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Bureau of Labor Statistics > Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics > Home

What are Percentile Wages?

The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall.

The following table provides an example of an occupation's percentile wages:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% Median	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$11.00	$15.00	$20.00	$24.00	$29.00
Annual Wage	$22,880	$31,200	$41,600	$49,920	$60,320

The hourly wage estimates in this example indicate that:

10% of employees earn less than $11.00 per hour; therefore the remaining 90% earn more than $11.00 per hour.
25% earn less than $15.00; 75% earn more than $15.00.
50% earn less than $20.00; 50% earn more than $20.00 (The 50th percentile is called the Median).
75% earn less than $24.00; 25% earn more than $24.00.
90% earn less than $29.00; 10% earn more than $29.00.

The annual wage estimates in this example indicate that:

10% of employees earn less than $22,880 per year; therefore the remaining 90% earn more than $22,880 per year.
25% earn less than $31,200; 75% earn more than $31,200.
50% earn less than $41,600; 50% earn more than $41,600 (The 50th percentile is called the Median).
75% earn less than $49,920; 25% earn more than $49,920.
90% earn less than $60,320; 10% earn more than $60,320.

Last Modified Date: July 8, 2011