Workers in the Auburn-Opelika, AL Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $23.98 in May 2024, compared to the nationwide average of $32.66, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Victoria G. Lee noted that higher paying major occupational groups included management ($54.14), computer and mathematical ($42.23), architecture and engineering ($41.39), and healthcare practitioners and technical ($40.19). Lower paying occupational groups included food preparation and serving related ($13.44) and personal care and service ($14.56). (See table A.)

Occupational groups with the highest employment in the Auburn area included food preparation and serving related (12.0 percent), educational instruction and library (11.6 percent), and office and administrative support (10.0 percent). Major occupational groups on the lower end of local employment included legal (0.3 percent) and life, physical, and social science (0.7 percent).

One occupational group—educational instruction and library—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Auburn had 8,310 jobs in educational instruction and library, accounting for 11.6 percent of local area employment, compared to the 5.8-percent share nationally. The average annual wage for this occupational group locally was $53,490, compared to the national wage of $65,900.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the educational instruction and library group included secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education (720), and elementary school teachers, except special education (710). Among the higher paying jobs in this group were postsecondary business teachers ($125,180) and postsecondary computer science teachers ($114,040). At the lower end of the wage scale were short-term substitute teachers ($22,110) and postsecondary teaching assistants ($23,680). (Detailed data for the educational instruction and library occupations are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to https://data.bls.gov/oes/#/area/0012220.)

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 Auburn area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the educational instruction and library group. For instance, postsecondary biological science teachers were employed at 9.40 times the national rate in Auburn, and postsecondary business teachers, at 4.06 times the U.S. average. Postsecondary career/technical education teachers had a location quotient of 1.04 in Auburn, 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 Alabama Department of Labor.

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 Auburn-Opelika, AL Metropolitan Statistical Area included 955 establishments with a response rate of 62 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 Auburn-Opelika, AL Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Lee County and Macon 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.