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News Release Information

23-1392-BOS
Wednesday, June 28, 2023

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (617) 565-4141

Occupational Employment and Wages in Boston-Cambridge-Nashua — May 2022

Workers in the Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH Metropolitan New England City and Town Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $38.85 in May 2022, 31 percent above the nationwide average of $29.76, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner William J. Sibley noted that, after testing for statistical significance, wages in the local area were higher than their respective national averages in 21 of the 22 major occupational groups, including legal; management; and life, physical, and social science.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, Boston area employment was more highly concentrated in 11 of the 22 occupational groups, including management, computer and mathematical, and business and financial operations. Eleven groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including transportation and material moving; production; and installation, maintenance, and repair. (See table A.)

Table A. Occupational employment and wages by major occupational group, United States and the Boston metropolitan area, and measures of statistical significance, May 2022
Major occupational group Percent of total employment Mean hourly wage ($)
United States Boston United States Boston Percent difference (1)

Total, all occupations

100.0 100.0 29.76 38.85* 31

Management

6.7 10.5* 63.08 76.92* 22

Business and financial operations

6.5 8.1* 41.39 47.65* 15

Computer and mathematical

3.4 5.0* 51.99 58.11* 12

Architecture and engineering

1.7 2.2* 45.52 49.47* 9

Life, physical, and social science

0.9 2.0* 40.21 50.64* 26

Community and social service

1.6 2.0* 26.81 29.07* 8

Legal

0.8 1.0* 59.87 79.26* 32

Educational instruction and library

5.7 6.3* 30.41 37.24* 22

Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media

1.4 1.5* 36.78 42.25 15

Healthcare practitioners and technical

6.1 7.0* 46.52 54.75* 18

Healthcare support

4.6 4.5* 17.10 19.80* 16

Protective service

2.3 2.2* 25.97 30.11* 16

Food preparation and serving related

8.5 7.4* 15.45 18.59* 20

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance

2.9 2.8* 17.26 21.32* 24

Personal care and service

1.9 2.2* 17.41 20.94* 20

Sales and related

8.9 7.8* 24.22 28.72* 19

Office and administrative support

12.6 11.4* 21.90 26.16* 19

Farming, fishing, and forestry

0.3 0.1* 18.21 21.07* 16

Construction and extraction

4.1 3.5* 28.08 37.24* 33

Installation, maintenance, and repair

3.9 2.7* 26.77 31.62* 18

Production

5.9 3.8* 21.81 24.40* 12

Transportation and material moving

9.2 6.1* 21.12 23.62* 12

Footnotes:
(1) A positive percent difference measures how much the mean wage in the Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH Metropolitan New England City and Town Area is above the national mean wage, while a negative difference reflects a lower wage.
* The mean hourly wage or percent share of employment is significantly different from the national average of all areas at the 90-percent confidence level.

One occupational group—management—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Boston had 282,860 jobs in management, accounting for 10.5 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 6.7-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $76.92, significantly above the national wage of $63.08.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the management group included general and operations managers (92,050), financial managers (27,430), and computer and information systems managers (19,670). Among the higher-paying jobs in this group were chief executives and natural sciences managers, with mean hourly wages of $124.65 and $111.53, respectively (See chart 1.) At the lower end of the wage scale were education and childcare administrators, preschool and daycare ($33.42), and food service managers ($38.03). (Detailed data for the management occupations are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_71650.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 Boston area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the management group. For instance, natural sciences managers were employed at 3.8 times the national rate in Boston, and education administrators, postsecondary, at 2.4 times the U.S. average. Construction managers had a location quotient of 1.0 in Boston, 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 Massachusetts Division of Unemployment Assistance and the New Hampshire Department of Employment Security.

Changes to the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) Data

The May 2022 OEWS estimates use the model-based (MB3) estimation method implemented with the May 2021 estimates release. Additional updates were made to the MB3 wage processing methodology for May 2022. For more information, see the May 2022 Survey Methods and Reliability Statement.

