Workers in the Tallahassee, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $25.33 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 ($48.97), legal ($42.05), and healthcare practitioners and technical ($40.67). Lower paying occupations included food preparation and serving related ($14.37), building and grounds cleaning and maintenance ($15.23), and personal care and service ($15.96). (See table A.)

Occupational groups with the highest employment in the Tallahassee area included office and administrative support (14.0 percent), business and financial operations (11.2 percent), and food preparation and serving related (9.6 percent). Major occupational groups on the lower end of local employment included architecture and engineering (1.0 percent) and both arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media and life, physical, and social science (1.3 percent each). (See table A.)

One occupational group—business and financial operations—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Tallahassee had 20,350 jobs in business and financial operations, accounting for 11.2 percent of local area employment, compared to the 6.6-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $28.71, compared to the national wage of $43.55.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the business and financial operations group included management analysts (5,700), accountants and auditors (2,340), and compliance officers (1,690). Among the higher-paying jobs in this group were personal financial advisors and financial risk specialists, with mean hourly wages of $63.12 and $52.46, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were tax examiners and collectors, and revenue agents ($17.74); compensation, benefits, and job analysis specialists ($20.32); and compliance officers ($21.04). (Detailed data for the business and financial operations occupations are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available, go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_45220.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 Tallahassee area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the business and financial operations group. For instance, tax examiners and collectors, and revenue agents were employed at 8.7 times the national rate in Tallahassee, and management analysts, at 5.7 times the U.S. average. Project management specialists had a location quotient of 1.1 in Tallahassee, 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 Tallahassee, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area included 1,793 establishments with a response rate of 59 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 Tallahassee, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Gadsden County, Jefferson County, Leon County, and Wakulla 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 business and financial operations occupations, Tallahassee metropolitan area, May 2023

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages ($)
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Business and financial operations occupations	20,350	1.7	28.71	59,710
Buyers and purchasing agents	480	0.8	26.50	55,120
Claims adjusters, examiners, and investigators	640	1.8	29.45	61,260
Compliance officers	1,690	3.7	21.04	43,760
Cost estimators	210	0.8	30.94	64,360
Human resources specialists	1,270	1.2	26.57	55,270
Labor relations specialists	140	1.8	35.95	74,780
Logisticians	110	0.4	29.94	62,260
Project management specialists	1,180	1.1	42.20	87,780
Management analysts	5,700	5.7	27.21	56,590
Meeting, convention, and event planners	150	1.0	26.25	54,600
Fundraisers	180	1.5	28.84	59,990
Compensation, benefits, and job analysis specialists	420	3.5	20.32	42,260
Training and development specialists	610	1.3	26.82	55,780
Market research analysts and marketing specialists	890	0.9	30.46	63,350
Business operations specialists, all other	1,930	1.5	31.72	65,980
Accountants and auditors	2,340	1.4	28.70	59,690
Property appraisers and assessors	70	1.0	29.44	61,220
Budget analysts	160	2.8	31.11	64,720
Credit analysts	50	0.6	36.22	75,330
Financial and investment analysts	300	0.8	33.28	69,210
Personal financial advisors	230	0.7	63.12	131,290
Insurance underwriters	160	1.3	28.15	58,550
Financial risk specialists	60	0.9	52.46	109,120
Financial examiners	150	2.0	24.30	50,550
Loan officers	400	1.1	32.66	67,930
Tax examiners and collectors, and revenue agents	520	8.7	17.74	36,890
Financial specialists, all other	130	0.9	25.14	52,280
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Tallahassee, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_45220.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.