Workers in the Killeen-Temple, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $28.28 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 healthcare practitioners and technical ($61.58), management ($52.11), and legal ($44.46). Lower paying occupations included food preparation and serving related ($13.95), personal care and service ($15.28), and building and grounds cleaning and maintenance ($15.50). (See table A.)

Occupational groups with the highest employment in the Killeen area included office and administrative support (11.7 percent), food preparation and serving related (10.7 percent), and healthcare practitioners and technical (10.3 percent). Major occupational groups on the lower end of local employment included legal (0.4 percent); life, physical, and social science (0.7 percent); and arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media (0.8 percent).

One occupational group—healthcare practitioners and technical—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Killeen had 15,250 jobs in healthcare practitioners and technical, accounting for 10.3 percent of local area employment, compared to the 6.2-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $61.58, compared to the national wage of $50.59.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group included registered nurses (5,440), licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses (1,280), and pharmacy technicians (560). Among the higher paying jobs in this group were general dentists ($98.68) and physician assistants ($67.10). At the lower end of the wage scale were emergency medical technicians ($16.18) and veterinary technologists and technicians ($17.36). (Detailed data for the healthcare practitioners and technical occupations are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to https://data.bls.gov/oes/#/area/0028660.)

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 Killeen area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group. For instance, family medicine physicians were employed at 2.41 times the national rate in Killeen, and physician assistants, at 2.15 times the U.S. average. Pharmacy technicians had a location quotient of 1.19 in Killeen, 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 Killeen-Temple, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area included 1,514 establishments with a response rate of 62 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 Killeen-Temple, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Bell County, Coryell County, and Lampasas 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 healthcare practitioners and technical occupations, Killeen metropolitan area, May 2024

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages ($)
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations	15,250	1.65	61.58	128,090
Chiropractors	30	0.84	(5)	(5)
Dentists, general	80	0.69	98.68	205,250
Dietitians and nutritionists	130	1.81	32.04	66,650
Pharmacists	380	1.20	64.67	134,510
Physician assistants	320	2.15	67.10	139,580
Occupational therapists	200	1.37	45.96	95,590
Physical therapists	370	1.56	47.29	98,350
Respiratory therapists	250	1.93	35.18	73,180
Speech-language pathologists	310	1.82	41.55	86,420
Veterinarians	70	0.86	63.11	131,260
Registered nurses	5,440	1.72	44.42	92,400
Nurse practitioners	460	1.55	63.95	133,020
Family medicine physicians	250	2.41	(5)	(5)
Physicians, all other	800	2.63	(5)	(5)
Dental hygienists	180	0.87	41.76	86,850
Clinical laboratory technologists and technicians	430	1.31	30.11	62,630
Cardiovascular technologists and technicians	90	1.60	26.52	55,160
Diagnostic medical sonographers	120	1.46	39.84	82,870
Radiologic technologists and technicians	380	1.78	34.74	72,250
Magnetic resonance imaging technologists	60	1.54	40.60	84,450
Emergency medical technicians	140	0.79	16.18	33,660
Paramedics	90	0.94	25.17	52,350
Pharmacy technicians	560	1.19	22.17	46,120
Psychiatric technicians	260	2.01	18.65	38,780
Surgical technologists	180	1.65	28.72	59,750
Veterinary technologists and technicians	200	1.61	17.36	36,100
Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses	1,280	2.11	29.88	62,140
Medical records specialists	260	1.42	23.97	49,850
Opticians, dispensing	60	0.78	17.36	36,120
Health technologists and technicians, all other	300	1.77	26.06	54,210
Health information technologists and medical registrars	40	1.05	32.09	66,740
(1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Killeen-Temple, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area, see https://data.bls.gov/oes/#/area/0028660. (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) Estimate not released.