Workers in the Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $28.18 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 ($56.67) and legal ($51.28). Lower paying occupational groups included food preparation and serving related ($17.13), building and grounds cleaning and maintenance ($17.48), and personal care and service ($18.36). (See table A.)

Occupational groups with the highest employment shares in the Pensacola area included office and administrative support (12.4 percent), food preparation and serving related (11.8 percent), and sales and related (10.6 percent). Major occupational groups on the lower end of local employment included life, physical, and social science (0.6 percent); arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media (1.0 percent); and legal (1.0 percent).

One occupational group—installation, maintenance, and repair—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Pensacola had 9,810 jobs in installation, maintenance, and repair, accounting for 5.2 percent of local area employment, compared to the 3.9-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $27.42, compared to the national wage of $30.44.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the installation, maintenance, and repair group included general maintenance and repair workers (2,430) and automotive service technicians and mechanics (1,190). Among the higher paying jobs in this group were electrical power-line installers and repairers ($40.83); first-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers ($36.99); and avionics technicians ($36.73). At the lower end of the wage scale were tire repairers and changers ($16.54) and helpers of installation, maintenance, and repair workers ($19.50). (Detailed data for the installation, maintenance, and repair occupations are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to data.bls.gov/oes/#/area/0037860/2025.)

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 Pensacola area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the installation, maintenance, and repair group. For instance, aircraft mechanics and service technicians were employed at 3.91 times the national rate in Pensacola, and heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers, at 1.89 times the U.S. average. Mobile heavy equipment mechanics, except engines, had a location quotient of 0.95 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 Commerce.

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 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.

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 installation, maintenance, and repair occupations, Pensacola metropolitan area, May 2025

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages ($)
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	9,810	1.32	27.42	57,030
First-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers	1,030	1.37	36.99	76,940
Computer, automated teller, and office machine repairers	60	0.72	23.46	48,810
Telecommunications equipment installers and repairers, except line installers	320	1.84	31.39	65,280
Avionics technicians	70	3.22	36.73	76,400
Electrical and electronics repairers, commercial and industrial equipment	90	1.19	33.82	70,350
Audiovisual equipment installers and repairers	50	1.89	23.46	48,800
Security and fire alarm systems installers	110	1.02	26.69	55,500
Aircraft mechanics and service technicians	660	3.91	32.81	68,240
Automotive body and related repairers	320	1.73	26.19	54,480
Automotive glass installers and repairers	90	3.70	24.16	50,260
Automotive service technicians and mechanics	1,190	1.37	24.25	50,440
Bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists	290	0.83	28.05	58,340
Mobile heavy equipment mechanics, except engines	210	0.95	29.97	62,340
Motorboat mechanics and service technicians	80	2.80	25.91	53,890
Outdoor power equipment and other small engine mechanics	80	1.71	22.77	47,360
Tire repairers and changers	210	1.56	16.54	34,410
Mechanical door repairers	40	1.34	24.81	51,590
Control and valve installers and repairers, except mechanical door	50	0.77	29.74	61,850
Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers	950	1.89	27.03	56,230
Home appliance repairers	40	1.09	26.79	55,720
Industrial machinery mechanics	370	0.68	29.20	60,730
Maintenance workers, machinery	30	0.43	26.09	54,280
Electrical power-line installers and repairers	210	1.33	40.83	84,930
Telecommunications line installers and repairers	120	0.98	26.39	54,900
Medical equipment repairers	40	0.48	26.04	54,160
Maintenance and repair workers, general	2,430	1.29	23.75	49,410
Coin, vending, and amusement machine servicers and repairers	30	1.03	22.04	45,840
Helpers--installation, maintenance, and repair workers	170	1.45	19.50	40,560
Installation, maintenance, and repair workers, all other	290	1.36	21.77	45,280
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area, see data.bls.gov/oes/#/area/0037860/2025. (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.