Start with the answer
Upholsterers pay in Alabama and Rhode Island
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Upholsterers is $38,270 per year in Alabama. It is $63,360 per year in Rhode Island. Alabama is 39.6% below Rhode Island on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 51-6093 and the same annual wage metric. Median means the middle of each area's published wage spread. It is not one worker's pay. The larger median is not proof that one place gives a better job or a better result. It is one wage fact from one source period.
BLS lists 120 wage and salary jobs in Alabama and 30 in Rhode Island. Those are survey job counts, not open posts. Read pay, job scale, local share, and price level as separate facts before you make a choice.
Evidence: bls-oews-may-2025 · Rule: same-soc-same-metric-pair · nominal-median-gap · employment-not-openings
