Workers in the Topeka, KS Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $22.58 in May 2020, about 17 percent below the nationwide average of $27.07, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Michael Hirniak noted that, after testing for statistical significance, no wages in the local area were higher than their respective national averages in 22 major occupational groups. Nineteen groups had significantly lower wages than their respective national averages, including management, legal, and computer and mathematical.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, Topeka area employment was more highly concentrated in 7 of the 22 occupational groups, including healthcare support, healthcare practitioners and technical, and office and administrative support. Seven groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including sales and related, transportation and material moving, and architecture and engineering. (See table A.)

One occupational group—healthcare support—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Topeka had 6,490 jobs in healthcare support, accounting for 6.2 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 4.6-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $14.03, significantly below the national wage of $15.50.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the healthcare support group included home health and personal care aides (2,770), nursing assistants (2,140), and medical assistants (430). Among the higher-paying jobs in this group were physical therapist assistants and occupational therapy assistants, with mean hourly wages of $28.48 and $28.21, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were home health and personal care aides ($11.38) and pharmacy aides ($11.43). (Detailed data for the healthcare support occupations are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_45820.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 Topeka area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in some of the occupations within the healthcare support group. For instance, phlebotomists were employed at 2.3 times the national rate in Topeka, and nursing assistants, at 2.1 times the U.S. average. Home health and personal care aides had a location quotient of 1.1 in Topeka, indicating that this particular occupation’s local and national employment shares were similar.

These statistics are from the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, a federal-state cooperative program between BLS and State Workforce Agencies, in this case, the Kansas Department of Labor.

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. OEWS data are available at www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm.

The OEWS survey is a cooperative effort between BLS and the State Workforce Agencies (SWAs). BLS funds the survey and provides the procedures and technical support, while the State Workforce Agencies collect most of the data. OEWS estimates are constructed from a sample of about 1.1 million establishments. Each year, two semiannual panels of approximately 180,000 to 185,000 sampled establishments are contacted, one panel in May and the other in November. Responses are obtained by mail, Internet or other electronic means, email, telephone, or personal visit. The May 2020 estimates are based on responses from six semiannual panels collected over a 3-year period: May 2020, November 2019, May 2019, November 2018, May 2018, and November 2017. The unweighted sample employment of 83 million across all six semiannual panels represents approximately 56 percent of total national employment. The overall national response rate for the six panels, based on the 50 states and the District of Columbia, is 69 percent based on establishments and 66 percent based on weighted sampled employment. The sample in the Topeka, KS Metropolitan Statistical Area included 1,325 establishments with a response rate of 74 percent. For more information about OEWS concepts and methodology, go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_tec.htm.

A value that is statistically different from another does not necessarily mean that the difference has economic or practical significance. Statistical significance is concerned with the ability to make confident statements about a universe based on a sample. It is entirely possible that a large difference between two values is not significantly different statistically, while a small difference is, since both the size and heterogeneity of the sample affect the relative error of the data being tested.

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 Topeka, KS Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Jackson, Jefferson, Osage, Shawnee, and Wabaunsee Counties.

For more information

Answers to frequently asked questions about the OEWS data are available at www.bls.gov/oes/oes_ques.htm. Detailed information about the OEWS program is available at www.bls.gov/oes/oes_doc.htm.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.