Decatur, AL

Across all occupations in the Decatur, AL metropolitan area, the median wage is $46,280 a year ($22.25 an hour) and the mean $57,830, May 2025. That median is −9% against the US median of $50,980 and +1% against Alabama's $45,670. BLS counts 61,240 jobs in the area. The highest-paying occupation is physicians, all other; the largest is miscellaneous assemblers and fabricators.

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

All occupations: wage percentiles, mean and employment in the Decatur, AL area, Alabama and nationally, May 2025
Area	Basis	Percentile wage					Mean	Employment
Area	Basis	10th	25th	Median	75th	90th	Mean	Employment
Decatur, AL	Hourly	$12.85	$16.20	$22.25	$33.48	$49.37	$27.80	61,240
Decatur, AL	Annual	$26,720	$33,690	$46,280	$69,630	$102,690	$57,830	61,240
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.

241 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 Decatur, AL

Rank	Occupation	Median annual	Median hourly	Employment
1	Physicians, All Other	$351,790	$169.13	50
2	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$165,480	$79.56	160
3	Industrial Production Managers	$150,030	$72.13	240
4	Financial Managers in Alabama	$142,940	$68.72	150
5	Lawyers in Alabama	$139,010	$66.83	70
6	Aerospace Engineers	$138,460	$66.57	100
7	Computer and Information Systems Managers in Alabama	$135,870	$65.32	130
8	Materials Engineers	$134,370	$64.60	50
9	Sales Managers in Alabama	$133,480	$64.17	110
10	Pharmacists	$133,410	$64.14	120
11	Computer Network Architects	$132,570	$63.74	60
12	Purchasing Managers	$132,320	$63.62	40
13	Information Security Analysts	$130,400	$62.69	50
14	Environmental Engineers	$129,290	$62.16	50
15	Facilities Managers	$128,880	$61.96	40
16	Marketing Managers	$128,500	$61.78	40
17	Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors	$125,940	$60.55	90
18	Electrical Engineers	$124,440	$59.83	160
19	Human Resources Managers	$123,160	$59.21	50
20	Family Medicine Physicians	$118,450	$56.95	40

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 Decatur, AL

Rank	Occupation	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient	Median annual
1	Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators in Alabama	1,830	29.84	3.30	$43,120
2	Retail Salespersons in Alabama	1,580	25.77	1.03	$31,550
3	Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in Alabama	1,420	23.22	1.75	$59,390
4	Fast Food and Counter Workers in Alabama	1,280	20.89	0.84	$25,720
5	Cashiers in Alabama	1,260	20.56	1.03	$28,880
5	Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive in Alabama	1,260	20.52	1.87	$43,900
7	Stockers and Order Fillers in Alabama	1,200	19.56	1.07	$32,120
8	Home Health and Personal Care Aides in Alabama	1,140	18.67	0.67	$27,430
9	Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand in Alabama	1,090	17.74	0.93	$36,160
10	Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners in Alabama	1,080	17.70	1.25	$30,410
11	Registered Nurses in Alabama	960	15.70	0.72	$68,320
12	Industrial Machinery Mechanics	950	15.47	5.47	$76,990
12	First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers in Alabama	950	15.46	3.57	$84,270
14	Cooks, Fast Food in Alabama	920	15.04	3.65	$28,480
15	Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers	870	14.23	15.18	$36,760
16	General and Operations Managers in Alabama	850	13.84	0.61	$117,380
17	Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders	760	12.37	13.77	$82,170
18	Customer Service Representatives in Alabama	710	11.54	0.69	$41,070
19	Construction Laborers in Alabama	690	11.25	1.60	$37,680
20	Waiters and Waitresses in Alabama	670	10.98	0.75	$27,010

Most concentrated occupations in Decatur, 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	Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers	15.18	870	14.23	$36,760
2	Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders	13.77	760	12.37	$82,170
3	Engineering Technologists and Technicians, Except Drafters, All Other	8.02	190	3.09	$60,220
4	Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Wood	7.22	120	1.90	$44,360
5	Chemical Technicians	6.18	140	2.29	$64,840
6	Crane and Tower Operators	6.07	100	1.67	$45,640
7	Industrial Machinery Mechanics	5.47	950	15.47	$76,990
8	Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters	4.83	100	1.63	$50,040
9	Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	4.77	320	5.25	$45,350
10	Helpers--Electricians	3.84	100	1.57	$41,430

Occupation groups in Decatur, AL

Group	Median annual	Mean annual	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient
Architecture and Engineering	$105,310	$108,480	2,220	36.24	2.15
Management	$104,920	$125,230	3,010	49.22	0.69
Computer and Mathematical	$93,270	$98,520	710	11.60	0.34
Life, Physical, and Social Science	$78,420	$83,120	530	8.68	0.92
Business and Financial Operations	$72,810	$80,740	2,220	36.28	0.54
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair	$61,670	$67,090	3,880	63.43	1.62
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical	$61,190	$78,030	2,940	48.04	0.76
Legal	$61,190	$93,490	150	2.50	0.30
Educational Instruction and Library	$60,340	$52,280	2,720	44.44	0.76
Community and Social Service	$50,440	$55,640	710	11.62	0.68
Construction and Extraction	$49,990	$57,100	3,120	50.91	1.23
Protective Service	$48,600	$51,440	1,320	21.61	0.89
Production	$46,390	$55,860	10,210	166.77	3.03
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media	$44,570	$52,350	310	5.10	0.39
Office and Administrative Support	$43,510	$46,040	5,780	94.36	0.83
Transportation and Material Moving	$41,610	$45,690	6,360	103.83	1.18
Sales and Related	$35,260	$47,070	5,160	84.29	0.98
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry	$34,830	$40,060	140	2.29	0.82
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance	$32,750	$34,720	1,760	28.80	0.98
Healthcare Support	$30,190	$33,250	2,200	35.94	0.71
Personal Care and Service	$28,650	$32,850	760	12.42	0.59
Food Preparation and Serving Related	$27,930	$29,150	5,000	81.65	0.93

Every occupation in Alabama, and the area's place among the state's metros, is on the state profile. All 241 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 Decatur, AL estimates (area 19460).

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 Decatur, 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.