Methodology
How we use BLS salary data
Source and version
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), reference period May 2025, released 2026-05-15. U.S. federal government work; BLS asks users to cite the source.
| Scope | File | SHA-256 | Rows accepted / rejected |
|---|---|---|---|
| national | oesm25nat.zipoesm25nat/national_M2025_dl.xlsx · retrieved 2026-10-09 | b5855a37f3e03e77… | 1,401 / 0 |
| state | oesm25st.zipoesm25st/state_M2025_dl.xlsx · retrieved 2026-10-09 | 74d5be0e1df86551… | 37,408 / 0 |
Import checks
- Every required column must be present, or the import stops.
- Each row needs a valid occupation code (NN-NNNN), occupation level and area. Rows that fail, and duplicates, are rejected and listed in the validation report.
- Percentiles must not decrease from the 10th to the 90th.
- Each figure keeps a stable record ID linking it to the period, area, industry, ownership and occupation code.
Missing and top-coded values
BLS doesn't publish every estimate. We show "Not published" where BLS uses a suppression code, and "At or above BLS top range" where a wage is top-coded. We never fill gaps by interpolation and never mix figures from different survey years.
What the data can't tell you
- BLS describes OEWS wages as straight-time gross pay. Overtime pay, nonproduction bonuses and employer-paid benefits are not included — see the BLS technical notes for the full definition.
- Estimates describe groups of workers, not individuals, and come with sampling error.
- Self-employed people aren't included.
Sources
- OEWS May 2025 data (oesm25nat.zip) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- OEWS May 2025 data (oesm25st.zip) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed 2026-10-09.