Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
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Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2023
13-1051 Cost Estimators
Prepare cost estimates for product manufacturing, construction projects, or services to aid management in bidding on or determining price of product or service. May specialize according to particular service performed or type of product manufactured.
National estimates for Cost Estimators
Industry profile for Cost Estimators
Geographic profile for Cost Estimators
National estimates for Cost Estimators:
Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Cost Estimators:
| Employment (1) |
Employment
RSE (3) |
Mean hourly
wage |
Mean annual
wage (2) |
Wage RSE (3) |
| 220,970 |
0.8 % |
$ 38.23 |
$ 79,520 |
0.5 % |
Percentile wage estimates for Cost Estimators:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Hourly Wage |
$ 21.55 |
$ 27.47 |
$ 35.94 |
$ 46.51 |
$ 59.87 |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$ 44,820 |
$ 57,130 |
$ 74,740 |
$ 96,740 |
$ 124,520 |
Industry profile for Cost Estimators:
Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Cost Estimators are provided.
For a list of all industries with employment in Cost Estimators, see the Create Customized Tables function.
Industries with the highest levels of employment in Cost Estimators:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Building Equipment Contractors |
31,870 |
1.31 |
$ 40.76 |
$ 84,770 |
| Automotive Repair and Maintenance |
20,490 |
2.05 |
$ 32.52 |
$ 67,650 |
| Nonresidential Building Construction |
19,630 |
2.29 |
$ 45.40 |
$ 94,430 |
| Foundation, Structure, and Building Exterior Contractors |
18,470 |
1.89 |
$ 37.49 |
$ 77,990 |
| Building Finishing Contractors |
16,350 |
1.95 |
$ 35.58 |
$ 74,000 |
Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Cost Estimators:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Nonresidential Building Construction |
19,630 |
2.29 |
$ 45.40 |
$ 94,430 |
| Automotive Repair and Maintenance |
20,490 |
2.05 |
$ 32.52 |
$ 67,650 |
| Building Finishing Contractors |
16,350 |
1.95 |
$ 35.58 |
$ 74,000 |
| Foundation, Structure, and Building Exterior Contractors |
18,470 |
1.89 |
$ 37.49 |
$ 77,990 |
| Residential Building Construction |
14,600 |
1.58 |
$ 33.98 |
$ 70,670 |
Top paying industries for Cost Estimators:
Geographic profile for Cost Estimators:
States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Cost Estimators are provided.
For a list of all areas with employment in Cost Estimators, see the Create Customized Tables function.
States with the highest employment level in Cost Estimators:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| California |
25,850 |
1.44 |
0.99 |
$ 43.93 |
$ 91,360 |
| Texas |
20,240 |
1.49 |
1.03 |
$ 36.70 |
$ 76,340 |
| Florida |
14,150 |
1.48 |
1.02 |
$ 35.00 |
$ 72,800 |
| New York |
9,680 |
1.03 |
0.71 |
$ 43.33 |
$ 90,120 |
| Pennsylvania |
9,620 |
1.62 |
1.11 |
$ 38.22 |
$ 79,490 |
States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Cost Estimators:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Delaware |
1,170 |
2.48 |
1.71 |
$ 35.40 |
$ 73,640 |
| Missouri |
6,650 |
2.31 |
1.59 |
$ 36.89 |
$ 76,730 |
| South Dakota |
950 |
2.13 |
1.46 |
$ 34.45 |
$ 71,650 |
| Oregon |
3,970 |
2.05 |
1.41 |
$ 38.28 |
$ 79,610 |
| Washington |
6,980 |
2.00 |
1.37 |
$ 42.80 |
$ 89,020 |
Top paying states for Cost Estimators:
Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Cost Estimators:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
10,250 |
1.08 |
0.74 |
$ 44.53 |
$ 92,620 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
7,200 |
1.16 |
0.80 |
$ 42.22 |
$ 87,810 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
6,520 |
1.64 |
1.13 |
$ 37.31 |
$ 77,600 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
5,520 |
1.22 |
0.84 |
$ 40.37 |
$ 83,970 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX |
5,260 |
1.65 |
1.14 |
$ 38.25 |
$ 79,570 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
4,410 |
1.56 |
1.07 |
$ 40.38 |
$ 84,000 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
4,380 |
1.42 |
0.97 |
$ 42.06 |
$ 87,480 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA |
4,250 |
2.05 |
1.41 |
$ 44.68 |
$ 92,930 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA |
3,950 |
1.40 |
0.96 |
$ 36.19 |
$ 75,280 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ |
3,780 |
1.65 |
1.14 |
$ 44.13 |
$ 91,790 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Cost Estimators:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Danbury, CT |
250 |
3.28 |
2.25 |
$ 35.33 |
$ 73,480 |
| Greeley, CO |
350 |
3.12 |
2.15 |
$ 38.22 |
$ 79,500 |
| Manhattan, KS |
120 |
2.94 |
2.02 |
$ 33.87 |
$ 70,450 |
| Lancaster, PA |
690 |
2.78 |
1.91 |
$ 37.55 |
$ 78,110 |
| Santa Rosa, CA |
570 |
2.75 |
1.89 |
$ 45.65 |
$ 94,950 |
| Jefferson City, MO |
200 |
2.68 |
1.84 |
$ 34.80 |
$ 72,380 |
| Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC |
1,950 |
2.64 |
1.82 |
$ 35.22 |
$ 73,260 |
| Sioux Falls, SD |
420 |
2.52 |
1.73 |
$ 35.60 |
$ 74,050 |
| Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA |
130 |
2.50 |
1.72 |
$ 40.16 |
$ 83,540 |
| Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, FL |
410 |
2.50 |
1.72 |
$ 37.15 |
$ 77,280 |
Top paying metropolitan areas for Cost Estimators:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
3,650 |
1.51 |
1.04 |
$ 53.28 |
$ 110,820 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA |
1,800 |
1.57 |
1.08 |
$ 49.87 |
$ 103,720 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA |
230 |
2.39 |
1.64 |
$ 49.69 |
$ 103,360 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH |
3,250 |
1.18 |
0.81 |
$ 49.30 |
$ 102,540 |
| Santa Rosa, CA |
570 |
2.75 |
1.89 |
$ 45.65 |
$ 94,950 |
| Vallejo-Fairfield, CA |
260 |
1.86 |
1.28 |
$ 45.22 |
$ 94,060 |
| California-Lexington Park, MD |
80 |
1.74 |
1.19 |
$ 44.98 |
$ 93,560 |
| Worcester, MA-CT |
330 |
1.16 |
0.79 |
$ 44.74 |
$ 93,060 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA |
4,250 |
2.05 |
1.41 |
$ 44.68 |
$ 92,930 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
10,250 |
1.08 |
0.74 |
$ 44.53 |
$ 92,620 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Cost Estimators:
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Cost Estimators:
Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Cost Estimators:
About May 2023 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia.
The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.
The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall.
The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median.
More about percentile wages.
(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.
(2) 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 wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.
(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.
(8) Estimate not released.
(9) 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.
Other OEWS estimates and related information:
May 2023 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2023 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2023 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2023 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2023 Occupation Profiles
Technical Notes
Last Modified Date: April 3, 2024
United States Department of Labor
