Workers in the Corpus Christi, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $26.75 in May 2024, compared to the nationwide average of $32.66, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Michael Hirniak noted that higher paying major occupational groups included legal ($55.63), management ($54.91), and architecture and engineering ($46.13). Lower paying occupations included food preparation and serving related ($14.04), healthcare support ($14.46), and building and grounds cleaning and maintenance ($15.08). (See table A.)

Occupational groups with the highest employment in the Corpus Christi area included office and administrative support (12.2 percent), food preparation and serving related (11.5 percent), and sales and related (8.2 percent). Major occupational groups on the lower end of local employment included arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media (0.7 percent); legal (0.8 percent); and life, physical, and social science (0.9 percent).

One occupational group—construction and extraction—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Corpus Christi had 12,030 jobs in construction and extraction occupations, accounting for 6.4 percent of local area employment, compared to the 4.1-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $25.18, compared to the national wage of $30.73.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the construction and extraction group included construction laborers (2,270), first-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers (1,820), and electricians (980). Among the higher paying jobs in this group were first-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers ($35.14) and boilermakers ($31.89). At the lower end of the wage scale were highway maintenance workers ($18.30) and construction laborers ($19.09). (Detailed data for the construction and extraction occupations are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to https://data.bls.gov/oes/#/area/0018580.)

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 Corpus Christi area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the construction and extraction group. For instance, boilermakers were employed at 6.36 times the national rate in Corpus Christi, and paving, surfacing, and tamping equipment operators at 3.09 times the U.S. average. Electricians had a location quotient of 1.09 in Corpus Christi, 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 Texas Workforce Commission.

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 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 65.7 percent based on establishments and 65.9 percent based on weighted sampled employment. The sample in the Corpus Christi, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area included 1,875 establishments with a response rate of 51 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 Corpus Christi, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Aransas County, Nueces County, and San Patricio 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.