing on new OEWS data for that.
Sources
- Income in the United States: 2023, U.S. Census Bureau
- Low-wage workers faced worsening affordability in 2025, Economic Policy Institute
- Recent Wage Trends and Issues, Congressional Research Service
Recommended
Occupation wage figures on Salary Atlas come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Figures in this article that are not linked to a source are estimates. See our methodology.