Workers in the Columbia, MO Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $27.28 in May 2023, compared to the nationwide average of $31.48, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Michael Hirniak noted that higher paying major occupational groups included management ($52.08), legal ($50.18), and computer and mathematical ($40.87). Lower paying occupations included food preparation and serving related ($15.43), personal care and service ($16.52), and building and grounds cleaning and maintenance ($16.63). (See table A.)

Occupational groups with the highest employment in the Columbia area included office and administrative support (12.2 percent), food preparation and serving related (10.8 percent), and healthcare practitioners and technical (9.6 percent). Major occupational groups on the lower end of local employment included legal (0.7 percent); architecture and engineering (0.8 percent); and life, physical, and social science (1.3 percent).

One occupational group—healthcare practitioners and technical—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Columbia had 9,410 jobs in healthcare practitioners and technical, accounting for 9.6 percent of local area employment, compared to the 6.1-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $40.85, compared to the national wage of $49.07.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group included registered nurses (3,500), family medicine physicians (760), and licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses (600). Among the higher-paying jobs in this group were nurse anesthetists and pharmacists, with mean hourly wages of $104.96 and $62.63, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were dispensing opticians ($18.15) and pharmacy technicians ($18.56). (Detailed data for the healthcare practitioners and technical occupations are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_17860.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 Columbia area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group. For instance, family medicine physicians were employed at 10.5 times the national rate in Columbia, and health information technologists and medical registrars, at 5.0 times the U.S. average. Dental hygienists had a location quotient of 0.9 in Columbia, 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 Missouri Department of 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 Columbia, MO Metropolitan Statistical Area included 1,169 establishments with a response rate of 54 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 Columbia, MO Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Boone 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 healthcare practitioners and technical occupations, Columbia metropolitan area, May 2023

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages ($)
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations	9,410	1.6	40.85	84,960
Chiropractors	40	1.5	37.35	77,680
Dentists, general	60	0.8	120.81	251,280
Dietitians and nutritionists	90	1.9	30.21	62,830
Optometrists	30	1.1	51.09	106,270
Pharmacists	300	1.4	62.63	130,260
Physician assistants	90	0.9	58.96	122,630
Occupational therapists	130	1.4	42.45	88,300
Physical therapists	230	1.5	42.20	87,780
Radiation therapists	50	4.8	38.39	79,850
Respiratory therapists	130	1.6	33.00	68,640
Speech-language pathologists	130	1.1	43.66	90,810
Veterinarians	120	2.3	51.47	107,050
Registered nurses	3,500	1.7	38.28	79,620
Nurse anesthetists	60	2.0	104.96	218,310
Nurse practitioners	240	1.3	53.67	111,630
Family medicine physicians	760	10.5	(5)	(5)
Physicians, all other	190	1.0	133.34	277,350
Dental hygienists	120	0.9	38.11	79,270
Clinical laboratory technologists and technicians	280	1.3	29.43	61,210
Diagnostic medical sonographers	40	0.8	38.20	79,450
Radiologic technologists and technicians	210	1.5	32.52	67,630
Magnetic resonance imaging technologists	80	2.9	37.97	78,980
Paramedics	100	1.6	27.95	58,140
Pharmacy technicians	440	1.5	18.56	38,610
Psychiatric technicians	160	2.1	18.86	39,220
Surgical technologists	130	1.8	25.42	52,870
Veterinary technologists and technicians	120	1.6	19.65	40,870
Ophthalmic medical technicians	60	1.3	19.08	39,680
Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses	600	1.5	27.17	56,520
Medical records specialists	210	1.7	26.90	55,960
Opticians, dispensing	60	1.2	18.15	37,760
Health technologists and technicians, all other	150	1.4	22.67	47,150
Health information technologists and medical registrars	110	5.0	22.64	47,100
Athletic trainers	40	2.3	(6)	60,870
(1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Columbia, MO Metropolitan Statistical Area, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_17860.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. (5) Estimate not released. (6) 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.