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Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2019

51-8031 Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators

Operate or control an entire process or system of machines, often through the use of control boards, to transfer or treat water or wastewater.


National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
Geographic profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation:

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
123,730 1.0 % $24.28 $50,490 0.5 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $13.87 $17.66 $22.96 $29.43 $37.31
Annual Wage (2) $28,850 $36,740 $47,760 $61,220 $77,600


Industry profile for this occupation:

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)
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation) 92,910 1.68 $24.43 $50,810
Water, Sewage and Other Systems 14,770 27.75 $23.26 $48,380
Waste Treatment and Disposal 1,870 1.87 $27.23 $56,640
Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services 1,140 0.08 $23.64 $49,180
Animal Slaughtering and Processing 1,040 0.20 $19.86 $41,300

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Water, Sewage and Other Systems 14,770 27.75 $23.26 $48,380
Waste Treatment and Disposal 1,870 1.87 $27.23 $56,640
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation) 92,910 1.68 $24.43 $50,810
Remediation and Other Waste Management Services 880 0.55 $25.95 $53,980
Pulp, Paper, and Paperboard Mills 350 0.37 $25.14 $52,290

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Management of Companies and Enterprises 140 0.01 $37.30 $77,580
Scientific Research and Development Services 40 0.01 $37.20 $77,380
Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing 110 0.02 $34.64 $72,050
Sugar and Confectionery Product Manufacturing (8) (8) $34.25 $71,240
State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation) 820 0.04 $29.14 $60,620


Geographic profile for this occupation:

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 11,400 0.66 0.78 $35.86 $74,590
Texas 10,880 0.87 1.04 $19.41 $40,370
Florida 7,610 0.87 1.03 $22.79 $47,400
Pennsylvania 5,330 0.90 1.07 $25.35 $52,730
New York 5,140 0.54 0.64 $29.85 $62,080




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)
West Virginia 1,420 2.02 2.39 $18.66 $38,820
Idaho 1,450 1.99 2.36 $22.09 $45,940
Arkansas 2,400 1.97 2.34 $17.12 $35,600
Wyoming 530 1.94 2.30 $24.79 $51,560
South Dakota 820 1.93 2.29 $21.11 $43,900




Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
California 11,400 0.66 0.78 $35.86 $74,590
Nevada (8) (8) (8) $32.68 $67,970
Connecticut 1,050 0.63 0.75 $32.62 $67,840
Alaska 500 1.58 1.87 $31.47 $65,470
Washington 2,670 0.80 0.96 $31.31 $65,120





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-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 4,230 0.44 0.52 $33.38 $69,440
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 2,610 0.42 0.50 $39.06 $81,250
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 2,450 0.52 0.62 $30.80 $64,060
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 2,210 0.72 0.86 $21.69 $45,110
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL 2,060 1.54 1.83 $19.46 $40,470
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 1,970 0.54 0.64 $20.78 $43,220
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 1,770 0.62 0.73 $27.99 $58,220
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA 1,460 0.95 1.13 $34.24 $71,230
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 1,460 0.46 0.55 $27.84 $57,910
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 1,450 0.53 0.63 $21.59 $44,900




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)
Hinesville, GA 110 6.07 7.20 $19.38 $40,310
Weirton-Steubenville, WV-OH 130 3.72 4.41 $20.45 $42,530
Lake Havasu City-Kingman, AZ 150 2.95 3.50 $19.57 $40,700
Pueblo, CO 180 2.89 3.43 $31.59 $65,710
Farmington, NM 130 2.77 3.29 $17.89 $37,200
Las Cruces, NM 190 2.70 3.21 $18.98 $39,470
Corpus Christi, TX 510 2.69 3.19 $18.60 $38,690
Yuma, AZ 160 2.65 3.15 $20.15 $41,910
New Bern, NC 110 2.50 2.97 $22.98 $47,810
Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH 310 2.41 2.86 $20.28 $42,190




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)
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 1,030 0.42 0.49 $45.04 $93,680
Vallejo-Fairfield, CA 150 1.06 1.26 $42.15 $87,660
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 500 0.43 0.52 $40.66 $84,560
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 2,610 0.42 0.50 $39.06 $81,250
Salinas, CA 340 1.83 2.17 $38.29 $79,640
Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV 360 0.35 0.42 $37.49 $77,990
Springfield, IL 200 1.88 2.23 $36.80 $76,550
Anchorage, AK 110 0.62 0.74 $36.73 $76,400
Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA 750 0.74 0.88 $36.71 $76,370
Santa Rosa, CA 200 0.96 1.14 $36.52 $75,970

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 Texas Region of Texas nonmetropolitan area 750 2.72 3.22 $16.80 $34,950
Kansas nonmetropolitan area 740 1.87 2.23 $17.83 $37,080
West Texas Region of Texas nonmetropolitan area 600 2.97 3.53 $16.41 $34,120
Northwest Minnesota nonmetropolitan area 600 3.11 3.69 $23.99 $49,900
North Arkansas nonmetropolitan area 560 4.84 5.74 $16.18 $33,660

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 South Dakota nonmetropolitan area 300 5.05 5.99 $20.04 $41,690
North Arkansas nonmetropolitan area 560 4.84 5.74 $16.18 $33,660
Northeast Oklahoma nonmetropolitan area 510 4.39 5.21 $14.34 $29,830
Northwestern Idaho nonmetropolitan area 290 4.25 5.04 $18.36 $38,190
Northwest Virginia nonmetropolitan area 270 4.18 4.96 $18.09 $37,630

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)
Eastern Sierra-Mother Lode Region of California nonmetropolitan area 150 2.46 2.92 $30.17 $62,750
Alaska nonmetropolitan area 360 3.30 3.91 $29.42 $61,190
Hawaii / Kauai nonmetropolitan area 170 1.69 2.00 $28.62 $59,540
Northwest Colorado nonmetropolitan area 240 1.98 2.35 $28.11 $58,460
North Coast Region of California nonmetropolitan area 230 2.17 2.58 $27.18 $56,530


About May 2019 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 OES estimates and related information:

May 2019 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2019 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2019 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2019 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2019 Occupation Profiles

Technical Notes

 

Last Modified Date: July 6, 2020