Remote Pay and Location: How Much the Same Job Pays from State to State (US Data)
Official BLS data on how far pay for the same occupation varies between US states, what is left of the gap after price levels, and how that shapes remote pay policies and negotiations.
Published by SalaryBases. Drafted with AI assistance and revised to remove or reword figures we could not trace to a source. Not reviewed by a licensed professional. Pay figures come only from the official datasets named beside each table and apply only to the country, year and definition stated there. Methodology
Remote work separated where people work from where their employer is, but it did not separate pay from geography. Most employers still decide remote pay with reference to a location: yours, theirs, or a set of zones. To negotiate well you need to know how big the geographic differences actually are. US government data answers that precisely for employees, so this guide uses it.
How employers set remote pay
There are three common approaches. We do not know of a reliable public statistic on how many employers use each, so ask any employer which one it uses.
- Location-based pay: the salary is set for the market where you live.
- Zone-based pay: a few bands, for example one for the most expensive cities, one for mid-cost areas and one for everywhere else.
- Location-agnostic pay: one salary band for the role wherever you are.
Which approach applies decides what you should compare your offer with, so find out before you negotiate.
How large the differences are
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) publishes median pay for each occupation in every state. For software developers:
| State | Employment | Median | vs US median |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 284,390 | $174,410 | +28% |
| Washington | 107,030 | $166,540 | +22% |
| New York | 113,510 | $166,180 | +22% |
| Massachusetts | 48,190 | $165,210 | +21% |
| Oregon | 21,830 | $142,720 | +5% |
| … | |||
| Arkansas | 6,050 | $104,490 | -23% |
| Louisiana | 4,080 | $102,800 | -24% |
| South Dakota | 2,380 | $96,310 | -29% |
| Mississippi | 1,880 | $95,330 | -30% |
| Alaska | 530 | n/a | n/a |
| United States | $135,980 | ||
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025, State estimates, all industries (file oesm25st.zip, retrieved 20 October 2026). n/a: not published by BLS for that state. State medians are not adjusted for living costs or state taxes. BLS state tables.
The California median for software developers is $174,410 and the Mississippi median $95,330, against a national median of $135,980. The highest state pays 1.83 times the lowest, for the same occupation.
The size of the gap depends on the occupation. Across the five occupations below, the ratio between the highest- and the lowest-paying state ranges from 1.68 to 2.35:
- Data scientists: Washington $163,350, Mississippi $69,490, ratio 2.35.
- Marketing managers: Massachusetts $212,020, West Virginia $98,750, ratio 2.15.
- Software developers: California $174,410, Mississippi $95,330, ratio 1.83.
- Registered nurses: California $140,270, Alabama $77,080, ratio 1.82.
- Accountants and auditors: District of Columbia $111,530, Arkansas $66,330, ratio 1.68.
Highest and lowest state median for each occupation. Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 state estimates, all industries. The ratios are our calculation from those medians. BLS did not publish a state median for every occupation in every state.
What is left after prices
Higher-paying states are also more expensive. The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) measures this with Regional Price Parities (RPPs): the price level in each state as a percentage of the national level. For 2024, the year shown on BEA's page when we checked it on 20 October 2026, California's RPP was 110.7 and Mississippi's 87.0.
A worked example. Dividing each state's software developer median by its RPP gives a rough price-adjusted figure: $174,410 / 1.107 ≈ $157,552 for California and $95,330 / 0.870 ≈ $109,575 for Mississippi. The ratio between them falls from 1.83 to about 1.44. So prices explain part of the pay gap but not most of it.
Treat this as an illustration, not a precise measure: the RPPs are for 2024 while the wages are the May 2025 estimates, RPPs measure average prices for all households rather than for any one person, and they do not include taxes. BEA's figures for every state and metropolitan area are on its Regional Price Parities page.
What this means for a remote offer
Location-based employer, and you live in a lower-paying state. Expect the offer to track your local market. Your strongest reference is the median for your occupation in your state. If the offer is well below it, you have a data-based case.
Location-based employer, and you live in a higher-paying state. Make sure the employer is using your location and not its own, if its own is cheaper.
Zone-based employer. Ask which zone you are in and what the band for that zone is. If you live near a zone boundary, ask how the boundary is drawn.
Location-agnostic employer. Compare the offer with the national figures and with the market where the company competes for staff. In a low-cost state, an offer at the national median can be worth much more in local terms than the local median.
Whichever applies, ask how pay changes if you move. Some employers adjust pay when you relocate, in either direction, and some require approval before you work from a new state or country.
Employee or contractor
Many cross-border remote roles are offered as contracts. The BLS figures above cover employees only, so they are not a fair comparison for contract rates: contractors usually pay their own payroll taxes and benefits and have no paid leave. Before comparing, convert the employee offer into total compensation (our benefits guide shows how) and account for tax. Working from another country also raises tax-residency questions, covered in remote work taxes and residency.
Key takeaways
- For the same occupation, the best-paying US state pays roughly 1.7 to 2.4 times the lowest-paying one, depending on the occupation.
- Price levels explain part of that gap but not all: for software developers the California to Mississippi ratio falls from 1.83 to about 1.44 after a rough adjustment.
- Find out whether an employer sets pay by your location, by zone or nationally, and compare your offer with the matching benchmark.
- Employee pay data does not compare directly with contractor rates.
Sources used in this guide
- BLS OEWS May 2025: state occupational employment and wage estimates (oesm25st.zip) — Every state median and employment figure in the state tables.
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis: Regional Price Parities by State and Metro Area — 2024 price levels relative to the US average (California 110.7, Mississippi 87.0) used in the price-adjusted example.