Architects, Except Landscape and Naval · SOC 17-1011

Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Architects, Except Landscape and Navals

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025U.S. metropolitan areas

Metro areas ranked by published median annual wage for architects, except landscape and naval. Areas where BLS suppressed the median are not ranked (4 such areas are excluded here). Higher medians often track higher living costs — this is a pay comparison, not a ranking of where the job is “best”.

Top 25 of 231 metro areas

Architects, Except Landscape and Naval: metro areas with the highest published median annual wages, May 2025
#	Metro area	Median annual	Employment	Per 1,000 jobs
1	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$129,640	660	0.6
2	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$126,550	3,780	1.6
3	Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	$125,980	640	0.6
4	Modesto, CA	$124,810	30	0.2
5	Barnstable Town, MA	$120,460	180	1.9
6	Redding, CA	$120,060	60	0.8
7	San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	$120,040	1,280	0.8
8	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$119,120	3,930	1.5
9	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD	$115,960	1,140	0.8
10	Rapid City, SD	$115,600	40	0.6
11	Amherst Town-Northampton, MA	$114,880	60	0.9
12	Glens Falls, NY	$111,200	40	0.7
13	Bakersfield-Delano, CA	$111,070	100	0.3
14	Appleton, WI	$110,990	40	0.4
15	Trenton-Princeton, NJ	$109,140	200	0.8
16	Anchorage, AK	$108,720	140	0.8
17	Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA	$107,300	150	0.7
18	Salisbury, MD	$106,230	40	0.7
19	Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT	$106,090	40	0.3
20	Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA	$105,750	40	0.5
21	Binghamton, NY	$105,600	40	0.4
22	Manchester-Nashua, NH	$105,540	50	0.3
23	Providence-Warwick, RI-MA	$105,300	690	1.0
24	Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT	$105,140	470	1.2
25	Reno, NV	$104,990	110	0.4

Full state and metro tables, the national distribution, and the pay map are on the Architects, Except Landscape and Naval overview.

About this data. Estimates are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, retrieved from bls.gov/oes/tables.htm on July 24, 2026. OEWS estimates describe metropolitan/nonmetropolitan areas and states — not city limits — and are not designed for year-over-year comparisons. See BLS methodology, our plain-English methodology, and sources. CitySalaryData is independent and not affiliated with BLS.