New Orleans-Metairie, LA

Across all occupations in the New Orleans-Metairie, LA metropolitan area, the median wage is $47,290 a year ($22.73 an hour) and the mean $61,050, May 2025. That median is −7% against the US median of $50,980 and +4% against Louisiana's $45,520. BLS counts 445,550 jobs in the area. The highest-paying occupation is emergency medicine physicians; the largest is retail salespersons.

All occupations: New Orleans-Metairie, LA vs Louisiana and the United States

All occupations: wage percentiles, mean and employment in the New Orleans-Metairie, LA area, Louisiana and nationally, May 2025
Area	Basis	Percentile wage					Mean	Employment
Area	Basis	10th	25th	Median	75th	90th	Mean	Employment
New Orleans-Metairie, LA	Hourly	$11.39	$15.24	$22.73	$35.99	$51.42	$29.35	445,550
New Orleans-Metairie, LA	Annual	$23,690	$31,690	$47,290	$74,860	$106,950	$61,050	445,550
Louisiana	Hourly	$10.92	$14.59	$21.89	$31.90	$48.13	$27.21	1,934,900
Louisiana	Annual	$22,710	$30,350	$45,520	$66,340	$100,110	$56,600	1,934,900
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.

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

20 highest-paying occupations in New Orleans-Metairie, LA

Rank	Occupation	Median annual	Median hourly	Employment
1	Emergency Medicine Physicians	$336,290	$161.68	140
2	Family Medicine Physicians	$332,690	$159.95	250
3	Physicians, All Other	$326,440	$156.94	1,910
4	Nurse Anesthetists	$216,280	$103.98	190
5	Dentists, General	$198,050	$95.22	270
6	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$165,620	$79.63	560
7	Aerospace Engineers	$149,430	$71.84	40
8	Petroleum Engineers	$148,390	$71.34	320
9	Industrial Production Managers	$147,980	$71.14	580
10	Business Teachers, Postsecondary	$137,540	*	240
11	Chemical Engineers	$136,870	$65.80	190
12	Optometrists	$136,200	$65.48	50
13	Commercial Pilots	$135,950	*	140
14	Financial Managers in Louisiana	$134,110	$64.48	1,970
15	Sales Engineers	$133,010	$63.95	**
16	Ship Engineers	$132,710	$63.80	230
17	Computer and Information Systems Managers in Louisiana	$131,570	$63.26	800
18	Natural Sciences Managers	$129,960	$62.48	100
19	Purchasing Managers	$128,670	$61.86	90
20	Veterinarians	$128,360	$61.71	200

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 New Orleans-Metairie, LA

Rank	Occupation	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient	Median annual
1	Retail Salespersons in Louisiana	12,030	27.01	1.08	$30,400
2	Registered Nurses in Louisiana	11,530	25.88	1.19	$81,850
3	General and Operations Managers in Louisiana	10,670	23.94	1.06	$105,110
4	Fast Food and Counter Workers in Louisiana	10,110	22.70	0.92	$25,470
5	Waiters and Waitresses in Louisiana	10,050	22.56	1.54	$16,640
6	Cashiers in Louisiana	9,320	20.93	1.05	$28,370
7	Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand in Louisiana	9,220	20.69	1.09	$36,380
8	Food Preparation Workers in Louisiana	7,250	16.27	2.83	$26,200
9	Office Clerks, General in Louisiana	6,740	15.12	0.95	$33,860
10	Security Guards in Louisiana	6,650	14.93	1.81	$32,240
11	Home Health and Personal Care Aides in Louisiana	6,600	14.82	0.54	$23,650
12	Stockers and Order Fillers in Louisiana	6,330	14.22	0.78	$34,830
13	Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive in Louisiana	6,180	13.88	1.26	$42,830
14	Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners in Louisiana	6,070	13.63	0.96	$30,020
15	Customer Service Representatives in Louisiana	5,600	12.57	0.75	$39,300
16	Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in Louisiana	5,500	12.33	0.93	$51,540
17	Maintenance and Repair Workers, General in Louisiana	4,940	11.08	1.13	$45,260
18	First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers in Louisiana	4,830	10.83	1.17	$60,270
19	Cooks, Restaurant in Louisiana	4,720	10.59	1.17	$30,520
20	Business Operations Specialists, All Other in Louisiana	4,590	10.31	1.47	$73,920

Most concentrated occupations in New Orleans-Metairie, LA

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	Sailors and Marine Oilers	21.42	1,940	4.36	$43,630
2	Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Workers, All Other	19.01	1,910	4.28	$63,240
3	Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels	18.40	1,940	4.36	$121,710
4	Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers	16.46	1,560	3.51	$107,490
5	Life Scientists, All Other	12.60	270	0.61	$60,200
6	Material Moving Workers, All Other	12.44	840	1.88	$46,360
7	Entertainers and Performers, Sports and Related Workers, All Other	11.83	560	1.26	*
8	Media and Communication Workers, All Other	10.32	580	1.30	*
9	Chemical Plant and System Operators	9.59	460	1.03	$92,260
10	Ship Engineers	9.44	230	0.51	$132,710

Occupation groups in New Orleans-Metairie, LA

Group	Median annual	Mean annual	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient
Management	$105,850	$127,480	29,350	65.87	0.92
Architecture and Engineering	$101,450	$107,190	6,940	15.59	0.93
Computer and Mathematical	$84,630	$93,140	6,930	15.56	0.46
Legal	$79,740	$113,640	7,220	16.22	1.93
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical	$76,810	$97,160	34,610	77.67	1.23
Life, Physical, and Social Science	$76,480	$85,450	4,310	9.68	1.02
Business and Financial Operations	$76,400	$81,980	24,740	55.52	0.82
Educational Instruction and Library	$60,350	$67,160	24,260	54.45	0.93
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair	$56,330	$60,020	19,860	44.58	1.14
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media	$55,000	$68,850	6,860	15.40	1.17
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry	$53,930	$51,360	350	0.79	0.28
Production	$52,350	$61,080	18,960	42.56	0.77
Construction and Extraction	$50,790	$56,540	18,010	40.43	0.98
Community and Social Service	$49,110	$53,210	6,240	14.00	0.82
Office and Administrative Support	$43,390	$46,060	51,170	114.84	1.01
Transportation and Material Moving	$40,080	$48,710	42,140	94.59	1.08
Protective Service	$39,300	$46,040	14,480	32.49	1.34
Sales and Related	$34,810	$46,290	38,500	86.41	1.00
Healthcare Support	$32,220	$33,440	17,130	38.45	0.76
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance	$30,350	$33,360	12,800	28.74	0.98
Personal Care and Service	$29,170	$35,100	10,130	22.73	1.09
Food Preparation and Serving Related	$26,000	$28,800	50,540	113.43	1.29

Every occupation in Louisiana, and the area's place among the state's metros, is on the state profile. All 505 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 New Orleans-Metairie, LA estimates (area 35380).

*: Wage estimate not available.
**: 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 New Orleans-Metairie, LA 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.