What Is the Average Hourly Wage in the USA?

When deciding which jobs you want to apply for, it can be helpful to know how competitive the offered wage is when compared to the country’s average. The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics’ recorded wage information demonstrates a steady increase in the average hourly wage of United States citizens over the past years. In this article, we answer frequently asked questions about the average hourly wage in the U.S. and list types of jobs you can find in higher-paying industries.

What is the average hourly wage in the United States?

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average hourly wage of United States citizens as of December 2020 is $29.81, while the average weekly wage is $1034.41.

This is a 4.8% increase in the average hourly wage from December 2019, which was $28.37, and a 5.9% increase from the average weekly wage in 2019, which was $973.09.

What are the average hourly wages in each major industry?

The average hourly wages in each major industry as of December 2020, according to the BLS, are:

Goods-producing: $30.24
Trade, transportation, and utilities: $25.64
Information: $44.37
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Financial activities: $38.99
Professional and business services: $35.60
Education and health services: $29.05
Leisure and hospitality: $17.04

Which industries have the highest hourly wages?

As reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, five specific industries with some of the highest hourly wages as of December 2020 are:

Utilities: $44.38
Finances: $38.99
Business and administrative services: $35.60
Construction: $32.02
Education and instruction: $29.05

Types of jobs in high earning industries

If you’re looking for a high-paying hourly wage job, consider these options:

Utilities

Here are a few jobs you can find in the utilities industry. For the most up-to-date information from Indeed, please click on the salary link for each job title below.

1. Packer

National average salary: $10.24 per hour

Primary duties: Packers are in charge of packing, weighing and labeling packages and shipments of products and inventory. They also are responsible for cleaning and maintaining packaging and warehouse equipment.

2. Machine operator

National average salary: $14.36 per hour

Primary duties: A machine operator is responsible for operating, cleaning and maintaining heavy production or manufacturing equipment. It is the machine operator’s job to make sure that machines are operated safely and efficiently for best productivity results.

3. Welder

National average salary: $17.90 per hour

Primary duties: Welders use special equipment to fuse two or more pieces of metal together through a welding process. They are also responsible for the maintenance and care of welding equipment and the cleaning and polishing of the fused metal once the welding is complete.

Finance

Here are a few jobs you can find in the finance industry:

1. Teller

National average salary: $13.75 per hour

Primary duties: A teller often works behind the counter at a banking company, where they assist customers with different banking needs. They help customers with depositing, withdrawing and counting various assortments of money.

2. Bookkeeper

National average salary: $18.25 per hour

Primary duties: Bookkeepers keep track of a business or company’s financial spending. They are also responsible for creating financial statements and reports to present to company managers and executives.

3. Accountant

National average salary: $24.24 per hour

Primary duties: Accountants work with companies or individuals and help to meet their financial needs. Accountants will also work with customers or companies to ensure that all of their tax information and financial documents are accurate and advise them on any financial changes they might need to make.

Business and administrative services

Here are a few jobs you can find in the business and administrative services industry:

1. Office assistant

National average salary: $13.86 per hour

Primary duties: Office assistants help different companies and organizations with clerical tasks. These tasks can include organizing and filing office paperwork, scheduling appointments and sending emails or memos to various office personnel.

2. Human resources specialist

National average salary: $15.90 per hour

Primary duties: A human resources specialist will often work in all areas of a company’s or organization’s hiring process. They will help with recruiting, interviewing and onboarding potential employees, as well as helping employees with any salary- or benefits-related questions and concerns.

3. Recruiter

National average salary: $13.44 per hour

Primary duties: Recruiters work with companies and organizations to find potential candidates who can fill open positions. Recruiters will work with human resource specialists and general managers to help in interviewing and hiring the best candidates for the job.

Construction

Here are jobs you can find in the construction industry:

1. Construction worker

National average salary: $16.22 per hour

Primary duties: A construction worker works on a construction site to help with daily job requirements. Those requirements can include working with construction materials, operating construction equipment and maintaining a safe working environment.

2. Apprentice plumber

National average salary: $16.81 per hour

Primary duties: An apprentice plumber works with a licensed plumbing professional to practice different techniques and gain new skills and experience in order to become a fully trained plumber.

3. Electrician

National average salary: $23.58 per hour

Primary duties: An electrician works to fix, install and maintain different electrical equipment and wiring. They can often work in the private field helping customers and individuals, or they might work on a construction site installing electrical equipment into different buildings and structures.

Education and instruction

Here are a few jobs you can find in the education and instruction industry:

1. Paraprofessional

National average salary: $14.00 per hour

Primary duties: Paraprofessionals, or teaching assistants, work with licensed teachers and support them in their classroom duties. They might also work with certain students to help them achieve academic goals.

2. Adjunct faculty

National average salary: $37.27 per hour

Primary duties: An adjunct faculty professor is a part-time teacher, generally at a college or university, who works on a contract basis to provide certain classes and education to students. Adjunct faculty positions can sometimes become full-time positions after working with the same college or university for some time.

3. Special education teacher

National average salary: $22.27 per hour

Primary duties: A special education teacher works with children who have different physical and learning disabilities. They can help students reach academic goals and help them develop positive learning habits the students can continue to use throughout their life.