This graph displays the twenty largest occupation groups in the United States as of May 2023, ranked by annual mean wage. The annual mean wage among the 7.7 million retail sales workers in the U.S. stood at 34,520 U.S. dollars in 2023.
As of 2023, the median wage for employees in healthcare support occupations was about 36,140 U.S. dollars. The occupational group with the highest annual median wage was management occupations. Mean wages for the same occupational groups can be accessed here.
In 2023, many of the highest paying jobs were those in the medical field. The mean annual pay for psychiatrists was at 256,930 U.S. dollars in the United States. The highest paying occupation was pediatric surgeon, with a mean annual wage of 449,320 U.S. dollars.
In October 2024, the average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls in the United States stood at 35.46 U.S. dollars. The data have been seasonally adjusted. Employed persons are employees on nonfarm payrolls and consist of: persons who did any work for pay or profit during the survey reference week; persons who did at least 15 hours of unpaid work in a family-operated enterprise; and persons who were temporarily absent from their regular jobs because of illness, vacation, bad weather, industrial dispute, or various personal reasons.
In 2023, people employed in legal occupations in the state of the District of Columbia earned a mean annual wage of over 213,000 U.S. dollars, the highest in the United States. Following in the ranking of the U.S. states with highest salaries for legal services workers were New York, and then Florida.
As of the 2023/24 academic year, graduates from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) had a starting salary of 110,200 U.S. dollars, and a mid-career salary of 196,900 U.S. dollars. Top universities in the United States One of the top universities in the United States, Harvey Mudd College, is located in Claremont, California. Not only do graduates earn a high salaries after graduation, they also pay the most. In the academic year of 2020-2021, Harvey Mudd College was one of the most expensive school by total annual cost. The best university in the United States in 2021 belonged to the University of California, Berkeley. The Ivy League The Ivy League is a group of eight private universities in the Northeastern United States. It is not only a collegiate athletic conference, but also a group of highly respected academic institutions. They are usually regarded as the best eight universities in the United States and the world. They are extremely selective with their admissions process. However, these universities are extremely expensive to attend. Despite the high price tag, students who graduate from Princeton University have the highest early career salary out of all Ivy League attendees in 2021. This is compared to the overall expected starting salaries of recent college graduates across the United States, which was less than 35,000 U.S. dollars.
The federally mandated minimum wage in the United States is 7.25 U.S. dollars per hour, although the minimum wage varies from state to state. As of January 1, 2025, the District of Columbia had the highest minimum wage in the U.S., at 17.5 U.S. dollars per hour. This was followed by Washington, which had 16.66 U.S. dollars per hour as the state minimum wage. Minimum wage workers Minimum wage jobs are traditionally seen as “starter jobs” in the U.S., or first jobs for teenagers and young adults, and the number of people working minimum wage jobs has decreased from almost four million in 1979 to about 247,000 in 2020. However, the number of workers earning less than minimum wage in 2020 was significantly higher, at about 865,000. Minimum wage jobs Minimum wage jobs are primarily found in food preparation and serving occupations, as well as sales jobs (primarily in retail). Because the minimum wage has not kept up with inflation, nor has it been increased since 2009, it is becoming harder and harder live off of a minimum wage wage job, and for those workers to afford essential things like rent.
In 2024, the average salary of a Washington University EMBA graduate three years after graduation was over ******* U.S. dollars. CEIBS graduates could expect the second-highest salary, reaching ******* U.S. dollars the same year. EMBAThe Executive MBA (EMBA) program is a graduate-level business degree program and is primarily designed for executives, managers, and similar business leaders. These programs are usually targeted towards working professionals, often in the middle stages of their career, and are often flexible to allow for part-time attendance while the student still works. An EMBA program allows a student to increase career options and update or add to their existing skill set. The best universities worldwide In the United States, Princeton University was considered one of the best colleges, with graduates earning a median of ******* U.S. dollars after 10 years. According to the Times Higher Education ranking of the best universities worldwide, the University of Oxford in the UK was considered the best.
