Birmingham, AL

Across all occupations in the Birmingham, AL metropolitan area, the median wage is $47,770 a year ($22.97 an hour) and the mean $60,770, May 2025. That median is −6% against the US median of $50,980 and +5% against Alabama's $45,670. BLS counts 520,290 jobs in the area. The highest-paying occupation is general internal medicine physicians; the largest is registered nurses.

All occupations: Birmingham, AL vs Alabama and the United States

All occupations: wage percentiles, mean and employment in the Birmingham, AL area, Alabama and nationally, May 2025
Area	Basis	Percentile wage					Mean	Employment
Area	Basis	10th	25th	Median	75th	90th	Mean	Employment
Birmingham, AL	Hourly	$13.37	$16.82	$22.97	$34.73	$49.98	$29.22	520,290
Birmingham, AL	Annual	$27,820	$34,990	$47,770	$72,240	$103,950	$60,770	520,290
Alabama	Hourly	$12.54	$15.41	$21.96	$32.11	$48.68	$27.65	2,113,660
Alabama	Annual	$26,090	$32,050	$45,670	$66,790	$101,250	$57,500	2,113,660
United States	Hourly	$15.00	$18.07	$24.51	$38.71	$61.81	$33.54	155,495,730
United States	Annual	$31,200	$37,590	$50,980	$80,520	$128,560	$69,770	155,495,730

Annual wage at the 10th, 25th, 50th (median), 75th and 90th percentiles across all occupations in the metro; the line marks the US median. The same numbers are in the table above.

491 detailed occupations publish a median in this area. State profile: Alabama. Compare any occupation across every area in the wage explorer.

20 highest-paying occupations in Birmingham, AL

Rank	Occupation	Median annual	Median hourly	Employment
1	General Internal Medicine Physicians	$334,100	$160.63	180
2	Physicians, All Other	$237,040	$113.96	1,420
3	Pediatricians, General	$189,650	$91.18	80
4	Nurse Anesthetists	$175,850	$84.54	750
5	Lawyers in Alabama	$170,230	$81.84	2,800
6	Podiatrists	$169,780	$81.62	50
7	Chief Executives	$167,080	$80.33	190
8	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$166,670	$80.13	600
9	Optometrists	$162,890	$78.31	110
10	Compensation and Benefits Managers	$156,710	$75.34	30
11	Financial Managers in Alabama	$153,930	$74.01	2,700
12	Computer and Information Systems Managers in Alabama	$140,230	$67.42	2,230
13	Natural Sciences Managers	$139,050	$66.85	110
14	Pharmacists	$138,800	$66.73	1,550
15	Managers, All Other in Alabama	$138,360	$66.52	300
16	Power Distributors and Dispatchers	$138,260	$66.47	100
17	Training and Development Managers	$133,980	$64.41	70
18	Actuaries	$132,840	$63.86	130
19	Computer Network Architects	$131,140	$63.05	880
20	Marketing Managers	$130,160	$62.58	660

Ranked by median; an occupation whose median BLS withholds or top-codes in this area cannot appear here, however well it pays.

20 largest occupations in Birmingham, AL

Rank	Occupation	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient	Median annual
1	Registered Nurses in Alabama	17,850	34.31	1.58	$78,680
2	Retail Salespersons in Alabama	15,280	29.37	1.17	$31,450
3	Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive in Alabama	10,900	20.95	1.91	$44,580
4	Stockers and Order Fillers in Alabama	10,890	20.93	1.15	$35,660
5	Cashiers in Alabama	10,690	20.55	1.03	$29,310
6	Fast Food and Counter Workers in Alabama	10,080	19.38	0.78	$27,020
7	Customer Service Representatives in Alabama	9,850	18.94	1.13	$40,530
8	Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in Alabama	9,170	17.63	1.33	$54,460
9	Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand in Alabama	8,200	15.77	0.83	$37,500
10	General and Operations Managers in Alabama	7,950	15.28	0.68	$123,560
11	Accountants and Auditors in Alabama	7,790	14.97	1.61	$78,660
12	Waiters and Waitresses in Alabama	7,000	13.45	0.92	$27,670
13	Nursing Assistants in Alabama	6,380	12.27	1.32	$35,470
14	Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products in Alabama	6,210	11.93	1.50	$71,450
15	Cooks, Fast Food in Alabama	6,120	11.77	2.85	$28,320
16	First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers in Alabama	5,860	11.27	1.56	$46,210
17	First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers in Alabama	5,820	11.18	1.21	$64,170
18	Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners in Alabama	5,760	11.08	0.78	$33,370
19	Security Guards in Alabama	5,660	10.87	1.32	$33,820
20	Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks in Alabama	5,430	10.43	1.18	$47,330

