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Local research · 31 metros

Metro Compensation Benchmarks 2026

No metro pays one premium. Each page below compares every major occupation in the metro to its own national median from the same BLS survey, then shows what named employers there actually file for the same job.

BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025; US Department of Labor H-1B disclosure data, FY2026 Q3 (decisions 1 Oct 2025 to 30 Jun 2026). Free to read, no account required.

MetroAvg vs nationalHighest groupLowest groupSpreadH-1B filings
AtlantaGA-2.3%Management +3.6%Protective Service -14.8%18.4 pts13,691
New YorkNY-NJ+18.0%Management +33.2%Production +2.6%30.6 pts50,534
Los AngelesCA+12.1%Arts, Design & Media +35.5%Healthcare Support -1.3%36.8 pts12,445
ChicagoIL-IN+5.1%Construction & Extraction +45.3%Life, Physical & Social Science -8.4%53.7 pts14,555
Dallas-Fort WorthTX-2.1%Community & Social Service +5.2%Life, Physical & Social Science -17.0%22.2 pts35,452
HoustonTX-4.9%Architecture & Engineering +5.6%Healthcare Support -22.2%27.8 pts9,088
Washington DCDC-VA-MD-WV+15.3%Legal +34.7%Building & Grounds +4.5%30.2 pts11,263
BostonMA-NH+17.4%Construction & Extraction +29.6%Transportation & Material Moving +8.3%21.3 pts13,647
San FranciscoCA+32.0%Healthcare Practitioners +62.3%Healthcare Support +8.1%54.2 pts25,031
SeattleWA+23.8%Construction & Extraction +40.5%Life, Physical & Social Science +9.6%30.9 pts27,361
MiamiFL-4.5%Protective Service +3.0%Architecture & Engineering -10.6%13.6 pts4,630

More metros

Every other metro with enough named-employer H-1B filings to show the same employer table, ordered by filings.

MetroAvg vs nationalHighest groupLowest groupSpreadH-1B filings
San JoseCA+40.9%Healthcare Practitioners +97.4%Healthcare Support +12.8%84.6 pts36,564
AustinTX-2.0%Architecture & Engineering +5.8%Personal Care & Service -14.5%20.3 pts13,996
PhiladelphiaPA-NJ-DE-MD+3.0%Construction & Extraction +12.1%Healthcare Support -10.8%22.9 pts8,584
DetroitMI-0.3%Construction & Extraction +19.1%Personal Care & Service -8.4%27.5 pts7,484
CharlotteNC-SC-1.2%Management +3.7%Protective Service -15.9%19.6 pts7,174
PhoenixAZ+0.5%Food Preparation & Serving +6.1%Education & Library -5.9%12.0 pts6,867
RaleighNC-3.1%Management +3.4%Protective Service -13.7%17.1 pts4,884
San DiegoCA+11.6%Healthcare Practitioners +31.0%Community & Social Service +0.4%30.6 pts3,972
MinneapolisMN-WI+9.2%Construction & Extraction +32.1%Computer & Mathematical -0.5%32.6 pts3,584
TampaFL-6.9%Protective Service -1.9%Production -11.3%9.4 pts3,560
ColumbusOH-0.8%Construction & Extraction +11.7%Personal Care & Service -13.5%25.2 pts3,444
St. LouisMO-IL-0.2%Construction & Extraction +25.0%Education & Library -11.0%36.0 pts3,145
DenverCO+12.3%Protective Service +23.0%Construction & Extraction +4.0%19.0 pts3,068
PittsburghPA-5.6%Construction & Extraction +5.3%Healthcare Practitioners -13.6%18.9 pts2,753
PortlandOR-WA+13.5%Construction & Extraction +33.2%Business & Financial +5.9%27.3 pts2,556
CincinnatiOH-KY-IN-1.8%Installation & Repair +7.5%Personal Care & Service -15.0%22.5 pts2,328
NashvilleTN-2.1%Production +12.1%Computer & Mathematical -13.9%26.0 pts2,261
IndianapolisIN-1.8%Construction & Extraction +11.7%Personal Care & Service -15.9%27.6 pts2,053
Salt Lake CityUT-1.4%Transportation & Material Moving +5.7%Healthcare Practitioners -16.1%21.8 pts1,994
ProvidenceRI-MA+5.9%Construction & Extraction +17.5%Food Preparation & Serving -1.8%19.3 pts1,225

Spread is the gap between the best- and worst-paid occupation groups relative to national, employment-weighted. A wide spread is the argument against a single geographic differential for that metro. Tipped occupations are excluded everywhere for the reason given on each page. Want a metro that is not here? The salary benchmarking tool covers all 393.