Workers in the San Juan-Bayamón-Caguas, PR Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $17.98 in May 2024, compared to the United States average of $32.66, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner William J. Sibley noted that higher paying major occupational groups included management ($44.74); architecture and engineering ($31.52); and life, physical, and social science ($27.51). Lower paying occupations included healthcare support ($11.70), building and grounds cleaning and maintenance ($11.73), and food preparation and serving related ($12.14). (See table A.)

Occupational groups with the highest employment in the San Juan area included office and administrative support (16.4 percent), sales and related (11.0 percent), and food preparation and serving related (7.9 percent). Major occupational groups on the lower end of local employment included arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media (0.7 percent); legal (0.8 percent); and life, physical, and social science (0.9 percent).

One occupational group—protective service—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. San Juan had 47,510 jobs in protective service, accounting for 6.9 percent of local area employment, compared to the 2.4-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $15.35, compared to the national wage of $29.33.

  

View Chart Data

Chart 1. Hourly mean wages for selected higher paying protective service occupations in the San Juan metropolitan area, May 2024

Occupation	Wage
All occupations	$17.98
Protective service occupations	15.35
Detectives and criminal investigators	37.68
First-line supervisors of protective service workers, all other	29.07
Transportation security screeners	24.78
First-line supervisors of police and detectives	24.02
First-line supervisors of firefighting and prevention workers	23.26

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the protective service group included security guards (23,570) and police and sheriff's patrol officers (10,780). Among the higher paying jobs in this group were detectives and criminal investigators ($37.68) and transportation security screeners ($24.78). (See chart 1.) At the lower end of the wage scale were security guards ($10.16) and lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers ($11.70). (Detailed data for the protective service occupations are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to https://data.bls.gov/oes/#/area/0041980.)

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 2.00 indicates that an occupation accounts for twice the share of employment in the area than it does nationally. In the San Juan area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the protective service group. For instance, bailiffs were employed at 10.28 times the national rate in San Juan, and security guards, at 4.23 times the U.S. average. Detectives and criminal investigators had a location quotient of 1.05 in San Juan, 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 Puerto Rico Department of Labor and Human Resources.

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 530 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 is 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 65.7 percent based on establishments and 65.9 percent based on weighted sampled employment. The sample in the San Juan-Bayamón-Caguas, PR Metropolitan Statistical Area included 3,817 establishments with a response rate of 57 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 San Juan-Bayamón-Caguas, PR Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Aguas Buenas, Aibonito, Barceloneta, Barranquitas, Bayamón, Caguas, Canóvanas, Carolina, Cataño, Cayey, Ceiba, Ciales, Cidra, Comerío, Corozal, Dorado, Fajardo, Florida, Guaynabo, Gurabo, Humacao, Juncos, Las Piedras, Loíza, Luquillo, Manatí, Maunabo, Morovis, Naguabo, Naranjito, Orocovis, Río Grande, San Juan, San Lorenzo, Toa Alta, Toa Baja, Trujillo Alto, Vega Alta, Vega Baja, and Yabucoa Municipios.

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.