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Why we built SalaryScout

Salary transparency shouldn't be a guessing game. We built SalaryScout to put the official pay numbers for hundreds of US jobs in one easy-to-read place — so anyone can benchmark what they're worth, no spreadsheet required.

The problem

Most salary sites either bury the real data behind a signup, show vague ranges with no source, or mix random job listings into the numbers. At the same time, the single most authoritative source of US wages — the Bureau of Labor Statistics — publishes beautifully detailed data that most people never open because it's dense and hard to compare.

Our approach

SalaryScout turns official U.S. BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (OEWS) data into a clean, comparable table for each occupation: hourly, monthly and yearly pay across all 50 states and D.C., with top-paying states and honest FAQs. Every figure is traceable to a real government dataset and labeled with the date it was last verified. See our methodology for the details.

Who it's for

• Job seekers checking what a role should pay before accepting an offer.
• Employees preparing for a review or a raise conversation.
• Students choosing a career path with real earnings in view.
• Anyone curious whether their pay is in line with their market.

What SalaryScout is not

We are a research tool, not a broker, recruiter or job board. We don't set your salary, and we're not a substitute for professional financial or career advice. The data is a starting point for benchmarking — your exact pay depends on experience, employer, specialty and local conditions.

Free, and honest about it

All of our salary data and tools are free to use, and we plan to keep it that way by funding the site through unobtrusive advertising rather than paywalls or selling your information.

Have a question or feedback? Reach us at [email protected].