Workers in the College Station-Bryan, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $26.84 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 management ($53.28), legal ($44.08), and healthcare practitioners and technical ($40.88). Lower paying occupations included food preparation and serving related ($14.35), building and grounds cleaning and maintenance ($15.95), and healthcare support ($16.02). (See table A.)

Occupational groups with the highest employment in the College Station area included office and administrative support (14.5 percent), educational instruction and library (13.6 percent), and food preparation and serving related (12.1 percent). Major occupational groups on the lower end of local employment included legal (0.6 percent); arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media (1.1 percent); and architecture and engineering (1.1 percent).

One occupational group—educational instruction and library—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. College Station had 17,960 jobs in educational instruction and library, accounting for 13.6 percent of local area employment, compared to the 5.8-percent share nationally. The average annual wage for this occupational group locally was $76,770, compared to the national wage of $65,900.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the educational instruction and library group included postsecondary teaching assistants (3,380), teaching assistants, except postsecondary (1,470), and postsecondary engineering teachers (1,200). Among the higher paying jobs in this group were postsecondary health specialties teachers ($163,980) and postsecondary business teachers ($147,510). At the lower end of the wage scale were all other educational instruction and library workers ($28,530) and teaching assistants, except postsecondary ($30,480). (Detailed data for the educational instruction and library occupations are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to https://data.bls.gov/oes/#/area/0017780.)

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 College Station area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the educational instruction and library group. For instance, postsecondary agricultural sciences teachers were employed at 71.26 times the national rate in College Station, and postsecondary engineering teachers, at 34.95 times the U.S. average. Kindergarten and elementary school special education teachers had a location quotient of 1.02 in College Station, 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.

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 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 College Station-Bryan, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area included 1,295 establishments with a response rate of 56 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 College Station-Bryan, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Brazos County, Burleson County, and Robertson 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 educational instruction and library occupations, College Station metropolitan area, May 2024

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages ($)
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Educational instruction and library occupations	17,960	2.34	36.91	76,770
Business teachers, postsecondary	450	6.39	(5)	147,510
Computer science teachers, postsecondary	190	6.17	(5)	111,880
Mathematical science teachers, postsecondary	350	8.31	(5)	119,300
Architecture teachers, postsecondary	180	22.85	(5)	121,800
Engineering teachers, postsecondary	1,200	34.95	(5)	132,460
Agricultural sciences teachers, postsecondary	530	71.26	(5)	124,920
Biological science teachers, postsecondary	350	7.64	(5)	104,590
Atmospheric, earth, marine, and space sciences teachers, postsecondary	110	11.58	(5)	145,630
Chemistry teachers, postsecondary	110	6.20	(5)	132,810
Physics teachers, postsecondary	110	9.07	(5)	138,670
Anthropology and archeology teachers, postsecondary	30	6.70	(5)	103,000
Economics teachers, postsecondary	60	5.57	(5)	188,790
Geography teachers, postsecondary	60	19.98	(5)	98,160
Political science teachers, postsecondary	130	8.73	(5)	134,750
Psychology teachers, postsecondary	200	5.54	(5)	112,260
Sociology teachers, postsecondary	40	4.19	(5)	114,150
Health specialties teachers, postsecondary	750	3.82	(5)	163,980
Nursing instructors and teachers, postsecondary	170	2.69	(5)	96,430
Education teachers, postsecondary	310	6.13	(5)	93,630
Criminal justice and law enforcement teachers, postsecondary	40	3.21	(5)	73,590
Art, drama, and music teachers, postsecondary	300	3.58	(5)	100,560
English language and literature teachers, postsecondary	180	3.47	(5)	105,950
Foreign language and literature teachers, postsecondary	80	4.37	(5)	92,190
History teachers, postsecondary	90	4.99	(5)	101,080
Philosophy and religion teachers, postsecondary	30	1.69	(5)	113,090
Recreation and fitness studies teachers, postsecondary	150	13.85	(5)	82,360
Career/technical education teachers, postsecondary	470	4.95	38.92	80,960
Postsecondary teachers, all other	150	1.13	(5)	109,130
Preschool teachers, except special education	270	0.69	17.13	35,620
Kindergarten teachers, except special education	100	0.97	(5)	54,570
Elementary school teachers, except special education	1,130	0.95	(5)	58,700
Middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education	610	1.14	(5)	56,300
Career/technical education teachers, middle school	30	2.54	(5)	59,210
Secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education	860	0.93	(5)	58,230
Career/technical education teachers, secondary school	190	2.17	(5)	65,500
Special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school	200	1.02	(5)	56,880
Special education teachers, middle school	30	0.42	(5)	58,180
Special education teachers, secondary school	30	0.22	(5)	58,200
Special education teachers, all other	210	6.16	(5)	65,370
Self-enrichment teachers	140	0.52	16.18	33,650
Substitute teachers, short-term	110	0.26	12.34	25,660
Tutors	120	0.82	14.48	30,110
Teachers and instructors, all other	100	0.98	(5)	47,030
Librarians and media collections specialists	150	1.30	32.92	68,470
Library technicians	110	1.71	18.97	39,460
Instructional coordinators	400	2.20	29.92	62,230
Teaching assistants, postsecondary	3,380	25.38	(5)	50,500
Teaching assistants, except postsecondary	1,470	1.24	(5)	30,480
Educational instruction and library workers, all other	1,120	11.37	13.72	28,530
(1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the College Station-Bryan, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area, see https://data.bls.gov/oes/#/area/0017780. (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) 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.