Workers in the College Station-Bryan, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $22.86 in May 2019, about 11 percent below the nationwide average of $25.72, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Acting Regional Commissioner Susan Mendez noted that, after testing for statistical significance, 19 of the 22 major occupational groups had average wages in the local area that were significantly lower than their respective national averages, including architecture and engineering; life, physical, and social science; and computer and mathematical. Only one local group, educational instruction and library, had wages that were significantly above the national average.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, College Station area employment was more highly concentrated in 5 of the 22 occupational groups including educational instruction and library; life, physical, and social science; and food preparation and serving related. Nine groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including transportation and material moving, production, and healthcare support. (See table A and box note at end of release.)

One occupational group–educational instruction and library–was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. College Station had 14,240 jobs in educational instruction and library occupations, accounting for 12.6 percent of local area employment, more than double the 6.1-percent national share. The local average hourly wage for this occupational group was $35.42, significantly higher than the national average of $27.75.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the educational instruction and library group included postsecondary teaching assistants (2,840), elementary school teachers, except special education (1,180), and teaching assistants, except postsecondary (930). Among the higher-paying jobs in this group were postsecondary business teachers and postsecondary engineering teachers, with mean annual wages of $177,360 and $160,730, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were teaching assistants, except postsecondary ($20,170) and short-term substitute teachers ($22,340). (Detailed data for the educational instruction and library occupations are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_17780.htm.)

Location quotients allow us to explore the occupational make-up of a metropolitan area by comparing the composition of jobs in an area relative to the national average. (See table 1.) For example, a location quotient of 2.0 indicates that an occupation accounts for twice the share of employment in the area than it does nationally. In the College Station area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the detailed occupations within the educational instruction and library group. For instance, postsecondary engineering teachers were employed at 33.2 times the national rate in the College Station area, and postsecondary teaching assistants, at 27.0 times the U.S. average. These two location quotients in College Station were among the highest in all the published metropolitan areas nationwide for these particular occupations. On the other hand, elementary school teachers, except special education, had a location quotient of 1.1 in the greater College Station area, indicating that this particular occupation’s local and national employment shares were similar.

These statistics are from the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey, a federal-state cooperative program between BLS and State Workforce Agencies, in this case, the Texas Workforce Commission.

Technical Note

The Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey is a semiannual survey measuring occupational employment and wage rates for wage and salary workers in nonfarm establishments in the United States. The OES data available from BLS include cross-industry occupational employment and wage estimates for the nation; over 580 areas, including states and the District of Columbia, metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), nonmetropolitan areas, and territories; national industry-specific estimates at the NAICS sector, 3-digit, most 4-digit, and selected 5- and 6-digit industry levels, and national estimates by ownership across all industries and for schools and hospitals. OES data are available at www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm.

The OES survey is a cooperative effort between BLS and the State Workforce Agencies (SWAs). BLS funds the survey and provides the procedures and technical support, while the State Workforce Agencies collect most of the data. OES estimates are constructed from a sample of about 1.1 million establishments. Each year, two semiannual panels of approximately 180,000 to 200,000 sampled establishments are contacted, one panel in May and the other in November. Responses are obtained by mail, Internet or other electronic means, email, telephone, or personal visit. The May 2019 estimates are based on responses from six semiannual panels collected over a 3-year period: May 2019, November 2018, May 2018, November 2017, May 2017, and November 2016. The unweighted sampled employment of 83 million across all six semiannual panels represents approximately 57 percent of total national employment. The overall national response rate for the six panels, based on the 50 states and the District of Columbia, is 71 percent based on establishments and 68 percent based on weighted sampled employment. The sample in the College Station-Bryan, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area included 1,234 establishments with a response rate of 53 percent. For more information about OES concepts and methodology, go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_tec.htm.

