More than 3.3 million Americans worked in fast food, which is notoriously low-paid. Although what fast food workers make on average exceeds the $15,080 federal wage minimum, it falls way short of the national mean for all jobs of $61,900. Across the country annual averages range from $34,272 in New Hampshire to just $20,521 in Tennessee, while In-and-Out Burger is the best-paying chain. Its employees make $17 an hour on average. By way of comparison McDonald's and Arby's pay their counter staff around $10 an hour typically.
Cashiers make little more than their fast food counterparts. You may not need many qualifications or experience to land a job processing payments for customers at a gas station or grocery store, but the money is far from great. Again, rates differ wildly depending on where you live, with the average income highest in Massachusetts at $34,377, and lowest in Louisiana at $20,283.
More than 3.5 million Americans worked as home health or personal care aides in 2022, and unfortunately the wages are not very rewarding. Even in the top paying state, Washington, aides can only expect an average annual salary of $37,900, while the lowest paid jobs are heavily concentrated in the south. Here workers can typically see salaries in the range of $18,000-$25,000, which is not even half of the national mean for all jobs at $61,900.
Waiting tables doesn't pay all that well either, with the national mean salary pretty mean at $33,020 and that does include tips. Be that as it may, the best server working in a fine-dining restaurant will make considerably more than an underperforming waiter or waitress employed by a casual joint, and location is all – yearly pay for the role averages a hefty $62,630 in Honolulu but only $19,050 in Tennessee.
Teaching assistants in K-12 education account for more than 1.2 million of American jobs. However, the work doesn't rank among the highest paid with a mean annual salary at $33,740, and in the areas employing the most teaching assistants, the Midwest, they’re unlikely to pay more than $30,000 per year. Although, like many of the more common occupations in the US, location makes a huge difference. In the Los Angeles area the average wages jump to $42,800, and teaching assistants in the Seattle metro are typically make $47,620.
The mean salary for a restaurant cook in the US is $33,940. However, for a chef or head cook that average comes in at a very respectable $60,210, while the typical fast food burger-flipper earns just $27,920 a year. Wages for cooks are highest in Hawaii – the Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina metro area pays more than any other with an average of $49,070 – followed by Seattle and San Jose, California.
Keeping a building sparkling clean can be a thankless task, whether it involves vacuuming floors, garbage collection or doing light maintenance tasks. Average pay is nothing to write home about, but like other jobs, where you work is key. Postal Service cleaning personnel bring home a much higher salary on average at $57,930. Regardless of employer, mean pay is highest in Washington at $41,010 per year, followed by New York and Massachusetts.
Retail sales is America's most common job with upwards of 3.6 million people working in this customer-facing position. The nationwide mean salary stands at $34,730, but as is the case with other jobs the pay varies from state to state. Some employers are a lot more generous than others. Top-paying chains include outdoor apparel retailer Patagonia, which rewards its sales staff with an average hourly rate of $21, as well as REI, Neiman Marcus and Ikea.
With the rapid increase in online shopping it's no wonder one of the most common occupations for US workers is stocking warehouses and order fulfillment. More than 2.8 million Americans filled these jobs last year, mainly for processing general merchandise. With a mean annual salary of $35,550, the wages are well below average. That is unless you work for the Postal Service where stockers and fillers take home an average of $67,900. And for the few warehouse workers in the natural gas sector who brought home an average of $90,960 last year, it's a completely different story!
Nursing assistants support registered nurses by taking on numerous tasks to deliver patient care such as bathing, feeding and checking vital signs. With fewer responsibilities nursing assistants do bring home a smaller salary, only $36,220 per year typically. However, there are opportunities to make more depending on employer. At a specialty hospital annual mean wage increases to $38,780. And those working in Washington, D.C., New York or California usually see an annual salary of at least $43,000.
On average, security guards are making $36,700 per year in the US, working at a wide range of facilities from casinos and bars to schools and hospitals. Those employed at expensive retail locations such as jewelers can expect quite a bump in pay, bringing home $72,680 per year typically. And there's even more money to be made monitoring and securing heavy construction sites where guards average a whopping $89,330 salary.
The nearly 3 million Americans employed in these roles manually move freight, stock and other materials, or work in other non-machinery based labor jobs. Most are for wholesalers, warehouses and courier services and the work isn't highly paid on average at $37,510 per year. However, in Washington and Minnesota, the top paying states in the lower 48, workers are typically making at least $41,000. While the lower paying states are concentrated mainly in the south.
Most of the Americans who work in assembly and fabrication jobs are employed in automotive and machinery manufacturing, and make a lot less than the national mean for all jobs of $61,900. In areas where these jobs are more highly concentrated, such as states like Indiana and Michigan, the average wage is actually higher at $45,470 and $42,680 per year, respectively. Unfortunately, this doesn't hold true for assemblers and fabricators in Texas, which also has a high employment rate for these roles, but typically pays even less at $38,050 per year.
With so many Americans working in roles as servers, cooks and fast food/counter staff – accounting for more than 6.7 million jobs – it's no great surprise their managers also hold one of the country’s most common jobs. And of course, first-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers make more too, on average, at $41,020 per year. That's especially true in Washington, D.C., where annual mean wage is $57,210.
