Workers in the Santa Fe Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $20.99 in May 2015, about 10 percent below the nationwide average of $23.23, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Stanley W. Suchman noted that, after testing for statistical significance, wages in the local area were lower than their respective national averages in 14 of the 22 major occupational groups, including legal; architecture and engineering; and management. Only one group, food preparation and serving related workers, had wages that were measurably higher than the national average. Wage levels in the seven remaining occupational groups were not measurably different from the United States averages.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, local employment was more highly concentrated in 11 of the 22 occupational groups, including food preparation and serving related; personal care and service; and sales and related. Conversely, 10 groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including production; transportation and material moving; and office and administrative support. (See table A and box note at end of release.)

Table A. Occupational employment and wages by major occupational group, United States and the Santa Fe Metropolitan Statistical Area, and measures of statistical significance, May 2015

Major occupational group	Percent of total employment			Mean hourly wage
	United States	Santa Fe		United States	Santa Fe		Percent difference(1)
Total, all occupations	100.0%	100.0%		$23.23	$20.99	*	-10
Management	5.0	6.5	*	55.30	42.38	*	-23
Business and financial operations	5.1	6.3	*	35.48	27.84	*	-22
Computer and mathematical	2.9	2.2	*	41.43	34.02	*	-18
Architecture and engineering	1.8	1.3	*	39.89	29.47	*	-26
Life, physical, and social science	0.8	1.7	*	34.24	29.27	*	-15
Community and social service	1.4	2.0	*	22.19	21.82		-2
Legal	0.8	1.3	*	49.74	36.50	*	-27
Education, training, and library	6.2	5.5	*	25.48	26.03		2
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media	1.3	1.8	*	27.39	23.87	*	-13
Healthcare practitioners and technical	5.8	4.6	*	37.40	38.56		3
Healthcare support	2.9	2.4	*	14.19	14.56		3
Protective service	2.4	3.2	*	21.45	17.59	*	-18
Food preparation and serving related	9.1	12.0	*	10.98	12.36	*	13
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance	3.2	3.8	*	13.02	12.87		-1
Personal care and service	3.1	4.9	*	12.33	11.91		-3
Sales and related	10.5	12.1	*	18.90	15.96	*	-16
Office and administrative support	15.8	14.6	*	17.47	17.42		0
Farming, fishing, and forestry	0.3	0.1	*	12.67	10.59	*	-16
Construction and extraction	4.0	4.3		22.88	17.91	*	-22
Installation, maintenance, and repair	3.9	3.0	*	22.11	19.54	*	-12
Production	6.6	2.1	*	17.41	16.26	*	-7
Transportation and material moving	6.9	4.2	*	16.90	14.82	*	-12
(1) A positive percent difference measures how much the mean wage in Santa Fe is above the national mean wage, while a negative difference reflects a lower wage.
Note: * The percent share of employment or mean hourly wage for this area is significantly different from the national average of all areas at the 90-percent confidence level.

One occupational group–food preparation and serving related–was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Santa Fe had 7,170 jobs in food preparation and serving related, accounting for 12.0 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 9.1-percent national share. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $12.36, about 13 percent above the national average of $10.98.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the food preparation and serving related group included waiters and waitresses (1,810), restaurant cooks (850), and combined food preparation and serving related workers, including fast food (760). Among the higher paying jobs were chefs and head cooks, as well as first-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers, with mean hourly wages of $28.73 and $15.22, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were combined food preparation and serving related workers, including fast food ($9.51) and dishwashers ($10.43). (Detailed occupational data for food preparation and serving related workers are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of all occupations go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_42140.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 Santa Fe metropolitan area, above average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the food preparation and serving related group. For instance, dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers were employed at 2.8 times the national rate in Santa Fe, and dishwashers, at 2.3 times the U.S. average. Both location quotients were among the highest in all metropolitan areas for these particular occupations. On the other hand, institution and cafeteria cooks had a location quotient of 1.0 in Santa Fe, indicating that this particular occupation’s local and national employment shares were similar.

These statistics are from the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey, a federal-state cooperative program between BLS and State Workforce Agencies, in this case, the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions.

Technical Note

The Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey is a semiannual mail survey measuring occupational employment and wage rates for wage and salary workers in nonfarm establishments in the United States. The OES program produces employment and wage estimates for over 800 occupations for all industries combined in the nation; the 50 states and the District of Columbia; 432 metropolitan areas and divisions; 167 nonmetropolitan areas; and Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. National estimates are also available by industry for NAICS sectors, 3-, 4-, and selected 5- and 6-digit industries, and by ownership across all industries and for schools and hospitals. OES data are available at www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm.

OES estimates are constructed from a sample of about 1.2 million establishments. Forms are mailed to approximately 200,000 sampled establishments in May and November each year. May 2015 estimates are based on responses from six semiannual panels collected over a 3-year period: May 2015, November 2014, May 2014, November 2013, May 2013, and November 2012. The overall national response rate for the six panels is 73.5 percent based on establishments and 69.6 percent based on weighted sampled employment. The unweighted employment of sampled establishments across all six semiannual panels represents approximately 57.9 percent of total national employment. (Response rates are slightly lower for these estimates due to the federal shutdown in October 2013.) The sample in the Santa Fe Metropolitan Statistical Area included 1,125 establishments with a response rate of 83 percent. For more information about OES concepts and methodology, go to www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.tn.htm.

The May 2015 OES estimates are based on the 2010 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system and the 2012 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). Information about the 2010 SOC is available on the BLS website at www.bls.gov/soc and information about the 2012 NAICS is available at www.bls.gov/bls/naics.htm.

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 Santa Fe Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) includes Santa Fe County in New Mexico.

Additional information

OES data are available on our regional web page at www.bls.gov/regions/southwest. Answers to frequently asked questions about the OES data are available at www.bls.gov/oes/oes_ques.htm. Detailed technical information about the OES survey is available in our Survey Methods and Reliability Statement on the BLS website at www.bls.gov/oes/current/methods_statement.pdf.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.

Table 1. Employment and wage data from the Occupational Employment Statistics survey, by occupation, Santa Fe Metropolitan Statistical Area, May 2015

Occupation(1)	Employment		Mean wages
	Level(2)	Location quotient(3)	Hourly	Annual(4)
Food preparation and serving related occupations	7,170	1.3	$12.36	$25,710
Chefs and head cooks	110	1.9	28.73	59,760
First-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers	610	1.6	15.22	31,650
Cooks, fast food	(5)	(5)	10.18	21,170
Cooks, institution and cafeteria	180	1.0	14.16	29,450
Cooks, restaurant	850	1.7	12.57	26,140
Food preparation workers	580	1.6	11.19	23,280
Bartenders	320	1.3	15.31	31,850
Combined food preparation and serving workers, including fast food	760	0.5	9.51	19,780
Counter attendants, cafeteria, food concession, and coffee shop	250	1.2	9.60	19,960
Waiters and waitresses	1,810	1.7	12.06	25,080
Food servers, nonrestaurant	(5)	(5)	10.35	21,520
Dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers	500	2.8	11.30	23,500
Dishwashers	490	2.3	10.43	21,700
Hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop	330	1.9	11.56	24,030
(1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Santa Fe MSA, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_42140.htm. (2) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations 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) Estimates not released.