Salaries · United States · Oklahoma
Salaries in Oklahoma 2026
The median pay for all jobs in Oklahoma is $45,600 a year ($21.92 an hour), 11% below the US median of $50,980 (BLS, May 2025): the 47th highest of the 50 states and DC. Full-time workers living in Oklahoma earn a median of $51,405 (Census ACS 2020 to 2024).
By Dominic Roworth · From BLS, Census and BEA data, checked 31 October 2026
Pay in Oklahoma: the key figures
| Figure | Oklahoma | United States | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median pay, all jobs | $45,600 | $50,980 | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| Average (mean) pay | $56,950 | $69,770 | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| Lowest-paid 10% earn under | $25,850 | $31,200 | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| Highest-paid 10% earn over | $100,690 | $128,560 | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| Jobs counted | 1,707,680 | 155,495,730 | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| Full-time workers living here, median | $51,405 ± $212 | $61,657 | Census ACS 2020-2024, B20018 |
| Median household income | $65,039 ± $439 | $80,734 | Census ACS 2020-2024, B19013 |
| Price level (US = 100) | 87.8 | 100.0 | BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 |
| Minimum wage | $7.25 | $7.25 | State labor department |
Take-home pay on the median
On $45,600, a single person keeps about $37,313 a year ($3,109 a month) after federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare, Oklahoma income tax. With prices 12% below the US average, $45,600 here buys what $51,900 buys at average US prices.
| Median pay | $45,600 |
|---|---|
| Federal income tax | -$3,292 |
| Social Security | -$2,827 |
| Medicare | -$661 |
| Oklahoma income tax | -$1,507 |
| Take-home a year | $37,313 |
What drives pay in Oklahoma
Oklahoma's economy runs on oil, gas and government. Oil and gas extraction produced 7.3% of the state's GDP in 2025, nine times the US share of 0.8%, and pipelines another 1.9% (US 0.2%), according to BEA. The price of WTI, the main US crude benchmark, is set at Cushing, Oklahoma, which holds about 14% of the nation's commercial crude storage, the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission (OESC) notes.
Oil produces far more output than pay, though: extraction pays only 1.7% of the state's employee compensation. Government is a larger source of jobs, at 15.7% of GDP (US 11.1%), with federal civilian work at 3.2% and the military paying 2.4% of compensation (US 1.4%). Professional and technical services are 4.5% of GDP, against 8.0% nationally.
That leaves a large low-paid service workforce. Fast food and counter workers are the most common job, 52,520 of them on a median of $23,430, and the minimum wage is the federal $7.25. One worker in ten earns less than $25,850, the third-lowest figure of any state (US $31,200). The all-jobs median is $45,600, 11% below the US and 47th of the 50 states and DC, though prices are about 12% below the US average.
Drilling picked up in 2026: OESC counted 52 active rigs in late September, 10 more than a year earlier. Yet unemployment rose to 4.3% in August, 0.9 points higher than a year before, and real GDP grew only 8.2% from 2019 to 2025, about half the US rate. OESC projects 2.5% job growth from 2024 to 2034, slower than the previous decade's 6.9%, with health care adding the most jobs and mining jobs edging down as extraction adopts robotics and drones.
The highest-paid jobs in Oklahoma
Median annual pay, for jobs with at least 1,000 workers in the state (BLS, May 2025).
| Job | Workers | Median a year |
|---|---|---|
| Family Medicine Physicians | 2,170 | $361,350 |
| Physicians, All Other | 2,520 | $259,220 |
| Chief Executives | 2,390 | $163,790 |
| Architectural and Engineering Managers | 2,070 | $157,330 |
| Petroleum Engineers | 1,450 | $153,020 |
| Computer and Information Systems Managers | 3,790 | $137,280 |
| Physician Assistants | 1,770 | $136,550 |
| Pharmacists | 3,610 | $135,140 |
| Nurse Practitioners | 3,620 | $133,390 |
| Financial Managers | 6,670 | $132,460 |
| Managers, All Other | 1,340 | $131,870 |
| Sales Managers | 3,250 | $128,920 |
| Marketing Managers | 1,420 | $126,920 |
| Aerospace Engineers | 1,090 | $125,470 |
| Industrial Production Managers | 2,140 | $120,570 |
The most common jobs in Oklahoma
The jobs with the most workers, and what they pay.
