Workers in the Merced, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $27.45 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 management ($58.77), legal ($54.16), and healthcare practitioners and technical ($51.83). Lower paying occupations included healthcare support ($17.74), food preparation and serving related ($17.87), and personal care and service ($19.05). (See table A.)

Occupational groups with the highest employment in the Merced area included transportation and material moving (10.7 percent), educational instruction and library (10.3 percent), and office and administrative support (9.6 percent). Major occupational groups on the lower end of local employment included legal (0.3 percent); architecture and engineering (0.4 percent); and arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media (0.5 percent). (See table A.)

One occupational group—educational instruction and library—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Merced had 8,020 jobs in educational instruction and library, accounting for 10.3 percent of local area employment, compared to the 5.8-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $36.71, compared to the national wage of $31.92.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the educational instruction and library group included teaching assistants, except postsecondary (1,580), short-term substitute teachers (1,240), and elementary school teachers, except special education (1,230). Among the higher-paying jobs in this group were instructional coordinators and librarians and media collections specialists, with mean hourly wages of $51.61 and $48.45, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were preschool teachers, except special education ($21.69). (Detailed data for the educational instruction and library occupations are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_32900.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 Merced area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the educational instruction and library group. For instance, short-term substitute teachers were employed at 5.4 times the national rate in Merced, and teaching assistants, except postsecondary, at 2.3 times the U.S. average. Preschool teachers, except special education had a location quotient of 1.0 in Merced, 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 California Employment Development Department.

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 Merced, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area included 857 establishments with a response rate of 71 percent.

A value that is statistically different from another does not necessarily mean that the difference has economic or practical significance. Statistical significance is concerned with the ability to make confident statements about a universe based on a sample. It is entirely possible that a large difference between two values is not significantly different statistically, while a small difference is, since both the size and heterogeneity of the sample affect the relative error of the data being tested.

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 Merced, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Merced 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, Merced metropolitan area, May 2023

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages ($)
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Educational instruction and library occupations	8,020	1.8	36.71	76,350
Career/technical education teachers, postsecondary	50	0.8	25.83	53,720
Preschool teachers, except special education	220	1.0	21.69	45,120
Kindergarten teachers, except special education	130	2.2	(5)	100,490
Elementary school teachers, except special education	1,230	1.7	(5)	96,980
Middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education	390	1.2	(5)	90,720
Secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education	800	1.5	(5)	108,510
Special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school	130	1.2	(5)	84,990
Special education teachers, middle school	50	1.1	(5)	82,990
Special education teachers, secondary school	120	1.5	(5)	104,100
Special education teachers, all other	60	2.7	(5)	107,210
Substitute teachers, short-term	1,240	5.4	23.83	49,570
Tutors	80	1.0	20.43	42,490
Teachers and instructors, all other	320	5.3	(5)	96,220
Librarians and media collections specialists	30	0.5	48.45	100,780
Library technicians	70	1.8	24.35	50,650
Instructional coordinators	120	1.2	51.61	107,340
Teaching assistants, except postsecondary	1,580	2.3	(5)	41,320
Educational instruction and library workers, all other	260	4.4	27.41	57,000
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Merced, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_32900.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. (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.