What jobs pay in Louisiana

What the all-jobs median says about Louisiana

The May 2025 BLS OEWS estimate puts the all-occupations median in Louisiana at $45,520 per year. This is the middle wage across covered wage and salary jobs in the area. It is not the median for each job title. It is not one worker's pay. Use an occupation page when you need a role-level answer.

BLS lists 1,934,900 covered jobs in Louisiana. The all-occupations mean is $56,600 per year. Mean means add the wage values and split the total by the number of jobs behind the estimate. The median and mean can differ because the local wage mix is not even.

Louisiana's $45,520 all-occupations median is 10.7% below the U.S. all-occupations median of $50,980 on the same published median. This is a wage check on the same source period. It does not add local price levels, taxes, hours, benefits, or household needs.

Where Louisiana sits among states and territories

Louisiana ranks 48 of 54 among states and territories with a published annual all-occupations median. WageScope keeps the map type the same. It does not place a state, metro, and nonmetro row in one rank. The rank uses the May 2025 BLS median only.

A rank is a place in a sorted list. It is not a score. It does not say a place is good or bad. It does not show the size of the job base. Louisiana has 1,934,900 covered jobs, while another row near it can have a very different count.

The nearby rank rows give context without turning the list into a league table. Small gaps can move a place by several spots. A later BLS release can also change the order. Read the wage gap and the source date beside the rank. Do not use rank alone to make a move.

• 45. South Carolina has an all-occupations median of $46,490 per year and 2,305,080 covered jobs. Its wage gap from Louisiana is $970.
• 46. Alabama has an all-occupations median of $45,670 per year and 2,113,660 covered jobs. Its wage gap from Louisiana is $150.
• 47. Oklahoma has an all-occupations median of $45,600 per year and 1,707,680 covered jobs. Its wage gap from Louisiana is $80.
• 49. West Virginia has an all-occupations median of $45,300 per year and 701,610 covered jobs. Its wage gap from Louisiana is $220.
• 50. Arkansas has an all-occupations median of $43,630 per year and 1,303,630 covered jobs. Its wage gap from Louisiana is $1,890.
• 51. Virgin Islands (territory) has an all-occupations median of $42,870 per year and 32,090 covered jobs. Its wage gap from Louisiana is $2,650.

The largest detailed occupations shown for Louisiana

The role list is sorted by the BLS employment estimate. It shows detailed occupations from the bounded source table for Louisiana. The first row, Retail Salespersons, has 49,570 estimated jobs. Its median is $29,490 per year.

Large roles shape the all-occupations wage mix, but they do not set it by themselves. A role with many jobs and a lower wage can pull the middle one way. A smaller role with a higher wage can move the mean. The all-occupations row is based on the whole covered job mix, not just the occupations shown in this bounded list.

Employment here means wage and salary jobs in the BLS survey scope. It does not mean people looking for work. It does not mean openings. It does not show how fast a role is changing. Use the current job cards only to inspect dated employer-title matches. Keep that view apart from this May 2025 job count.

• 1. Retail Salespersons has 49,570 estimated jobs in Louisiana. Its published median is $29,490 per year. Its location quotient is 1.02.
• 2. Registered Nurses has 48,970 estimated jobs in Louisiana. Its published median is $80,230 per year. Its location quotient is 1.16.
• 3. Cashiers has 46,350 estimated jobs in Louisiana. Its published median is $26,750 per year. Its location quotient is 1.21.
• 4. Fast Food and Counter Workers has 45,720 estimated jobs in Louisiana. Its published median is $22,800 per year. Its location quotient is 0.95.
• 5. Home Health and Personal Care Aides has 45,060 estimated jobs in Louisiana. Its published median is $22,520 per year. Its location quotient is 0.84.
• 6. Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand has 43,730 estimated jobs in Louisiana. Its published median is $35,340 per year. Its location quotient is 1.19.
• 7. General and Operations Managers has 43,220 estimated jobs in Louisiana. Its published median is $101,790 per year. Its location quotient is 0.99.
• 8. Waiters and Waitresses has 33,870 estimated jobs in Louisiana. Its published median is $15,080 per year. Its location quotient is 1.2.

How published medians differ inside Louisiana

The detailed roles shown for Louisiana do not share one pay level. General and Operations Managers has the highest published median in this bounded role set, at $101,790 per year. That does not make it the highest-paid role in every job or in every part of the area.

The list keeps each official SOC title tied to its own wage row. It does not blend fields, levels, or job posts. A role median can be above the $45,520 all-occupations median even when the role has few jobs. A large role can sit below that mark. Pay and job count answer different questions.

Use a role's own WageScope page before you compare places. That page shows the national spread, the same SOC code across areas, and the source limits. The area list is a starting map. It is not enough to set a pay target for one person or one listing.

• 1. General and Operations Managers has a published median of $101,790 per year in Louisiana. BLS lists 43,220 jobs. Its local share is 0.99 times the national share.
• 2. Registered Nurses has a published median of $80,230 per year in Louisiana. BLS lists 48,970 jobs. Its local share is 1.16 times the national share.
• 3. Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products has a published median of $63,290 per year in Louisiana. BLS lists 19,120 jobs. Its local share is 1.24 times the national share.
• 4. Business Operations Specialists, All Other has a published median of $63,220 per year in Louisiana. BLS lists 17,010 jobs. Its local share is 1.26 times the national share.
• 5. Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education has a published median of $59,850 per year in Louisiana. BLS lists 15,210 jobs. Its local share is 1.15 times the national share.
• 6. Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education has a published median of $58,770 per year in Louisiana. BLS lists 22,060 jobs. Its local share is 1.28 times the national share.
• 7. Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses has a published median of $57,470 per year in Louisiana. BLS lists 17,600 jobs. Its local share is 2.18 times the national share.
• 8. First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers has a published median of $57,180 per year in Louisiana. BLS lists 20,810 jobs. Its local share is 1.16 times the national share.

