Occupational Employment and Wages, May 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)
95,870 1.8 % $16.89 $35,130 0.6 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $9.93 $12.60 $16.30 $20.68 $25.40
Annual Wage (2) $20,640 $26,210 $33,910 $43,020 $52,820

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
Local government (OES designation) 74,570 $16.72 $34,780 1 27
Water, sewage and other systems 8,300 $16.23 $33,760 2 32
Waste treatment and disposal 1,650 $15.01 $31,210 3 38
Pulp, paper, and paperboard mills 860 $20.68 $43,010 4 12
Federal government (OES designation) 730 $21.30 $44,290 5 10

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Electronic instrument manufacturing (6) $35.72 $74,290 (6) 1
Pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing 340 $24.76 $51,490 11 2
Motor vehicle parts manufacturing 150 $24.26 $50,460 22 3
Natural gas distribution 270 $23.98 $49,870 16 4
Power generation and supply 600 $23.67 $49,240 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
South Dakota 700 $13.97 $29,050 0.197% 229
Alaska 530 $20.71 $43,070 0.181% 229
West Virginia 1,100 $12.78 $26,580 0.161% 397
North Dakota 450 $13.33 $27,730 0.143% 305
Arkansas 1,560 $13.59 $28,260 0.139% 324

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
Nevada 400 $24.46 $50,880 0.038% 146
California 9,080 $22.69 $47,200 0.063% 291
Washington 1,130 $21.69 $45,110 0.044% 279
Alaska 530 $20.71 $43,070 0.181% 229
New Jersey 1,910 $20.56 $42,770 0.049% 318

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 190 $13.41 $27,890 0.401%
Merced, CA MSA 200 $19.77 $41,120 0.338%
Yuba City, CA MSA 100 $16.62 $34,570 0.266%
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX MSA 410 $8.97 $18,660 0.232%
Jacksonville, NC MSA 80 $18.84 $39,180 0.221%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Oakland, CA PMSA 780 $27.65 $57,510 0.077%
Vallejo-Fairfield-Napa, CA PMSA 140 $26.26 $54,630 0.075%
Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA PMSA 1,800 $26.09 $54,260 0.045%
San Francisco, CA PMSA 230 $25.88 $53,830 0.024%
Middlesex-Somerset-Hunterdon, NJ PMSA 440 $25.64 $53,330 0.070%

About May 2003 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) 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.

(6) Estimates not released.

All Production Occupations

2003 May National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

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

Technical notes

 

Last Modified Date: May 7, 2004