Ever wonder how your salary stacks up against the average in the US for your position? Luckily the Bureau of Labor Statistics collates income info for just about every conceivable occupation, from retail sales to truck drivers and lawyers, with the latest data gathered in May 2020. Read on for the average annual salary for 30 of the nation's most common jobs, and find out if you're pulling in more or less than the national mean for your role.

America's second most common job is notoriously low-paid. Although what fast food workers make on average exceeds the $15,080 federal minimum, it falls way short of the recommended living wage of $32,000, and the national mean for all jobs of $56,310. Across the country averages range from $34,450 in DC to just $19,260 in Alabama, while In-and-Out Burger is the best-paying chain. Its customer service associates earn $17 an hour on average. By way of comparison McDonald's and Chick-fil-A pay their counter staff $9 an hour typically.

Waiting tables doesn't pay all that well either, with the national mean salary pretty mean at $27,470 and that does include tips. Be that as it may, the best server working in a fine-dining restaurant will make considerably more than an underperforming waiter or waitress employed by a casual joint, and location is all – yearly pay for the role averages a hefty $60,010 in Hawaii but only $19,260 in Alabama.

Call center and other customer service staff gross $38,510 a year on average. If you're looking for a job in this field you may want to seek out a role for the Postal Service, which yet again is the top-paying organization. In terms of location, jobs are most well-paid in the usual suspects like DC, Massachusetts and Washington, and most poorly paid in Mississippi, where the mean is only $29,820.

Toiling away on a construction site is hard, physically-demanding work but average rates of pay, while not terrible, aren't overly impressive considering the effort involved. Fields where wages are highest include electric power generation, hospitals, telecoms and amusement parks and arcades. Hawaii and Illinois are the top-paying states, with Illinois' average of $61,240 particularly impressive given its low-ish cost of living.

Given their finely-hewn skills, carpenters earn more than many other manual laborers, pulling in $54,200 a year typically, which isn't far off the average US salary for all occupations. Similar to the data for construction workers, electric power generation pays better than any other industry with a mean of $85,900 and Hawaii is the highest-wage state, followed by Illinois.

On top of enjoying enviable benefits including free and discounted flights, cabin crew members take home decent rates of pay, with wages across the entire country averaging out at $59,150. Alaska Airlines flight attendants have the highest mean salary of any airline based in the US, while those working for budget carrier Frontier Airlines have the lowest average pay.

Knowing how to install and maintain pipe systems can be quite lucrative, with the average salary for a plumber in the US a few thousand above the national mean for all roles. Working in the railroad and power generation industries is most lucrative, with a top average salary of $83,480. As for location, mean pay is highest in Alaska at $88,150 per year, and most modest in Arkansas.

Staying in the construction field, electricians earn a little more on average than plumbers, but can make a lot more by working in the natural gas distribution industry, where annual pay averages $106,280. Illinois, which appears to be the place for those engaged in manual labor, pays more than any other state, with mean wages there amounting to $81,650 per year.

Cops in the US earn a tidy $70,000 a year on average. Wages are highest in California, with the mean there coming in at $107,440 per year. And in the San Jose metro area police officers are paid as much as $131,090 on average. In contrast, the typical Mississippi cop grosses just $37,210 a year, with officers in Arkansas and Louisiana not getting a whole lot more.

Labor shortages are pushing up wages in myriad fields across the country including nursing, so pay will no doubt get a big boost this year. Nurses in California earn the most, with salaries averaging $120,560, while their counterparts in Alabama have to make do with less than half that amount, though the cost of living is much less punishing in the Southern state.

Accounting roles are both plentiful and well-paid. The $81,660 average salary for the country as a whole is substantial enough, but certain industries pay markedly in excess of this figure – number crunchers working in the computer manufacturing sector, for example, earn $112,680 a year on average. In terms of location, mean annual pay exceeds $100,000 in both DC and New York. 

More than 2.3 million Americans work as general/operations managers, making this one of the country's most prevalent jobs. The most lucrative organizations and industries include computer manufacturing, scientific research and the Federal Reserve, which pays a chunky $209,260 per year on average. New Jersey and Connecticut are the top-paying states and, with a mean of $84,780, Idaho pays the worst.

Rising to the top of an organization can take years but the financial rewards are worth the wait since the typical CEO in America earns a whopping $197,840 per year. Bosses in the IT sector make the most money with a show-stopping mean salary of $274,380. Another top-payer is the finance industry, while South Dakota of all places is the highest-paying state, closely followed by New Jersey.

America's physicians absolutely rake it in. The highest-paid professionals in our round-up, they earn $218,850 per year on average. Maine is the top-paying state with a mean of $279,700, followed by Montana, South Dakota and Alaska, which interestingly are all sparsely populated. Breaking it down into specialties cardiology doctors and anesthesiologists earn the most, with neurologists not far behind.

Now take a look at America's best jobs right now