Most concentrated occupations in Birmingham, AL

The 10 occupations with the highest location quotient among those employing at least 100 people in the area. A quotient of 2.00 means the occupation's share of local jobs is twice its national share.

Rank	Occupation	Location quotient	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Median annual
1	Metal-Refining Furnace Operators and Tenders	7.48	420	0.81	$56,250
2	Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tenders	6.00	290	0.55	$57,220
3	Nurse Anesthetists	4.31	750	1.44	$175,850
4	Athletic Trainers	3.88	400	0.76	$46,280
5	Power Distributors and Dispatchers	3.66	100	0.20	$138,260
6	Rolling Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	3.59	300	0.58	$51,950
7	Helpers--Electricians	2.89	610	1.18	$36,880
8	Cooks, Fast Food in Alabama	2.85	6,120	11.77	$28,320
9	Power Plant Operators	2.84	280	0.54	$106,990
10	Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary	2.78	2,060	3.96	$100,950

Occupation groups in Birmingham, AL

Group	Median annual	Mean annual	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient
Management	$107,070	$129,730	31,020	59.62	0.83
Computer and Mathematical	$97,580	$101,240	13,290	25.54	0.75
Architecture and Engineering	$92,500	$98,440	7,200	13.83	0.82
Business and Financial Operations	$77,620	$85,970	30,760	59.12	0.87
Legal	$77,430	$112,140	5,620	10.79	1.29
Life, Physical, and Social Science	$72,900	$81,880	3,910	7.51	0.79
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical	$69,120	$87,010	45,410	87.28	1.38
Educational Instruction and Library	$61,120	$58,590	28,500	54.78	0.94
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair	$57,800	$60,440	24,610	47.29	1.21
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media	$51,860	$60,480	5,280	10.14	0.77
Community and Social Service	$50,580	$55,650	6,660	12.81	0.75
Construction and Extraction	$50,040	$54,740	23,410	45.00	1.09
Production	$45,430	$49,690	32,130	61.75	1.12
Office and Administrative Support	$44,450	$47,300	61,750	118.68	1.04
Protective Service	$44,120	$49,760	13,920	26.76	1.10
Transportation and Material Moving	$41,030	$45,020	48,440	93.11	1.06
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry	$37,030	$42,830	600	1.16	0.41
Sales and Related	$36,720	$49,950	52,600	101.10	1.17
Healthcare Support	$36,030	$37,270	18,880	36.28	0.71
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance	$34,680	$36,170	12,360	23.76	0.81
Personal Care and Service	$29,320	$33,270	9,410	18.08	0.86
Food Preparation and Serving Related	$28,340	$30,460	44,540	85.61	0.97

Every occupation in Alabama, and the area's place among the state's metros, is on the state profile. All 491 published occupations for this area are in the wage explorer; other metros are on the metros hub.

Source and notes

Data: BLS OEWS May 2025, released 2026-05-15. Cross-industry estimates, all ownerships. BLS page: OEWS Birmingham, AL estimates (area 13820).

*: Wage estimate not available.

Annual wages assume 2,080 hours a year at the hourly rate; occupations BLS publishes on one basis only show an en dash (–) on the other.
Employment is rounded to the nearest 10 by BLS. Where BLS withholds a cell, nothing is estimated in its place.
Jobs per 1,000 is the occupation's employment per 1,000 jobs in the Birmingham, AL area; the location quotient is that share divided by the national share.
The concentration table keeps only occupations with employment of 100 or more in the area, so a quotient built on a handful of rounded jobs cannot top it.