Workers in the Durham-Chapel Hill Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $27.39 in May 2015, about 18 percent above the nationwide average of $23.23, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that, after testing for statistical significance, wages in the local area were higher than their respective national averages in 9 of the 22 major occupational groups, including education, training, and library; management; and sales and related. Eight groups had significantly lower wages than their respective national averages, including legal; construction and extraction; and transportation and material moving. 

When compared to the nationwide distribution, local employment was more highly concentrated in 8 of the 22 occupational groups, including healthcare practitioners and technical; computer and mathematical; and business and financial operations. Conversely, 13 groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including transportation and material moving; production; and construction and extraction. (See table A and box note at end of release.)

One occupational group—healthcare practitioners and technical—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Durham-Chapel Hill had 28,600 jobs in healthcare practitioners and technical, accounting for 9.9 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 5.8-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $34.43, significantly below the national wage of $37.40.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group included registered nurses (12,650), medical and clinical laboratory technologists (1,130), and pharmacy technicians (980). Among the higher paying jobs were general pediatricians and nurse anesthetists, with mean hourly wages of $75.72 and $70.30, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were pharmacy technicians ($15.37) and medial records and health information technicians ($18.33). (Detailed occupational data for healthcare practitioners and technical are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_20500.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 Durham-Chapel Hill Metropolitan Statistical Area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group. For instance, nurse anesthetists were employed at 3.6 times the national rate in Durham, and medical and clinical laboratory technologists, at 3.3 times the U.S. average. On the other hand, speech-language pathologists had a location quotient of 1.1 in Durham, indicating that this particular occupation’s local and national employment shares were similar.

These statistics are from the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey, a federal-state cooperative program between BLS and State Workforce Agencies, in this case, the North Carolina Department of Commerce.

Technical Note

The Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey is a semiannual mail survey measuring occupational employment and wage rates for wage and salary workers in nonfarm establishments in the United States. The OES program produces employment and wage estimates for over 800 occupations for all industries combined in the nation; the 50 states and the District of Columbia; 432 metropolitan areas and divisions; 167 nonmetropolitan areas; and Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. National estimates are also available by industry for NAICS sectors, 3-, 4-, and selected 5- and 6-digit industries, and by ownership across all industries and for schools and hospitals. OES data are available at www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm.

OES estimates are constructed from a sample of about 1.2 million establishments. Forms are mailed to approximately 200,000 sampled establishments in May and November each year. May 2015 estimates are based on responses from six semiannual panels collected over a 3-year period: May 2015, November 2014, May 2014, November 2013, May 2013, and November 2012. The overall national response rate for the six panels is 73.5 percent based on establishments and 69.6 percent based on weighted sampled employment. The unweighted employment of sampled establishments across all six semiannual panels represents approximately 57.9 percent of total national employment. (Response rates are slightly lower for these estimates due to the federal shutdown in October 2013.) The sample in the Durham-Chapel Hill Metropolitan Statistical Area included 2,261 establishments with a response rate of 85 percent. For more information about OES concepts and methodology, go to www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.tn.htm.

The May 2015 OES estimates are based on the 2010 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system and the 2012 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). Information about the 2010 SOC is available on the BLS website at www.bls.gov/soc and information about the 2012 NAICS is available at www.bls.gov/bls/naics.htm.

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 Durham-Chapel Hill, N.C. Metropolitan Statistical Area  includes Chatham, Durham, Orange, and Person Counties.

Additional information

OES data are available on our regional web page at www.bls.gov/regions/southeast. Answers to frequently asked questions about the OES data are available at www.bls.gov/oes/oes_ques.htm. Detailed technical information about the OES survey is available in our Survey Methods and Reliability Statement on the BLS website at www.bls.gov/oes/current/methods_statement.pdf.

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

Table 1. Employment and wage data from the Occupational Employment Statistics survey, by occupation, Durham-Chapel Hill Metropolitan Statistical Area, May 2015

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	28,600	1.7	$34.43	$71,610
Dentists, General	120	0.6	85.35	177,520
Dietitians and Nutritionists	250	2.0	28.06	58,360
Optometrists	70	0.9	38.27	79,600
Pharmacists	920	1.5	58.03	120,710
Family and General Practitioners	70	0.3	68.34	142,140
Pediatricians, General	(5)	(5)	75.72	157,500
Psychiatrists	(5)	(5)	110.22	229,260
Surgeons	50	0.6	108.03	224,690
Physicians and Surgeons, All Other	2,230	3.3	54.86	114,110
Physician Assistants	410	2.0	45.11	93,830
Occupational Therapists	320	1.4	34.76	72,310
Physical Therapists	570	1.3	36.38	75,670
Radiation Therapists	80	2.3	37.59	78,180
Recreational Therapists	60	1.7	23.77	49,430
Respiratory Therapists	460	1.8	26.18	54,450
Speech-Language Pathologists	300	1.1	31.33	65,170
Veterinarians	200	1.4	56.30	117,110
Registered Nurses	12,650	2.2	31.43	65,380
Nurse Anesthetists	290	3.6	70.30	146,220
Nurse Practitioners	800	2.8	57.33	119,240
Audiologists	30	1.3	32.83	68,290
Health Diagnosing and Treating Practitioners, All Other	310	4.2	44.89	93,370
Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists	1,130	3.3	27.66	57,530
Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technicians	710	2.2	19.48	40,530
Dental Hygienists	300	0.7	35.36	73,540
Cardiovascular Technologists and Technicians	200	1.9	26.87	55,880
Diagnostic Medical Sonographers	180	1.4	33.20	69,050
Nuclear Medicine Technologists	60	1.5	34.51	71,770
Radiologic Technologists	660	1.6	30.26	62,930
Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technologists	100	1.4	34.53	71,820
Pharmacy Technicians	980	1.2	15.37	31,960
Surgical Technologists	250	1.2	21.28	44,260
Veterinary Technologists and Technicians	220	1.1	14.65	30,480
Ophthalmic Medical Technicians	100	1.2	19.71	41,000
Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses	800	0.6	21.94	45,640
Medical Records and Health Information Technicians	300	0.8	18.33	38,120
Opticians, Dispensing	130	0.9	22.57	46,940
Orthotists and Prosthetists	40	2.6	34.33	71,410
Health Technologists and Technicians, All Other	1,090	5.0	20.16	41,930
Occupational Health and Safety Specialists	150	1.0	34.08	70,890
Occupational Health and Safety Technicians	60	1.7	30.39	63,210
Genetic Counselors	40	7.5	29.86	62,110
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Workers, All Other	60	0.7	25.31	52,640
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in Durham-Chapel Hill, NC, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_20500.htm. (2) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations 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.