Occupational Employment and Wages, November 2003

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)
186,710 1.3 % $25.43 $52,900 0.5 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $14.13 $18.00 $23.66 $31.07 $39.88
Annual Wage (2) $29,390 $37,430 $49,220 $64,630 $82,950

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 28,300 $26.88 $55,920
Nonresidential building construction 17,050 $28.84 $59,990
Residential building construction 14,780 $24.93 $51,850
Building finishing contractors 14,610 $25.46 $52,970
Building foundation and exterior contractors 13,800 $25.28 $52,570

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage
Software publishers 60 $36.98 $76,930
Other transportation equipment manufacturing 70 $34.79 $72,360
Computer and peripheral equipment mfg. 200 $33.52 $69,720
Scientific research and development services 510 $31.76 $66,070
Computer systems design and related services 300 $31.49 $65,490

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 2,510 $22.71 $47,240 0.194%
Colorado 4,060 $25.34 $52,710 0.194%
Delaware 760 $26.09 $54,260 0.188%
Minnesota 4,700 $24.11 $50,150 0.181%
Connecticut 2,950 $27.07 $56,300 0.181%

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment
Massachusetts 4,730 $30.35 $63,120 0.151%
District of Columbia 280 $30.27 $62,960 0.047%
California 23,180 $28.46 $59,200 0.160%
New York 10,610 $28.44 $59,150 0.129%
New Jersey 6,010 $28.33 $58,920 0.155%

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
Lake Charles, LA MSA 270 $24.51 $50,970 0.332%
Fort Pierce-Port St. Lucie, FL MSA 340 $27.58 $57,370 0.306%
Fort Myers-Cape Coral, FL MSA 560 $20.80 $43,260 0.292%
Hartford, CT MSA 1,680 $24.59 $51,150 0.283%
Augusta-Aiken, GA-SC MSA 560 $27.04 $56,230 0.282%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Little Rock-North Little Rock, AR MSA 510 $35.90 $74,670 0.169%
San Jose, CA PMSA 1,520 $35.74 $74,340 0.178%
San Francisco, CA PMSA 1,860 $35.45 $73,740 0.193%
Oakland, CA PMSA 1,410 $33.54 $69,770 0.141%
Danbury, CT PMSA 140 $33.04 $68,730 0.156%

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.

All Business and Financial Operations 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