Question 1

Where does this salary data come from?

Accepted Answer

All salary data comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program, which surveys over 1.1 million establishments across the U.S. every year. The OEWS collects wage data at the 10th, 25th, 50th (median), 75th, and 90th percentiles for over 800 occupations in 400+ metro areas. This is the same data used by the federal government for labor market analysis, by employers for compensation benchmarking, and by immigration attorneys for prevailing wage determinations. It is the most comprehensive public salary dataset available in the United States.

Question 2

What do the percentiles mean?

Accepted Answer

Salary percentiles show the distribution of wages across all workers in a given occupation. The 50th percentile (median) means half of workers earn more and half earn less. The 10th percentile represents entry-level or lowest-paying positions, typically for workers with minimal experience. The 90th percentile represents top earners, usually those with extensive experience, advanced credentials, or positions at large employers. Your position on this spectrum depends on years of experience, specialized skills, employer size, industry sector, and geographic location. We show all five BLS percentiles so you can benchmark realistically.

Question 3

How is cost-of-living adjustment calculated?

Accepted Answer

We use the MERIC (Missouri Economic Research and Information Center) Cost of Living Index, where the national average is set at 100. A city with an index of 150 means the overall cost of living is 50% above the national average, while an index of 80 means 20% below. We divide each city's nominal salary by its cost-of-living index and multiply by 100 to produce an adjusted salary that reflects real purchasing power. This adjustment is critical because a $120K salary in San Francisco (COLI ~180) has less buying power than a $90K salary in Raleigh (COLI ~95). The COLI accounts for housing, groceries, utilities, transportation, healthcare, and miscellaneous goods and services.

Question 4

How accurate are these salary figures?

Accepted Answer

The OEWS data is highly reliable because it is based on a mandatory survey of employers, not self-reported figures from job seekers or employees. BLS collects actual payroll data from over 1.1 million establishments covering all industry sectors. However, the data has some limitations: it is published with a 6-12 month lag, it reports base wages excluding bonuses, equity, and benefits, and it uses broad occupational categories that may not capture niche specializations. For roles where total compensation heavily depends on bonuses or equity (like finance and tech), the base wage figures may understate total earnings.

Question 5

Why do salaries vary so much by city?

Accepted Answer

Geographic salary variation is driven by three main factors: local cost of living (especially housing costs), employer competition for talent, and industry concentration. Cities with high costs of living like San Francisco, New York, and Seattle tend to have higher nominal salaries to offset housing and transportation expenses. Cities with dense concentrations of a specific industry (tech in San Jose, finance in New York, energy in Houston) also pay premiums for industry-specific roles due to employer competition. Our cost-of-living adjusted view helps you see past nominal differences to compare real purchasing power across cities.

Question 6

How often is the salary data updated?

Accepted Answer

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes new OEWS data annually, typically in the spring for the prior year's reference period. The OEWS survey is conducted continuously throughout the year in two 3-year panels, with results averaged over the full panel period. We update SalaryTruth within one month of each new BLS release. Between updates, the published data remains a reliable benchmark because wages in most occupations change gradually, typically 3-5% per year. For rapidly evolving fields like AI and cybersecurity, actual market rates may outpace the BLS figures.

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