Idaho Labor Dept. data shows statewide wages approaching $25 per hour

By Zach Hagadone
Reader Staff

New figures released June 6 by the Idaho Department of Labor show that the average hourly wage throughout Idaho rose $1.64 to $24.69 in 2022, while the state’s median wage went from $18.50 per hour in 2021 to $19.26 per hour last year.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment and Wages Statistics survey provides details from across the state, as well as breakdowns for all seven of Idaho’s metro areas and two rural county regions. 

Meanwhile, the Idaho Department of Labor compiles data on the six labor market regions, which include the eastern, north central, northern, south central, southeastern and southwestern parts of the state.

According to the Labor Department, “all seven MSAs in Idaho experienced average wages increase of more than $1 in 2022 compared with 2021. The Coeur d’Alene MSA saw the largest average hourly wage increase of $1.90 from 2021 to 2022.”

Southwestern Idaho, which includes the largest urban centers in the state, reported the highest average hourly wage in 2022, pegged at $25.29, and the highest median wage at $19.83 per hour. The lowest median wage was in southeastern Idaho, with $18.33 per hour.

Idaho’s minimum wage comes in at $7.25 an hour, which is identical to the federal minimum wage, while tipped employees earn a minimum of $3.35 per hour.

The northern part of the state — consisting of Benewah, Bonner, Boundary, Kootenai and Shoshone counties — trails the overall state for hourly wages, reporting an average hourly wage of $23.87 across all occupational categories. That amounts to a mean annual income of $49,642, compared to $51,351 per year statewide.

The top five wage-earning occupations in the northern labor region included: 

• general internal medicine physicians, earning an average of $248,278 per year; 

• family medicine physicians, with $246,866 per year;

• chief executives, with $168,350 per year;

• dentists, with $140,018 per year; and

• pharmacists, with $130,867 per year.

The bottom five wage-earning occupations in the region included:

 • fast food and counter works, earning an average yearly wage of $24,928 per year;

• dining room and cafeteria attendants, as well as bartender helpers, with $24,851 per year;

• bartenders, with $24,730 per year; 

• restaurant, lounge and coffee shop hosts and hostesses, with $24,604 per year; and

• sports officials such as umpires, referees and others, with $18,481 per year.

Occupations earning roughly the statewide average in North Idaho included community and social services workers; computer-controlled tool programmers; graphic designers; real estate sales agents; and child, family and school social workers.

The Occupational Employment and Wages Statistics survey includes both hourly and yearly data on mean, median, entry level, 10th and 25th percentile wages for more than 400 occupations throughout the state.

Find the report at lmi.idaho.gov and the searchable database at https://lmi.idaho.gov/data-tools/oews.