Tapers · SOC 47-2082

Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Taperss

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

Metro areas ranked by published median annual wage for tapers. 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 38 metro areas

Tapers: metro areas with the highest published median annual wages, May 2025
#	Metro area	Median annual	Employment	Per 1,000 jobs
1	Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	$113,180	290	0.1
2	Urban Honolulu, HI	$95,490	160	0.4
3	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	$95,010	50	0.0
4	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$92,810	480	0.4
5	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	$92,490	360	0.3
6	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$84,840	470	0.2
7	St. Louis, MO-IL	$81,400	130	0.1
8	Kansas City, MO-KS	$81,040	50	0.0
9	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$81,000	Not published	Not published
10	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$80,340	1,120	0.5
11	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	$78,090	210	0.1
12	San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	$76,720	420	0.3
13	Stockton-Lodi, CA	$75,850	90	0.3
14	Cleveland, OH	$73,840	40	0.0
15	Syracuse, NY	$71,970	30	0.1
16	Salem, OR	$71,430	50	0.3
17	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$70,810	400	0.1
18	Fresno, CA	$69,340	120	0.2
19	Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	$68,270	370	0.3
20	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	$68,020	1,220	0.2
21	Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA	$67,050	70	0.2
22	Kennewick-Richland, WA	$66,830	100	0.8
23	Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA	$61,870	110	0.6
24	Rochester, NY	$61,480	50	0.1
25	Lansing-East Lansing, MI	$61,470	50	0.2

Full state and metro tables, the national distribution, and the pay map are on the Tapers 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.