Workers in the Gainesville, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $27.45 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 ($55.15), healthcare practitioners and technical ($43.52), and legal ($41.45). Lower paying occupations included food preparation and serving related ($15.69), building and grounds cleaning and maintenance ($16.62), and personal care and service ($16.64). (See table A.)

Occupational groups with the highest employment in the Gainesville area included office and administrative support (14.7 percent), healthcare practitioners and technical (10.7 percent), and food preparation and serving related (9.6 percent). Major occupational groups on the lower end of local employment included legal (0.7 percent); architecture and engineering (1.0 percent); life, physical, and social science (1.1 percent); and arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media (1.2 percent). (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. Gainesville had 15,090 jobs in healthcare practitioners and technical, accounting for 10.7 percent of local area employment, compared to the 6.1-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $43.52, compared to the national wage of $49.07.

Registered nurses (6,410) was among the larger detailed occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group. Among the higher-paying jobs in this group were family medicine physicians and nurse anesthetists, with mean hourly wages of $126.24 and $98.79, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were veterinary technologists and technicians ($18.74) and ophthalmic medical technicians ($18.77). (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_23540.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 Gainesville area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group. For instance, clinical laboratory technologists and technicians were employed at 2.8 times the national rate in Gainesville, and registered nurses, at 2.2 times the U.S. average. Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses had a location quotient of 1.0 in Gainesville, 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 Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.

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 Gainesville, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area included 1,534 establishments with a response rate of 60 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 Gainesville, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Alachua County and Gilchrist 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 healthcare practitioners and technical occupations, Gainesville metropolitan area, May 2023

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages ($)
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations	15,090	1.8	43.52	90,530
Dentists, general	140	1.2	87.38	181,740
Dietitians and nutritionists	110	1.5	32.88	68,400
Pharmacists	440	1.4	56.72	117,970
Physician assistants	230	1.7	59.82	124,420
Occupational therapists	240	1.8	41.37	86,050
Physical therapists	350	1.6	44.41	92,370
Respiratory therapists	240	2.0	33.17	68,990
Speech-language pathologists	180	1.1	40.84	84,940
Veterinarians	110	1.5	61.16	127,210
Registered nurses	6,410	2.2	41.18	85,650
Nurse anesthetists	(5)	(5)	98.79	205,480
Nurse practitioners	390	1.5	59.30	123,340
Family medicine physicians	(5)	(5)	126.24	262,580
Physicians, all other	500	1.7	132.63	275,860
Dental hygienists	210	1.1	37.67	78,360
Clinical laboratory technologists and technicians	860	2.8	27.40	57,000
Cardiovascular technologists and technicians	140	2.7	35.72	74,300
Diagnostic medical sonographers	150	1.9	34.17	71,080
Nuclear medicine technologists	30	2.2	38.17	79,390
Radiologic technologists and technicians	420	2.0	32.47	67,530
Paramedics	120	1.3	26.75	55,640
Pharmacy technicians	670	1.6	20.70	43,050
Psychiatric technicians	260	2.4	20.43	42,490
Veterinary technologists and technicians	190	1.7	18.74	38,990
Ophthalmic medical technicians	60	0.9	18.77	39,050
Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses	600	1.0	26.35	54,800
Medical records specialists	340	2.0	26.87	55,890
Opticians, dispensing	40	0.5	24.94	51,860
Health technologists and technicians, all other	350	2.2	24.03	49,980
Athletic trainers	80	3.0	(6)	57,990
Healthcare practitioners and technical workers, all other	60	1.8	28.35	58,970
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Gainesville, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_23540.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. (6) Wages for some occupations that do not generally work year-round, full time, are reported either as hourly wages or annual salaries depending on how they are typically paid.