A value that is statistically different from another does not necessarily mean that the difference has economic or practical significance. Statistical significance is concerned with the ability to make confident statements about a universe based on a sample. It is entirely possible that a large difference between two values is not significantly different statistically, while a small difference is, since both the size and heterogeneity of the sample affect the relative error of the data being tested.

The May 2019 OES estimates are the first set of OES estimates to be based in part on survey data collected using the 2018 SOC. These estimates use a hybrid of the 2010 and 2018 SOC systems. More information on the hybrid classification system is available at www.bls.gov/oes/soc_2018.htm.

The May 2019 OES estimates are based on the 2017 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). More information about the 2017 NAICS is available at www.bls.gov/bls/naics.htm.

Metropolitan area definitions

The substate area data published in this release reflect the standards and definitions established by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget.

The College Station-Bryan, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Brazos, Burleson, and Robertson Counties in Texas.

For more information

Answers to frequently asked questions about the OES data are available at www.bls.gov/oes/oes_ques.htm. Detailed information about the OES program is available at www.bls.gov/oes/oes_doc.htm.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.

Table 1.  Employment and wage data for educational instruction and library occupations, College Station-Bryan, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area, May 2019

Occupation(1)	Employment		Mean wages
	Level(2)	Location quotient(3)	Hourly	Annual(4)
Educational instruction and library occupations	14,240	2.1	$35.42	$73,670
Business teachers, postsecondary	510	7.9	(5)	177,360
Computer science teachers, postsecondary	120	4.8	(5)	149,560
Mathematical science teachers, postsecondary	320	8.1	(5)	115,640
Engineering teachers, postsecondary	920	33.2	(5)	160,730
Agricultural sciences teachers, postsecondary	300	40.7	(5)	124,100
Biological science teachers, postsecondary	390	9.6	(5)	112,710
Atmospheric, earth, marine, and space sciences teachers, postsecondary	140	16.2	(5)	133,670
Chemistry teachers, postsecondary	120	7.2	(5)	135,530
Physics teachers, postsecondary	120	11.6	(5)	148,240
Economics teachers, postsecondary	100	10.0	(5)	169,320
Psychology teachers, postsecondary	120	4.2	(5)	102,080
Health specialties teachers, postsecondary	660	4.3	(5)	108,560
Education teachers, postsecondary	320	6.7	(5)	96,510
Communications teachers, postsecondary	90	4.1	(5)	88,890
English language and literature teachers, postsecondary	180	3.6	(5)	71,140
Recreation and fitness studies teachers, postsecondary	190	15.8	(5)	91,950
Career/technical education teachers, postsecondary	80	0.9	38.92	80,950
Preschool teachers, except special education	180	0.6	13.68	28,460
Kindergarten teachers, except special education	100	1.0	(5)	45,910
Elementary school teachers, except special education	1,180	1.1	(5)	47,950
Middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education	560	1.2	(5)	47,260
Secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education	710	0.9	(5)	48,050
Career/technical education teachers, secondary school	120	2.2	(5)	52,910
Special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school	150	1.0	(5)	47,110
Special education teachers, middle school	90	1.4	(5)	46,350
Special education teachers, secondary school	130	1.2	(5)	50,530
Self-enrichment teachers	200	1.1	16.84	35,030
Substitute teachers, short-term	550	1.2	10.74	22,340
Tutors and teachers and instructors, all other	120	0.5	(5)	34,710
Librarians and media collections specialists	80	0.8	24.93	51,860
Library technicians	140	2.0	16.54	34,400
Instructional coordinators	220	1.6	28.34	58,950
Teaching assistants, postsecondary	2,840	27.0	(5)	40,940
Teaching assistants, except postsecondary	930	0.9	(5)	20,170
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the College Station-Bryan, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_17780.htm. (2) Estimates for detailed occupations may not sum to the totals due to rounding, and because the totals may include occupations that not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers. (3) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration. A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average. (4) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly mean wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data. (5) Wages for some occupations that do not generally work year-round, full time, are reported either as hourly wages or annual salaries depending on how they are typically paid.