Workers in the Walla Walla, WA Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $30.70 in May 2024, compared to the nationwide average of $32.66, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that higher paying major occupational groups included management ($62.73), healthcare practitioners and technical ($53.99), and architecture and engineering ($49.61). Lower paying occupations included food preparation and serving related ($19.57), building and grounds cleaning and maintenance ($20.63), and healthcare support ($22.23). (See table A.)

Occupational groups with the highest employment in the Walla Walla area included office and administrative support (10.0 percent), production (9.6 percent), and food preparation and serving related (9.0 percent). Major occupational groups on the lower end of local employment included legal (0.4 percent), personal care and service (1.2 percent), and computer and mathematical (1.4 percent).

One occupational group—production—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Walla Walla had 2,460 jobs in production, accounting for 9.6 percent of local area employment, compared to the 5.7-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $23.70, compared to the national wage of $24.08.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the production group included first-line supervisors of production and operating workers (190); separating, filtering, clarifying, precipitating, and still machine setters, operators, and tenders (140); and miscellaneous assemblers and fabricators (110). Among the higher paying jobs in this group were first-line supervisors of production and operating workers ($34.74) and separating, filtering, clarifying, precipitating, and still machine setters, operators, and tenders ($32.29). At the lower end of the wage scale were bakers ($18.81) and helpers--production workers ($19.56). (Detailed data for the production occupations are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to https://data.bls.gov/oes/#/area/0047460.)

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 Walla Walla area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the production group. For instance, separating, filtering, clarifying, precipitating, and still machine setters, operators, and tenders were employed at 15.05 times the national rate in Walla Walla, and first-line supervisors of production and operating workers, at 1.64 times the U.S. average.

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 Washington Employment Security 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 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 is 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 Walla Walla, WA Metropolitan Statistical Area included 509 establishments with a response rate of 72 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 Walla Walla, WA Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Walla Walla 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 production occupations, Walla Walla metropolitan area, May 2024

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages ($)
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Production occupations	2,460	1.69	23.70	49,290
First-line supervisors of production and operating workers	190	1.64	34.74	72,260
Miscellaneous assemblers and fabricators	110	0.46	21.21	44,120
Bakers	40	0.96	18.81	39,130
Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers	70	1.02	27.50	57,200
Printing press operators	40	1.51	22.57	46,940
Water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators	30	1.44	31.80	66,150
Separating, filtering, clarifying, precipitating, and still machine setters, operators, and tenders	140	15.05	32.29	67,160
Cutting and slicing machine setters, operators, and tenders	70	9.04	20.40	42,420
Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers	50	0.51	25.83	53,730
Packaging and filling machine operators and tenders	100	1.54	19.99	41,590
Helpers--production workers	70	2.52	19.56	40,670
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Walla Walla, WA Metropolitan Statistical Area, see https://data.bls.gov/oes/#/area/0047460. (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.