Fairbanks-College, AK

Across all occupations in the Fairbanks-College, AK metropolitan area, the median wage is $61,810 a year ($29.71 an hour) and the mean $73,460, May 2025. That median is +21% against the US median of $50,980 and +1% against Alaska's $61,000. BLS counts 36,430 jobs in the area. The highest-paying occupation is pharmacists; the largest is retail salespersons.

All occupations: Fairbanks-College, AK vs Alaska and the United States

All occupations: wage percentiles, mean and employment in the Fairbanks-College, AK area, Alaska and nationally, May 2025
Area	Basis	Percentile wage					Mean	Employment
Area	Basis	10th	25th	Median	75th	90th	Mean	Employment
Fairbanks-College, AK	Hourly	$16.97	$21.25	$29.71	$44.42	$58.68	$35.32	36,430
Fairbanks-College, AK	Annual	$35,300	$44,200	$61,810	$92,390	$122,050	$73,460	36,430
Alaska	Hourly	$16.79	$20.90	$29.33	$44.67	$61.89	$35.92	325,570
Alaska	Annual	$34,930	$43,470	$61,000	$92,910	$128,720	$74,720	325,570
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.

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

20 highest-paying occupations in Fairbanks-College, AK

Rank	Occupation	Median annual	Median hourly	Employment
1	Pharmacists	$173,340	$83.34	50
2	Physician Assistants	$164,910	$79.28	70
3	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$159,570	$76.72	110
4	Chief Executives	$150,930	$72.56	50
5	Nurse Practitioners	$144,300	$69.37	80
6	First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives	$137,880	$66.29	50
7	Construction Managers	$137,470	$66.09	180
8	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$135,980	$65.38	90
9	Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers	$133,220	$64.05	40
10	Dental Hygienists	$131,860	$63.40	70
11	Medical and Health Services Managers	$131,310	$63.13	170
12	Massage Therapists	$130,590	$62.78	50
13	Lawyers in Alaska	$129,660	$62.34	90
14	Managers, All Other in Alaska	$129,270	$62.15	180
15	Facilities Managers	$123,240	$59.25	70
16	Mechanical Engineers	$122,760	$59.02	50
17	Financial Managers in Alaska	$122,260	$58.78	190
18	Human Resources Managers	$116,060	$55.80	50
19	Natural Sciences Managers	$115,410	$55.49	70
20	General and Operations Managers in Alaska	$114,990	$55.28	630

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 Fairbanks-College, AK

Rank	Occupation	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient	Median annual
1	Retail Salespersons in Alaska	1,040	28.51	1.14	$37,550
2	Stockers and Order Fillers in Alaska	840	23.19	1.27	$40,850
3	Fast Food and Counter Workers in Alaska	800	22.08	0.89	$30,170
4	Cashiers in Alaska	670	18.29	0.92	$37,340
5	General and Operations Managers in Alaska	630	17.42	0.77	$114,990
5	Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive in Alaska	630	17.35	1.58	$47,860
7	Home Health and Personal Care Aides in Alaska	590	16.24	0.59	$42,550
7	Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in Alaska	590	16.09	1.21	$76,560
9	First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers in Alaska	540	14.73	1.59	$73,620
10	Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners in Alaska	500	13.80	0.97	$43,420
11	Waiters and Waitresses in Alaska	490	13.53	0.93	$26,530
12	Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks in Alaska	470	12.81	1.45	$59,320
13	Office Clerks, General in Alaska	430	11.94	0.75	$49,410
13	Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators	430	11.73	3.82	$82,390
15	First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers in Alaska	400	11.10	1.54	$59,660
16	Food Preparation Workers in Alaska	390	10.69	1.86	$34,530
17	Maintenance and Repair Workers, General in Alaska	380	10.40	1.06	$62,520
18	Cooks, Fast Food in Alaska	370	10.17	2.47	$37,010
19	Business Operations Specialists, All Other in Alaska	360	9.82	1.40	$94,740
20	First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers	340	9.30	2.34	$98,110

Most concentrated occupations in Fairbanks-College, AK

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	Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists	22.94	100	2.67	$88,740
2	Tour and Travel Guides	11.30	140	3.89	$38,730
3	Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines	6.35	260	7.21	$104,000
4	Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health	6.31	130	3.62	$88,640
5	Helpers--Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers	4.42	100	2.72	$44,760
6	Medical Records Specialists	4.22	190	5.29	$61,090
7	Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians	3.92	130	3.48	$81,520
8	Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators	3.82	430	11.73	$82,390
9	Information and Record Clerks, All Other	3.52	110	3.06	$56,470
10	Civil Engineers	2.76	240	6.54	$111,080

Occupation groups in Fairbanks-College, AK

Group	Median annual	Mean annual	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient
Management	$110,020	$124,590	**	**	**
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical	$106,500	$133,990	2,190	60.04	0.95
Architecture and Engineering	$101,860	$104,090	740	20.44	1.21
Legal	$101,640	$114,010	210	5.66	0.67
Computer and Mathematical	$90,250	$92,560	600	16.43	0.49
Business and Financial Operations	$85,220	$90,990	1,720	47.09	0.69
Construction and Extraction	$84,300	$84,210	2,410	66.29	1.60
Life, Physical, and Social Science	$83,600	$88,610	1,160	31.82	3.36
Educational Instruction and Library	$76,910	$75,380	2,660	73.09	1.25
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair	$76,610	$77,450	2,470	67.81	1.73
Protective Service	$70,920	$74,710	780	21.47	0.88
Community and Social Service	$62,630	$70,130	690	18.81	1.10
Production	$59,590	$66,470	740	20.23	0.37
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media	$56,880	$62,170	310	8.63	0.66
Office and Administrative Support	$54,080	$56,210	4,280	117.38	1.03
Transportation and Material Moving	$49,850	$58,110	3,070	84.29	0.96
Healthcare Support	$46,370	$50,180	1,240	33.97	0.67
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry	$46,010	$49,490	40	1.05	0.37
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance	$45,150	$45,140	1,080	29.70	1.02
Personal Care and Service	$44,430	$45,580	900	24.80	1.18
Sales and Related	$40,710	$49,570	2,840	77.96	0.90
Food Preparation and Serving Related	$35,150	$37,750	3,470	95.35	1.08

Every occupation in Alaska, and the area's place among the state's metros, is on the state profile. All 205 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 Fairbanks-College, AK estimates (area 21820).

**: Employment 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 Fairbanks-College, AK 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.