Workers in the Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $25.85 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 ($53.31) and legal ($46.63). Lower paying occupations included food preparation and serving related ($15.06), building and grounds cleaning and maintenance ($15.81), and personal care and service ($16.31). (See table A.)

Occupational groups with the highest employment in the Pensacola area included office and administrative support (13.1 percent), food preparation and serving related (12.1 percent), and sales and related (10.3 percent). Major occupational groups on the lower end of local employment included life, physical, and social science (0.6 percent) and both arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media and architecture and engineering (1.0 percent each). (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. Pensacola had 14,520 jobs in healthcare practitioners and technical, accounting for 7.9 percent of local area employment, compared to the 6.1-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $42.03, compared to the national wage of $49.07.

Among the larger detailed occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group was registered nurses (5,320). Among the higher-paying jobs in this group were family medicine physicians and general dentists, with mean hourly wages of $118.67 and $82.31, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were emergency medical technicians ($16.60) and veterinary technologists and technicians ($18.61). (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_37860.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 Pensacola area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group. For instance, psychiatric technicians were employed at 2.2 times the national rate in Pensacola, and surgical technologists, at 2.1 times the U.S. average. Emergency medical technicians had a location quotient of 1.0 in Pensacola, 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 Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area included 1,968 establishments with a response rate of 65 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 Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Escambia County and Santa Rosa 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, Pensacola metropolitan area, May 2023

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages ($)
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations	14,520	1.3	42.03	87,420
Chiropractors	70	1.3	44.54	92,650
Dentists, general	150	1.0	82.31	171,210
Dietitians and nutritionists	90	1.0	31.36	65,230
Optometrists	50	1.0	58.96	122,650
Pharmacists	430	1.1	62.96	130,960
Physician assistants	230	1.3	58.64	121,970
Occupational therapists	210	1.2	40.69	84,630
Physical therapists	350	1.2	44.67	92,920
Radiation therapists	50	2.3	43.29	90,040
Respiratory therapists	180	1.1	35.22	73,260
Speech-language pathologists	190	0.9	41.65	86,630
Veterinarians	110	1.1	73.60	153,100
Registered nurses	5,320	1.4	36.41	75,730
Nurse practitioners	560	1.7	58.59	121,870
Anesthesiologists	80	2.0	152.41	317,010
Cardiologists	40	2.2	(5)	(5)
Family medicine physicians	100	0.8	118.67	246,840
General internal medicine physicians	(6)	(6)	102.11	212,390
Physicians, all other	310	0.8	141.76	294,860
Ophthalmologists, except pediatric	70	4.8	(6)	(6)
Dental hygienists	300	1.2	36.85	76,640
Clinical laboratory technologists and technicians	520	1.3	27.83	57,890
Cardiovascular technologists and technicians	140	2.1	29.65	61,660
Diagnostic medical sonographers	110	1.1	35.30	73,430
Nuclear medicine technologists	70	3.5	41.09	85,470
Radiologic technologists and technicians	330	1.2	30.07	62,550
Magnetic resonance imaging technologists	60	1.3	36.95	76,860
Emergency medical technicians	200	1.0	16.60	34,520
Paramedics	180	1.5	23.31	48,480
Pharmacy technicians	650	1.2	19.02	39,570
Psychiatric technicians	310	2.2	19.01	39,540
Surgical technologists	280	2.1	24.99	51,980
Veterinary technologists and technicians	270	1.8	18.61	38,720
Ophthalmic medical technicians	150	1.7	20.13	41,860
Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses	940	1.2	25.55	53,150
Medical records specialists	360	1.6	21.28	44,260
Opticians, dispensing	110	1.2	23.82	49,540
Health technologists and technicians, all other	260	1.2	21.74	45,230
Health information technologists and medical registrars	60	1.4	32.87	68,380
Athletic trainers	70	2.1	(7)	55,120
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_37860.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) This wage is equal to or greater than $115.00 per hour or $239,200 per year. (6) Estimate not released. (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.