Workers in the Lubbock, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $24.89 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 ($50.56), healthcare practitioners and technical ($42.43), and legal ($41.93). Lower paying occupations included food preparation and serving related ($13.48), personal care and service ($14.84), and building and grounds cleaning and maintenance ($15.03). (See table A.)

Occupational groups with the highest employment in the Lubbock area included office and administrative support (13.6 percent), food preparation and serving related (12.0 percent), and sales and related (9.4 percent). Major occupational groups on the lower end of local employment included legal (0.6 percent); life, physical, and social science (0.7 percent); and architecture and engineering (0.9 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. Lubbock had 14,040 jobs in educational instruction and library, accounting for 8.5 percent of local area employment, compared to the 5.8-percent share nationally. The average annual wage for this occupational group locally was $56,110, compared to the national wage of $65,900.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the educational instruction and library group included secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education (2,130), elementary school teachers, except special education (1,960), and teaching assistants, except postsecondary (1,660). Among the higher paying jobs in this group were postsecondary business teachers ($129,000) and postsecondary political science teachers ($96,700). At the lower end of the wage scale were short-term substitute teachers ($23,870) and teaching assistants, except postsecondary ($26,750). (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/0031180.)

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 Lubbock area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the educational instruction and library group. For instance, postsecondary sociology teachers were employed at 4.82 times the national rate in Lubbock, and postsecondary communications teachers, at 3.87 times the U.S. average. Librarians and media collections specialists had a location quotient of 0.96 in Lubbock, 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 Lubbock, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area included 1,792 establishments with a response rate of 57 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 Lubbock, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Cochran County, Crosby County, Garza County, Hockley County, Lubbock County, and Lynn 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, Lubbock metropolitan area, May 2024

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages ($)
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Educational instruction and library occupations	14,040	1.46	26.98	56,110
Business teachers, postsecondary	250	2.84	(6)	129,000
Computer science teachers, postsecondary	40	0.95	(6)	105,780
Mathematical science teachers, postsecondary	160	3.09	(6)	69,410
Biological science teachers, postsecondary	60	1.11	(6)	92,410
Political science teachers, postsecondary	50	2.45	(6)	96,700
Sociology teachers, postsecondary	60	4.82	(6)	93,470
Health specialties teachers, postsecondary	110	0.45	(6)	78,180
Nursing instructors and teachers, postsecondary	90	1.19	(6)	79,300
Education teachers, postsecondary	140	2.19	(6)	62,090
Communications teachers, postsecondary	120	3.87	(6)	72,950
English language and literature teachers, postsecondary	150	2.38	(6)	65,010
History teachers, postsecondary	50	2.28	(6)	69,370
Career/technical education teachers, postsecondary	120	0.98	31.60	65,730
Postsecondary teachers, all other	180	1.10	(6)	89,070
Preschool teachers, except special education	400	0.84	15.42	32,070
Kindergarten teachers, except special education	90	0.75	(6)	50,840
Elementary school teachers, except special education	1,960	1.31	(6)	54,670
Middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education	800	1.20	(6)	56,240
Career/technical education teachers, middle school	30	2.15	(6)	66,880
Secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education	2,130	1.85	(6)	53,980
Career/technical education teachers, secondary school	290	2.55	(6)	57,010
Special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school	430	1.75	(6)	61,810
Special education teachers, middle school	50	0.50	(6)	45,460
Special education teachers, secondary school	110	0.62	(6)	51,770
Special education teachers, all other	50	1.26	(6)	57,340
Self-enrichment teachers	190	0.58	16.76	34,860
Substitute teachers, short-term	320	0.62	11.48	23,870
Tutors	140	0.74	22.89	47,620
Teachers and instructors, all other	140	1.01	(6)	50,940
Librarians and media collections specialists	140	0.96	30.00	62,390
Library technicians	70	0.88	18.02	37,490
Instructional coordinators	370	1.63	28.52	59,330
Teaching assistants, postsecondary	(5)	(5)	(6)	58,480
Teaching assistants, except postsecondary	1,660	1.12	(6)	26,750
Educational instruction and library workers, all other	180	1.47	19.51	40,570
(1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Lubbock, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area, see https://data.bls.gov/oes/#/area/0031180. (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. (6) 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.