Mississippi Has The Lowest Average Salaries In The US, D.C.. The Highest

While wages in the U.S. have grown in recent years, many families are still feeling the squeeze of high inflation. Pay levels vary widely not just by profession, but also by geography.

This graphic, via Visual Capitalist’s Bruno Venditti, maps the average salary by U.S. state using the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of March 2025. The figures represent total private hourly earnings, not seasonally adjusted.

DC Tops the List

At the top of the list is Washington, DC, where workers earn an average of $52.89 per hour, far outpacing every state. This reflects the region’s concentration of high-paying jobs in government, law, and professional services.

Massachusetts comes in second at $42.50/hour, followed by Washington at $41.82, and California at $40.93. In common, these states are home to major tech, biotech, and finance hubs.

At the other end of the spectrum are Mississippi ($28.25) and Louisiana ($29.17)—the only two states with average wages below $30 per hour.

Northeastern states dominate the upper end of the scale, with Connecticut and New York joining Massachusetts above the $38/hour mark. In contrast, much of the South and Midwest sits closer to or below the national median. For example, Iowa ($30.94) and Indiana ($32.07) reflect more modest earnings common in the region.

When compared, the earnings gap between the highest (DC) and lowest (Mississippi) is more than $24 per hour. The federal minimum wage is currently $7.25 per hour for workers covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), though many states have set their own, often higher, minimum wage rates.

If you enjoyed this map, check out this map on Voronoi about the income needed to buy a home in every U.S. state.