What are Occupation Profiles?
Occupation Profiles provide state and metropolitan area wage data for nearly 800 occupations in the US. They help you see how wages vary by location and skill level and make it easy to compare metropolitan area wage rates.
How do I access Occupation Profiles?
Occupation Profiles are located in the Products tab at the top of the platform under Supplementary Products.
What can I do with Occupation Profiles?
Understand labor costs by location and experience
Access wage benchmarks for entry-level, median and experienced workers to see how pay varies across states and metropolitan areas.
Compare wages to support location and hiring decisions
Use side-by-side metropolitan area comparisons and interactive heat maps to guide hiring, outsourcing or office expansion strategies.
Set compensation ranges with confidence
Plan budgets and pricing using market-validated wage data sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Bolster business planning with local labor insights
Get the wage data you need to build hiring plans, budget for workforce costs or model scenarios for investment decisions.
Support career planning
Help students explore top-paying regions and compare locations to guide confident career choices.
What’s included in Occupation Profiles?
Overview
The Overview section defines what the occupation is and what workers in the occupation do. It also provides national wage benchmarks for three experience levels:
Entry Level: Early-career or less experienced workers
Median: Mid-level professionals
Experienced: Highly skilled or long-tenured professionals
These figures offer a high-level starting point to understand national pay expectations for the role.
Geographic Wage Rates
This section shows how wages vary by state and metropolitan area, helping you understand local differences in compensation.
State Geographic Wage Rates
The State Geographic Wage Rates interactive map allows you to visualize wages by state. You can toggle between Average, Entry, Median and Experienced to see how wages shift across the country.
Below the map are detailed state and metropolitan area-level data tables of average, entry-level, median and experienced hourly wages. You can sort by any column to quickly find the highest or lowest rates.
Geographic Wage Comparisons
This section lets you compare wage data across up to three metropolitan areas at a time.
This feature is useful when evaluating different markets for hiring, expansion or outsourcing. It provides a clear snapshot of how compensation stacks up across locations.
Where is the data for Occupation Profiles sourced?
We source the data for Occupation Profiles from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, which publishes employment and wage estimates annually. These estimates cover the nation, all 50 states, metropolitan areas and nonmetropolitan areas.
Can I download occupation profile data?
Yes, you can download the Geographic Wage Rates and Geographic Wage Comparisons tables. To export either table as a CSV file, click CSV in the bottom-right corner of the table.
What do the white and grey areas on the map mean?
If a state in the State Geographic Wage Rates map is gray, it means that BLS does not publish data for that state.
If a state in the map is white, BLS reports on the state but not for the selected occupation.
Why do the labor statistics in the State Industry Reports differ from the ones shown in Occupation Profiles?
The Occupation Profiles are based on a single occupation, while the wage figures in State Industry Reports are based on any employee in that industry.
For example, an Occupation Profile may cover Software Developer wages only, whereas the Software Publishing Industry report will account for Software Developers, Managers, Admin Accounting, and so on.
There are further differences in how the data is displayed, with the State Reports showing total wages—not an average wage.
If you have additional questions about Business Environment Profiles, please contact your Client Relationship Manager. If you don’t have an IBISWorld account, please contact us to learn more about our membership options.