Workers in the Boise City, ID Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $28.07 in May 2023, compared to the nationwide average of $31.48, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that higher paying major occupational groups included computer and mathematical ($53.76), management ($53.07), and legal ($46.56). Lower paying occupations included food preparation and serving related ($14.74), personal care and service ($16.33), and healthcare support ($17.54). (See table A.)

Occupational groups with the highest employment in the Boise City area included office and administrative support (13.4 percent), transportation and material moving (8.7 percent), and food preparation and serving related (8.5 percent). Major occupational groups on the lower end of local employment included legal (0.7 percent); life, physical, and social science (1.0 percent); and arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media (1.2 percent). (See table A.)

One occupational group—construction and extraction—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Boise City had 23,160 jobs in construction and extraction, accounting for 6.2 percent of local area employment, compared to the 4.1-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $25.39, compared to the national wage of $29.57.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the construction and extraction group included carpenters (4,140), construction laborers (3,960), and electricians (2,250). Among the higher-paying jobs in this group were first-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers and construction and building inspectors, with mean hourly wages of $34.80 and $31.71, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters helpers ($16.39) and miscellaneous construction and related workers ($20.60). (Detailed data for the construction and extraction occupations are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_14260.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 Boise City area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the construction and extraction group. For instance, drywall and ceiling tile installers were employed at 2.8 times the national rate in Boise City, and cement masons and concrete finishers, at 2.5 times the U.S. average. First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers had a location quotient of 1.2 in Boise City, 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 Idaho Department of Labor.

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 580 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 65.8 percent based on establishments and 64.3 percent based on weighted sampled employment. The sample in the Boise City, ID Metropolitan Statistical Area included 2,987 establishments with a response rate of 58 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 Boise City, ID Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Ada County, Boise County, Canyon County, Gem County, and Owyhee 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 construction and extraction occupations, Boise City metropolitan area, May 2023

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages ($)
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Construction and extraction occupations	23,160	1.5	25.39	52,800
First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers	2,230	1.2	34.80	72,380
Brickmasons and blockmasons	210	1.5	30.96	64,400
Carpenters	4,140	2.4	23.36	48,590
Tile and stone setters	240	2.3	23.07	47,990
Cement masons and concrete finishers	1,240	2.5	23.80	49,500
Construction laborers	3,960	1.6	21.66	45,040
Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators	1,710	1.6	27.59	57,380
Drywall and ceiling tile installers	630	2.8	22.13	46,030
Tapers	70	1.8	23.63	49,150
Electricians	2,250	1.3	26.51	55,130
Insulation workers, floor, ceiling, and wall	240	2.5	26.55	55,230
Painters, construction and maintenance	1,010	1.9	21.70	45,140
Pipelayers	40	0.5	23.52	48,920
Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters	1,810	1.7	29.48	61,310
Plasterers and stucco masons	40	0.8	22.18	46,140
Roofers	580	1.7	23.16	48,180
Sheet metal workers	400	1.4	27.84	57,900
Helpers--carpenters	80	1.6	20.78	43,230
Helpers--pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters	70	0.6	16.39	34,080
Construction and building inspectors	260	0.8	31.71	65,960
Hazardous materials removal workers	160	1.3	22.55	46,910
Highway maintenance workers	180	0.5	22.57	46,950
Septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners	110	1.7	21.75	45,230
Miscellaneous construction and related workers	150	2.1	20.60	42,850
Excavating and loading machine and dragline operators, surface mining	180	2.2	25.99	54,050
Earth drillers, except oil and gas	80	1.8	28.17	58,600
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Boise City, ID Metropolitan Statistical Area, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_14260.htm. (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.