Average Salary in United States [2023] – The average salary in the United States is 7,875 USD in 2023. Then you may wonder, will that salary be enough to live comfortably in the U.S.? How much is your minimum income needed so you can live comfortably in the U.S.?
Usually, an average salary is enough to fulfill your basic needs. In this article, you will learn further about the average salary in the U.S.
Average salary in United States
In 2023, the average monthly salary in the U.S. is $7,875. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the recent median weekly salary in the U.S. is $1,100.
Average salary is the average amount of money earned by workers in a particular category during a particular period of time.
Various categories would affect the nominal salary, the average salary in this case. The various categories are age, gender, states, educational attainment, ethnicities, occupation, industry, and the nature of employment.
Average salary in United States by gender of the same age group
The average salary for males is higher than females, so is the median. For full time employment, males earn $1,181 weekly. Meanwhile, females earn $992 or 84% of the males.
Below are the details for average salary in the U.S. by gender of the same age group.
Table 1.
| Age group | Males median weekly salary | Females median weekly salary |
| 16 – 24 | $751 | $690 |
| 25 – 34 | $1,003 | $1,003 |
| 35 – 44 | $1,329 | $1,112 |
| 45 – 54 | $1,389 | $1,098 |
| 55 – 64 | $1,393 | $1,044 |
Average salary in United States by age
By age, age group 16 – 24 earn lower than their older age group. Most likely, because of experience and the labor regulation in the U.S. As usually people aged 16 – 24 are supposed to go to school instead of working.
Below are the details for average salary in the U.S. by age.
Table 2.
| Age group | Median weekly salary |
| 16 years and over | $1,100 |
| 16 – 24 | $717 |
| 16 – 29 | $611 |
| 20 – 24 | $737 |
| 25 years and over | $1,155 |
| 25 – 54 | $1,148 |
| 25 – 34 | $1,018 |
| 35 – 44 | $1,223 |
| 45 – 54 | $1,239 |
| 55 years and over | $1,176 |
| 55 – 64 years | $1,218 |
| 65 years and over | $1,042 |
Average salary in United States by ethnicity
The U.S. is a multicultural country with diverse ethnicities. There are many ethnicities in the U.S. and each of them are reported to have different average salaries. The whites still earn the highest among other ethnicities.
Below are the details for median weekly salary in the U.S. by ethnicity of the same age group each.
Table 3.
| Age group | White | Black or African American | Asian | Hispanic or Latino ethnicity |
| 16 years and over | $1,130 | $886 | $1,468 | $868 |
| 16 – 24 | $729 | $678 | $803 | $699 |
| 25 years and over | $1,187 | $925 | $1,514 | $902 |
| 25 – 54 | $1,176 | $924 | $1,573 | $906 |
| 55 years and over | $1,222 | $926 | $1,231 | $888 |
Average salary in United States by educational attainment
By educational attainment, an advanced degree earns higher than the rest of the group. But, the number of workers in this group is less than other groups. For advanced degrees, the number of workers is 19,590 in 2023. In the same year, there were 26,591 workers of college or associate graduate.
Below is the detail for median weekly salary in the U.S. by educational attainment.
Table 4.
| Educational level | Males | Females | Total |
| Less than a high school diploma | $730 | $599 | $682 |
| High school graduates or equivalent | $971 | $749 | $884 |
| Some college or associate degree | $1,151 | $870 | $995 |
| Bachelor’s, master’s, professional, doctoral degree | $1,866 | $1,439 | $1,621 |
| Bachelor’s degree only | $1,677 | $1,315 | $1,488 |
| Advanced degree | $2,115 | $1,612 | $1,855 |
Average salary in United States by the nature of employment
There are two groups under the nature of employment. Full time employment and part time employment. In the U.S., full time workers work 35 hours or more per week at their sole or principal job are defined as working full time. Meanwhile, part time workers who work less than 35 hours per week at their sole or principal job are defined as working part time.
1. Part time employment by gender and age
From the table below, you can tell that females part time workers age 16 and over earn higher than males. However, for other age groups, the males earn higher than females.
Table 5.
| Age group | Males median weekly salary | Females median weekly salary |
| 16 years and over | $346 | $360 |
| 16 – 24 | $283 | $264 |
| 25 years and over | $421 | $413 |
2. Part time employment by gender and ethnicities
According to the table below, Asian part time workers tend to earn higher than other groups. By gender, female part time workers of Asian ethnicity earn higher than other groups.
Table 6.
| Ethnicities | Males median weekly salary | Females median weekly salary | Total median weekly salary |
| White | $351 | $364 | $358 |
| Black or African American | $323 | $330 | $328 |
| Asian | $364 | $451 | $396 |
| Hispanic or Latino ethnicity | $392 | $375 | $379 |
3. Full time employment
However, in the full time employment report, males earn higher than females, the whites also earn higher than other ethnicities.