This multifaceted role calls for everything from answering phones to filing documents, sorting mail and running errands. Wages can vary depending on the individual job responsibilities but average out at $41,140 a year across the country. Employment is highly concentrated in local government, schools and the real estate industry. But the top-paying industries are oil and natural gas where the mean wage is $67,930 and $75,150 respectively.
Nearly 3 million Americans work in call center and other customer service jobs, grossing $41,190 a year on average. In terms of location, jobs are most well-paid in the usual suspects like D.C., Massachusetts and Washington, and most poorly paid in southern states such as Kentucky where the average can be as low as $30,730.
Secretarial roles pay better than office clerk positions as they tend to require additional skills plus a higher education level, but the difference between the average salaries isn't huge. Legal, medical and executive secretaries earn significantly more, however most workers are employed at schools, colleges and in local government. The range of wages depending on location stretches from $59,950 in the San Francisco area to just $34,390 in Kansas.
Skilled workers who can keep buildings, machines and mechanical equipment in good working order typically take home $47,130 per year. A majority of the nearly 1.5 million Americans working in maintenances and repair roles are employed in the real estate industry. However, for the very few that land a job working on transmission pipelines to transport commodities like oil, gas and petroleum products, it’s likely they’re making closer to double the job’s national average.
While the BLS reports the number of people employed in these roles has been declining, there are still close to 1.5 million Americans working as bookkeeping, accounting and auditing clerks. On average they're bringing home $47,130 per year while taking care of business, including tax prep and payroll. Clerks who find work in the finance and insurance, automotive manufacturing or mining industries can expect to make around $20,000 more per year.
More than 3.6 million Americans work in retail earning an annual average of $34,730, and another nearly 2 million people are their first-line supervisors, making quite a bit more at $50,130 per year. Those managing teams in Rhode Island are making the most, at $59,020 on average, followed by New Jersey and New York. However, being in charge in Iowa and Nebraska will typically pay a lot less, between $30,970-$46,440.
Heavy truck drivers are in especially hot demand right now, with an estimated shortage of 60,000 drivers in the US. Pay is rising rapidly as a result, which means the $53,090 average salary figure is likely to be comfortably eclipsed this year. Drivers employed in the power generation sector are the highest paid, but those in Nebraska do well too, making $63,560 annually on average, a $10k jump over the role’s national mean.
It pays to be in charge, and in the case of managing office and administrative support workers, it typically pays $65,510. That's more than $10k greater than what secretaries and administrative assistants are making at $43,410 per year, on average. However, those employed at hospitals get paid even more, receiving an annual mean wage of $70,510, and the money really rolls in when working in the energy sector, up to $126,920.
The typical salary for America's 1.3 million elementary-age school teachers is $68,000, but this figure hides massive disparities in pay across the country. For teachers in California the earnings are much higher with annual averages of $100,830 in San Francisco and $93,310 in Los Angeles. Even in more rural areas, mean wages range between $84-85k. In contrast, many teachers in southern states are paid much less, with wages varying from $53,620 to as little as $34,880.
Selling goods and merchandise to other businesses or government agencies can be a lucrative job for those who can handle the pressure of working on commission, a common way of being paid as a sales representative. With a typical income of $76,890, reps are taking home more than the national mean for all jobs, which is $61,900. However, in select industries they typically bring home a six-figure salary, working in tobacco, petroleum and coal manufacturing, specifically.
Doing a similar job, but making slightly more at $77,390 on average, sales representatives in this role are targeting individuals and other businesses looking to buy services such as telecommunications and software. The top paying state for these sales reps is Colorado at $107,100, followed by New York, California and Rhode Island.
Helping to keep organizations growing and meeting customers' demands, these jobs can include elements of project management, budgeting and other kinds of oversight. But it's not entirely businesses who rely on these specialists. They are highly concentrated in the federal government, where they make a higher annual mean wage than most of their peers at $96,150. Other employers include state governments and colleges and universities. The best paid jobs, unsurprisingly, are located in D.C. and Maryland at $108,370 and $100,780, respectively.
Those in charge of an organization's financial records are typically compensated pretty well at $86,740 per year. Although this varies based on location with those in the New York area earning $114,280 on average, and there's a slight increase to $116,320 for accountants and auditors working in Silicon Valley. Roles in streaming media, social networking and other content creation industries are paid handsomely at an average of $144,780.
Labor shortages are pushing up wages in myriad fields across the country including nursing, so pay will no doubt see increases this year for the 3 million registered nurses in America. Those in California earn the most, with salaries averaging $133,340, while their counterparts in Mississippi have to make do with around half that amount, though the cost of living is much less punishing in the Southern state.
More than 3.3 million Americans work as general/operations managers, making this one of the country's most prevalent jobs. The most lucrative organizations and industries include computer manufacturing, scientific research and the Federal Reserve, which pays a whopping $262,700 per year on average. New Jersey and Delaware are the top-paying states, while Silicon Valley ranks the highest by metropolitan region.
It's not breaking news to learn that the 1.5 million Americans working as software developers are very well paid, especially those who find work in the streaming media, social networking and other content creation fields where the annual average wage is even higher at $168,330. Which explains why the top paying states are California and Washington, home to Silicon Valley and other major tech players. For developers based in the San Jose area of California specifically, the average annual wage skyrockets to $234,540.