Salaries · United States · New York
Salaries in New York 2026
The median pay for all jobs in New York is $59,670 a year ($28.69 an hour), 17% above the US median of $50,980 (BLS, May 2025): the 7th highest of the 50 states and DC. Full-time workers living in New York earn a median of $70,770 (Census ACS 2020 to 2024).
By Dominic Roworth · From BLS, Census and BEA data, checked 31 October 2026
Pay in New York: the key figures
| Figure | New York | United States | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median pay, all jobs | $59,670 | $50,980 | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| Average (mean) pay | $82,460 | $69,770 | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| Lowest-paid 10% earn under | $35,760 | $31,200 | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| Highest-paid 10% earn over | $157,500 | $128,560 | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| Jobs counted | 9,688,000 | 155,495,730 | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| Full-time workers living here, median | $70,770 ± $249 | $61,657 | Census ACS 2020-2024, B20018 |
| Median household income | $85,974 ± $402 | $80,734 | Census ACS 2020-2024, B19013 |
| Price level (US = 100) | 107.9 | 100.0 | BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 |
| Minimum wage | $16.00 | $7.25 | State labor department |
Take-home pay on the median
On $59,670, a single person keeps about $47,210 a year ($3,934 a month) after federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare, New York income tax and state payroll contributions. With prices 8% above the US average, $59,670 here buys what $55,300 buys at average US prices.
| Median pay | $59,670 |
|---|---|
| Federal income tax | -$4,980 |
| Social Security | -$3,700 |
| Medicare | -$865 |
| New York income tax | -$2,626 |
| Paid Family Leave (PFL) | -$258 |
| Disability benefits (DBL), employee | -$31 |
| Take-home a year | $47,210 |
What drives pay in New York
New York's pay is pulled up by finance. Finance and insurance produced 21.1% of the state's GDP in 2025, against 8.7% for the US, with securities and investment alone at 6.3% (US 1.6%), according to BEA. The State Comptroller reports that New York City's securities industry employed a record 207,400 people in 2025 at an average salary of $561,770, and paid a record $49.2 billion in bonuses. The industry put at least $26.3 billion into the state budget in 2025-26 through business and personal income taxes.
That top end pulls the mean for all jobs to $82,460, well above the median of $59,670. The median itself is 17% above the US and 7th of the 50 states and DC. General and operations managers, 206,740 of them, earn a median of $130,860.
The most common job is very different. New York has 663,140 home health and personal care aides, nearly 7% of all the jobs counted, on a median of $39,620. The state sets a separate minimum wage for them, rising on 1 January 2027 to $20.00 an hour in New York City, Long Island and Westchester and $19.00 elsewhere, while the general minimum stays at $17.00 and $16.00 because an inflation off-ramp was triggered.
Wall Street is on course for another record year. Securities firms' profits reached $45.9 billion in the first half of 2026, 51.3% more than a year earlier, and the Comptroller expects the industry to add 5,300 jobs in 2026, but warns that the state's growing reliance on it is a risk to public finances if it turns down.
The highest-paid jobs in New York
Median annual pay, for jobs with at least 1,000 workers in the state (BLS, May 2025).
| Job | Workers | Median a year |
|---|---|---|
| Cardiologists | 2,260 | $492,040 |
| Anesthesiologists | 7,230 | $445,660 |
| Radiologists | 2,010 | $441,580 |
| Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric | 1,450 | $414,290 |
| Surgeons, All Other | 4,540 | $410,410 |
| Dermatologists | 2,070 | $374,010 |
| Obstetricians and Gynecologists | 2,750 | $348,800 |
| Physicians, Pathologists | 1,220 | $321,550 |
| Nurse Anesthetists | 2,450 | $321,030 |
| Emergency Medicine Physicians | 3,980 | $301,690 |
| Psychiatrists | 4,130 | $265,890 |
| Chief Executives | 8,430 | $257,980 |
| Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers | 6,900 | $255,240 |
| Physicians, All Other | 16,600 | $242,500 |
| Financial Managers | 80,810 | $219,880 |
The most common jobs in New York
The jobs with the most workers, and what they pay.