For the full time employment average salary details, you can refer to Table 1. and Table 3.
Average salary in United States by state
Each state in the U.S. has a different average weekly salary. The recent report presented by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics was in September 2022. From the table below, Washington has the highest average salary compared to other states with $1,657.
Table 7.
| State | Average weekly wages |
| Alabama | $1,120 |
| Alaska | $1,304 |
| Arizona | $1,251 |
| Arkansas | $1,036 |
| California | $1,601 |
| Colorado | $1,432 |
| Connecticut | $1,491 |
| Delaware | $1,292 |
| Florida | $1,220 |
| Georgia | $1,255 |
| Hawaii | $1,208 |
| Idaho | $1,063 |
| Illinois | $1,361 |
| Indiana | $1,123 |
| Iowa | $1,118 |
| Kansas | $1,085 |
| Kentucky | $1,082 |
| Louisiana | $1,103 |
| Maine | $1,117 |
| Maryland | $1,418 |
| Massachusetts | $1,651 |
| Michigan | $1,236 |
| Minnesota | $1,346 |
| Mississippi | $933 |
| Missouri | $1,149 |
| Montana | $1,059 |
| Nebraska | $1,117 |
| Nevada | $1,205 |
| New Hampshire | $1,365 |
| New Jersey | $1,461 |
| New Mexico | $1,087 |
| New York | $1,608 |
| North Carolina | $1,207 |
| North Dakota | $1,190 |
| Ohio | $1,187 |
| Oklahoma | $1,047 |
| Oregon | $1,301 |
| Pennsylvania | $1,296 |
| Puerto Rico | $616 |
| Rhode Island | $1,225 |
| South Carolina | $1,079 |
| South Dakota | $1,052 |
| Tennessee | $1,198 |
| Texas | $1,333 |
| Utah | $1,186 |
| Vermont | $1,142 |
| Virgin Islands | $1,030 |
| Virginia | $1,380 |
| Washington | $1,657 |
| West Virginia | $1,042 |
| Wisconsin | $1,140 |
| Wyoming | $1,083 |
Average salary in United States by occupation
Various occupations in the U.S. also earn differently. Some are higher, some are less. Therefore the average salary for each is different.
Table 8.
| Occupation | Males median weekly salary | Females median weekly salary | Total |
| Management, professional, and related occupations | $1,775 | $1,344 | $1,531 |
| Management, business, and financial operations occupations | $1,879 | $1,464 | $1,642 |
| Professional and related occupations | $1,741 | $1,266 | $1,457 |
| Service occupations | $793 | $662 | $711 |
| Sales and office occupations | $1,024 | $868 | $929 |
| Sales and related occupations | $1,167 | $830 | $988 |
| Office and administrative support occupations | $978 | $881 | $902 |
| Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations | $1,007 | $664 | $993 |
| Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations | $688 | $597 | $632 |
| Construction and extraction occupations | $988 | $731 | $981 |
| Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations | $1,112 | $657 | $1,100 |
| Production, transportation, and material moving occupations | $903 | $688 | $833 |
| Production occupations | $956 | $713 | $880 |
| Transportation and material moving occupations | $863 | $649 | $799 |
Average salary in United States by industry
The industry in the U.S. is diverse and huge. Just like any other countries, some industries earn higher than others. Engineering has the highest average salary in the U.S. as of 2023. Making it a lucrative industry for your career path, even better if you happen to be interested in pursuing a career in engineering.
Below is the detail for average salary in the U.S. by industry according to Talent.
Table 9.
| Industry | Average yearly salary |
| Accounting, administration and human resources | $61,718 |
| Architecture and creative arts | $55,112 |
| Banking, finance and insurance | $77,223 |
| Childcare and education | $57,204 |
| Construction and maintenance | $51,483 |
| Engineering | $97,382 |
| Food services | $42,211 |
| Healthcare, pharmaceutical, and social services | $84,305 |
| Hospitality and travel | $46,820 |
| Information and technology | $89,102 |
| Journalism and translation | $51,688 |
| Law enforcement and security | $52,238 |
| Legal | $61,491 |
| Marketing and sales | $72,829 |
| Retail, cosmetics, and customer services | $40,006 |
| Science | $85,714 |
| Shipping, manufacturing, and transportation | $39,828 |
From the article above, certain categories tend to earn lower than the general average salary in the U.S. as of 2023. Which means, the salary is not enough to fulfill your basic needs to live in the U.S. decently. Plan B, you will need either a job that offers you average to higher salary or stay with your current job but also get a side job.
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