Workers in the Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $27.75 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 ($57.87), computer and mathematical ($48.94), and architecture and engineering ($47.56). Lower paying occupations included food preparation and serving related ($16.31), personal care and service ($16.70), and building and grounds cleaning and maintenance ($17.87). (See table A.)

Occupational groups with the highest employment in the Crestview area included food preparation and serving related (14.6 percent), sales and related (12.2 percent), and office and administrative support (11.3 percent). Major occupational groups on the lower end of local employment included life, physical, and social science and also legal (0.6 percent each). (See table A.)

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. 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 Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area included 1,613 establishments with a response rate of 70 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 Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Okaloosa County and Walton 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.

Table 1. Employment and wage data for food preparation and serving related occupations, Crestview metropolitan area, May 2023

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages ($)
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Food preparation and serving related occupations	17,850	1.7	16.31	33,930
Chefs and head cooks	250	1.8	29.03	60,380
First-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers	1,490	1.6	20.24	42,090
Cooks, fast food	(5)	(5)	13.75	28,600
Cooks, institution and cafeteria	210	0.6	17.26	35,900
Cooks, restaurant	2,750	2.4	16.29	33,880
Cooks, short order	110	1.1	15.97	33,220
Food preparation workers	1,040	1.5	15.85	32,960
Bartenders	1,270	2.2	18.04	37,530
Fast food and counter workers	3,450	1.2	13.75	28,610
Waiters and waitresses	4,480	2.5	17.29	35,970
Food servers, nonrestaurant	120	0.5	14.02	29,150
Dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers	770	2.0	15.09	31,380
Dishwashers	730	2.0	13.71	28,530
Hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop	760	2.2	13.24	27,530
Food preparation and serving related workers, all other	100	1.4	14.45	30,060
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_18880.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.