The May 2022 estimates are the first OEWS estimates to be produced using the 2022 NAICS, which replaces the 2017 NAICS used for the May 2017-May 2021 estimates. See North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) at BLS for details.


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 179,000 to 187,000 sampled establishments are contacted, one panel in May and the other in November. Responses are obtained by Internet or other electronic means, mail, email, telephone, or personal visit. The May 2022 estimates are based on responses from six semiannual panels collected over a 3-year period: May 2022, November 2021, May 2021, November 2020, May 2020, and November 2019. The unweighted sampled employment of 80 million across all six semiannual panels represents approximately 57 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 65.4 percent based on establishments and 62.5 percent based on weighted sampled employment. The sample in the Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH Metropolitan New England City and Town Area included 10,944 establishments with a response rate of 57 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 Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH Metropolitan New England City and Town Area includes Abington town, MA; Acton town, MA; Amesbury town, MA; Andover town, MA; Arlington town, MA; Ashby town, MA; Ashland town, MA; Avon town, MA; Ayer town, MA; Bedford town, MA; Belmont town, MA; Berkley town, MA; Berlin town, MA; Beverly city, MA; Billerica town, MA; Bolton town, MA; Boston city, MA; Boxborough town, MA; Boxford town, MA; Braintree town, MA; Bridgewater town, MA; Brockton city, MA; Brookline town, MA; Burlington town, MA; Cambridge city, MA; Canton town, MA; Carlisle town, MA; Carver town, MA; Chelmsford town, MA; Chelsea city, MA; Cohasset town, MA; Concord town, MA; Danvers town, MA; Dedham town, MA; Dighton town, MA; Dover town, MA; Dracut town, MA; Dunstable town, MA; Duxbury town, MA; East Bridgewater town, MA; Easton town, MA; Essex town, MA; Everett city, MA; Foxborough town, MA; Framingham town, MA; Franklin city, MA; Freetown town, MA; Georgetown town, MA; Gloucester city, MA; Groton town, MA; Groveland town, MA; Halifax town, MA; Hamilton town, MA; Hanover town, MA; Hanson town, MA; Harvard town, MA; Haverhill city, MA; Hingham town, MA; Holbrook town, MA; Holliston town, MA; Hopedale town, MA; Hopkinton town, MA; Hudson town, MA; Hull town, MA; Ipswich town, MA; Kingston town, MA; Lakeville town, MA; Lawrence city, MA; Lexington town, MA; Lincoln town, MA; Littleton town, MA; Lowell city, MA; Lynn city, MA; Lynnfield town, MA; Malden city, MA; Manchester by the Sea town, MA; Mansfield town, MA; Marblehead town, MA; Marlborough city, MA; Marshfield town, MA; Maynard town, MA; Medfield town, MA; Medford city, MA; Medway town, MA; Melrose city, MA; Mendon town, MA; Merrimac town, MA; Methuen city, MA; Middleborough town, MA; Middleton town, MA; Milford town, MA; Millis town, MA; Milton town, MA; Nahant town, MA; Natick town, MA; Needham town, MA; Newbury town, MA; Newburyport city, MA; Newton city, MA; Norfolk town, MA; North Andover town, MA; North Reading town, MA; Norton town, MA; Norwell town, MA; Norwood town, MA; Peabody city, MA; Pembroke town, MA; Pepperell town, MA; Plymouth town, MA; Plympton town, MA; Quincy city, MA; Randolph town, MA; Raynham town, MA; Reading town, MA; Revere city, MA; Rochester town, MA; Rockland town, MA; Rockport town, MA; Rowley town, MA; Salem city, MA; Salisbury town, MA; Saugus town, MA; Scituate town, MA; Sharon town, MA; Sherborn town, MA; Shirley town, MA; Somerville city, MA; Southborough town, MA; Stoneham town, MA; Stoughton town, MA; Stow town, MA; Sudbury town, MA; Swampscott town, MA; Taunton city, MA; Tewksbury town, MA; Topsfield town, MA; Townsend town, MA; Tyngsborough town, MA; Wakefield town, MA; Walpole town, MA; Waltham city, MA; Watertown city, MA; Wayland town, MA; Wellesley town, MA; Wenham town, MA; West Bridgewater town, MA; West Newbury town, MA; Westford town, MA; Weston town, MA; Westwood town, MA; Weymouth town, MA; Whitman town, MA; Wilmington town, MA; Winchester town, MA; Winthrop town, MA; Woburn city, MA; Wrentham town, MA; Amherst town, NH; Atkinson town, NH; Brookline town, NH; Chester town, NH; Danville town, NH; Derry town, NH; East Kingston town, NH; Fremont town, NH; Greenfield town, NH; Greenville town, NH; Hampstead town, NH; Hampton Falls town, NH; Hollis town, NH; Hudson town, NH; Kensington town, NH; Kingston town, NH; Litchfield town, NH; Londonderry town, NH; Lyndeboro town, NH; Mason town, NH; Merrimack town, NH; Milford town, NH; Mont Vernon town, NH; Nashua city, NH; Newton town, NH; Pelham town, NH; Plaistow town, NH; Salem town, NH; Sandown town, NH; Seabrook town, NH; South Hampton town, NH; Temple town, NH; Wilton town, NH; and Windham town, NH.

