Workers in the Kingsport-Bristol-Bristol, TN-VA Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $25.31 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 ($55.53) and legal ($51.35). Lower paying occupations included food preparation and serving related ($14.05), personal care and service ($15.06), building and grounds cleaning and maintenance ($16.16), and healthcare support ($16.56). (See table A.)

Occupational groups with the highest employment in the Kingsport area included office and administrative support (12.5 percent), production (10.2 percent), food preparation and serving related (10.0 percent), and transportation and material moving (9.9 percent). Major occupational groups on the lower end of local employment included legal (0.5 percent); arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media (0.9 percent); and life, physical, and social science (1.0 percent). (See table A.)

One occupational group—production—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Kingsport had 11,800 jobs in production, accounting for 10.2 percent of local area employment, compared to the 5.8-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $22.60, compared to the national wage of $22.90.

Miscellaneous assemblers and fabricators (2,110) was among the larger detailed occupations within the production group. Among the higher-paying jobs in this group was first-line supervisors of production and operating workers, with a mean hourly wage of $35.85. At the lower end of the wage scale were laundry and dry-cleaning workers ($12.68); bakers ($14.09); and meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers ($14.18). (Detailed data for the production occupations are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available, go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_28700.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 Kingsport area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the production group. For instance, coil winders, tapers, and finishers were employed at 6.1 times the national rate in Kingsport, and metal and plastic extruding and drawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, at 4.5 times the U.S. average. Molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic, had a location quotient of 0.9 in Kingsport, 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 Tennessee Department of Labor & Workforce Development and the Virginia Employment Commission.

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 Kingsport-Bristol-Bristol, TN-VA Metropolitan Statistical Area included 1,751 establishments with a response rate of 61 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 Kingsport-Bristol-Bristol, TN-VA Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Hawkins County, TN; Sullivan County, TN; Bristol city, VA; Scott County, VA; and Washington County, VA.

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 production occupations, Kingsport metropolitan area, May 2023

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages ($)
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Production occupations	11,800	1.8	22.60	47,010
First-line supervisors of production and operating workers	930	1.8	35.85	74,560
Coil winders, tapers, and finishers	60	6.1	21.48	44,690
Electrical, electronic, and electromechanical assemblers, except coil winders, tapers, and finishers	280	1.4	19.75	41,090
Structural metal fabricators and fitters	80	1.8	18.72	38,940
Miscellaneous assemblers and fabricators	2,110	1.9	19.00	39,510
Bakers	140	0.8	14.09	29,310
Butchers and meat cutters	60	0.6	16.84	35,020
Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers	60	0.6	14.18	29,490
Food processing workers, all other	50	1.1	17.99	37,410
Extruding and drawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic	220	4.5	18.43	38,330
Forging machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic	110	15.1	16.18	33,650
Rolling machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic	60	3.1	18.36	38,200
Cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic	270	2.0	18.71	38,910
Grinding, lapping, polishing, and buffing machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic	100	1.8	19.93	41,460
Machinists	350	1.6	25.37	52,770
Molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic	110	0.9	16.57	34,470
Tool and die makers	100	2.2	20.86	43,390
Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers	390	1.2	22.57	46,950
Prepress technicians and workers	60	3.3	18.20	37,860
Printing press operators	200	1.7	19.31	40,170
Print binding and finishing workers	30	1.1	18.05	37,540
Laundry and dry-cleaning workers	100	0.7	12.68	26,370
Sewing machine operators	60	0.7	15.17	31,550
Extruding and forming machine setters, operators, and tenders, synthetic and glass fibers	40	3.8	24.04	50,010
Power plant operators	40	1.6	(5)	(5)
Water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators	150	1.7	23.68	49,250
Crushing, grinding, and polishing machine setters, operators, and tenders	40	1.8	19.62	40,810
Mixing and blending machine setters, operators, and tenders	110	1.4	19.35	40,250
Cutting and slicing machine setters, operators, and tenders	80	2.1	17.05	35,470
Extruding, forming, pressing, and compacting machine setters, operators, and tenders	220	4.9	18.05	37,550
Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers	720	1.6	21.36	44,430
Packaging and filling machine operators and tenders	130	0.5	19.77	41,120
Coating, painting, and spraying machine setters, operators, and tenders	280	2.3	23.48	48,850
Computer numerically controlled tool operators	40	0.3	20.58	42,810
Molders, shapers, and casters, except metal and plastic	(5)	(5)	20.78	43,230
Helpers--production workers	290	2.1	18.53	38,550
Production workers, all other	540	2.9	17.42	36,240
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Kingsport-Bristol-Bristol, TN-VA Metropolitan Statistical Area, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_28700.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.