Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors · SOC 53-7081

Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectorss

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

Metro areas ranked by published median annual wage for refuse and recyclable material collectors. Areas where BLS suppressed the median are not ranked (2 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 313 metro areas

Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors: 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	$87,430	870	0.8
2	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$77,570	2,040	0.9
3	Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	$77,470	3,330	0.7
4	Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA	$76,340	130	1.0
5	Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL	$75,440	750	4.2
6	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$75,090	2,100	1.0
7	Kennewick-Richland, WA	$74,180	90	0.7
8	Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA	$73,770	70	0.8
9	Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA	$73,110	320	1.6
10	Napa, CA	$72,450	90	1.2
11	San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	$69,300	1,230	0.8
12	Salinas, CA	$69,210	90	0.5
13	Merced, CA	$68,530	70	0.8
14	Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA	$66,900	220	1.1
15	Boulder, CO	$66,610	110	0.6
16	Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA	$66,230	330	1.3
17	Fresno, CA	$65,950	390	0.8
18	Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	$65,950	910	0.8
19	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	$65,920	1,500	1.2
20	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$65,310	13,310	1.4
21	Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA	$65,270	60	1.1
22	San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA	$64,440	Not published	Not published
23	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	$64,410	1,550	0.8
24	Urban Honolulu, HI	$64,080	420	0.9
25	Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI	$63,640	410	0.5

Full state and metro tables, the national distribution, and the pay map are on the Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors 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.