Missouri wage guide
Read each view on its own: pay across all jobs, the mix of roles, job shares, prices, and survey limits. Every value stays tied to BLS area 29.
What the all-jobs median says about Missouri
The May 2025 BLS OEWS estimate puts the all-occupations median in Missouri at $47,800 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 2,936,050 covered jobs in Missouri. The all-occupations mean is $62,160 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.
Missouri's $47,800 all-occupations median is 6.2% 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 Missouri sits among states and territories
Missouri ranks 39 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. Missouri has 2,936,050 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.
- 36. North Carolina has an all-occupations median of $47,970 per year and 4,941,820 covered jobs. Its wage gap from Missouri is $170.
- 37. Florida has an all-occupations median of $47,880 per year and 9,929,860 covered jobs. Its wage gap from Missouri is $80.
- 38. Indiana has an all-occupations median of $47,860 per year and 3,201,220 covered jobs. Its wage gap from Missouri is $60.
- 40. Nevada has an all-occupations median of $47,660 per year and 1,551,540 covered jobs. Its wage gap from Missouri is $140.
- 41. Tennessee has an all-occupations median of $47,380 per year and 3,278,760 covered jobs. Its wage gap from Missouri is $420.
- 42. New Mexico has an all-occupations median of $47,210 per year and 870,970 covered jobs. Its wage gap from Missouri is $590.
The largest detailed occupations shown for Missouri
The role list is sorted by the BLS employment estimate. It shows detailed occupations from the bounded source table for Missouri. The first row, General and Operations Managers, has 109,020 estimated jobs. Its median is $79,300 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. General and Operations Managers has 109,020 estimated jobs in Missouri. Its published median is $79,300 per year. Its location quotient is 1.65.
- 2. Home Health and Personal Care Aides has 94,810 estimated jobs in Missouri. Its published median is $33,080 per year. Its location quotient is 1.17.
- 3. Registered Nurses has 76,310 estimated jobs in Missouri. Its published median is $81,780 per year. Its location quotient is 1.2.
- 4. Cashiers has 69,430 estimated jobs in Missouri. Its published median is $30,520 per year. Its location quotient is 1.19.
- 5. Stockers and Order Fillers has 67,390 estimated jobs in Missouri. Its published median is $36,710 per year. Its location quotient is 1.26.
- 6. Retail Salespersons has 67,140 estimated jobs in Missouri. Its published median is $33,460 per year. Its location quotient is 0.91.
- 7. Office Clerks, General has 56,050 estimated jobs in Missouri. Its published median is $42,370 per year. Its location quotient is 1.2.
- 8. Cooks, Fast Food has 55,780 estimated jobs in Missouri. Its published median is $29,890 per year. Its location quotient is 4.61.
How published medians differ inside Missouri
The detailed roles shown for Missouri do not share one pay level. Software Developers has the highest published median in this bounded role set, at $126,120 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 $47,800 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. Software Developers has a published median of $126,120 per year in Missouri. BLS lists 20,020 jobs. Its local share is 0.63 times the national share.
- 2. Project Management Specialists has a published median of $94,660 per year in Missouri. BLS lists 21,460 jobs. Its local share is 1.07 times the national share.
- 3. Registered Nurses has a published median of $81,780 per year in Missouri. BLS lists 76,310 jobs. Its local share is 1.2 times the national share.
- 4. General and Operations Managers has a published median of $79,300 per year in Missouri. BLS lists 109,020 jobs. Its local share is 1.65 times the national share.
- 5. Accountants and Auditors has a published median of $76,590 per year in Missouri. BLS lists 28,000 jobs. Its local share is 1.02 times the national share.
- 6. First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers has a published median of $63,050 per year in Missouri. BLS lists 22,360 jobs. Its local share is 0.82 times the national share.
- 7. Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products has a published median of $61,940 per year in Missouri. BLS lists 21,960 jobs. Its local share is 0.94 times the national share.
- 8. Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education has a published median of $59,240 per year in Missouri. BLS lists 24,380 jobs. Its local share is 1.21 times the national share.
Roles with a larger local share in Missouri
Location quotient compares a role's share of jobs in Missouri 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.
Cooks, Fast Food has the highest published location quotient in this bounded set, at 4.61. The same row has 55,780 jobs and a median of $29,890 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. Cooks, Fast Food has a location quotient of 4.61 in Missouri. BLS lists 55,780 jobs and a median of $29,890 per year.
- 2. General and Operations Managers has a location quotient of 1.65 in Missouri. BLS lists 109,020 jobs and a median of $79,300 per year.
- 3. Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education has a location quotient of 1.27 in Missouri. BLS lists 33,180 jobs and a median of $50,910 per year.
- 4. Stockers and Order Fillers has a location quotient of 1.26 in Missouri. BLS lists 67,390 jobs and a median of $36,710 per year.
- 5. Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators has a location quotient of 1.24 in Missouri. BLS lists 32,850 jobs and a median of $46,480 per year.
- 6. Nursing Assistants has a location quotient of 1.24 in Missouri. BLS lists 34,050 jobs and a median of $37,680 per year.
- 7. Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers has a location quotient of 1.23 in Missouri. BLS lists 47,760 jobs and a median of $54,550 per year.
- 8. Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education has a location quotient of 1.21 in Missouri. BLS lists 24,380 jobs and a median of $59,240 per year.
What the BEA price level adds for Missouri
BEA's 2024 all-items price index for Missouri is 90.8. The U.S. level is 100. The local all-items level is 9.2% below that mark. This is a broad price comparison. It is not a personal budget.
The housing index is 69.9. The goods index is 96.3. Utilities are 79.4. Other services are 95.2. 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 Missouri
The all-occupations employment RSE for Missouri is 0%. The mean-wage RSE is 0.3%. 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 2,936,050 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 Missouri 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 Missouri 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 Missouri 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 Missouri's $47,800 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 Missouri page does not say
The page does not say what one person in Missouri 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 39 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.