Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2004

13-1051 Cost Estimators

Prepare cost estimates for product manufacturing, construction projects, or services to aid management in bidding on or determining price of product or service. May specialize according to particular service performed or type of product manufactured.

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)
191,080 1.3 % $25.90 $53,870 0.4 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $14.54 $18.47 $24.01 $31.55 $40.80
Annual Wage (2) $30,240 $38,420 $49,940 $65,620 $84,870

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage
Building equipment contractors 29,540 $27.10 $56,380
Nonresidential building construction 17,790 $29.18 $60,690
Residential building construction 15,500 $25.93 $53,940
Building finishing contractors 15,080 $25.59 $53,230
Building foundation and exterior contractors 14,970 $25.77 $53,600

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage
Computer and peripheral equipment mfg. 160 $35.76 $74,380
Other transportation equipment manufacturing 60 $33.82 $70,350
Computer systems design and related services 380 $33.29 $69,250
Scientific research and development services 540 $32.57 $67,760
Support activities for air transportation 50 $32.11 $66,790

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
Kansas 2,840 $22.50 $46,800 0.219%
Vermont 580 $23.88 $49,680 0.198%
Delaware 800 $27.29 $56,750 0.196%
Colorado 4,120 $25.72 $53,490 0.195%
Washington 4,900 $27.38 $56,950 0.190%

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment
District of Columbia 250 $33.38 $69,430 0.041%
Massachusetts 5,180 $31.69 $65,910 0.166%
Connecticut 2,950 $29.35 $61,050 0.181%
New Jersey 4,860 $28.98 $60,280 0.125%
California 23,470 $28.87 $60,060 0.161%

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
Fort Myers-Cape Coral, FL MSA 640 $21.29 $44,270 0.332%
Panama City, FL MSA 200 $17.17 $35,720 0.315%
Lake Charles, LA MSA 250 $24.51 $50,980 0.311%
Naples, FL MSA 360 $28.13 $58,510 0.307%
Wichita, KS MSA 800 $22.04 $45,850 0.295%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
San Francisco, CA PMSA 1,850 $36.95 $76,850 0.194%
San Jose, CA PMSA 1,450 $35.92 $74,720 0.171%
Little Rock-North Little Rock, AR MSA 480 $35.21 $73,250 0.155%
Boston, MA-NH PMSA 3,460 $33.22 $69,110 0.182%
Waterbury, CT PMSA 130 $33.16 $68,970 0.153%

About May 2004 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.

All Business and Financial Operations Occupations

May 2004 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2004 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2004 Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2004 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download May 2004 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped Excel files

Technical notes

 

Last Modified Date: June 02, 2005