Motortion Films // Shutterstock
1 / 50#50. Personal care and service workers, all other
- Median annual wage: $37,110
- Median hourly wage: $17.84
- Total employment: 90 people (1.68 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Lowest-paying jobs in Salisbury
Uncertainty clouds the current job market. On one hand, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports unemployment rates at 4.2% as of May 2025—and that hasn't changed much in the past year, a typical indicator of a positive economy. At the same time, average weekly earnings have increased by 3.9% over the 12 months ending May 2025 to reach $1,243.03.
However, the American economy may soon shift. The Trump administration's federal budget cuts have eliminated tens of thousands of jobs, and constant changes in import tariffs leave companies unable to plan for their future employment needs.
With these factors in mind, minimum or low-wage jobs are increasingly unsustainable for most. In 2025, a full-time job at the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour puts a worker under the poverty threshold, according to the Economic Policy Institute. While states can opt to have higher minimum wages, 20 states are at or below the federal minimum as of 2025.
Salaries can also vary by gender, race, and educational attainment. According to a March 2025 report from the Pew Research Center, women's earnings are about 85% of men's, and women also remain overrepresented in low-paying jobs. Meanwhile, April 2025 BLS data shows that Hispanic workers' median earnings lag behind those of other race and ethnicity groups, and full-time workers without a high school diploma earned the least compared to their more educated counterparts.
It's important to note, though, that low pay doesn't always equal low job satisfaction. Some people feel drawn to a particular field, seek a certain work environment, or aim for work-life balance. No matter the reason, Stacker used BLS data to find the 50 lowest-paying jobs in Salisbury. Jobs are ranked by their median annual pay as of May 2024, so any jobs without annual compensation figures available were excluded from this analysis.
You may also like: Highest-paying management jobs for people in Salisbury
Undrey // Shutterstock
2 / 50#49. Data entry keyers
- Median annual wage: $37,090
- Median hourly wage: $17.83
- Total employment: 30 people (0.63 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Fusionstudio // Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. Shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks
- Median annual wage: $36,970
- Median hourly wage: $17.77
- Total employment: 270 people (4.97 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Pearl PhotoPix // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists
- Median annual wage: $36,920
- Median hourly wage: $17.75
- Total employment: 160 people (2.9 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Preschool teachers, except special education
- Median annual wage: $36,900
- Median hourly wage: $17.74
- Total employment: 140 people (2.65 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
You may also like: Highest-paying jobs for people with 2-year degrees in Salisbury
shocky // Shutterstock
6 / 50#45. Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers
- Median annual wage: $36,770
- Median hourly wage: $17.68
- Total employment: 100 people (1.86 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Nature's Charm // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Food preparation and serving related workers, all other
- Median annual wage: $36,760
- Median hourly wage: $17.67
- Total employment: 100 people (1.8 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
worradirek // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Helpers--installation, maintenance, and repair workers
- Median annual wage: $36,710
- Median hourly wage: $17.65
- Total employment: 50 people (1.02 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Syda Productions // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Tellers
- Median annual wage: $36,670
- Median hourly wage: $17.63
- Total employment: 120 people (2.17 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SritanaN // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Industrial machinery mechanics
- Median annual wage: $36,610
- Median hourly wage: $17.60
- Total employment: 210 people (3.88 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
You may also like: Most expensive homes for sale in Salisbury
wavebreakmedia // Shutterstock
11 / 50#40. Production workers, all other
- Median annual wage: $36,500
- Median hourly wage: $17.55
- Total employment: 80 people (1.52 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
PeopleImages.com - Yuri A // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Home health and personal care aides
- Median annual wage: $36,250
- Median hourly wage: $17.43
- Total employment: 970 people (18.14 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
wavebreakmedia // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. First-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers
- Median annual wage: $36,140
- Median hourly wage: $17.38
- Total employment: 460 people (8.6 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Africa Studio // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. Shuttle drivers and chauffeurs
- Median annual wage: $35,770
- Median hourly wage: $17.20
- Total employment: 100 people (1.79 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Vasin Lee // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. Residential advisors
- Median annual wage: $35,750
- Median hourly wage: $17.19
- Total employment: 90 people (1.74 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
You may also like: Cities with the fastest-growing home prices in the Salisbury metro area
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
16 / 50#35. Food processing workers, all other
- Median annual wage: $35,610
- Median hourly wage: $17.12
- Total employment: 310 people (5.83 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
New Africa // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Receptionists and information clerks
- Median annual wage: $35,540
- Median hourly wage: $17.09
- Total employment: 400 people (7.37 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Miscellaneous assemblers and fabricators
- Median annual wage: $35,480
- Median hourly wage: $17.06
- Total employment: 180 people (3.27 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Paul.J.West // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Teaching assistants, except postsecondary
- Median annual wage: $35,440
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 620 people (11.47 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Paolo Bona // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Cooks, restaurant
- Median annual wage: $35,360
- Median hourly wage: $17.00
- Total employment: 380 people (7.12 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
You may also like: Highest-paying jobs in Salisbury that don't require a college degree
Leika production // Shutterstock
21 / 50#30. Couriers and messengers
- Median annual wage: $35,340
- Median hourly wage: $16.99
- Total employment: 30 people (0.63 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Loveischiangrai // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Landscaping and groundskeeping workers
- Median annual wage: $35,260
- Median hourly wage: $16.95
- Total employment: 440 people (8.19 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
PeopleImages.com - Yuri A // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Therapists, all other
- Median annual wage: $34,560
- Median hourly wage: $16.62
- Total employment: 50 people (1.0 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
UfaBizPhoto // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. Parts salespersons
- Median annual wage: $34,300
- Median hourly wage: $16.49
- Total employment: 180 people (3.31 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Standret // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Counter and rental clerks
- Median annual wage: $34,200
- Median hourly wage: $16.44
- Total employment: 80 people (1.44 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
You may also like: Car insurance rates in Salisbury October 2025
santypan // Shutterstock
26 / 50#25. Bartenders
- Median annual wage: $33,590
- Median hourly wage: $16.15
- Total employment: 240 people (4.54 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
aboutsung // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers
- Median annual wage: $33,430
- Median hourly wage: $16.07
- Total employment: 280 people (5.15 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SviatlanaLaza // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Packers and packagers, hand
- Median annual wage: $33,210
- Median hourly wage: $15.97
- Total employment: 110 people (2.03 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
DSBfoto // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners
- Median annual wage: $32,670
- Median hourly wage: $15.71
- Total employment: 950 people (17.73 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Substitute teachers, short-term
- Median annual wage: $32,440
- Median hourly wage: $15.60
- Total employment: 100 people (1.77 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
You may also like: How much house does $500,000 buy you in Salisbury?
