Occupational Employment and Wages, November 2004

27-3042 Technical Writers

Write technical materials, such as equipment manuals, appendices, or operating and maintenance instructions. May assist in layout work.

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)
45,450 2.5 % $27.60 $57,420 0.8 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $15.84 $20.25 $26.15 $33.60 $42.08
Annual Wage (2) $32,950 $42,130 $54,390 $69,880 $87,520

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage
Computer systems design and related services 7,570 $28.78 $59,860
Architectural and engineering services 3,710 $25.55 $53,140
Software publishers 3,430 $31.58 $65,690
Management and technical consulting services 2,320 $27.03 $56,230
Newspaper, book, and directory publishers 2,320 $22.45 $46,700

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage
Professional and similar organizations (7) $39.13 $81,380
Pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing 530 $33.10 $68,850
Computer and peripheral equipment mfg. 1,240 $32.61 $67,830
Electronic shopping and mail-order houses 100 $32.34 $67,270
Power generation and supply 160 $31.88 $66,310

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
Idaho 550 $22.54 $46,880 0.094%
District of Columbia 530 $30.34 $63,110 0.087%
Colorado 1,500 $28.39 $59,050 0.070%
Massachusetts 2,160 $31.53 $65,580 0.069%
Virginia 2,330 $29.38 $61,100 0.067%

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment
Washington 1,570 $33.43 $69,520 0.060%
California 6,700 $33.39 $69,460 0.046%
Nevada 230 $32.95 $68,530 0.020%
Hawaii 90 $32.82 $68,270 0.016%
Massachusetts 2,160 $31.53 $65,580 0.069%

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
San Jose, CA PMSA 1,500 $39.43 $82,010 0.176%
Lowell, MA-NH PMSA 210 $30.67 $63,790 0.172%
Huntsville, AL MSA 300 $22.91 $47,650 0.161%
Boulder-Longmont, CO PMSA 230 $30.55 $63,540 0.149%
Richland-Kennewick-Pasco, WA MSA 120 $29.14 $60,620 0.143%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
San Jose, CA PMSA 1,500 $39.43 $82,010 0.176%
San Francisco, CA PMSA 860 $36.20 $75,300 0.090%
Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA PMSA 50 $35.71 $74,280 0.055%
Santa Rosa, CA PMSA 70 $35.50 $73,840 0.038%
Fort Worth-Arlington, TX PMSA 320 $35.45 $73,740 0.042%

About November 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.

(7) Estimate not released.

All Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations

November 2004 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

November 2004 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

November 2004 Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

November 2004 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

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

Technical notes

 

Last Modified Date: November 9, 2005