Occupational Employment and Wages, November 2003

51-8031 Water and Liquid Waste Treatment Plant and System Operators

Operate or control an entire process or system of machines, often through the use of control boards, to transfer or treat water or liquid waste.

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)
95,130 1.8 % $16.99 $35,340 0.6 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $10.14 $12.75 $16.43 $20.69 $25.42
Annual Wage (2) $21,080 $26,520 $34,180 $43,040 $52,880

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage
Local government (OES designation) 73,720 $16.86 $35,070
Water, sewage and other systems 8,420 $16.30 $33,900
Waste treatment and disposal 1,740 $15.13 $31,470
Power generation and supply 700 $22.68 $47,170
State government (OES designation) 680 $19.16 $39,860

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage
Electronic instrument manufacturing (7) $35.45 $73,750
Natural gas distribution 320 $25.86 $53,790
Pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing 350 $24.80 $51,590
Motor vehicle parts manufacturing 160 $23.54 $48,960
Power generation and supply 700 $22.68 $47,170

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
Alaska 660 $18.33 $38,130 0.227%
South Dakota 710 $14.38 $29,910 0.195%
Montana 700 $13.54 $28,170 0.177%
West Virginia 1,090 $12.79 $26,600 0.160%
North Dakota 470 $13.65 $28,400 0.149%

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment
Nevada 520 $24.59 $51,160 0.048%
California 8,840 $22.84 $47,500 0.061%
Washington 1,160 $21.75 $45,250 0.045%
Colorado 1,570 $20.18 $41,980 0.075%
New Jersey 1,710 $20.17 $41,950 0.044%

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
Steubenville-Weirton, OH-WV MSA 180 $13.64 $28,370 0.376%
Merced, CA MSA 180 $20.59 $42,830 0.306%
Yuba City, CA MSA 110 $16.26 $33,820 0.282%
San Luis Obispo-Atascadero-Paso Robles, CA MSA 240 $19.35 $40,250 0.241%
Jacksonville, NC MSA 80 $19.10 $39,720 0.217%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Oakland, CA PMSA 830 $27.71 $57,640 0.083%
San Francisco, CA PMSA 320 $26.65 $55,440 0.033%
Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA PMSA 1,870 $26.26 $54,620 0.047%
Vallejo-Fairfield-Napa, CA PMSA 150 $25.29 $52,600 0.080%
Las Vegas, NV-AZ MSA 410 $24.95 $51,900 0.050%

About November 2003 National, State, and Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

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) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include 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.

(7) Estimates not released.

All Production Occupations

November 2003 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

November 2003 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

November 2003 Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

November 2003 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download November 2003 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped Excel files

Technical notes

 

Last Modified Date: April 19, 2005