Workers in the Jackson, MS Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $25.86 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 ($53.69), legal ($45.28), and architecture and engineering ($44.29). Lower paying occupational groups included food preparation and serving related ($12.97), building and grounds cleaning and maintenance ($14.76), personal care and service ($15.41), and healthcare support ($15.49). (See table A.)

Occupational groups with the highest employment in the Jackson area included office and administrative support (12.2 percent), transportation and material moving (9.8 percent), and sales and related (9.0 percent). Major occupational groups on the lower end of local employment included life, physical, and social science (0.7 percent); arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media (0.9 percent); and legal (0.9 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. Jackson had 23,480 jobs in healthcare practitioners and technical, accounting for 8.7 percent of local area employment, compared to the 6.2-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $41.48, compared to the national wage of $50.59.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group included registered nurses (9,540), licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses (2,130), and nurse practitioners (940). Among the higher paying jobs in this group were general internal medicine physicians ($152.26) and family medicine physicians ($111.11). At the lower end of the wage scale were emergency medical technicians ($15.49) and psychiatric technicians ($16.71). (Detailed data for the healthcare practitioners and technical occupations are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to https://data.bls.gov/oes/#/area/0027140.)

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 Jackson area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group. For instance, respiratory therapists were employed at 2.29 times the national rate in Jackson, and surgical technologists, at 1.99 times the U.S. average. Pharmacy technicians had a location quotient of 1.02 in Jackson, 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 Mississippi Department of Employment Security.

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 65.7 percent based on establishments and 65.9 percent based on weighted sampled employment. The sample in the Jackson, MS Metropolitan Statistical Area included 2,312 establishments with a response rate of 81 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 Jackson, MS Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Copiah County, Hinds County, Holmes County, Madison County, Rankin County, Scott County, Simpson County, and Yazoo 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, Jackson metropolitan area, May 2024

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages ($)
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations	23,480	1.4	41.48	86,280
Chiropractors	30	0.53	59.47	123,690
Dentists, general	230	1.16	58.79	122,280
Dietitians and nutritionists	160	1.18	31.47	65,460
Optometrists	70	0.98	59.85	124,480
Pharmacists	840	1.47	59.46	123,680
Physician assistants	130	0.49	42.65	88,720
Occupational therapists	380	1.42	44.79	93,150
Physical therapists	580	1.33	47.45	98,700
Recreational therapists	70	2.65	21.83	45,400
Respiratory therapists	540	2.29	42.56	88,520
Speech-language pathologists	350	1.12	39.57	82,310
Veterinarians	110	0.81	52.02	108,210
Registered nurses	9,540	1.67	41.26	85,820
Nurse anesthetists	(5)	(5)	94.05	195,620
Nurse practitioners	940	1.75	61.39	127,680
Emergency medicine physicians	110	1.92	(6)	(6)
Family medicine physicians	150	0.80	111.11	231,100
General internal medicine physicians	60	0.48	152.26	316,700
Psychiatrists	40	0.90	83.44	173,560
Physicians, all other	400	0.73	154.99	322,390
Dental hygienists	300	0.80	35.70	74,260
Clinical laboratory technologists and technicians	870	1.46	28.85	60,000
Cardiovascular technologists and technicians	160	1.52	26.21	54,530
Diagnostic medical sonographers	190	1.23	37.66	78,330
Nuclear medicine technologists	50	1.68	39.46	82,070
Radiologic technologists and technicians	610	1.57	28.37	59,020
Magnetic resonance imaging technologists	90	1.19	34.77	72,330
Emergency medical technicians	350	1.12	15.49	32,210
Paramedics	230	1.31	24.05	50,030
Pharmacy technicians	870	1.02	19.34	40,230
Psychiatric technicians	230	0.96	16.71	34,750
Surgical technologists	400	1.99	26.01	54,090
Veterinary technologists and technicians	180	0.80	17.92	37,270
Ophthalmic medical technicians	220	1.66	20.41	42,440
Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses	2,130	1.93	25.14	52,280
Medical records specialists	640	1.95	20.34	42,300
Opticians, dispensing	140	1.02	17.65	36,710
Health technologists and technicians, all other	460	1.51	20.97	43,620
Health information technologists and medical registrars	40	0.63	20.69	43,030
Athletic trainers	(5)	(5)	(7)	56,370
Healthcare practitioners and technical workers, all other	50	0.81	27.52	57,240
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Jackson, MS Metropolitan Statistical Area, see https://data.bls.gov/oes/#/area/0027140. (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. (7) 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.