Workers in the Dothan, AL Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $24.45 in May 2025, compared to the nationwide average of $33.54, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Victoria G. Lee noted that higher paying major occupational groups included management ($51.10) and architecture and engineering ($44.98). Lower paying occupational groups included food preparation and serving related ($13.14), personal care and service ($14.75), and building and grounds cleaning and maintenance ($14.82). (See table A.)

Occupational groups with the highest employment shares in the Dothan area included transportation and material moving (11.5 percent), sales and related (11.5 percent), and office and administrative support (11.2 percent). Major occupational groups on the lower end of local employment included legal (0.5 percent); life, physical, and social science (0.5 percent); and arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media (0.8 percent).

One occupational group—healthcare practitioners and technical—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Dothan had 5,820 jobs in healthcare practitioners and technical, accounting for 9.6 percent of local area employment, compared to the 6.3-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $42.76, compared to the national wage of $52.26.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group included registered nurses (1,940) and licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses (540). Among the higher paying jobs in this group were nurse anesthetists ($95.65) and pharmacists ($63.22). At the lower end of the wage scale were veterinary technologists and technicians ($15.50) and emergency medical technicians ($16.21). (Detailed data for the healthcare practitioners and technical occupations are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to data.bls.gov/oes/#/area/0020020/2025.)

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 Dothan area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group. For instance, surgical technologists were employed at 3.05 times the national rate in Dothan, and psychiatric technicians, at 2.31 times the U.S. average. Physical therapists had a location quotient of 1.12 in Dothan, 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.

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 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 66.2 percent based on establishments and 67.2 percent based on weighted sampled employment. Sample sizes and response rates by metropolitan and nonmetropolitan area are available on the Additional OEWS data sets page.

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 Dothan, AL Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Geneva County, Henry County, and Houston 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.

If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.

Table 1. Employment and wage data for healthcare practitioners and technical occupations, Dothan metropolitan area, May 2025

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages ($)
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations	5,820	1.52	42.76	88,940
Pharmacists	160	1.26	63.22	131,490
Physician assistants	40	0.70	56.69	117,910
Occupational therapists	60	0.93	45.41	94,450
Physical therapists	120	1.12	51.56	107,240
Respiratory therapists	100	1.90	28.51	59,300
Speech-language pathologists	70	0.96	39.10	81,320
Registered nurses	1,940	1.47	33.91	70,540
Nurse anesthetists	90	4.41	95.65	198,950
Nurse practitioners	260	2.05	54.31	112,950
Radiologists	(5)	(5)	(6)	(6)
Physicians, all other	220	1.62	159.11	330,960
Dental hygienists	100	1.13	27.26	56,700
Clinical laboratory technologists and technicians	240	1.82	25.01	52,020
Diagnostic medical sonographers	70	1.91	31.07	64,630
Radiologic technologists and technicians	160	1.82	26.62	55,360
Emergency medical technicians	100	1.41	16.21	33,720
Paramedics	100	2.49	20.64	42,920
Pharmacy technicians	260	1.40	19.26	40,060
Psychiatric technicians	140	2.31	17.30	35,980
Surgical technologists	140	3.05	21.34	44,390
Veterinary technologists and technicians	50	0.91	15.50	32,240
Ophthalmic medical technicians	110	4.01	16.95	35,260
Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses	540	2.13	22.80	47,430
Medical records specialists	110	1.39	19.82	41,220
Opticians, dispensing	90	3.11	16.56	34,440
Health technologists and technicians, all other	50	0.68	21.42	44,560
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Dothan, AL Metropolitan Statistical Area, see data.bls.gov/oes/#/area/0020020/2025. (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. (6) This wage is equal to or greater than $115.00 per hour or $239,200 per year.