Roles with a larger local share in Louisiana

Location quotient compares a role's share of jobs in Louisiana with that role's share across the nation. A value of 1 means the shares match. A value above 1 means the role takes a larger share of local jobs. A value below 1 means the share is smaller. The value does not show growth or open jobs.

Food Preparation Workers has the highest published location quotient in this bounded set, at 2.78. The same row has 30,920 jobs and a median of $23,620 per year. Read all three fields together.

A high share can appear in a small job base. A large job count can appear with a share near 1. A high median can appear in either case. The three measures are not a single score. They help you ask three clear questions: how many jobs, how common the role is in the local mix, and what wage BLS published.

• 1. Food Preparation Workers has a location quotient of 2.78 in Louisiana. BLS lists 30,920 jobs and a median of $23,620 per year.
• 2. Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses has a location quotient of 2.18 in Louisiana. BLS lists 17,600 jobs and a median of $57,470 per year.
• 3. Construction Laborers has a location quotient of 1.62 in Louisiana. BLS lists 22,100 jobs and a median of $38,230 per year.
• 4. Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive has a location quotient of 1.32 in Louisiana. BLS lists 28,040 jobs and a median of $38,790 per year.
• 5. Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education has a location quotient of 1.28 in Louisiana. BLS lists 22,060 jobs and a median of $58,770 per year.
• 6. Business Operations Specialists, All Other has a location quotient of 1.26 in Louisiana. BLS lists 17,010 jobs and a median of $63,220 per year.
• 7. Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products has a location quotient of 1.24 in Louisiana. BLS lists 19,120 jobs and a median of $63,290 per year.
• 8. Cashiers has a location quotient of 1.21 in Louisiana. BLS lists 46,350 jobs and a median of $26,750 per year.

What the BEA price level adds for Louisiana

BEA's 2024 all-items price index for Louisiana is 88.2. The U.S. level is 100. The local all-items level is 11.8% below that mark. This is a broad price comparison. It is not a personal budget.

The housing index is 63.1. The goods index is 93.7. Utilities are 71.5. Other services are 95.7. These parts can move in different ways. The all-items number joins them with BEA's method; WageScope does not pick its own weights.

The BLS wage period is May 2025. The BEA price period is 2024. WageScope shows both source dates. To adjust pay, first divide the all-items price index by 100. Then divide pay by that result. This gives a national-price-dollar proxy. It does not call that result take-home pay, spending power for one home, or a place score.

How to read survey limits for Louisiana

The all-occupations employment RSE for Louisiana is 0%. The mean-wage RSE is 0.2%. RSE means relative standard error. It is a survey precision flag. A smaller value often means less sampling uncertainty. It is not an error bar for one person's wage.

The employment RSE belongs to the 1,934,900 job estimate. The mean-wage RSE belongs to the all-occupations mean. WageScope does not attach either field to a detailed role, the median, or a percentile. Each role has its own survey error fields when BLS shares them.

Some BLS values are blank or top coded. Blank does not mean zero. A top code means the value is at least the shown bound. WageScope keeps those states in the role pages and tables. It does not fill a missing value from a peer role, past year, or nearby place.

Use Louisiana as a map, then choose one occupation

Start with the role that matches the work you mean. Official titles can sound broad. Open the role page and check its SOC code. Then compare the Louisiana row with the U.S. row on the same annual or hourly metric. Read the job count and location quotient beside the wage. Add the BEA price level only when the exact row is present.

Next, look at the wage spread. The median shows the middle. The 10th, 25th, 75th, and 90th percentiles show more of the range. A posted job range can be compared with those marks as context, but it stays employer evidence. It never becomes part of the BLS estimate.

If the role-place row is missing, use the national role page or choose another official area. Do not guess. A clean missing state is more useful than a made-up number. It tells you what the source can and cannot answer.

Move from Louisiana wage data to one checked job

The area page does not treat every local job as the same. Choose an occupation first. WageScope can then use a strict employer-title match for that role. A place filter is used only when the BLS area has an exact approved match in the public place list. If that match is not safe, the page says so.

Each shown job keeps the employer, place, source, and seen date. The cards can change as the public catalog changes. They do not count toward this page's stable content gate. They do not change Louisiana's $45,520 all-occupations median. They do not prove that the employer uses the BLS title.

Open a listing before you tailor. Use facts from your own work that you can support. A wage value is not a skill, result, or duty. MeritLog can help shape confirmed work for the listing you chose. The public area page does not save the role, listing, place, or résumé on load.

What this Louisiana page does not say

The page does not say what one person in Louisiana earns. It does not promise a wage, job, move, or result. It does not call the all-occupations median a role wage. It does not turn rank 48 of 54 into a place score. It does not say why wages differ.

The BLS job count leaves out people who work for themselves and other work outside the survey scope. The current job cards are a separate set of public listings. Neither source shows all work. Neither source tells you the chance of getting hired. A missing value stays missing.

Use the page for a narrow task. See the May 2025 local wage picture. Choose one official occupation. Compare the same field across like places. Add the separate 2024 price level when it exists. Read a current employer-title match. Then make a résumé choice from work facts you have confirmed.