Workers in the Grand Forks, ND-MN Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $27.26 in May 2023, compared to the nationwide average of $31.48, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Jason Palmer noted that higher paying major occupational groups included management ($53.89), legal ($45.60), and healthcare practitioners and technical ($44.01). Lower paying occupations included food preparation and serving related ($15.70), personal care and service ($16.68), and building and grounds cleaning and maintenance ($18.38). (See table A.)

Occupational groups with the highest employment in the Grand Forks area included office and administrative support (10.8 percent), food preparation and serving related (10.0 percent), and transportation and material moving (9.5 percent). Major occupational groups on the lower end of local employment included legal (0.5 percent); life, physical, and social science (1.1 percent); and computer and mathematical (1.5 percent). (See table A.)

One occupational group—food preparation and serving related—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Grand Forks had 5,030 jobs in food preparation and serving related, accounting for 10.0 percent of local area employment, compared to the 8.7-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $15.70, compared to the national wage of $16.58.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the food preparation and serving related group included fast food and counter workers (1,380), waiters and waitresses (760), and cooks, restaurant (580). Among the higher-paying jobs in this group were first-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers and cooks, institution and cafeteria, with mean hourly wages of $21.20 and $18.93, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop ($13.71) and dishwashers ($13.83). (Detailed data for the food preparation and serving related occupations are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_24220.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 Grand Forks area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in some of the occupations within the food preparation and serving related group. For instance, bartenders were employed at 2.5 times the national rate in Grand Forks, and cooks, institution and cafeteria, at 2.2 times the U.S. average. Waiters and waitresses had a location quotient of 1.0 in Grand Forks, 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, Job Service North Dakota and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development.

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 580 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 are 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 65.8 percent based on establishments and 64.3 percent based on weighted sampled employment. The sample in the Grand Forks, ND-MN Metropolitan Statistical Area included 1,027 establishments with a response rate of 68 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 Grand Forks, ND-MN Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Polk County MN, and Grand Forks County, ND.

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 food preparation and serving related occupations, Grand Forks metropolitan area, May 2023

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages ($)
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Food preparation and serving related occupations	5,030	1.1	15.70	32,650
First-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers	330	0.9	21.20	44,100
Cooks, institution and cafeteria	320	2.2	18.93	39,370
Cooks, restaurant	580	1.2	16.76	34,860
Cooks, all other	30	5.1	17.84	37,120
Food preparation workers	220	0.8	15.90	33,070
Bartenders	580	2.5	15.15	31,500
Fast food and counter workers	1,380	1.1	13.85	28,800
Waiters and waitresses	760	1.0	15.24	31,710
Food servers, nonrestaurant	300	3.3	15.90	33,070
Dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers	150	0.9	14.51	30,170
Dishwashers	110	0.7	13.83	28,760
Hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop	140	1.0	13.71	28,530
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Grand Forks, ND-MN Metropolitan Statistical Area, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_24220.htm. (2) Estimates for detailed occupations may not sum to the totals due to rounding, and because the totals may include occupations that are 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.