Workers in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $27.12 in May 2017, 11 percent above the nationwide average of $24.34, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that after testing for statistical significance, 12 of the 22 major occupational groups had average wages in the local area that were significantly lower than their respective national averages, including education, training, and library; transportation and material moving; and computer and mathematical. One occupational group—legal—had an average wage that was measurably lower than its respective national average.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, local employment was significantly higher in 9 of the 22 occupational groups, including computer and mathematical; business and financial operations; and healthcare practitioners and technical. Conversely, six groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation; these groups included production; food preparation and serving related; and personal care and service. (See table A and box note at end of release.)

Table A. Occupational employment and wages by major occupational group, United States and the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson Metropolitan Statistical Area, and measures of statistical significance, May 2017

Major occupational group	Percent of total employment			Mean hourly wage
	United States	Baltimore		United States	Baltimore		Percent difference (1)
Total, all occupations	100	100		$24.34	$27.12	*	11
Management	5.1	5.7	*	57.65	61.13	*	6
Business and financial operations	5.2	6.3	*	36.70	37.46		2
Computer and mathematical	3.0	4.5	*	43.18	47.62	*	10
Architecture and engineering	1.8	2.2	*	41.44	44.58	*	8
Life, physical, and social science	0.8	1.1	*	35.76	37.02		4
Community and social service	1.5	1.7	*	23.10	23.72		3
Legal	0.8	1.1	*	51.62	42.94	*	-17
Education, training, and library	6.1	6.3		26.67	31.80	*	19
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media	1.4	1.2	*	28.34	28.04		-1
Healthcare practitioners and technical	6.0	6.7	*	38.83	40.22		4
Healthcare support	2.9	2.8		15.05	16.10	*	7
Protective service	2.4	3.0	*	22.69	22.91		1
Food preparation and serving related	9.3	8.2	*	11.88	11.89		0
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance	3.1	3.0		13.91	13.88		0
Personal care and service	3.6	3.0	*	13.11	14.24	*	9
Sales and related	10.2	10.0		19.56	20.33	*	4
Office and administrative support	15.4	15.4		18.24	19.53	*	7
Farming, fishing, and forestry	0.3	0.1	*	13.87	17.16	*	24
Construction and extraction	4.0	4.1		24.01	23.71		-1
Installation, maintenance, and repair	3.9	3.7	*	23.02	24.29	*	6
Production	6.3	3.0	*	18.30	19.01	*	4
Transportation and material moving	7.0	6.7		17.82	19.61	*	10
Footnotes: (1) A positive percent difference measures how much the mean wage in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson Metropolitan Statistical Area is above the national mean wage, while a negative difference reflects 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.

With employment of 14,620, accountants and auditors was the largest detailed occupation within the business and financial operations group in the Baltimore area. Among the higher paying jobs in this group were personal financial advisors and financial analysts, with mean hourly wages of $51.87 and $48.11, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were credit counselors ($20.30) and tax preparers ($22.71). (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, claims adjusters, examiners, and investigators were employed at 1.7 times the national rate in Baltimore, and budget analysts, at 2.5 times the U.S. average. On the other hand, buyers and purchasing agents 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 survey measuring occupational employment and wage rates for wage and salary workers in nonfarm establishments in the United States. The OES data available from BLS include cross-industry occupational employment and wage estimates for the nation; over 650 areas, including states and the District of Columbia, metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), metropolitan divisions, nonmetropolitan areas, and territories; national industry-specific estimates at the NAICS sector, 3-, 4-, and selected 5- and 6-digit industry levels; and national estimates 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. Each year, two semiannual panels of approximately 200,000 sampled establishments are contacted, one panel in May and the other in November. Responses are obtained by mail, Internet or other electronic means, email, telephone, or personal visit. The May 2017 estimates are based on responses from six semiannual panels collected over a 3-year period: May 2017, November 2016, May 2016, November 2015, May 2015, and November 2014. The overall national response rate for the six panels, based on the 50 states and the District of Columbia, is 72 percent based on establishments and 68 percent based on weighted sampled employment. The unweighted sample employment of 82 million across all six semiannual panels represents approximately 58 percent of total national employment. The sample in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson Metropolitan Statistical Area included 6,112 establishments with a response rate of 75 percent. For more information about OES concepts and methodology, go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_tec.htm.

The May 2017 OES estimates are based on the 2010 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system and the 2017 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 2017 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-Columbia-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 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-Columbia-Towson Metropolitan Statistical Area, May 2017

Occupation (1)	Employment (2)		Mean wage
	Level	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Business and financial operations occupations	86,000	1.2	$37.46	$77,910
Agents and business managers of artists, performers, and athletes	100	0.7	23.93	49,780
Buyers and purchasing agents	3,880	1.0	34.63	72,030
Claims adjusters, examiners, and investigators	4,680	1.7	34.13	70,990
Insurance appraisers, auto damage	340	2.2	31.45	65,410
Compliance officers	4,090	1.5	34.80	72,380
Cost estimators	2,420	1.2	34.78	72,350
Human resources specialists	6,140	1.2	34.51	71,770
Labor relations specialists	770	1.0	36.39	75,690
Logisticians	2,340	1.5	42.02	87,390
Management analysts	8,330	1.3	46.29	96,290
Meeting, convention, and event planners	1,500	1.5	24.29	50,530
Fundraisers	990	1.4	31.96	66,470
Compensation, benefits, and job analysis specialists	920	1.2	34.19	71,120
Training and development specialists	3,740	1.4	31.39	65,280
Market research analysts and marketing specialists	6,130	1.1	29.85	62,090
Business operations specialists, all other	7,950	0.8	40.87	85,000
Accountants and auditors	14,620	1.2	38.03	79,100
Appraisers and assessors of real estate	850	1.5	30.47	63,380
Budget analysts	1,290	2.5	38.50	80,090
Credit analysts	930	1.3	31.78	66,110
Financial analysts	3,260	1.2	48.11	100,070
Personal financial advisors	2,980	1.6	51.87	107,900
Insurance underwriters	910	1.1	41.07	85,430
Financial examiners	490	1.0	34.72	72,220
Credit counselors	430	1.3	20.30	42,220
Loan officers	2,520	0.9	37.06	77,080
Tax examiners and collectors, and revenue agents	390	0.7	28.79	59,880
Tax preparers	450	0.7	22.71	47,240
Financial specialists, all other	2,550	2.1	34.54	71,840
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Baltimore-Columbia-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.