| Job | Workers | Median a year | An hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | 52,520 | $23,430 | $11.27 |
| General and Operations Managers | 43,890 | $90,430 | $43.48 |
| Retail Salespersons | 43,830 | $29,660 | $14.26 |
| Cashiers | 41,140 | $28,180 | $13.55 |
| Registered Nurses | 38,270 | $82,920 | $39.87 |
| Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand | 38,210 | $36,990 | $17.78 |
| Customer Service Representatives | 34,460 | $38,650 | $18.58 |
| Stockers and Order Fillers | 32,910 | $34,790 | $16.72 |
| Office Clerks, General | 31,870 | $37,240 | $17.90 |
| Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers | 27,840 | $54,410 | $26.16 |
| Waiters and Waitresses | 27,000 | $17,910 | $8.61 |
| Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners | 23,620 | $31,110 | $14.96 |
| Home Health and Personal Care Aides | 20,310 | $27,710 | $13.32 |
| Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive | 20,120 | $39,660 | $19.07 |
| First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers | 19,860 | $60,870 | $29.26 |
Pay for careers we cover, in Oklahoma
Official BLS medians for Oklahoma; each links to the full salary guide with pay by state.
| Career | Workers | Median a year |
|---|---|---|
| Dentist | 980 | $166,170 |
| Nurse Anesthetist | 990 | $156,830 |
| Physician Assistant | 1,770 | $136,550 |
| Pharmacist | 3,610 | $135,140 |
| Nurse Practitioner | 3,620 | $133,390 |
| Commercial Pilot | 540 | $126,180 |
| Aerospace Engineer | 1,090 | $125,470 |
| Air Traffic Controller | 270 | $123,220 |
| Software Engineer | 6,880 | $118,100 |
| Actuary | 70 | $109,760 |
| Elevator Technician | 140 | $105,430 |
| Lawyer | 6,980 | $103,060 |
| Dental Hygienist | 2,860 | $97,580 |
| Cybersecurity Analyst | 1,640 | $94,000 |
| Data Scientist | 1,900 | $86,310 |
| Project Manager | 11,220 | $86,240 |
| Registered Nurse | 38,270 | $82,920 |
| Financial Analyst | 1,550 | $79,640 |
| Accountant | 16,720 | $79,370 |
| UX Designer | 340 | $76,440 |
| Aircraft Mechanic | 8,550 | $74,390 |
| Compliance Officer | 4,230 | $63,000 |
| Electrician | 8,500 | $61,010 |
| Plumber | 6,050 | $57,970 |
| HVAC Technician | 5,650 | $57,560 |
| Paralegal | 3,110 | $53,170 |
| Welder | 9,960 | $49,720 |
Oklahoma and its neighbors
| State | Median pay | Price level | At US prices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma | $45,600 | 87.8 | $51,900 |
| Arkansas | $43,630 | 86.9 | $50,200 |
| Colorado | $59,800 | 103.1 | $58,000 |
| Kansas | $48,010 | 90.1 | $53,300 |
| Missouri | $47,800 | 90.8 | $52,600 |
| New Mexico | $47,210 | 92.2 | $51,200 |
| Texas | $48,620 | 97.1 | $50,100 |
Limits
BLS figures cover jobs located in Oklahoma, 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
- Oklahoma Employment Security Commission, Economic Research and Analysis Division: Oklahoma Economic Indicators, September 2026, September 2026 (PDF dated 12 Oct 2026)
- Paygrade src/data/state-pay.json (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025), May 2025 data
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- Salaries in the United States