JANESVILLE — More people work in transportation and material moving in the Janesville area than any other occupation, while wages overall are below the national average, according to a new federal report.
Workers in the Janesville-Beloit, area had an average hourly wage of $29.38 in May 2025, compared to the nationwide average of $33.54, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.
Police and fire, farming and construction are the only three occupations in the area that pay more than the national average.
(Although the numbers are from more than a year ago, the BLS attributes part of the delay in reporting to the partial federal shutdown of late last year.)
Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Michael Hirniak noted that higher paying major occupational groups included management ($65.92), legal ($51.33), and healthcare practitioners and technical ($51.27).
Lower paying occupations included food preparation and serving related ($15.13), personal care and service ($18.24), and building and grounds cleaning and maintenance ($18.97). (See table A.)
Occupational groups with the highest employment shares in the Janesville area included transportation and material moving (12.0 percent), office and administrative support (11.0 percent), and production (10.7 percent).
Major occupational groups on the lower end of local employment included legal (0.4 percent); life, physical, and social science (0.6 percent); and arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media (0.8 percent).
| Major occupational group | Percent of total employment | Mean hourly wage ($) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | Janesville | United States | Janesville | ||
| Total, all occupations | 100.0 | 100.0 | 33.54 | 29.38 | |
| Management | 7.2 | 5.3 | 69.84 | 65.92 | |
| Business and financial operations | 6.8 | 5.1 | 45.78 | 39.15 | |
| Computer and mathematical | 3.4 | 1.8 | 57.73 | 44.35 | |
| Architecture and engineering | 1.7 | 1.4 | 51.36 | 43.07 | |
| Life, physical, and social science | 0.9 | 0.6 | 45.48 | 39.71 | |
| Community and social service | 1.7 | 1.5 | 30.49 | 28.88 | |
| Legal | 0.8 | 0.4 | 67.07 | 51.33 | |
| Educational instruction and library | 5.9 | 6.0 | 32.47 | 28.26 | |
| Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media | 1.3 | 0.8 | 38.36 | 28.05 | |
| Healthcare practitioners and technical | 6.3 | 6.5 | 52.26 | 51.27 | |
| Healthcare support | 5.1 | 4.4 | 19.62 | 19.18 | |
| Protective service | 2.4 | 1.5 | 29.19 | 29.88 | |
| Food preparation and serving related | 8.8 | 9.5 | 17.86 | 15.13 | |
| Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance | 2.9 | 2.7 | 19.66 | 18.97 | |
| Personal care and service | 2.1 | 1.5 | 19.74 | 18.24 | |
| Sales and related | 8.6 | 8.5 | 26.43 | 24.39 | |
| Office and administrative support | 11.4 | 11.0 | 24.79 | 23.72 | |
| Farming, fishing, and forestry | 0.3 | 0.1 | 19.96 | 20.81 | |
| Construction and extraction | 4.1 | 4.6 | 31.42 | 35.09 | |
| Installation, maintenance, and repair | 3.9 | 4.1 | 30.44 | 29.86 | |
| Production | 5.5 | 10.7 | 24.81 | 24.18 | |
| Transportation and material moving | 8.8 | 12.0 | 23.96 | 22.70 | |
One occupational group—production—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available