Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
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Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2021
53-7081 Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors
Collect and dump refuse or recyclable materials from containers into truck. May drive truck.
National estimates for Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors
Industry profile for Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors
Geographic profile for Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors
National estimates for Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors:
Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors:
| Employment (1) |
Employment
RSE (3) |
Mean hourly
wage |
Mean annual
wage (2) |
Wage RSE (3) |
| 126,050 |
1.5 % |
$ 20.57 |
$ 42,780 |
0.7 % |
Percentile wage estimates for Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Hourly Wage |
$ 11.99 |
$ 14.56 |
$ 18.51 |
$ 23.50 |
$ 29.96 |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$ 24,950 |
$ 30,270 |
$ 38,500 |
$ 48,870 |
$ 62,310 |
Industry profile for Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors:
Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors are provided.
For a list of all industries with employment in Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors, see the Create Customized Tables function.
Industries with the highest levels of employment in Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Waste Collection |
62,280 |
32.43 |
$ 20.20 |
$ 42,010 |
| Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) |
40,010 |
0.74 |
$ 20.87 |
$ 43,410 |
| Waste Treatment and Disposal |
14,000 |
14.28 |
$ 23.54 |
$ 48,970 |
| Remediation and Other Waste Management Services |
2,780 |
1.73 |
$ 20.70 |
$ 43,050 |
| State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) |
470 |
0.02 |
$ 26.86 |
$ 55,880 |
Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Waste Collection |
62,280 |
32.43 |
$ 20.20 |
$ 42,010 |
| Waste Treatment and Disposal |
14,000 |
14.28 |
$ 23.54 |
$ 48,970 |
| Remediation and Other Waste Management Services |
2,780 |
1.73 |
$ 20.70 |
$ 43,050 |
| Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) |
40,010 |
0.74 |
$ 20.87 |
$ 43,410 |
| Vocational Rehabilitation Services |
260 |
0.10 |
$ 12.72 |
$ 26,450 |
Top paying industries for Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors:
Geographic profile for Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors:
States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors are provided.
For a list of all areas with employment in Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors, see the Create Customized Tables function.
States with the highest employment level in Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| California |
13,830 |
0.84 |
0.94 |
$ 27.22 |
$ 56,610 |
| Florida |
10,520 |
1.22 |
1.37 |
$ 20.16 |
$ 41,930 |
| Texas |
9,120 |
0.75 |
0.83 |
$ 16.84 |
$ 35,040 |
| New York |
7,350 |
0.85 |
0.95 |
$ 30.74 |
$ 63,930 |
| Ohio |
5,780 |
1.11 |
1.24 |
$ 19.78 |
$ 41,140 |
States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Arkansas |
1,820 |
1.53 |
1.71 |
$ 15.36 |
$ 31,950 |
| Oklahoma |
2,100 |
1.35 |
1.50 |
$ 17.35 |
$ 36,090 |
| Nebraska |
1,280 |
1.33 |
1.49 |
$ 17.87 |
$ 37,170 |
| Wyoming |
340 |
1.30 |
1.45 |
$ 19.78 |
$ 41,140 |
| Kentucky |
2,380 |
1.29 |
1.44 |
$ 16.61 |
$ 34,550 |
Top paying states for Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| New York |
7,350 |
0.85 |
0.95 |
$ 30.74 |
$ 63,930 |
| Washington |
2,890 |
0.90 |
1.01 |
$ 27.38 |
$ 56,950 |
| California |
13,830 |
0.84 |
0.94 |
$ 27.22 |
$ 56,610 |
| Oregon |
1,960 |
1.07 |
1.20 |
$ 25.53 |
$ 53,100 |
| District of Columbia |
520 |
0.78 |
0.87 |
$ 25.02 |
$ 52,050 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors:
| 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 |
9,850 |
1.13 |
1.27 |
$ 28.70 |
$ 59,690 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
3,980 |
0.70 |
0.78 |
$ 26.23 |
$ 54,560 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
3,220 |
0.76 |
0.85 |
$ 24.97 |
$ 51,940 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL |
3,000 |
1.22 |
1.37 |
$ 21.79 |
$ 45,320 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
2,940 |
0.82 |
0.92 |
$ 16.50 |
$ 34,320 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
2,250 |
0.77 |
0.86 |
$ 18.75 |
$ 38,990 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA |
2,230 |
0.86 |
0.96 |
$ 18.32 |
$ 38,100 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
2,160 |
0.96 |
1.08 |
$ 33.40 |
$ 69,470 |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL |
2,010 |
1.56 |
1.74 |
$ 20.96 |
$ 43,610 |
| Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC |
1,880 |
1.56 |
1.74 |
$ 17.95 |
$ 37,330 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Dothan, AL |
190 |
3.38 |
3.78 |
$ 16.36 |
$ 34,030 |
| Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL |
530 |
3.11 |
3.48 |
$ 23.32 |
$ 48,510 |
| Idaho Falls, ID |
210 |
2.97 |
3.32 |
$ 23.73 |
$ 49,360 |
| Greeley, CO |
280 |
2.80 |
3.12 |
$ 22.69 |
$ 47,200 |
| Homosassa Springs, FL |
80 |
2.49 |
2.78 |
$ 17.98 |
$ 37,390 |
| Hot Springs, AR |
90 |
2.48 |
2.77 |
$ 14.30 |
$ 29,740 |
| Ocean City, NJ |
90 |
2.43 |
2.71 |
$ 20.47 |
$ 42,590 |
| Bloomington, IL |
170 |
2.08 |
2.33 |
$ 20.64 |
$ 42,920 |
| Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL |
100 |
2.00 |
2.24 |
$ 16.42 |
$ 34,140 |
| Laredo, TX |
190 |
2.00 |
2.23 |
$ 14.93 |
$ 31,060 |
Top paying metropolitan areas for Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA |
950 |
0.89 |
1.00 |
$ 34.01 |
$ 70,740 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
2,160 |
0.96 |
1.08 |
$ 33.40 |
$ 69,470 |
| Napa, CA |
100 |
1.50 |
1.68 |
$ 29.25 |
$ 60,830 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA |
1,690 |
0.88 |
0.98 |
$ 29.21 |
$ 60,750 |
| Salinas, CA |
150 |
0.91 |
1.01 |
$ 29.03 |
$ 60,390 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
9,850 |
1.13 |
1.27 |
$ 28.70 |
$ 59,690 |
| Santa Rosa, CA |
270 |
1.38 |
1.55 |
$ 28.50 |
$ 59,280 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA |
210 |
1.10 |
1.22 |
$ 27.71 |
$ 57,640 |
| Anchorage, AK |
110 |
0.66 |
0.74 |
$ 27.56 |
$ 57,330 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA |
290 |
0.99 |
1.10 |
$ 27.48 |
$ 57,150 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors:
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors:
Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors:
About May 2021 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.
(7) The value is less than .005 percent of industry employment.
(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 2021 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 Occupation Profiles
Technical Notes
Last Modified Date: March 31, 2022
United States Department of Labor
