Median vs. Mean Wage: Which Number Should You Use?

When you look up a salary number, you're usually seeing either a median or a mean (average) — and for many occupations, these numbers differ significantly. Understanding the difference helps you use wage data more accurately.

The Median

The median wage is the midpoint of the distribution — half of workers earn more, half earn less. It's resistant to distortion from extreme earners. For most occupations, the median is the most useful single number for answering "what does a typical worker in this job earn?"

The Mean

The mean (average) wage adds up all wages and divides by the number of workers. It's pulled upward by high earners at the top of the distribution. In occupations with significant top-end outliers — software engineering, finance, medicine — the mean can be substantially higher than the median.

When the Gap Is Large

A large gap between median and mean wages signals a right-skewed distribution — most workers cluster below the average because a small number of high earners pull the average up. This is common in:

• Financial occupations (where top traders and portfolio managers earn 10–100x median)
• Tech management
• Entertainment and media
• Real estate

Which to Use for Salary Negotiation

When benchmarking your own pay, the median is more useful — it tells you what a typical person in your role earns. The percentile data (25th, 75th, 90th) is even better: knowing where you fall in the distribution gives you negotiating leverage based on your experience and skills.

Browse BLS Wage Data

WageDepth displays both median and mean wages for every occupation from BLS OEWS data. Start by exploring occupations or locations.