Workers in the Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $34.96 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 legal ($67.32), healthcare practitioners and technical ($66.50), and management ($65.37). Lower paying occupations included food preparation and serving related ($19.21), healthcare support ($19.53), and personal care and service ($20.62). (See table A.)

Occupational groups with the highest employment in the Sacramento area included office and administrative support (12.2 percent), food preparation and serving related (8.8 percent), and transportation and material moving (7.6 percent). Major occupational groups on the lower end of local employment included legal (0.9 percent); arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media (1.1 percent); and life, physical, and social science (1.5 percent). (See table A.)

One occupational group—business and financial operations—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Sacramento had 71,860 jobs in business and financial operations, accounting for 6.9 percent of local area employment, compared to the 6.6-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $43.55, compared to the national wage of $43.55.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the business and financial operations group included accountants and auditors (12,660), project management specialists (6,240), and human resources specialists (4,820). Among the higher-paying jobs in this group were personal financial advisors and agents and business managers of artists, performers, and athletes, with mean hourly wages of $62.40 and $61.18, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were meeting, convention, and event planners ($31.71) and credit counselors ($31.86). (Detailed data for the business and financial operations occupations are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_40900.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 Sacramento area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in some of the occupations within the business and financial operations group. For instance, tax examiners and collectors, and revenue agents were employed at 10.2 times the national rate in Sacramento, and compensation, benefits, and job analysis specialists, at 2.2 times the U.S. average. Compliance officers had a location quotient of 1.0 in Sacramento, 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 Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area included 4,822 establishments with a response rate of 60 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 Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area includes El Dorado County, Placer County, Sacramento County, and Yolo 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 business and financial operations occupations, Sacramento metropolitan area, May 2023

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages ($)
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Business and financial operations occupations	71,860	1.0	43.55	90,580
Agents and business managers of artists, performers, and athletes	40	0.4	61.18	127,260
Buyers and purchasing agents	2,100	0.6	38.56	80,200
Claims adjusters, examiners, and investigators	2,470	1.2	39.01	81,150
Insurance appraisers, auto damage	50	0.8	40.06	83,320
Compliance officers	2,680	1.0	42.01	87,390
Cost estimators	2,020	1.3	42.28	87,940
Human resources specialists	4,820	0.8	39.98	83,160
Labor relations specialists	760	1.8	51.24	106,590
Logisticians	1,320	0.8	37.94	78,910
Project management specialists	6,240	1.0	53.72	111,740
Management analysts	(5)	(5)	47.20	98,180
Meeting, convention, and event planners	960	1.1	31.71	65,960
Fundraisers	580	0.8	40.09	83,390
Compensation, benefits, and job analysis specialists	1,540	2.2	40.86	84,990
Training and development specialists	2,260	0.8	36.96	76,880
Market research analysts and marketing specialists	3,980	0.7	40.18	83,570
Business operations specialists, all other	8,400	1.1	44.72	93,020
Accountants and auditors	12,660	1.3	43.70	90,900
Property appraisers and assessors	340	0.8	44.11	91,750
Budget analysts	580	1.8	46.46	96,630
Credit analysts	290	0.6	41.56	86,440
Financial and investment analysts	1,500	0.7	49.68	103,320
Personal financial advisors	1,140	0.6	62.40	129,800
Insurance underwriters	710	1.0	42.56	88,520
Financial risk specialists	310	0.8	52.94	110,120
Financial examiners	280	0.6	44.92	93,430
Credit counselors	130	0.7	31.86	66,280
Loan officers	1,740	0.8	43.34	90,160
Tax examiners and collectors, and revenue agents	3,550	10.2	33.05	68,740
Tax preparers	390	0.7	32.19	66,940
Financial specialists, all other	790	0.9	42.93	89,290
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_40900.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) Estimate not released.