| Job | Workers | Median a year | An hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home Health and Personal Care Aides | 663,140 | $39,620 | $19.05 |
| Retail Salespersons | 238,540 | $37,720 | $18.13 |
| General and Operations Managers | 206,740 | $130,860 | $62.91 |
| Registered Nurses | 205,810 | $109,440 | $52.62 |
| Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners | 195,250 | $41,640 | $20.02 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | 168,620 | $35,250 | $16.95 |
| Cashiers | 158,890 | $35,500 | $17.07 |
| Stockers and Order Fillers | 146,140 | $39,030 | $18.76 |
| Waiters and Waitresses | 142,940 | $47,020 | $22.61 |
| Customer Service Representatives | 141,090 | $48,000 | $23.08 |
| Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary | 137,820 | $38,240 | yearly pay only |
| Security Guards | 134,700 | $44,240 | $21.27 |
| Office Clerks, General | 134,280 | $45,890 | $22.06 |
| Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive | 122,490 | $49,600 | $23.85 |
| Maintenance and Repair Workers, General | 119,650 | $57,790 | $27.79 |
Pay for careers we cover, in New York
Official BLS medians for New York; each links to the full salary guide with pay by state.
| Career | Workers | Median a year |
|---|---|---|
| Nurse Anesthetist | 2,450 | $321,030 |
| Lawyer | 91,870 | $207,860 |
| Dentist | 7,340 | $183,060 |
| Commercial Pilot | 1,070 | $177,430 |
| Software Engineer | 113,510 | $166,180 |
| Physician Assistant | 19,140 | $160,880 |
| Actuary | 2,630 | $156,480 |
| Nurse Practitioner | 22,890 | $153,510 |
| Air Traffic Controller | 1,150 | $144,960 |
| Pharmacist | 19,760 | $142,090 |
| Elevator Technician | 3,470 | $135,720 |
| Cybersecurity Analyst | 10,060 | $134,660 |
| Data Scientist | 23,970 | $130,460 |
| Aerospace Engineer | 560 | $130,330 |
| Financial Analyst | 52,380 | $127,930 |
| Flight Attendant | 12,060 | $126,650 |
| Project Manager | 68,020 | $121,040 |
| UX Designer | 16,560 | $120,990 |
| Registered Nurse | 205,810 | $109,440 |
| Dental Hygienist | 13,660 | $106,130 |
| Aircraft Mechanic | 4,300 | $102,800 |
| Accountant | 109,830 | $102,640 |
| Compliance Officer | 23,500 | $90,080 |
| Electrician | 40,130 | $78,750 |
| Plumber | 23,210 | $77,490 |
| HVAC Technician | 24,430 | $74,430 |
| Paralegal | 34,220 | $68,410 |
| Welder | 8,310 | $59,140 |
New York and its neighbors
| State | Median pay | Price level | At US prices |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | $59,670 | 107.9 | $55,300 |
| Connecticut | $59,690 | 103.6 | $57,600 |
| Massachusetts | $63,590 | 105.8 | $60,100 |
| New Jersey | $58,570 | 108.8 | $53,800 |
| Pennsylvania | $49,690 | 97.6 | $50,900 |
| Vermont | $56,390 | 98.0 | $57,600 |
Limits
BLS figures cover jobs located in New York, not the self-employed; Census figures cover people who live here. Take-home assumes a single filer with the standard deduction. More in our methodology.
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (state file)
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020 to 2024 (tables B20018 and B19013)
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by state (table SARPP), 2024
- Take-home pay: Paygrade's 2026 federal and state tax engine, see the methodology.
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis: GDP by state and industry, 2025 (industry shares and growth rates are our calculation), data last updated 30 Sep 2026
- Office of the New York State Comptroller: The Securities Industry in New York City (Report 13-2027), October 2026
- New York State Department of Labor: Minimum Wage, accessed 31 Oct 2026 (page notice dated 11/02/2026)
Related
- Salary comparison by city: what a salary is worth in another US city
- Salaries in the United States