Gera US Pay Premium Index
Which US states pay above the national average for your occupation? Real BLS OEWS May 2025 data across 50 occupations — no cost-of-living adjustment, just the raw employer wage premium.
Which US states pay above the national average for Home Health and Personal Care Aides?
As of May 2025 BLS OEWS data, Washington pays +37.4% above the national employment-weighted average for Home Health and Personal Care Aides (state median: $47,730 vs national approx. $34,745). The Gera US Pay Premium Index (GUPPI) ranks every US state for 50 top occupations. Re-dated annually from BLS OEWS.
Source:U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025·As of May 2025 state estimates · updated annually (BLS OEWS) · last refreshed
Gera US Pay Premium Index
Top GUPPI for Home Health and Personal Care Aides: Washington pays +37.4% above the national average (BLS OEWS May 2025).
How this is calculatedWashington +37.4%
Browse by occupation — state wage premiums
Each occupation page shows GUPPI for every US state where BLS publishes a median — ranked highest premium first.
- Home Health and Personal Care AidesWashington +37.4%
- Retail SalespersonsWashington +16.2%
- Fast Food and Counter WorkersCalifornia +34.2%
- General and Operations ManagersNew Jersey +59.7%
- Registered NursesCalifornia +42.7%
- CashiersDistrict of Columbia +21.6%
- Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, HandMinnesota +13.2%
- Stockers and Order FillersWashington +18.1%
- Customer Service RepresentativesWashington +15.3%
- Office Clerks, GeneralDistrict of Columbia +24.2%
- Waiters and WaitressesHawaii +83.6%
- Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping CleanersMassachusetts +23.3%
- Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck DriversAlaska +21.5%
- Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and ExecutiveDistrict of Columbia +25.4%
- Software DevelopersCalifornia +22.0%
- Maintenance and Repair Workers, GeneralDistrict of Columbia +17.7%
- Accountants and AuditorsDistrict of Columbia +29.0%
- Nursing AssistantsOregon +19.0%
- First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support WorkersWashington +15.4%
- Teaching Assistants, Except PostsecondaryWashington +33.7%
- Cooks, RestaurantWashington +22.1%
- Miscellaneous Assemblers and FabricatorsDistrict of Columbia +14.2%
- Elementary School Teachers, Except Special EducationWashington +41.7%
- Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing ClerksDistrict of Columbia +26.3%
- Security GuardsDistrict of Columbia +61.5%
- Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and TravelNew York +31.9%
- Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific ProductsRhode Island +17.5%
- First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving WorkersWashington +40.3%
- First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales WorkersWashington +22.6%
- Construction LaborersHawaii +57.0%
- Business Operations Specialists, All OtherDistrict of Columbia +27.5%
- Project Management SpecialistsWashington +18.3%
- Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical EducationWashington +37.7%
- Light Truck DriversAlaska +28.6%
- Medical Secretaries and Administrative AssistantsWashington +27.6%
- Landscaping and Groundskeeping WorkersDistrict of Columbia +19.9%
- Human Resources SpecialistsDistrict of Columbia +49.1%
- Receptionists and Information ClerksDistrict of Columbia +27.3%
- Market Research Analysts and Marketing SpecialistsMassachusetts +25.8%
- Management AnalystsMassachusetts +31.1%
- Food Preparation WorkersWashington +20.3%
- Maids and Housekeeping CleanersHawaii +45.1%
- Financial ManagersNew York +31.9%
- Medical AssistantsWashington +32.2%
- Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory ClerksWashington +15.3%
- First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction WorkersWashington +32.0%
- Industrial Truck and Tractor OperatorsDistrict of Columbia +79.7%
- ElectriciansOregon +47.3%
- BartendersHawaii +124.2%
- LawyersNew York +30.5%
Frequently asked questions
- What is the Gera US Pay Premium Index (GUPPI)?
- GUPPI = (state median wage − employment-weighted national average) / national average × 100. A positive GUPPI means employers in that state pay above the national average for the occupation; negative means below. It uses real BLS OEWS May 2025 annual median wages — no cost-of-living adjustment.
- How is the national average calculated for GUPPI?
- GeraJobs computes an employment-weighted mean of the BLS-published state medians for each occupation. States with higher employment contribute more to the average. Suppressed BLS cells are excluded. See the methodology page for the full formula and transparency notes.
- Which states consistently pay the highest wage premiums?
- It varies by occupation. For Registered Nurses, California and Hawaii typically lead. For Software Developers, Washington, California, and the Northeast corridor rank highest. Check the individual occupation pages for state-by-state GUPPI rankings.
- How is GUPPI different from the Gera US Real Pay Index (GRPI)?
- GUPPI measures raw employer wage premiums — no adjustment for taxes or cost of living. GRPI adjusts for state income tax and BEA cost of living to show where take-home pay goes furthest. Both use BLS OEWS May 2025 data. A state can rank high on GUPPI but lower on GRPI if it has high taxes or a high cost of living.
- How often is the GUPPI data updated?
- Annually, following the BLS OEWS May release (typically published the following March–April). Current data is BLS OEWS May 2025, last computed 2026-06-20.
Find jobs with salary ranges by state
GeraJobs lists live US vacancies with employer-stated salary ranges — filter by state to find where the GUPPI translates into real offers.
Data source
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 · May 2025 state estimates · Public domain (U.S. federal government work)
Computation by GeraJobs. Last generated: 2026-06-20. Full methodology