Workers in the Baltimore-Towson Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $25.81 in May 2015, 11 percent above the nationwide average of $23.23, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that, after testing for statistical significance, wages in the local area were significantly higher than their respective national averages in 12 of the 22 major occupational groups, including education, training, and library; computer and mathematical; and architecture and engineering. One occupational group—legal—had an average wage that was measurably lower than its respective national average.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, Baltimore employment shares were significantly higher in 8 of the 22 occupational groups, including computer and mathematical; business and financial operations; and protective service. Conversely, six groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation; these groups included production; food preparation and serving related; and transportation and material moving. (See table A and box note at end of release.)

Table A. Occupational employment and wages by major occupational group, United States and Baltimore-Towson metropolitan area, and measures of statistical significance, May 2015

Major occupational group	Percent of total employment			Mean hourly wage
	United States	Baltimore-Towson		United States	Baltimore-Towson		Percent difference (1)
Total, all occupations	100%	100%		$23.23	25.81	*	11
Management	5.0	5.4	*	55.30	58.68	*	6
Business and financial operations	5.1	6.4	*	35.48	36.56		3
Computer and mathematical	2.9	4.5	*	41.43	46.07	*	11
Architecture and engineering	1.8	2.0	*	39.89	43.39	*	9
Life, physical, and social science	0.8	1.2	*	34.24	36.79	*	7
Community and social service	1.4	1.7	*	22.19	22.57		2
Legal	0.8	1.1	*	49.74	40.02	*	-20
Education, training, and library	6.2	6.5		25.48	30.48	*	20
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media	1.3	1.2	*	27.39	26.99		-1
Healthcare practitioners and technical	5.8	6.7		37.40	37.94		1
Healthcare support	2.9	2.9		14.19	15.39	*	8
Protective service	2.4	3.1	*	21.45	21.37		0
Food preparation and serving related	9.1	8.1	*	10.98	11.42	*	4
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance	3.2	3.0		13.02	13.40		3
Personal care and service	3.1	3.0		12.33	13.32	*	8
Sales and related	10.5	10.2		18.90	19.09		1
Office and administrative support	15.8	16.0		17.47	18.87	*	8
Farming, fishing, and forestry	0.3	0.1	*	12.67	17.53	*	38
Construction and extraction	4.0	4.1		22.88	22.53		-2
Installation, maintenance, and repair	3.9	3.6	*	22.11	23.35	*	6
Production	6.6	3.1	*	17.41	18.60	*	7
Transportation and material moving	6.9	6.3	*	16.90	18.26		8
Footnotes: (1) A positive percent difference measures how much the mean wage in Baltimore-Towson is above the national mean wage, while a negative difference relects a lower wage. * The percent share of employment or mean hourly wage for this area is significantly different from the national average of all areas at the 90-percent confidence level.

One occupational group—business and financial operations—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Baltimore had 83,830 jobs in business and financial operations, accounting for 6.4 percent of local area employment, significantly above the national share of 5.1 percent. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $36.56, not significantly different from the national average of $35.48.

With employment of 14,770, accountants and auditors was the largest detailed occupation within the business and financial operations group in the Baltimore area. Among the higher paying jobs were personal financial advisors and management analysts, with mean hourly wages of $47.07 and $47.06, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were credit counselors ($20.26) and labor relations specialists ($23.47). (Detailed occupational data for the business and financial operations group are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_12580.htm.)

Location quotients allow us to explore the occupational make-up of a metropolitan area by comparing the composition of jobs in an area relative to the national average. (See table 1.) For example, a location quotient of 2.0 indicates that an occupation accounts for twice the share of employment in the area than it does nationally. In the Baltimore metropolitan area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in several of the detailed occupations within the business and financial operations group. For instance, management analysts were employed at 1.5 times the national rate in Baltimore, and budget analysts, at 2.4 times the U.S. average. On the other hand, market research analysts and marketing specialists had a location quotient of 1.0 in Baltimore, meaning the local employment share in this particular occupation was similar to the national average.

These statistics are from the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey, a federal-state cooperative program between BLS and State Workforce Agencies, in this case, the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation.

