Omaha, NE-IA

Across all occupations in the Omaha, NE-IA metropolitan area, the median wage is $49,660 a year ($23.88 an hour) and the mean $64,900, May 2025. That median is −3% against the US median of $50,980 and +1% against Nebraska's $48,980. BLS counts 498,100 jobs in the area, which spans Nebraska and Iowa. The highest-paying occupation is cardiologists; the largest is fast food and counter workers.

All occupations: Omaha, NE-IA vs Nebraska and Iowa and the United States

All occupations: wage percentiles, mean and employment in the Omaha, NE-IA area, Nebraska and Iowa and nationally, May 2025
Area	Basis	Percentile wage					Mean	Employment
Area	Basis	10th	25th	Median	75th	90th	Mean	Employment
Omaha, NE-IA	Hourly	$14.74	$18.14	$23.88	$36.95	$51.64	$31.20	498,100
Omaha, NE-IA	Annual	$30,670	$37,740	$49,660	$76,860	$107,410	$64,900	498,100
Nebraska	Hourly	$14.48	$17.97	$23.55	$35.50	$49.57	$30.00	1,024,370
Nebraska	Annual	$30,120	$37,370	$48,980	$73,830	$103,110	$62,400	1,024,370
Iowa	Hourly	$13.91	$17.58	$23.34	$33.79	$47.90	$28.76	1,559,240
Iowa	Annual	$28,930	$36,570	$48,540	$70,290	$99,630	$59,830	1,559,240
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.

566 detailed occupations publish a median in this area. State profiles: Nebraska, Iowa. Compare any occupation across every area in the wage explorer.

20 highest-paying occupations in Omaha, NE-IA

Rank	Occupation	Median annual	Median hourly	Employment
1	Cardiologists	$598,480	$287.73	110
2	Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric	$534,820	$257.12	130
3	Dermatologists	$393,150	$189.02	**
4	Anesthesiologists	$343,730	$165.26	180
5	Obstetricians and Gynecologists	$342,570	$164.70	140
6	Neurologists	$316,840	$152.33	70
7	Emergency Medicine Physicians	$306,350	$147.29	200
8	Physicians, All Other	$290,460	$139.65	870
9	Nurse Anesthetists	$271,680	$130.62	230
10	Chief Executives	$228,220	$109.72	1,330
11	Dentists, All Other Specialists	$224,990	$108.17	150
12	Physicians, Pathologists	$214,920	$103.33	80
13	Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates	$208,180	$100.09	90
14	Surgeons, All Other	$204,930	$98.52	140
15	Family Medicine Physicians	$200,860	$96.57	410
16	Dentists, General	$187,400	$90.09	440
17	General Internal Medicine Physicians	$185,110	$89.00	740
18	Aerospace Engineers	$171,380	$82.40	**
19	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$148,930	$71.60	720
20	Computer and Information Systems Managers in Nebraska	$145,500	$69.95	2,970

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 Omaha, NE-IA

Rank	Occupation	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient	Median annual
1	Fast Food and Counter Workers in Nebraska	15,580	31.28	1.26	$29,450
2	Registered Nurses in Nebraska	13,200	26.50	1.22	$84,600
3	Retail Salespersons in Nebraska	12,080	24.26	0.97	$33,260
4	General and Operations Managers in Nebraska	11,430	22.95	1.02	$90,620
5	Stockers and Order Fillers in Nebraska	10,490	21.05	1.16	$36,810
6	Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in Nebraska	10,210	20.50	1.55	$58,010
7	Cashiers in Nebraska	9,110	18.28	0.92	$31,270
8	Customer Service Representatives in Nebraska	8,810	17.69	1.06	$44,260
9	Nursing Assistants in Nebraska	7,740	15.55	1.67	$40,020
10	Waiters and Waitresses in Nebraska	7,620	15.29	1.05	$34,290
11	Home Health and Personal Care Aides in Nebraska	7,480	15.01	0.54	$36,450
12	Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive in Nebraska	7,090	14.23	1.30	$47,760
13	Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand in Nebraska	6,870	13.78	0.73	$42,550
14	Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners in Nebraska	6,690	13.43	0.95	$35,620
15	Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary in Nebraska	5,210	10.46	1.15	$35,910
16	Accountants and Auditors in Nebraska	5,170	10.39	1.11	$77,030
17	First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers in Nebraska	5,030	10.11	1.09	$63,700
18	Childcare Workers	4,940	9.93	2.97	$31,330
19	Office Clerks, General in Nebraska	4,400	8.83	0.56	$39,690
20	Maintenance and Repair Workers, General in Nebraska	4,360	8.75	0.89	$51,700

Most concentrated occupations in Omaha, NE-IA

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	Dentists, All Other Specialists	9.14	150	0.31	$224,990
2	Gambling and Sports Book Writers and Runners	6.65	190	0.38	$30,610
3	Slaughterers and Meat Packers	5.94	1,330	2.67	$46,390
4	Food and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operators and Tenders	5.77	380	0.76	$43,410
5	Prepress Technicians and Workers	4.83	370	0.74	$40,930
6	Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors	4.63	140	0.29	$37,250
7	New Accounts Clerks	4.51	530	1.07	$48,150
7	Cleaning, Washing, and Metal Pickling Equipment Operators and Tenders	4.51	210	0.43	$37,300
9	Food Processing Workers, All Other	4.33	900	1.81	$42,600
10	Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers	4.12	1,920	3.86	$49,810

Occupation groups in Omaha, NE-IA

Group	Median annual	Mean annual	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient
Management	$108,120	$127,210	38,870	78.04	1.09
Computer and Mathematical	$96,400	$99,130	17,190	34.50	1.02
Legal	$95,110	$117,520	3,410	6.85	0.82
Architecture and Engineering	$83,440	$92,240	6,220	12.48	0.74
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical	$82,920	$109,090	36,270	72.82	1.15
Business and Financial Operations	$74,670	$80,490	30,600	61.44	0.91
Life, Physical, and Social Science	$73,450	$79,530	4,010	8.05	0.85
Educational Instruction and Library	$60,250	$63,660	29,090	58.40	1.00
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair	$60,160	$61,950	18,730	37.60	0.96
Protective Service	$59,860	$60,650	9,290	18.65	0.77
Construction and Extraction	$58,670	$61,290	25,160	50.51	1.22
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media	$54,410	$61,600	5,720	11.49	0.87
Community and Social Service	$52,200	$57,980	7,440	14.93	0.87
Office and Administrative Support	$47,100	$49,740	55,630	111.69	0.98
Production	$46,680	$50,380	25,040	50.27	0.91
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry	$43,260	$45,230	570	1.14	0.41
Transportation and Material Moving	$42,480	$46,680	43,290	86.90	0.99
Healthcare Support	$39,530	$42,200	21,010	42.17	0.83
Sales and Related	$37,540	$51,230	43,380	87.08	1.01
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance	$37,510	$40,670	14,810	29.73	1.02
Food Preparation and Serving Related	$34,270	$35,880	48,260	96.89	1.10
Personal Care and Service	$33,680	$38,540	14,130	28.38	1.36

Every occupation in Nebraska and Iowa, and the area's place among the state's metros, is on the state profiles. All 566 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 Omaha, NE-IA estimates (area 36540).

*: 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 Omaha, NE-IA 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.
The area spans Nebraska and Iowa; its figures are the whole MSA, as BLS publishes them, under the primary state Nebraska.