Average salary in Seattle: $91,790 a year
The mean annual wage across every job BLS counts in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro area, with the median, the pay spread and the jobs behind it.
BLS reports occupational wages for the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metropolitan statistical area (CBSA 42660), which includes Seattle, Tacoma and Bellevue and surrounding communities. Figures describe that whole area, not Seattle city limits.
The average salary in the Seattle metro area is $91,790 a year ($44.13 an hour): that is the mean annual wage across 2,086,210 jobs in the BLS May 2025 survey. The median is $72,610 ($34.91 an hour), so half of those jobs paid less and half paid more. The mean sits above the median because a smaller number of very high wages pulls it up.
How Seattle compares with Washington and the U.S.
The metro area's mean salary is $8,460 (10.2%) above the Washington statewide figure of $83,330 and $22,020 (31.6%) above the U.S. figure of $69,770.
| Measure | Seattle metro | Washington | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mean (average) salary | $91,790 | $83,330 | $69,770 |
| Median salary | $72,610 | $62,990 | $50,980 |
| Mean hourly wage | $44.13 | $40.06 | $33.54 |
| Median hourly wage | $34.91 | $30.28 | $24.51 |
| Jobs counted | 2,086,210 | 3,550,970 | 155,495,730 |
Prices matter as much as pay. BEA's regional price parity for the Seattle metro area in 2024 is 111.1, where the United States = 100: overall prices there were about 11.1% above the national price level. A salary goes further where the index is lower.
What jobs in the Seattle area pay, from low to high
One job in ten in the metro area paid less than $42,280 a year, and one in ten paid more than $167,440. A quarter paid less than $49,160; a quarter paid more than $112,650.
| Area | 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle metro | $42,280 | $49,160 | $72,610 | $112,650 | $167,440 |
| Washington | $38,670 | $47,020 | $62,990 | $101,710 | $153,630 |
| United States | $31,200 | $37,590 | $50,980 | $80,520 | $128,560 |
Pay by job group in the Seattle area
The largest group in the Seattle area is office and administrative support, with 212,900 jobs (10% of the total, calculated). The best-paid group by median is management ($168,110); the lowest-paid is farming, fishing, and forestry ($45,050). Where BLS does not release a figure, the table says so.
| Job group | Jobs | Median salary | Mean (average) salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Office and Administrative Support | 212,900 | $59,660 | $62,960 |
| Business and Financial Operations | 201,160 | $101,950 | $112,940 |
| Computer and Mathematical | 194,970 | $156,000 | $151,750 |
| Sales and Related | 168,900 | $50,760 | $67,960 |
| Food Preparation and Serving Related | 167,040 | $46,480 | $50,770 |
| Transportation and Material Moving | 161,300 | $52,940 | $64,110 |
| Management | 117,570 | $168,110 | $184,140 |
| Healthcare Practitioners and Technical | 110,230 | $122,880 | $138,050 |
| Educational Instruction and Library | 107,040 | $72,190 | $82,050 |
| Healthcare Support | 101,480 | $49,150 | $53,990 |
| Construction and Extraction | 88,640 | $78,670 | $87,590 |
| Production | 84,180 | $59,600 | $67,160 |
| Installation, Maintenance, and Repair | 71,640 | $74,630 | $78,620 |
| Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance | 51,860 | $47,380 | $50,740 |
| Architecture and Engineering | 50,350 | $124,180 | $125,940 |
| Protective Service | 43,230 | $59,620 | $73,780 |
| Personal Care and Service | 42,370 | $48,570 | $57,000 |
| Community and Social Service | 35,880 | $72,180 | $75,420 |
| Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media | 29,190 | $73,870 | $89,530 |
| Life, Physical, and Social Science | 25,810 | $102,320 | $107,250 |
| Legal | 18,110 | $116,750 | $139,860 |
| Farming, Fishing, and Forestry | 2,370 | $45,050 | $50,700 |
The occupations with the most jobs in the Seattle area
7 of the 12 largest occupations in the Seattle area with a published annual median paid a median below the all-jobs median of $72,610 (calculated from the BLS figures).
| Occupation | Jobs | Median salary |
|---|---|---|
| Software Developers | 92,770 | $167,280 |
| Home Health and Personal Care Aides | 54,670 | $48,210 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | 49,190 | $39,150 |
| Retail Salespersons | 46,620 | $42,080 |
| Registered Nurses | 39,900 | $128,260 |
| Business Operations Specialists, All Other | 38,800 | $101,920 |
| Stockers and Order Fillers | 30,860 | $46,830 |
| Cashiers | 30,470 | $44,210 |
| Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand | 29,490 | $47,740 |
| General and Operations Managers | 29,370 | $146,030 |
| Office Clerks, General | 27,460 | $53,290 |
| Project Management Specialists | 26,910 | $130,380 |
Go deeper
Pay for every occupation in the area.
Open →PricesCost of living in SeattleWhat a salary buys there.
Open →StateAverage salary in WashingtonThe statewide figures.
Open →CalculatorSalary to hourly calculatorConvert any salary or hourly rate.
Open →NegotiateSalary negotiationAsk for the top of the range.
Open →All areasAverage salary by stateEvery state on one page.
Open →Disclosure: TryHired makes HIRED, a paid job-search program, so we have a conflict of interest when we mention it. Everything on this page is free to use without buying anything.
Questions people ask
What is the average salary in Seattle?
What is the median salary in Seattle?
What is a good salary in Seattle?
Is this Seattle city only?
How this page is built
Every pay figure is a BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2025 estimate for all occupations in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metropolitan statistical area (occupation code 00-0000), copied from BLS's data file; the job-group and occupation rows come from the same file. The average is BLS's mean wage (total wages divided by jobs); the median is the wage in the middle. OEWS wages are straight-time gross pay: they include commissions, tips, production bonuses and cost-of-living allowances, and leave out overtime premiums, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses and benefits. BLS turns hourly wages into annual ones at 2,080 hours (40 hours for 52 weeks). Ranks, differences and shares are TryHired calculations from the BLS figures. Price levels are BEA Regional Price Parities.
- Household income: this page reports pay per job, not household or family income, which the Census Bureau measures differently.
- Starting pay: the figures include experienced workers. Entry-level pay is usually lower.
- Take-home pay: every figure is before taxes and deductions.
- Self-employment and farm work: not covered by OEWS (see the FAQ).
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 estimates: national, state and metropolitan-area data files (public domain).
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS technical notes: what the survey counts as wages and jobs.
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024 (released Feb 19, 2026).