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What the national Astronomers median says
The May 2025 BLS OEWS estimate puts the U.S. median for Astronomers at $128,820 per year. Median means the middle. Half of the wage values used for this estimate fall below that point. Half fall above it. The median is not one worker's pay. It is not a job offer. It is one clear mark for the middle of a broad national pay range.
BLS also lists 2,120 wage and salary jobs for Astronomers. That count covers jobs in the survey's scope. It does not count open job ads. It also leaves out people who work for themselves. The wage and job counts share the same May 2025 reference point, so they can be read together without mixing time periods.
The Astronomers mean of $132,920 per year is 3.2% above the $128,820 median on the same published median. Mean means BLS adds the wage values and divides the total by the number of jobs behind the estimate. A gap between mean and median shows that the shape is not even. It does not explain the cause of the gap.
Evidence: bls-oews-may-2025 · Rule: oews-national-row · median-middle-rule · mean-median-difference