Valdosta, GA

Across all occupations in the Valdosta, GA metropolitan area, the median wage is $39,110 a year ($18.80 an hour) and the mean $49,850, May 2025. That median is −23% against the US median of $50,980 and −19% against Georgia's $48,170. BLS counts 53,890 jobs in the area. The highest-paying occupation is family medicine physicians; the largest is fast food and counter workers.

All occupations: Valdosta, GA vs Georgia and the United States

All occupations: wage percentiles, mean and employment in the Valdosta, GA area, Georgia and nationally, May 2025
Area	Basis	Percentile wage					Mean	Employment
Area	Basis	10th	25th	Median	75th	90th	Mean	Employment
Valdosta, GA	Hourly	$11.09	$14.16	$18.80	$28.45	$40.38	$23.97	53,890
Valdosta, GA	Annual	$23,070	$29,460	$39,110	$59,180	$83,980	$49,850	53,890
Georgia	Hourly	$13.43	$17.16	$23.16	$37.29	$58.88	$31.69	4,889,170
Georgia	Annual	$27,930	$35,700	$48,170	$77,570	$122,470	$65,920	4,889,170
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.

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

20 highest-paying occupations in Valdosta, GA

Rank	Occupation	Median annual	Median hourly	Employment
1	Family Medicine Physicians	$246,190	$118.36	60
2	Physicians, All Other	$204,720	$98.43	60
3	Chief Executives	$133,570	$64.22	60
4	Sales Managers in Georgia	$128,650	$61.85	90
5	Pharmacists	$127,810	$61.45	170
6	Financial Managers in Georgia	$126,590	$60.86	140
7	Computer and Information Systems Managers in Georgia	$117,400	$56.44	50
7	Nurse Practitioners	$117,400	$56.44	110
9	Human Resources Managers	$112,590	$54.13	40
10	Industrial Production Managers	$112,570	$54.12	80
11	Computer Science Teachers, Postsecondary	$107,060	*	40
12	Education Administrators, Postsecondary	$106,900	$51.39	60
13	Medical and Health Services Managers	$106,880	$51.39	140
14	Software Developers in Georgia	$105,640	$50.79	70
15	Lawyers in Georgia	$101,000	$48.56	130
16	Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers	$98,130	$47.18	50
17	Personal Financial Advisors	$97,360	$46.81	60
18	Physical Therapists	$97,050	$46.66	70
19	Facilities Managers	$96,730	$46.50	30
20	Construction Managers	$96,560	$46.42	100

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 Valdosta, GA

Rank	Occupation	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient	Median annual
1	Fast Food and Counter Workers in Georgia	2,380	44.22	1.78	$23,100
2	Retail Salespersons in Georgia	1,940	36.08	1.44	$28,600
3	Cashiers in Georgia	1,490	27.62	1.39	$26,470
4	Stockers and Order Fillers in Georgia	1,270	23.50	1.29	$36,290
5	Waiters and Waitresses in Georgia	1,150	21.41	1.47	$18,510
6	Registered Nurses in Georgia	1,110	20.66	0.95	$74,360
6	Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in Georgia	1,110	20.62	1.55	$47,880
8	General and Operations Managers in Georgia	1,020	19.00	0.84	$79,440
9	Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand in Georgia	990	18.35	0.97	$34,770
10	Office Clerks, General in Georgia	870	16.23	1.02	$37,260
11	Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners in Georgia	840	15.50	1.09	$29,480
12	Customer Service Representatives in Georgia	780	14.54	0.87	$35,260
13	Home Health and Personal Care Aides in Georgia	740	13.65	0.49	$28,100
14	Maintenance and Repair Workers, General in Georgia	720	13.27	1.35	$43,760
15	First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers in Georgia	700	12.91	1.64	$34,650
16	Cooks, Restaurant in Georgia	680	12.63	1.39	$29,880
17	Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators in Georgia	620	11.46	2.30	$48,360
18	First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers in Georgia	580	10.68	1.48	$37,480
19	Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education in Georgia	570	10.55	1.18	$63,480
20	Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive in Georgia	540	10.02	0.91	$36,250

Most concentrated occupations in Valdosta, GA

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	Special Education Teachers, All Other	10.57	120	2.31	$81,700
2	Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	6.93	140	2.68	$43,990
3	Helpers--Electricians	4.43	100	1.81	$38,670
4	Teachers and Instructors, All Other	3.89	150	2.85	$59,910
5	Production Workers, All Other	2.87	250	4.65	$38,650
6	Career/Technical Education Teachers, Postsecondary	2.68	110	1.97	*
7	Educational Instruction and Library Workers, All Other	2.51	100	1.92	$41,870
8	Phlebotomists	2.36	120	2.18	$35,510
9	Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators in Georgia	2.30	620	11.46	$48,360
10	Childcare Workers	2.20	400	7.35	$22,510

Occupation groups in Valdosta, GA

Group	Median annual	Mean annual	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient
Management	$88,960	$103,890	2,790	51.86	0.72
Computer and Mathematical	$75,380	$82,190	510	9.53	0.28
Architecture and Engineering	$75,330	$79,790	400	7.46	0.44
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical	$69,910	$82,050	3,780	70.16	1.11
Legal	$66,710	$93,150	320	5.86	0.70
Business and Financial Operations	$64,430	$72,640	2,220	41.23	0.61
Life, Physical, and Social Science	$63,130	$71,190	230	4.21	0.44
Educational Instruction and Library	$59,560	$61,550	3,720	69.07	1.18
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair	$48,940	$53,330	2,630	48.76	1.25
Community and Social Service	$45,620	$49,620	980	18.09	1.05
Construction and Extraction	$45,520	$48,930	1,980	36.71	0.89
Protective Service	$44,250	$47,580	1,190	22.09	0.91
Transportation and Material Moving	$39,900	$42,480	5,750	106.76	1.21
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media	$38,900	$45,390	320	5.98	0.45
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry	$38,900	$46,920	130	2.43	0.87
Production	$38,290	$42,270	3,840	71.29	1.29
Office and Administrative Support	$38,080	$41,500	6,030	111.84	0.98
Healthcare Support	$34,040	$33,960	2,000	37.20	0.73
Sales and Related	$30,590	$38,610	5,720	106.18	1.23
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance	$29,480	$32,160	1,650	30.65	1.05
Personal Care and Service	$25,730	$29,080	1,130	20.99	1.00
Food Preparation and Serving Related	$25,650	$27,600	6,560	121.68	1.38

Every occupation in Georgia, and the area's place among the state's metros, is on the state profile. All 233 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 Valdosta, GA estimates (area 46660).

*: 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 Valdosta, GA 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.