Our Methodology

Salary data drives real money decisions — negotiating an offer, relocating, picking a major. We want you to know exactly where our numbers come from, what they cover, and what their limits are.

Primary source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)

Every wage figure on SalaryByCity is anchored in the US Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program. OEWS surveys roughly 1.1 million establishments over a rolling three-year cycle and publishes annual wage estimates for about 830 occupations across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, US territories, and 595 metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas. It is the most authoritative source of US salary data and is the underlying dataset for almost every published “average salary” figure you see on government and major media sites.

For each city and occupation we publish:

• the annual median— the 50th percentile, usually a more honest benchmark than the mean,
• the annual mean— the average, which can be pulled up by very high earners,
• the 10th, 25th, 75th, and 90th percentile bands so you can see where you would sit relative to others in the same job in the same metro,
• the corresponding hourly rates,
• the BLS-reported employment count for that occupation in that area, which tells you how thick the job market is.

Geography: BLS metro and nonmetro areas

BLS uses the OMB-defined Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) and Nonmetropolitan Statistical Area definitions for geographic breakdowns. These are documented at the BLS area definitions page. An MSA is anchored on a Core Based Statistical Area (CBSA) and usually includes the central city plus surrounding counties that have strong commuting ties to it. Our city pages map to those MSA definitions, so when we say “San Francisco” we mean the San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley MSA, not the city limits.

Occupation codes (SOC)

BLS publishes wages by Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code. SOC is a hierarchical taxonomy: a 6-digit code identifies a specific occupation (e.g. 15-1252 Software Developers), the first 2 digits identify the major group (15 Computer and Mathematical), and intermediate levels group related work. Our occupation pages and salary tables follow the SOC structure exactly so you can cross-reference any number against the BLS source page.

Cross-reference and verification

We link out to authoritative sources so you can verify any salary you're about to negotiate or budget around:

• BLS OEWS — the primary source for all our wage figures.
• US Census Bureau Income — household income data from the American Community Survey, useful for context (a $90k salary in a metro with a $75k median household income lands very differently).
• BEA Personal Income by State — Bureau of Economic Analysis personal income statistics, updated quarterly.
• IRS SOI Tax Stats — the IRS Statistics of Income division publishes individual income tax data by state and ZIP code.

Update frequency

BLS releases OEWS data once a year, usually in spring, with data for the previous calendar year. There is a typical lag of 12-18 months between the survey reference period and publication. We refresh our dataset within days of each OEWS release. Each page labels the data year so you know exactly how fresh the numbers are.

Limitations you should know about

• Establishment-based survey. OEWS surveys employers, not workers. It captures wages paid by traditional employers and excludes self-employed workers, business owners, and most contract workers (1099 income). For contractor-heavy fields, real income may differ.
• Cell suppression.When BLS has too few observations to publish a reliable estimate (or could identify a specific employer), it suppresses the cell. You will sometimes see “not available” for a niche occupation in a small metro. That is BLS protecting confidentiality, not us hiding data.
• Annualization assumes full-time year-round. BLS annualizes hourly wages assuming 2,080 hours per year. Part-time and seasonal workers will have lower actual earnings.
• No bonus, equity, or benefits. OEWS captures base wage and salary income only. Tech bonuses, sales commissions, RSU grants, and benefit-rich compensation packages (healthcare, retirement match) are not included.
• Not financial advice. Nothing on SalaryByCity constitutes professional financial, career, or relocation advice. For decisions with real money on the line, work with a qualified advisor.

Corrections and feedback

If a published BLS figure disagrees with what you see here, please contact us with the occupation, metro, and the BLS URL. Corrections from the community help us catch ingestion bugs quickly.

This methodology page was last reviewed in March 2026. Material changes to how we source or compute the data will be reflected here before they reach production pages.