Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
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Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2020
17-2171 Petroleum Engineers
Devise methods to improve oil and gas extraction and production and determine the need for new or modified tool designs. Oversee drilling and offer technical advice.
National estimates for Petroleum Engineers
Industry profile for Petroleum Engineers
Geographic profile for Petroleum Engineers
National estimates for Petroleum Engineers:
Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Petroleum Engineers:
| Employment (1) |
Employment
RSE (3) |
Mean hourly
wage |
Mean annual
wage (2) |
Wage RSE (3) |
| 27,850 |
5.1 % |
$ 74.20 |
$ 154,330 |
2.4 % |
Percentile wage estimates for Petroleum Engineers:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Hourly Wage |
$ 37.80 |
$ 51.99 |
$ 66.02 |
$ 90.88 |
(5) |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$ 78,620 |
$ 108,130 |
$ 137,330 |
$ 189,030 |
(5) |
Industry profile for Petroleum Engineers:
Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Petroleum Engineers are provided.
For a list of all industries with employment in Petroleum Engineers, see the Create Customized Tables function.
Industries with the highest levels of employment in Petroleum Engineers:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Oil and Gas Extraction |
8,920 |
7.17 |
$ 74.27 |
$ 154,470 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises |
5,440 |
0.22 |
$ 86.81 |
$ 180,570 |
| Support Activities for Mining |
3,470 |
1.28 |
$ 56.11 |
$ 116,710 |
| Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services |
2,260 |
0.15 |
$ 84.00 |
$ 174,710 |
| Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing |
1,910 |
1.76 |
$ 67.66 |
$ 140,730 |
Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Petroleum Engineers:
Top paying industries for Petroleum Engineers:
Geographic profile for Petroleum Engineers:
States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Petroleum Engineers are provided.
For a list of all areas with employment in Petroleum Engineers, see the Create Customized Tables function.
States with the highest employment level in Petroleum Engineers:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Texas |
15,090 |
1.25 |
6.23 |
$ 81.61 |
$ 169,760 |
| California |
2,660 |
0.16 |
0.81 |
$ 67.63 |
$ 140,680 |
| Oklahoma |
1,890 |
1.21 |
6.03 |
$ 75.19 |
$ 156,390 |
| Louisiana |
1,610 |
0.90 |
4.47 |
$ 62.31 |
$ 129,610 |
| Colorado |
1,190 |
0.46 |
2.30 |
$ 77.00 |
$ 160,150 |
States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Petroleum Engineers:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Alaska |
560 |
1.89 |
9.46 |
$ 72.30 |
$ 150,390 |
| Wyoming |
380 |
1.46 |
7.31 |
$ 56.08 |
$ 116,650 |
| Texas |
15,090 |
1.25 |
6.23 |
$ 81.61 |
$ 169,760 |
| Oklahoma |
1,890 |
1.21 |
6.03 |
$ 75.19 |
$ 156,390 |
| Louisiana |
1,610 |
0.90 |
4.47 |
$ 62.31 |
$ 129,610 |
Top paying states for Petroleum Engineers:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| New Jersey |
170 |
0.04 |
0.22 |
$ 88.73 |
$ 184,560 |
| Texas |
15,090 |
1.25 |
6.23 |
$ 81.61 |
$ 169,760 |
| Florida |
(8) |
(8) |
(8) |
$ 77.26 |
$ 160,710 |
| Colorado |
1,190 |
0.46 |
2.30 |
$ 77.00 |
$ 160,150 |
| Oklahoma |
1,890 |
1.21 |
6.03 |
$ 75.19 |
$ 156,390 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Petroleum Engineers:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX |
8,220 |
2.77 |
13.83 |
$ 85.69 |
$ 178,240 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
2,370 |
0.66 |
3.29 |
(8) |
(8) |
| Midland, TX |
1,400 |
14.12 |
70.52 |
$ 64.42 |
$ 134,000 |
| New Orleans-Metairie, LA |
1,080 |
2.09 |
10.44 |
$ 65.06 |
$ 135,320 |
| Bakersfield, CA |
1,050 |
3.44 |
17.18 |
$ 67.60 |
$ 140,620 |
| Oklahoma City, OK |
990 |
1.62 |
8.10 |
$ 75.28 |
$ 156,590 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
990 |
0.17 |
0.85 |
$ 67.61 |
$ 140,620 |
| Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO |
870 |
0.60 |
2.99 |
$ 76.97 |
$ 160,100 |
| Tulsa, OK |
540 |
1.27 |
6.32 |
(8) |
(8) |
| Austin-Round Rock, TX |
480 |
0.45 |
2.26 |
$ 67.92 |
$ 141,270 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Petroleum Engineers:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Midland, TX |
1,400 |
14.12 |
70.52 |
$ 64.42 |
$ 134,000 |
| Casper, WY |
170 |
4.66 |
23.28 |
$ 61.76 |
$ 128,460 |
| Bakersfield, CA |
1,050 |
3.44 |
17.18 |
$ 67.60 |
$ 140,620 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX |
8,220 |
2.77 |
13.83 |
$ 85.69 |
$ 178,240 |
| Anchorage, AK |
430 |
2.64 |
13.20 |
$ 72.73 |
$ 151,280 |
| Odessa, TX |
190 |
2.53 |
12.65 |
$ 65.96 |
$ 137,200 |
| New Orleans-Metairie, LA |
1,080 |
2.09 |
10.44 |
$ 65.06 |
$ 135,320 |
| Farmington, NM |
70 |
1.70 |
8.50 |
$ 41.66 |
$ 86,660 |
| Oklahoma City, OK |
990 |
1.62 |
8.10 |
$ 75.28 |
$ 156,590 |
| Lake Charles, LA |
150 |
1.45 |
7.22 |
$ 55.28 |
$ 114,990 |
Top paying metropolitan areas for Petroleum Engineers:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX |
90 |
0.60 |
2.98 |
$ 89.00 |
$ 185,130 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX |
8,220 |
2.77 |
13.83 |
$ 85.69 |
$ 178,240 |
| Wichita Falls, TX |
60 |
1.13 |
5.62 |
$ 84.09 |
$ 174,910 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA |
40 |
0.14 |
0.72 |
$ 77.88 |
$ 161,980 |
| Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO |
870 |
0.60 |
2.99 |
$ 76.97 |
$ 160,100 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
(8) |
(8) |
(8) |
$ 75.90 |
$ 157,870 |
| Oklahoma City, OK |
990 |
1.62 |
8.10 |
$ 75.28 |
$ 156,590 |
| Wheeling, WV-OH |
60 |
1.08 |
5.41 |
$ 74.55 |
$ 155,050 |
| San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX |
380 |
0.37 |
1.87 |
$ 73.89 |
$ 153,690 |
| San Angelo, TX |
(8) |
(8) |
(8) |
$ 73.20 |
$ 152,260 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Petroleum Engineers:
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Petroleum Engineers:
Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Petroleum Engineers:
About May 2020 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.
(5) This wage is equal to or greater than $100.00 per hour or $208,000 per year.
(7) The value is less than .005 percent of industry employment.
(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 2020 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2020 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2020 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2020 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2020 Occupation Profiles
Technical Notes
Last Modified Date: March 31, 2021
United States Department of Labor
