Workers in the Durham-Chapel Hill, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $36.34 in May 2023, compared to the nationwide average of $31.48, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Victoria G. Lee noted that higher paying major occupational groups included management ($71.91), computer and mathematical ($57.68), and legal ($57.13). Lower paying occupations included food preparation and serving related ($15.48) and building and grounds cleaning and maintenance ($18.00). (See table A.)

Occupational groups with the highest employment in the Durham area included healthcare practitioners and technical (11.0 percent) and office and administrative support (10.5 percent). Major occupational groups on the lower end of local employment included legal (0.7 percent) and both arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media and personal care and service (1.4 percent each). (See table A.)

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 had 37,060 jobs in healthcare practitioners and technical, accounting for 11.0 percent of local area employment, compared to the 6.1-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $44.45, compared to the national wage of $49.07.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group included clinical laboratory technologists and technicians (1,960), pharmacy technicians (1,340), and nurse practitioners (1,270). Among the higher-paying jobs in this group were family medicine physicians and general dentists, with mean hourly wages of $125.30 and $102.26, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were dietetic technicians ($16.58) and psychiatric technicians ($19.84). (Detailed data for the healthcare practitioners and technical occupations 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 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 5.8 times the national rate in Durham, and clinical laboratory technologists and technicians, at 2.7 times the U.S. average. Speech-language pathologists had a location quotient of 1.0 in Durham, 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 North Carolina Department of Commerce.

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 Durham-Chapel Hill, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area included 2,385 establishments with a response rate of 68 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 Durham-Chapel Hill, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Chatham County, Durham County, Orange County, and Person 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.