Drazen Zigic // Shutterstock
31 / 50#20. Library assistants, clerical
- Median annual wage: $32,100
- Median hourly wage: $15.43
- Total employment: 40 people (0.65 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Martin Smith // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Parking attendants
- Median annual wage: $31,760
- Median hourly wage: $15.27
- Total employment: 30 people (0.65 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Dmitry Kalinovsky // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Laundry and dry-cleaning workers
- Median annual wage: $31,740
- Median hourly wage: $15.26
- Total employment: 30 people (0.58 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Pressmaster // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Animal caretakers
- Median annual wage: $31,620
- Median hourly wage: $15.20
- Total employment: 120 people (2.18 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Oksana Shufrych // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Recreation workers
- Median annual wage: $31,300
- Median hourly wage: $15.05
- Total employment: 70 people (1.3 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
You may also like: How much house $1 million buys you in Salisbury
worradirek // Shutterstock
36 / 50#15. Helpers--production workers
- Median annual wage: $31,290
- Median hourly wage: $15.04
- Total employment: 30 people (0.62 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Nejron Photo // Shutterstock
37 / 50#1. Cleaners of vehicles and equipment (tie)
- Median annual wage: $31,200
- Median hourly wage: $15.00
- Total employment: 120 people (2.25 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
38 / 50#1. Retail salespersons (tie)
- Median annual wage: $31,200
- Median hourly wage: $15.00
- Total employment: 1,650 people (30.75 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Alena Veasey // Shutterstock
39 / 50#1. Cooks, fast food (tie)
- Median annual wage: $31,200
- Median hourly wage: $15.00
- Total employment: 160 people (2.96 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Dean Drobot // Shutterstock
40 / 50#1. Cashiers (tie)
- Median annual wage: $31,200
- Median hourly wage: $15.00
- Total employment: 1,210 people (22.59 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
You may also like: Salisbury 7-day weather forecast
Dragon Images // Shutterstock
41 / 50#1. Chemical technicians (tie)
- Median annual wage: $31,200
- Median hourly wage: $15.00
- Total employment: 60 people (1.15 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
42 / 50#1. Maids and housekeeping cleaners (tie)
- Median annual wage: $31,200
- Median hourly wage: $15.00
- Total employment: 240 people (4.38 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
DenisProduction.com // Shutterstock
43 / 50#1. Food preparation workers (tie)
- Median annual wage: $31,200
- Median hourly wage: $15.00
- Total employment: 310 people (5.74 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gabriel Georgescu // Shutterstock
44 / 50#1. Hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks (tie)
- Median annual wage: $31,200
- Median hourly wage: $15.00
- Total employment: 100 people (1.86 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Dragon Images // Shutterstock
45 / 50#1. Hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop (tie)
- Median annual wage: $31,200
- Median hourly wage: $15.00
- Total employment: 140 people (2.69 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
You may also like: How gas prices have changed in Salisbury in the last week
wavebreakmedia // Shutterstock
46 / 50#1. Dishwashers (tie)
- Median annual wage: $31,200
- Median hourly wage: $15.00
- Total employment: 150 people (2.78 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BlueSkyImage // Shutterstock
47 / 50#1. Fast food and counter workers (tie)
- Median annual wage: $31,200
- Median hourly wage: $15.00
- Total employment: 1,570 people (29.19 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
VGstockstudio // Shutterstock
48 / 50#1. Food servers, nonrestaurant (tie)
- Median annual wage: $31,200
- Median hourly wage: $15.00
- Total employment: 100 people (1.91 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
49 / 50#1. Waiters and waitresses (tie)
- Median annual wage: $31,200
- Median hourly wage: $15.00
- Total employment: 680 people (12.65 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Krakenimages.com // Shutterstock
50 / 50#1. Childcare workers (tie)
- Median annual wage: $31,200
- Median hourly wage: $15.00
- Total employment: 210 people (3.98 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
This story features data reporting by Wade Zhou, writing by Jill Jaracz, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 364 metros.
You may also like: The 30 most popular homes for sale in Salisbury