Technical Note

The Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey is a semiannual mail survey measuring occupational employment and wage rates for wage and salary workers in nonfarm establishments in the United States. The OES program produces employment and wage estimates for over 800 occupations for all industries combined in the nation; the 50 states and the District of Columbia; 432 metropolitan areas and divisions; 167 nonmetropolitan areas; and Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. National estimates are also available by industry for NAICS sectors, 3-, 4-, and selected 5- and 6-digit industries, and by ownership across all industries and for schools and hospitals. OES data are available at www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm.

OES estimates are constructed from a sample of about 1.2 million establishments. Forms are mailed to approximately 200,000 sampled establishments in May and November each year. May 2015 estimates are based on responses from six semiannual panels collected over a 3-year period: May 2015, November 2014, May 2014, November 2013, May 2013, and November 2012. The overall national response rate for the six panels is 73.5 percent based on establishments and 69.6 percent based on weighted sampled employment. The unweighted employment of sampled establishments across all six semiannual panels represents approximately 57.9 percent of total national employment. (Response rates are slightly lower for these estimates due to the federal shutdown in October 2013.) The sample in the Baltimore-Towson, Md. Metropolitan Statistical Area included 6,262 establishments with a response rate of 75 percent. For more information about OES concepts and methodology, go to www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.tn.htm.

The May 2015 OES estimates are based on the 2010 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system and the 2012 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). Information about the 2010 SOC is available on the BLS website at www.bls.gov/soc and information about the 2012 NAICS is available at www.bls.gov/bls/naics.htm.

Metropolitan area definitions

The substate area data published in this release reflect the standards and definitions established by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget.

The Baltimore-Towson, Md. Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford, Howard, and Queen Anne’s Counties and Baltimore City in Maryland.

Additional information

OES data are available on our regional web page at https://www.bls.gov/regions/mid-atlantic. Answers to frequently asked questions about the OES data are available at www.bls.gov/oes/oes_ques.htm. Detailed technical information about the OES survey is available in our Survey Methods and Reliability Statement on the BLS website at www.bls.gov/oes/current/methods_statement.pdf.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request – Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.

Table 1. Employment and wage data from the Occupational Employment Statistics survey, by occupation, Baltimore-Towson Metropolitan Statistical Area, May 2015

Occupation (1)	Employment (2)		Mean wage
	Level	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Business and financial operations occupations	83,830	1.3	$36.56	$76,040
Agents and business managers of artists, performers, and athletes	60	0.5	(5)	(5)
Buyers and purchasing agents, farm products	100	0.8	21.39	44,490
Wholesale and retail buyers, except farm products	980	0.9	25.58	53,200
Purchasing agents, except wholesale, retail, and farm products	2,890	1.0	34.98	72,770
Claims adjusters, examiners, and investigators	4,460	1.7	33.56	69,810
Insurance appraisers, auto damage	190	1.3	30.78	64,030
Compliance officers	3,660	1.5	33.57	69,830
Cost estimators	2,500	1.2	34.37	71,480
Human resources specialists	5,700	1.2	33.00	68,630
Labor relations specialists	650	0.9	23.47	48,820
Logisticians	2,180	1.7	41.31	85,920
Management analysts	8,580	1.5	47.06	97,880
Meeting, convention, and event planners	1,320	1.6	26.20	54,490
Fundraisers	930	1.6	26.01	54,110
Compensation, benefits, and job analysis specialists	1,080	1.4	29.96	62,310
Training and development specialists	4,110	1.7	30.23	62,880
Market research analysts and marketing specialists	4,960	1.0	30.45	63,330
Business operations specialists, all other	8,740	1.0	39.57	82,300
Accountants and auditors	14,770	1.3	36.46	75,840
Appraisers and assessors of real estate	840	1.5	26.23	54,560
Budget analysts	1,260	2.4	37.54	78,080
Credit analysts	590	0.9	31.03	64,550
Financial analysts	3,440	1.4	46.71	97,160
Personal financial advisors	3,330	1.8	47.07	97,910
Insurance underwriters	830	1.0	38.49	80,060
Financial examiners	260	0.6	37.22	77,430
Credit counselors	320	1.1	20.26	42,150
Loan officers	2,170	0.8	36.56	76,050
Tax examiners and collectors, and revenue agents	370	0.7	28.31	58,880
Tax preparers	330	0.5	24.70	51,380
Financial specialists, all other	2,230	1.8	31.83	66,200
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Baltimore-Towson Metropolitan Statistical Area, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_12580.htm. (2) 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. (3) 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. (4) 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 mean wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data. (5) Estimates not available.