SalaryExplorer

SOC 29-1031 · May 2025 · BLS OEWS

Dietitians and Nutritionists — Philadelphia

Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD · 10 metro areas compared

$74,860 /year
$35.99per hour
2,150jobs in area
−2.0%vs US median

The median wage here is $74,860 a year, within a few percent of the national median of $76,400.

Wage distribution · annual

Shaded band holds the middle 50% of earners

US MEDIAN $76,40010TH$48,30025TH$62,230MEDIAN$74,86075TH$89,05090TH$98,230

How pay has moved

$76,883$64,7482019202020212022202320242025$74,860
$66,770 in 2019 to $74,860 in 2025, +12.1% before inflation. BLS states that OEWS estimates are not designed for comparison across years: the occupational classification, the sampling frame and the survey method have all changed inside this window. Read the direction, not the exact difference.

The next ten years

Projected to grow faster than average

Change in jobs, 2024 to 2034
+5.5%
Openings per year
6,200
Typical entry-level education
Bachelor's degree
On-the-job training
Internship/residency

Includes jobs opened by workers leaving the occupation, not only new positions.

12.2% of people in this occupation work for themselves.

Projections are published nationally only. This is the outlook for the occupation across the United States, not a measurement for Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD.

Projections are based on 2024 employment and run to 2034. The wages above are from the May 2025 survey, a separate BLS programme on a different release cycle, so the two are not two views of one dataset.

Salary overview

The median wage here is $74,860 a year, within a few percent of the national median of $76,400. Half of workers earn between $62,230 and $89,050. Beyond that band, the tenth percentile sits at $48,300 and the ninetieth at $98,230.

The area has 2,150 jobs in this occupation, giving a location quotient of 1.49 — a measure of how concentrated the occupation is here relative to the country as a whole. Altoona leads the state's metro areas for this occupation, at $76,920. Set against every other occupation measured in the same area, it ranks 271st of 713 by median pay.

Percentile breakdown

Annual wages by percentile · Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD · May 2025
PercentileAnnualvs US median
10th$48,300−36.8%
25th$62,230−18.5%
Median (50th)$74,860−2.0%
75th$89,050+16.6%
90th$98,230+28.6%
Mean$74,410−2.6%

Why the average earner is usually not a typical earner

Other metro areas in Pennsylvania

Median annual wage for Dietitians and Nutritionists, by metro area
#Metro areaMedianJobsRelative
1Altoona$76,92040
2Lebanon$75,46040
3Reading$71,48090
4Pittsburgh$67,260760
5Erie$66,73070
6Lancaster$66,320170
7Allentown$65,950310
8Harrisburg$65,930230
9Scranton$64,200190
10York$62,760120

What the pay is worth locally

Prices in Philadelphia run 2.6% above the national average, so the median of $74,860 buys what $72,963 would elsewhere in the country. Measured that way the gap against the national median narrows to 4.5% below the national median in real terms.

Published median

$74,860as reported by BLS

Local price level

102.6US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Adjusted for local prices

$72,963US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Why the state that pays most is usually not where pay goes furthest

Key takeaways

  • Median pay is $74,860 a year, 2.0% below the national median.
  • Published pay spans $48,300 to $98,230 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles.
  • The area has 2,150 jobs in this occupation.
  • The highest-paying metro area covered is Altoona, at $76,920.

Frequently asked questions

What is the median wage for Dietitians and Nutritionists in Philadelphia, PA?

The median annual wage is $74,860, or $35.99 per hour, as of May 2025. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than that and half earn less.

Is that higher than the national average?

The national median for this occupation is $76,400, so pay in Philadelphia, PA is 2.0% lower. These figures are medians, not averages: half of workers fall on each side.

What do the top earners make?

The top tenth of this occupation in Philadelphia, PA earns more than $98,230 per year. The ninetieth percentile is the highest figure the survey publishes.

What is the starting range?

The tenth percentile wage is $48,300 per year. The survey measures wages actually paid rather than experience level, so this reflects the lowest-paid tenth rather than entry-level pay specifically.

Which area nearby pays the most?

The highest median for this occupation among the metro areas covered is in Altoona, at $76,920 per year.

How many jobs are there in this occupation here?

The survey estimates 2,150 jobs in this occupation in Philadelphia, PA. Self-employed workers are not included.

Source and methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 Wages are for wage-and-salary workers; self-employed workers are not included. Salary Explorer is an independent project. It is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics or any government agency. Full methodology.