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; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Table 1. Employment and wage data for management occupations, Boston metropolitan area, May 2022
Occupation (1) Employment Mean wages ($)
Level (2) Location quotient (3) Hourly Annual (4)

Management occupations

282,860 1.6 76.92 160,000

Chief executives

(5) (5) 124.65 259,260

General and operations managers

92,050 1.5 74.45 154,860

Legislators

390 0.5 (6) 69,810

Advertising and promotions managers

520 1.3 60.60 126,040

Marketing managers

11,820 2.0 80.96 168,400

Sales managers

14,900 1.5 78.35 162,960

Public relations managers

2,270 1.9 80.01 166,420

Fundraising managers

1,070 2.2 71.00 147,680

Administrative services managers

7,580 1.8 71.89 149,540

Facilities managers

3,870 1.8 57.24 119,050

Computer and information systems managers

19,670 2.0 86.48 179,880

Financial managers

27,430 2.0 88.25 183,550

Industrial production managers

5,920 1.5 70.34 146,300

Purchasing managers

2,470 1.8 78.13 162,510

Transportation, storage, and distribution managers

3,130 1.0 55.69 115,840

Compensation and benefits managers

(5) (5) 76.03 158,140

Human resources managers

5,590 1.7 84.69 176,160

Training and development managers

940 1.3 77.66 161,540

Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers

40 0.4 32.89 68,410

Construction managers

5,760 1.0 64.67 134,520

Education and childcare administrators, preschool and daycare

1,340 1.2 33.42 69,520

Education administrators, kindergarten through secondary

6,970 1.3 (6) 120,030

Education administrators, postsecondary

7,460 2.4 57.53 119,660

Education administrators, all other

1,210 1.3 54.48 113,330

Architectural and engineering managers

6,100 1.7 85.15 177,100

Food service managers

3,450 0.8 38.03 79,100

Entertainment and recreation managers, except gambling

160 0.4 41.86 87,060

Lodging managers

440 0.6 42.90 89,240

Medical and health services managers

15,650 1.8 76.50 159,130

Natural sciences managers

5,780 3.8 111.53 231,980

Postmasters and mail superintendents

170 0.7 43.35 90,170

Property, real estate, and community association managers

4,050 0.9 47.02 97,810

Social and community service managers

4,730 1.6 40.97 85,220

Emergency management directors

120 0.6 55.89 116,250

Funeral home managers

200 0.8 38.58 80,240

Personal service managers, all other

60 0.4 (5) (5)

Managers, all other

8,200 0.8 79.00 164,320

Footnotes:
(1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH Metropolitan New England City and Town Area, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_71650.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.

 

Last Modified Date: Wednesday, June 28, 2023