Methodology
Understanding how we calculate salary data, career trends, and provide labor market insights.
Primary Data Sources
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (OEWS)
Annual surveys covering ~800 occupations across all U.S. states and metropolitan areas. Provides mean and median wages, employment levels, and percentile distributions.
Standard Occupational Classification (SOC)
Federal classification system organizing occupations into hierarchical categories. We use SOC 2018 codes for consistent occupation identification.Learn more about SOC codes.
Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)
Regional Price Parities (RPP)
Cost-of-living adjustments by metropolitan area and state. Used to calculate "real wages" that account for purchasing power differences across locations.
Additional Sources
- BLS Education & Training Data: Required education levels and training pathways
- Industry Classifications: NAICS codes for industry-specific analysis
- Economic Indicators: Unemployment rates, GDP growth, and labor force statistics
For comprehensive documentation of all data sources, attribution, data coverage, and update schedules, see our Data Sources page.
Salary Calculations & Adjustments
Base Wage Metrics
Mean Salary
Average of all reported salaries. Can be skewed by high earners but represents total compensation pool.
Median Salary
Middle value when salaries are ordered. Less affected by outliers, represents "typical" worker.
Percentiles
10th, 25th, 75th, and 90th percentiles show salary distribution across experience levels.
Real Wage Adjustments
We calculate cost-of-living adjusted salaries using BEA Regional Price Parities:
Real Wage = Nominal Wage × (National RPP / Local RPP)Example: $80,000 in San Francisco (RPP: 123.4) = $80,000 × (100 / 123.4) = $64,851 in purchasing power
Hourly Rate Calculations
For salaried positions, we estimate hourly rates using:
- Standard 2,080 working hours per year (40 hours × 52 weeks)
- Adjustments for vacation time and holidays where applicable
- Separate calculations for part-time and contract positions
Questions & Feedback
We're committed to transparency in our analysis. If you have questions about our methodology or suggestions for improvement, please reach out.
Research Team: research@wageatlas.com
Data Questions: data@wageatlas.com
Technical Issues: support@wageatlas.com