Workers in the Roanoke, VA Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $27.48 in May 2024, compared to the nationwide average of $32.66, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that higher paying major occupational groups included management ($59.92), legal ($50.86), and computer and mathematical ($44.42). Lower paying occupations included food preparation and serving related ($16.40), building and grounds cleaning and maintenance ($16.78), and personal care and service ($17.05). (See table A.)

Occupational groups with the highest employment in the Roanoke area included office and administrative support (11.6 percent), sales and related (9.4 percent), and healthcare practitioners and technical (9.1 percent). Major occupational groups on the lower end of local employment included life, physical, and social science (0.7 percent); legal (0.7 percent); and arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media (1.3 percent).

 

Table A. Occupational employment and wages by major occupational group, United States and the Roanoke metropolitan area, May 2024

Major occupational group	Percent of total employment		Mean hourly wage ($)
	United States	Roanoke	United States	Roanoke
Total, all occupations	100.0	100.0	32.66	27.48
Management	7.1	4.8	68.15	59.92
Business and financial operations	6.7	5.9	45.04	36.82
Computer and mathematical	3.4	1.9	56.16	44.42
Architecture and engineering	1.7	1.4	49.99	41.82
Life, physical, and social science	0.9	0.7	43.12	42.38
Community and social service	1.7	1.7	30.31	26.86
Legal	0.8	0.7	66.19	50.86
Educational instruction and library	5.8	5.3	31.69	27.25
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media	1.4	1.3	37.04	23.71
Healthcare practitioners and technical	6.2	9.1	50.59	43.26
Healthcare support	4.8	4.6	19.06	17.95
Protective service	2.4	2.7	29.33	24.23
Food preparation and serving related	8.8	8.1	17.32	16.40
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance	2.9	2.9	19.01	16.78
Personal care and service	2.0	2.2	18.95	17.05
Sales and related	8.7	9.4	26.00	22.01
Office and administrative support	11.8	11.6	24.12	21.92
Farming, fishing, and forestry	0.3	0.1	20.06	22.47
Construction and extraction	4.1	4.3	30.73	24.23
Installation, maintenance, and repair	3.9	4.4	29.63	27.40
Production	5.7	7.8	24.08	22.55
Transportation and material moving	8.9	9.1	23.44	20.90

Occupational groups with the highest employment in the Roanoke area included office and administrative support (11.6 percent), sales and related (9.4 percent), and healthcare practitioners and technical (9.1 percent). Major occupational groups on the lower end of local employment included life, physical, and social science (0.7 percent); legal (0.7 percent); and arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media (1.3 percent).

  

View Chart Data

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Chart 1. Hourly mean wages for selected higher paying healthcare practitioners and technical occupations in the Roanoke metropolitan area, May 2024

Occupation	Wage
All occupations	$27.48
Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations	43.26
Psychiatrists	132.23
Physicians, all other	130.66
Family medicine physicians	112.38
Optometrists	84.00
Dentists, general	77.84

One of the larger detailed occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group included registered nurses (5,970). Among the higher paying jobs in this group were psychiatrists ($132.23) and family medicine physicians ($112.38). (See chart 1.) At the lower end of the wage scale were ophthalmic medical technicians ($20.04) and pharmacy technicians ($20.32). (Detailed data for the healthcare practitioners and technical occupations are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to https://data.bls.gov/oes/#/area/0040220.)

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 2.00 indicates that an occupation accounts for twice the share of employment in the area than it does nationally. In the Roanoke area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in some of the occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group. For instance, registered nurses were employed at 1.84 times the national rate in Roanoke, and clinical laboratory technologists and technicians, at 1.74 times the U.S. average. Speech-language pathologists had a location quotient of 1.00 in Roanoke, indicating that this particular occupation’s local and national employment shares were similar.

The statistics in this release are from the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, a cooperative effort between BLS and the State Workforce Agencies (SWAs). BLS funds the survey and provides the procedures and technical support. State Workforce Agencies collect most of the data: in this case, Virginia Works.

The Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey is a semiannual survey measuring occupational employment and wage rates for wage and salary workers in nonfarm establishments in the United States. The OEWS data available from BLS include cross-industry occupational employment and wage estimates for the nation; over 530 areas, including states and the District of Columbia, metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), nonmetropolitan areas, and territories; national industry-specific estimates at the NAICS sector, 3-digit, most 4-digit, and selected 5- and 6-digit industry levels; and national estimates by ownership across all industries and for schools and hospitals. Full OEWS data tables are available online.

Additional information about the OEWS estimates and methodology is available in the national Technical Notes. The overall national response rate for the six panels, based on the 50 states and the District of Columbia, is 65.7 percent based on establishments and 65.9 percent based on weighted sampled employment. The sample in the Roanoke, VA Metropolitan Statistical Area included 1,691 establishments with a response rate of 61 percent.

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 Roanoke, VA Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Botetourt County, Craig County, Franklin County, Roanoke County, Roanoke city, and Salem city.

For more information

Answers to frequently asked questions about the OEWS data, as well as general program documentation, are available on the OEWS website.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.