Occupational Employment and Wages, 2002

51-9083 Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians

Cut, grind, and polish eyeglasses, contact lenses, or other precision optical elements. Assemble and mount lenses into frames or process other optical elements. Include precision lens polishers or grinders, centerer-edgers, and lens mounters. Exclude "Opticians, Dispensing" (29-2081).

National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
State profile for this occupation
Metropolitan area profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
32,920 5.8 % $11.18 $23,260 0.8 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $7.56 $8.73 $10.46 $13.05 $16.40
Annual Wage (2) $15,730 $18,150 $21,760 $27,140 $34,120

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Health and personal care stores 11,130 $10.50 $21,840 1 14
Medical equipment and supplies manufacturing 9,550 $11.23 $23,350 2 12
Offices of other health practitioners 3,580 $10.55 $21,950 3 13
Commercial equip. merchant wholesalers 2,890 $10.19 $21,200 4 15
Offices of physicians 1,760 $14.90 $31,000 5 6

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Glass and glass product manufacturing 70 $18.10 $37,650 12 1
General medical and surgical hospitals 100 $17.37 $36,130 8 2
Colleges and universities 80 $17.15 $35,660 9 3
Federal government (OES designation) 40 $16.76 $34,860 13 4
Outpatient care centers 120 $16.28 $33,870 7 5

State profile for this occupation: Top

States with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
Florida 5,080 $11.00 $22,870 0.071% 545
Arkansas 650 $9.38 $19,520 0.058% 504
Massachusetts 1,610 $11.57 $24,070 0.050% 567
Minnesota 1,190 $11.10 $23,100 0.046% 566
Wisconsin 1,150 $12.30 $25,580 0.043% 510

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
Connecticut 460 $14.70 $30,570 0.028% 415
Colorado 370 $12.80 $26,630 0.017% 473
Idaho 90 $12.70 $26,410 0.016% 341
Hawaii 90 $12.55 $26,100 0.016% 372
Montana (6) $12.49 $25,990 (6) 347

Metropolitan area profile for this occupation: Top

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
St. Cloud, MN MSA 400 $10.19 $21,200 0.442%
Jonesboro, AR MSA 50 $10.70 $22,250 0.125%
Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI PMSA 880 $12.06 $25,080 0.108%
Springfield, MO MSA 170 $12.42 $25,840 0.105%
Miami, FL PMSA 980 $10.19 $21,200 0.099%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Hartford, CT MSA (6) $15.25 $31,720 (6)
Trenton, NJ PMSA 50 $15.16 $31,520 0.024%
Madison, WI MSA (6) $14.98 $31,160 (6)
Lancaster, PA MSA (6) $14.80 $30,780 (6)
Kalamazoo-Battle Creek, MI MSA 80 $14.68 $30,520 0.039%

About 2002 National, State, and Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

To see profiles of other occupations, select from the major groups below:

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors in metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas in every State and the District of Columbia. The top five employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable Excel files(XLS).

Percentile wage estimates show the percentage of workers in an occupation that earn less than a given wage and the percentage that earn more. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.


(1) Data for detailed occupations does not sum to the totals because the totals include data for occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) 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.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

(6) Estimates not released.

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2002 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2002 Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2002 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

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Download 2002 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped Excel files

Technical notes

 

Last Modified Date: November 26, 2003