Boise-area workers, are you earning as much as you should? What new pay data say

Think you’re not paid enough? Think you’re long overdue for your next raise?

New data compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that the average Boise-area worker made $61,670 in 2024, up about 5.6% from 2023’s average annual salary of $58,390.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics study covered workers within the Boise metropolitan statistical area, which covers Ada, Boise, Canyon, Gem and Owyhee counties in Southwest Idaho.

Here are nine things to know about local wages, including eight key points the data make about what we earn:

1. We’re still below the national average.

The average hourly wage for these workers was $29.65, an increase of 30.7% from five years prior, but still about $3 less than the national hourly average.

As for why Boiseans are still being paid less than the national average, Jan Roeser, the Idaho Department of Labor’s labor economist for the Boise area, says the reasons include the cost of living and the industries most prevalent in the area.

“Usually, you would find higher costs of living definitely dictate that employers have to pay higher wages,” Roeser told the Idaho Statesman by phone. “We think that Idaho has a high cost of living, just because it’s higher than it used to be; however, in comparison to many states, we’re still not that high.”

“Another part of it is our mix of industries, and I would say that because we have so much agriculture, which is a lower-paying wage, that contributes to it,” Roeser said.

2. It pays to be in management.

The highest-paid major occupational group — jobs that are categorized together because of similarity of work performed — is management.

Computer and information-systems managers were compensated the most, making an annual salary that averaged about $150,000 last year. The average hourly wage was just over $72. The pay 8.4% from 2023 to 2024 and by 35.6% in the six years from 2019 to 2024.

3. It pays little to be in food prep and service.

The lowest-paid major occupational group was food preparation and service jobs. The lowest-paid workers were hosts and hostesses in restaurants, lounges and coffee shops, with pay averaging $26,450 in 2024, or $12.72 per hour.

Although these numbers are up 7.8% since 2023, hosts and hostesses are making 82 cents an hour less than fast-food and counter workers, who averaged just over $28,000, or $13.54 per hour. Their pay was up 33 cents, or 2.5%, from the year before and up about $3.81 from 2019.

4. It pays slightly more to be a cashier.

Cashiers did better, averaging $31,700, or $15.24 per hour, though their pay rose a bit less, just 2%, from 2023 to 2024.

This modest wage increase could be due to the loss of retail stores around the Treasure Valley, such as the closing of various Rite Aid stores in the Boise area, Roeser said.

5. Teacher pay is rising fast.

Middle school teachers, except those who teach special, career, or technical education, saw about an 18% increase in their average annual salaries, just topping $66,000.

According to the Idaho Education Association, teachers’ salaries went up after the state invested $330 million in educators’ pay during the 2023 legislative session.

6. Some doctors’ pay is rising even faster.

Family medicine physicians saw the biggest rise in average annual salaries, with their pay jumping from $213,740 in 2023 to $360,320 last year, a 69% increase.

In 2024, Idaho was the lowest-ranked state in the nation in its supply of doctors per capita. This is one reason for the increase, according to Roeser.

“When we cannot fill our needs for physicians, then we will have to pay more to those that are working to retain them and attract others,” Roeser said.

7. Overall, retail sales pay is falling slightly.

Retail salespersons experienced a decrease in average hourly wages, making $18.06 an hour in 2024. That number is about 14 cents less than in 2023, for a 0.77% decrease. The annual pay also decreased by 0.77%, going from $37,850 in 2023 to $37,560 in 2024.

“It is plausible that retail salespeople experienced a wage decrease as consumers pulled back spending with the consequence of salespeople receiving less commission from sales,” Roeser said. “It is also possible that some of the stores that closed during this period were paying higher wages or employed salespeople that carried tenure compared to the recent retailers surveyed.”

8. Software developers’ pay has fallen too.

Software developers also saw a decrease. Their average pay dropped by over 15% to about $128,000 in 2024, almost $23,300 less than the year before.

According to Roeser, this decrease in pay could be partly due to the 200 survey participants who no longer reported their occupations as software developers. In 2024 data, there were 2,820 software developers surveyed, and in 2023, there were 3,020.

“Maybe some of the high-earning (software developers) that made the average go so high, maybe they are some of that 200 that either lost their jobs or moved out of state or were promoted to something else,” Roeser said. “It’s always really hard to say exactly what happened, but no longer do we have that full cohort of … 3,000.”

9. Learn more about Boise’s highest- and lowest-paying jobs.

Follow this link to find stories by Stacker published in May and June detailing pay levels for hundreds of local management, computer, engineering, science and other jobs, including jobs that require high school graduates or a bachelor’s or graduate college degree, plus the lowest- and highest-paying jobs in the Boise, Idaho area.