Human Resources Specialists · SOC 13-1071

Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Human Resources Specialists

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

Metro areas ranked by published median annual wage for human resources specialists. Areas where BLS suppressed the median are not ranked. Higher medians often track higher living costs — this is a pay comparison, not a ranking of where the job is “best”.

Top 25 of 393 metro areas

Human Resources Specialists: 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	$112,140	7,970	7.0
2	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$103,140	16,420	6.9
3	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$100,830	24,450	7.8
4	Lexington Park, MD	$98,170	330	4.7
5	Parkersburg-Vienna, WV	$94,520	440	12.2
6	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$92,770	14,120	6.8
7	Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA	$90,290	710	7.5
8	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$90,270	21,770	8.1
9	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$89,780	52,370	5.5
10	Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA	$86,700	1,410	10.9
11	Boulder, CO	$86,200	1,480	7.7
12	Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT	$85,550	2,350	5.8
13	Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA	$84,690	450	4.6
14	Napa, CA	$84,400	310	3.9
15	Rochester, MN	$83,810	500	4.1
16	Vallejo, CA	$83,160	650	4.5
17	Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT	$82,920	3,460	5.8
18	Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO	$82,550	12,520	7.8
19	New Haven, CT	$82,510	1,230	4.4
20	Charlottesville, VA	$82,430	610	5.3
21	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD	$82,380	7,930	5.8
22	Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA	$81,540	920	4.5
23	San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	$81,300	9,110	5.9
24	Kennewick-Richland, WA	$81,290	620	4.8
25	Durham-Chapel Hill, NC	$81,100	2,370	6.9

Full state and metro tables, the national distribution, and the pay map are on the Human Resources Specialists 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.