Michael Jordan is the undisputed leader when it comes to the highest paid athletes in history. The basketball legend and former Chicago Bulls star was estimated to have earned a staggering 3.75 billion U.S. dollars throughout his career, thanks to his on-court accomplishments, endorsements, and ownership of the Charlotte Hornets. Jordan's enduring popularity and iconic status have cemented his place as one of the greatest athletes of all time.
Golfers earning big bucks on and off the course
Interestingly, the three of the next five athletes on the list of highest paid athletes of all time are all golfers. Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods all earned a significant amount of money during their careers. These golfing greats managed to secure lucrative endorsement deals with major brands and also enjoyed success on the golf course, with multiple major championships to their names.
Cristiano Ronaldo leads the way for soccer players
Soccer can be considered one of the most popular sports in the world and the highest soccer player in the ranking of highest paid athletes is Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese superstar was in third place on the list, with estimated lifetime earnings of over 1.5 billion U.S. dollars. Ronaldo's on-field achievements, combined with his large numbers of social media followers make him one of the most recognizable and highest-paid athletes of all time.
Gender pay gap in sport
In terms of female athletes, Serena Williams was the highest placed athlete on the list, coming in at 40th place, with lifetime earnings of 630 million U.S. dollars. Williams is widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time and won an impressive 23 Grand Slam titles during her career. She has also been a vocal advocate for women's rights and equal pay in sports, paving the way for future generations of female athletes to succeed and prosper. Serena Williams' relatively low rank on the list of highest paid athletes of all time is indicative of the gender pay gap that exists in sports. Despite being one of the most successful and dominant tennis players in history, Williams earned significantly less than many of her male counterparts. For example, Roger Federer, who won fewer Grand Slam titles than Williams, ranked ninth on the list, having earned almost 1.50 billion U.S. dollars throughout his career.
This disparity in earnings is not unique to tennis, as it is a pervasive issue in sports across the board. Female athletes are often paid less than male athletes for performing the same job, even when they achieve comparable levels of success and generate similar levels of revenue. This gender pay gap within sports can be attributed to a variety of factors, including differences in media coverage, sponsorships, and endorsement deals.
Moldova had the highest net minimum monthly wage in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) as of the beginning of 2024, at 222 euros. The minimum wage in Azerbaijan ranked second, measuring at 173 euros, closely followed by Russia. The lowest figure was recorded in Uzbekistan, where the minimum wage was just enough to cover basic food expenses. Why does the minimum wage get adjusted? The main idea behind the minimum wage is to improve the living standards of workers, particularly those in low-paid occupations. Furthermore, it strives to reduce the gender pay gap, promote workers’ effort, reduce the number of people in welfare programs, and increase consumption. Due to inflation and rising prices, governments occasionally review the minimum salary to maintain the purchasing power of their citizens. For example, Kazakhstan had one of the highest inflation rates in the CIS region in 2023, at around 15 percent. Consecutively, the minimum wage in the country increased by approximately 21 percent in that year. Is everyone guaranteed the minimum wage? Despite labor law protections in place, holding a job in an unregistered enterprise or working a non-declared job in a registered enterprise allows employees to circumvent minimum wage regulations. For instance, in Russia, employment in the informal sector made up less than a fifth of the total in 2022. The share of those working in industries unregulated by the state increased from the previous year due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. In April 2021, over a fifth of surveyed Russians admitted to working reduced hours, being furloughed, or becoming unemployed, which made the gray economy sector the only viable option for thousands.
