Workers in the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $36.50 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 ($78.79), legal ($76.88), and computer and mathematical ($57.59). Lower paying occupations included food preparation and serving related ($19.13), building and grounds cleaning and maintenance ($20.25), and healthcare support ($21.21). (See table A.)

Occupational groups with the highest employment in the Denver area included office and administrative support (10.9 percent), sales and related (10.9 percent), and business and financial operations (10.3 percent). Major occupational groups on the lower end of local employment included life, physical, and social science (1.2 percent); legal (1.2 percent); and arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media (1.5 percent).

One occupational group—business and financial operations—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Denver had 164,250 jobs in business and financial operations, accounting for 10.3 percent of local area employment, compared to the 6.6-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $46.04, compared to the national wage of $43.55.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the business and financial operations group included accountants and auditors (22,040), project management specialists (19,080), and market research analysts and marketing specialists (16,770). Among the higher-paying jobs in this group were personal financial advisors and financial and investment analysts, with mean hourly wages of $58.59 and $56.06, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were credit counselors ($27.08) and meeting, convention, and event planners ($32.59). (Detailed data for the business and financial operations occupations are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_19740.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 Denver area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the business and financial operations group. For instance, auto damage insurance appraisers were employed at 2.6 times the national rate in Denver, and project management specialists, at 1.9 times the U.S. average. Loan officers had a location quotient of 1.0 in Denver, 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 Colorado Department of Labor & Employment.

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 Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area included 6,854 establishments with a response rate of 79 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 Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Adams County, Arapahoe County, Broomfield County, Clear Creek County, Denver County, Douglas County, Elbert County, Gilpin County, Jefferson County, and Park 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 business and financial operations occupations, Denver metropolitan area, May 2023

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages ($)
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Business and financial operations occupations	164,250	1.6	46.04	95,760
Agents and business managers of artists, performers, and athletes	70	0.5	(5)	(5)
Buyers and purchasing agents	6,220	1.2	40.31	83,840
Claims adjusters, examiners, and investigators	3,250	1.1	39.67	82,510
Insurance appraisers, auto damage	240	2.6	36.19	75,260
Compliance officers	5,030	1.3	42.04	87,440
Cost estimators	3,120	1.4	41.31	85,920
Human resources specialists	12,310	1.3	41.26	85,820
Labor relations specialists	440	0.7	40.55	84,340
Logisticians	2,020	0.9	46.73	97,200
Project management specialists	19,080	1.9	52.72	109,660
Management analysts	9,010	1.0	50.70	105,450
Meeting, convention, and event planners	2,170	1.7	32.59	67,790
Fundraisers	1,470	1.4	37.34	77,660
Compensation, benefits, and job analysis specialists	1,180	1.1	42.35	88,090
Training and development specialists	6,900	1.6	37.41	77,800
Market research analysts and marketing specialists	16,770	1.9	42.07	87,510
Business operations specialists, all other	29,260	2.5	47.71	99,240
Accountants and auditors	22,040	1.5	46.80	97,340
Property appraisers and assessors	800	1.2	36.32	75,540
Budget analysts	740	1.5	45.62	94,880
Credit analysts	880	1.1	52.30	108,790
Financial and investment analysts	6,090	1.8	56.06	116,600
Personal financial advisors	4,140	1.5	58.59	121,860
Insurance underwriters	1,400	1.3	49.14	102,210
Financial risk specialists	690	1.2	49.63	103,240
Financial examiners	1,190	1.8	52.96	110,160
Credit counselors	240	0.8	27.08	56,320
Loan officers	3,350	1.0	40.32	83,870
Tax examiners and collectors, and revenue agents	460	0.9	34.56	71,890
Tax preparers	1,160	1.4	37.23	77,440
Financial specialists, all other	2,550	2.0	47.29	98,360
(1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_19740.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.