Workers in the Ann Arbor, MI Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $34.37 in May 2024, compared to the nationwide average of $32.66, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Acting Regional Commissioner Julie Wilson noted that higher paying major occupational groups included management ($68.49), legal ($62.15), and healthcare practitioners and technical ($52.98). Lower paying occupations included personal care and service ($17.43) and food preparation and serving related ($17.71). (See table A.)

Educational instruction and library occupations accounted for 13.5 percent of Ann Arbor area employment, followed by healthcare practitioners and technical occupations (12.6 percent) and office and administrative support occupations (11.1 percent). Major occupational groups on the lower end of local employment included legal (0.5 percent); protective service (1.3 percent); and arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media (1.4 percent).

One occupational group—educational instruction and library—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Ann Arbor had 29,510 jobs in educational instruction and library, accounting for 13.5 percent of local area employment, compared to the 5.8-percent share nationally. The average annual wage for this occupational group locally was $68,810, compared to the national wage of $65,900.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the educational instruction and library group included postsecondary teaching assistants (12,930) and tutors (1,840). Among the higher paying jobs in this group were postsecondary political science teachers with mean annual wages of $160,020 and postsecondary engineering teachers ($158,810). At the lower end of the wage scale were teaching assistants, except postsecondary, ($33,990); museum technicians and conservators ($37,470); and tutors ($37,860). (Detailed data for the educational instruction and library occupations are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to https://data.bls.gov/oes/#/area/0011460.)

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 Ann Arbor area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the educational instruction and library group. For instance, postsecondary teaching assistants were employed at 59.04 times the national rate in Ann Arbor, and postsecondary engineering teachers at 12.59 times the U.S. average. Self-enrichment teachers had a location quotient of 0.98 in Ann Arbor, 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, the Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget.

Technical Note

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 Ann Arbor, MI Metropolitan Statistical Area included 1,808 establishments with a response rate of 65 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 Ann Arbor, MI Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Washtenaw County.

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.

Table 1. Employment and wage data for educational instruction and library occupations, Ann Arbor metropolitan area, May 2024

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages ($)
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Educational instruction and library occupations	29,510	2.33	33.08	68,810
Business teachers, postsecondary	550	4.79	(5)	143,270
Computer science teachers, postsecondary	160	3.15	(5)	130,710
Mathematical science teachers, postsecondary	310	4.43	(5)	143,530
Engineering teachers, postsecondary	710	12.59	(5)	158,810
Biological science teachers, postsecondary	300	3.99	(5)	129,210
Chemistry teachers, postsecondary	80	2.76	(5)	134,230
Physics teachers, postsecondary	80	4.13	(5)	134,520
Political science teachers, postsecondary	140	5.95	(5)	160,020
Psychology teachers, postsecondary	140	2.30	(5)	152,240
Sociology teachers, postsecondary	90	4.99	(5)	129,890
Health specialties teachers, postsecondary	730	2.26	(5)	150,120
Nursing instructors and teachers, postsecondary	220	2.12	(5)	110,530
Education teachers, postsecondary	170	2.01	(5)	108,470
Social work teachers, postsecondary	150	8.11	(5)	105,380
Art, drama, and music teachers, postsecondary	490	3.54	(5)	102,870
Communications teachers, postsecondary	100	2.32	(5)	104,870
English language and literature teachers, postsecondary	350	4.20	(5)	113,370
Foreign language and literature teachers, postsecondary	190	6.36	(5)	90,480
History teachers, postsecondary	80	2.87	(5)	144,630
Philosophy and religion teachers, postsecondary	60	2.04	(5)	125,070
Career/technical education teachers, postsecondary	260	1.67	43.65	90,790
Postsecondary teachers, all other	(6)	(6)	(5)	88,550
Preschool teachers, except special education	610	0.97	19.09	39,700
Kindergarten teachers, except special education	60	0.38	(5)	65,120
Elementary school teachers, except special education	1,730	0.88	(5)	69,210
Middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education	500	0.58	(5)	64,770
Secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education	1,020	0.68	(5)	74,790
Special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school	160	0.48	(5)	79,100
Special education teachers, middle school	40	0.29	(5)	67,080
Special education teachers, secondary school	70	0.30	(5)	72,470
Special education teachers, all other	100	1.82	(5)	74,140
Adult basic education, adult secondary education, and english as a second language instructors	30	0.60	23.81	49,530
Self-enrichment teachers	430	0.98	21.93	45,610
Substitute teachers, short-term	120	0.18	18.94	39,390
Tutors	1,840	7.46	18.2	37,860
Teachers and instructors, all other	150	0.85	(5)	55,450
Curators	50	2.88	48.27	100,410
Museum technicians and conservators	70	4.05	18.01	37,470
Librarians and media collections specialists	300	1.62	39.19	81,500
Library technicians	230	2.17	18.45	38,370
Instructional coordinators	320	1.08	36.24	75,380
Teaching assistants, postsecondary	12,930	59.04	(5)	48,500
Teaching assistants, except postsecondary	1,710	0.88	(5)	33,990
Educational instruction and library workers, all other	200	1.24	27.07	56,310
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Ann Arbor, MI Metropolitan Statistical Area, see s://data.bls.gov/oes/#/area/0011460.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) Wages for some occupations that do not generally work year-round, full time, are reported either as hourly wages or annual salaries depending on how they are typically paid. (6) Estimate not released.