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Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2016

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 this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
Geographic profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
214,610 0.8 % $32.03 $66,620 0.3 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $17.25 $22.75 $29.71 $38.74 $49.64
Annual Wage (2) $35,870 $47,330 $61,790 $80,570 $103,250


Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Building Equipment Contractors 33,610 1.69 $33.41 $69,500
Nonresidential Building Construction 23,140 3.05 $35.98 $74,830
Foundation, Structure, and Building Exterior Contractors 18,510 2.19 $31.08 $64,640
Building Finishing Contractors 17,630 2.30 $31.87 $66,290
Residential Building Construction 16,060 2.24 $29.77 $61,930

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Nonresidential Building Construction 23,140 3.05 $35.98 $74,830
Building Finishing Contractors 17,630 2.30 $31.87 $66,290
Residential Building Construction 16,060 2.24 $29.77 $61,930
Foundation, Structure, and Building Exterior Contractors 18,510 2.19 $31.08 $64,640
Other Specialty Trade Contractors 10,990 1.71 $31.00 $64,470

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Oil and Gas Extraction 60 0.03 $48.63 $101,160
Scientific Research and Development Services 420 0.06 $42.67 $88,740
Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing 1,850 0.38 $42.14 $87,650
State Government (OES Designation) 130 0.01 $42.08 $87,530
Support Activities for Mining 230 0.08 $40.87 $85,000


Geographic profile for this occupation: Top

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.





States with the highest employment level in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
California 26,570 1.66 1.09 $35.62 $74,080
Texas 17,070 1.45 0.95 $33.23 $69,130
Florida 13,240 1.61 1.05 $28.73 $59,760
Ohio 11,180 2.09 1.37 $29.27 $60,880
New York 9,840 1.08 0.71 $35.11 $73,040




States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Virginia 9,150 2.43 1.59 $33.42 $69,500
Montana 1,050 2.32 1.52 $27.03 $56,220
Delaware 980 2.22 1.45 $33.34 $69,360
Ohio 11,180 2.09 1.37 $29.27 $60,880
Arizona 5,250 1.98 1.30 $31.10 $64,690




Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
District of Columbia 530 0.75 0.49 $42.45 $88,300
Alaska 320 0.99 0.65 $42.25 $87,880
Connecticut 2,280 1.37 0.89 $36.44 $75,790
Washington 5,900 1.92 1.26 $35.78 $74,430
Massachusetts 5,830 1.69 1.10 $35.67 $74,200





Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New York-Jersey City-White Plains, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division 6,280 0.95 0.62 $38.01 $79,060
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 5,310 1.81 1.18 $35.99 $74,860
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division 5,070 1.20 0.79 $31.45 $65,410
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division 5,060 2.03 1.33 $35.89 $74,650
Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights, IL Metropolitan Division 4,210 1.16 0.76 $34.20 $71,140
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ 4,060 2.10 1.37 $31.57 $65,660
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 3,850 1.51 0.99 $30.60 $63,650
Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX Metropolitan Division 3,490 1.44 0.94 $32.78 $68,180
Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA Metropolitan Division 3,320 2.09 1.37 $37.65 $78,310
Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine, CA Metropolitan Division 3,100 1.98 1.30 $36.57 $76,060




Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Homosassa Springs, FL 110 3.51 2.30 $26.94 $56,030
Manhattan, KS 130 3.42 2.24 $28.42 $59,110
Kennewick-Richland, WA 350 3.24 2.12 $39.09 $81,300
Lynchburg, VA 310 3.19 2.09 $25.09 $52,180
Brockton-Bridgewater-Easton, MA NECTA Division 250 3.12 2.04 $33.87 $70,440
Kalamazoo-Portage, MI 420 3.06 2.00 $30.09 $62,590
Fond du Lac, WI 140 2.97 1.94 $28.56 $59,410
Green Bay, WI 490 2.87 1.88 $25.43 $52,890
Harrisonburg, VA 180 2.86 1.87 $27.79 $57,810
Wausau, WI 200 2.80 1.83 $26.46 $55,030




Top paying metropolitan areas for this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Peabody-Salem-Beverly, MA NECTA Division 130 1.35 0.88 $48.60 $101,080
San Rafael, CA Metropolitan Division 210 1.88 1.23 $48.31 $100,490
Carbondale-Marion, IL 40 0.85 0.55 $46.70 $97,140
Anchorage, AK 190 1.08 0.71 $44.98 $93,560
San Francisco-Redwood City-South San Francisco, CA Metropolitan Division 1,540 1.45 0.95 $44.07 $91,660
Albany, OR 100 2.25 1.47 $43.56 $90,610
Oakland-Hayward-Berkeley, CA Metropolitan Division 2,700 2.49 1.63 $42.37 $88,140
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 1,740 1.66 1.09 $42.19 $87,750
Norwich-New London-Westerly, CT-RI 170 1.35 0.89 $41.35 $86,010
Dover-Durham, NH-ME 40 0.87 0.57 $40.31 $83,850

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
North Northeastern Ohio non-metropolitan area (non-contiguous) 600 1.82 1.19 $26.07 $54,220
West Northwestern Ohio nonmetropolitan area 520 2.07 1.36 $26.18 $54,450
Balance of Lower Peninsula of Michigan nonmetropolitan area 490 1.75 1.14 $24.66 $51,280
Northeastern Wisconsin nonmetropolitan area 390 1.91 1.25 $25.10 $52,200
North Texas nonmetropolitan area 380 1.44 0.94 $27.76 $57,750

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
West Montana nonmetropolitan area 280 3.80 2.49 $28.05 $58,340
Southwest Montana nonmetropolitan area 290 2.19 1.43 $25.23 $52,480
Northwest Virginia nonmetropolitan area 140 2.15 1.41 $26.68 $55,500
East Central Illinois nonmetropolitan area 250 2.12 1.39 $29.79 $61,970
West Northwestern Ohio nonmetropolitan area 520 2.07 1.36 $26.18 $54,450

Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Southwest Kansas nonmetropolitan area 60 0.76 0.50 $40.51 $84,260
Panhandle of Idaho nonmetropolitan area 50 1.05 0.69 $37.08 $77,130
Southwest Alabama nonmetropolitan area 40 0.52 0.34 $35.94 $74,760
Balance of Alaska nonmetropolitan area 40 0.56 0.36 $35.88 $74,620
Southwest Wyoming nonmetropolitan area 60 0.91 0.60 $35.68 $74,220


About May 2016 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.

(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 OES estimates and related information:

May 2016 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2016 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2016 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2016 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2016 Occupation Profiles

Technical Notes

 

Last Modified Date: March 31, 2017