In April 2025, the agriculture and related private wage and salary workers industry had the highest unemployment rate in the United States, at eight percent. In comparison, government workers had the lowest unemployment rate, at 1.8 percent. The average for all industries was 3.9 percent. U.S. unemployment There are several factors that impact unemployment, as it fluctuates with the state of the economy. Unfortunately, the forecasted unemployment rate in the United States is expected to increase as we head into the latter half of the decade. Those with a bachelor’s degree or higher saw the lowest unemployment rate from 1992 to 2022 in the United States, which is attributed to the fact that higher levels of education are seen as more desirable in the workforce. Nevada unemployment Nevada is one of the states with the highest unemployment rates in the country and Vermont typically has one of the lowest unemployment rates. These are seasonally adjusted rates, which means that seasonal factors such as holiday periods and weather events that influence employment periods are removed. Nevada's economy consists of industries that are currently suffering high unemployment rates such as tourism. As of May 2023, about 5.4 percent of Nevada's population was unemployed, possibly due to the lingering impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
In 2024, the employment-to-population ratio worldwide was estimated to be approximately 58 percent, indicating that nearly 60 percent of the global population above 15 years was employed. Among the provided regions, Africa had the highest employment-to-population ratio, at 60 percent, with Europe and Central Asia having the lowest at 55 percent. Global income growth As greater portions of the population hold stable employment over time, income has also grown globally. From 1970 until today, North America has seen the largest increase in net national incomes per capita, but this increase has occurred in other regions as well. In terms of real wages, while they have grown over time, they have experienced a slight decrease in light of the high global inflation rates. Decrease in child labor Even though greater proportions of the population are employed, child labor has decreased over time. In 2000, there were 245 million children working, which has decreased to 160 million by 2020. The majority of working children are in the agricultural sector, especially younger children within the 5-11 and 12-14 age groups.
Kyle Giersdorf, more commonly known by his gamertag Bugha, was the most successful Fortnite player in the United States based on prize money earnings as of January 2025. Giersdorf's total career earnings through Fortnite, as of that month, exceeded 3.7 million U.S. dollars. Meanwhile, Harrison Chang aka psalm came in second place with total career earnings amounting to around 1.87 million U.S. dollars. eSports tournament prize pools Professional eSports players can earn up to millions of dollars in prize money at international competitions. As of the year-end 2024, the Dota 2 championships had amassed the highest cumulative prize pool from eSports games worldwide. The International, which is a Dota 2 tournament, was the most lucrative eSports tournament worldwide, with the winners of the 2021 iteration of The International walking away with approximately 40 million U.S. dollars. Popular battle royale games Battle royale games are multiplayer games which combine aspects of free-for-all or team-based shooters with components from survival games, such as having to scavenge for equipment within a hostile open-world environment. As of January 2025, Fortnite was the most popular PlayStation 5 game based on monthly active users worldwide, ranking above entries such as Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto V. When it came to the most streamed battle royale games worldwide Fortnite also took the top spot, surpassing Apex Legends and Call of Duty: Warzone, which racked up 4.7 million weekly viewer hours in March 2025.
In the third quarter of 2021, the hourly wage of a mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) foreman in Saudi Arabia amounted to ** U.S. dollars, the highest among the selected jobs in the construction industry in four listed Middle Eastern countries. Meanwhile, construction skilled laborers received far lower hourly wages, at only *** U.S. dollars in Qatar and *** U.S. dollars in Bahrain. Labor force of the construction industry The construction sector accounted for one of the largest shares of employees in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, along with the agriculture and trade sectors. As of 2020, the overwhelming majority of jobs in the region’s construction sector were occupied by male workers. In Saudi Arabia in 2019, the average monthly wage for a construction worker was ranked the lowest among its main industries. Labor participation in MENA In 2019, the labor participation rate of the MENA region stood below ** percent. Female participation in the labor force is much lower than male participation. The participation rate of the female population in MENA was also lower than the global average. Although the region has witnessed an increasing female enrollment ratio for tertiary education, improved education and employment opportunities among women seem to have not reflected in female participation in the workforce.
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This graph displays the twenty largest occupation groups in the United States as of May 2023, ranked by annual mean wage. The annual mean wage among the 7.7 million retail sales workers in the U.S. stood at 34,520 U.S. dollars in 2023.