US Jobs Map

What a data entry earns, by metro

Pay for data entrys is unusually consistent across the country: $22,390 at the bottom of the range, $54,510 at the top, a spread of only 2.43×. Where you work matters less for this role than it does for most — which usually points to pay being set by structure (scales, licensure, collective agreements) rather than local bidding.

Data Entry — nationalBLS OEWS · May 2025
$41,340Median annual
$19.88Median hourly
$31,20010th percentile
$58,79090th percentile
127,080Employed nationally
Median means half earn more and half earn less — it says nothing about how far. The percentile columns are where the information is.

What the percentile band tells you

Ten per cent of data entrys earn below $31,200 and ten per cent above $58,790 — a 1.88× band. The upside from median to 90th percentile is 42%, which is a normal amount of room for experience and specialisation to matter. An offer below the 25th percentile is worth questioning; one above the 75th is worth taking seriously.

Geography barely moves this one

San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (CA) leads and Puerto Rico nonmetropolitan area () trails, but the gap is modest. For a role like this the more useful comparison is not between cities but between the 10th and 90th percentile within one — see the band above.

Highest paying metros

Metropolitan areaMedianHourly LQEmployed
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara CA $54,510 $26.21 0.77 720
Albuquerque NM $53,320 $25.64 0.67 220
Bismarck ND $53,140 $25.55 0.57 30
Western Washington nonmetropolitan area $53,040 $25.50 0.59 60
Bloomington IN $51,760 $24.88 3.87 230
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater WA $51,660 $24.84 1.31 140
New Haven CT $51,340 $24.68 0.62 140
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont CA $51,250 $24.64 0.73 1,410
Boulder CO $49,920 $24.00 0.6 90
Helena MT $49,850 $23.97 2.4 90
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal SC $49,280 $23.69 0.83 60
Napa CA $48,880 $23.50 0.93 60
Portland-South Portland ME $48,410 $23.28 0.24 60
Santa Rosa-Petaluma CA $48,350 $23.25 0.96 160
Port St. Lucie FL $48,020 $23.09 0.72 100
Naples-Marco Island FL $47,800 $22.98 1 140
Western Wyoming nonmetropolitan area $47,750 $22.96 0.5 40
St. Cloud MN $47,730 $22.95 0.61 50
Boston-Cambridge-Newton MA-NH $47,640 $22.90 0.66 1,460
Urban Honolulu HI $47,630 $22.90 0.44 160
Salt Lake City-Murray UT $47,560 $22.86 2.33 1,580
Bangor ME $47,530 $22.85 0.52 30
Twin Falls ID $47,170 $22.68 0.97 40
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim CA $47,040 $22.61 1.15 5,900
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue WA $47,000 $22.60 0.45 760

Lowest paying metros

Metropolitan areaMedianHourly LQEmployed
Puerto Rico nonmetropolitan area $22,390 $10.76 2.41 60
Ponce PR $22,780 $10.95 2.23 120
Aguadilla PR $23,120 $11.12 2.55 100
Mayaguez PR $23,420 $11.26 3.4 140
Arecibo PR $23,810 $11.45 1.97 60
San Juan-Bayamon-Caguas PR $24,340 $11.70 2.6 1,470
Northwest Nebraska nonmetropolitan area $28,080 $13.50 2.65 80
Brownsville-Harlingen TX $28,980 $13.94 1.26 160
Laredo TX $30,360 $14.59 4.08 360
Central Oregon nonmetropolitan area $30,620 $14.72 1.27 50

Where the role is most concentrated

Metropolitan areaMedianHourly LQEmployed
Laredo TX $30,360 $14.59 4.08 360
Bloomington IN $51,760 $24.88 3.87 230
Mayaguez PR $23,420 $11.26 3.4 140
Topeka KS $36,760 $17.67 3.14 300
Shreveport-Bossier City LA $36,920 $17.75 2.95 390
Northwest Nebraska nonmetropolitan area $28,080 $13.50 2.65 80
San Juan-Bayamon-Caguas PR $24,340 $11.70 2.6 1,470
Aguadilla PR $23,120 $11.12 2.55 100
Trenton-Princeton NJ $40,910 $19.67 2.54 500
Puerto Rico nonmetropolitan area $22,390 $10.76 2.41 60
Helena MT $49,850 $23.97 2.4 90
South Central Kentucky nonmetropolitan area $32,950 $15.84 2.34 330

Largest employers by metro

Metropolitan areaMedianHourly LQEmployed
New York-Newark-Jersey City NY-NJ $45,350 $21.81 1.3 10,110
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim CA $47,040 $22.61 1.15 5,900
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington TX $43,110 $20.73 1.7 5,610
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands TX $39,520 $19.00 1.65 4,430
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin IL-IN $44,650 $21.47 1.16 4,270
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler AZ $44,160 $21.23 1.37 2,650
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington PA-NJ-DE-MD $41,280 $19.85 0.99 2,340
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach FL $40,160 $19.31 0.99 2,290
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell GA $43,610 $20.97 0.77 1,810
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria DC-VA-MD-WV $42,840 $20.60 0.63 1,620
Salt Lake City-Murray UT $47,560 $22.86 2.33 1,580
San Juan-Bayamon-Caguas PR $24,340 $11.70 2.6 1,470

Current openings

About this data

Figures come from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics programme, May 2025 release, SOC code 43-9021. OEWS surveys employers, so it reports what is actually paid rather than what job advertisements claim, and it excludes the self-employed. Estimates are published for 395 of 528 metropolitan areas; the remaining 133 had too few survey responses for BLS to publish without risking disclosure, so they are absent here rather than estimated. For a specialised role that is normal. Read the methodology.