Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2011

13-1023 Purchasing Agents, Except Wholesale, Retail, and Farm Products

Purchase machinery, equipment, tools, parts, supplies, or services necessary for the operation of an establishment. Purchase raw or semi-finished materials for manufacturing. Excludes "Buyers and Purchasing Agents, Farm Products" (13-1021) and "Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products" (13-1022).


National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
Geographic 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)
274,540 0.6 % $29.46 $61,280 0.2 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $17.13 $21.36 $27.68 $36.00 $44.72
Annual Wage (2) $35,640 $44,420 $57,580 $74,880 $93,020


Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation) 34,530 1.67 $36.62 $76,160
Management of Companies and Enterprises 17,120 0.90 $31.34 $65,200
Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing 10,500 2.22 $32.56 $67,720
Local Government (OES Designation) 10,060 0.18 $27.74 $57,710
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals 8,630 0.17 $24.10 $50,120

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing 10,500 2.22 $32.56 $67,720
Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing 7,090 1.74 $31.13 $64,750
Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation) 34,530 1.67 $36.62 $76,160
Industrial Machinery Manufacturing 1,620 1.60 $27.54 $57,290
Other General Purpose Machinery Manufacturing 3,670 1.57 $26.19 $54,470

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations 190 0.05 $40.13 $83,480
Natural Gas Distribution 320 0.29 $37.46 $77,920
Oil and Gas Extraction 560 0.34 $37.25 $77,470
Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation) 34,530 1.67 $36.62 $76,160
Postal Service 520 0.08 $36.11 $75,100


Geographic profile for this occupation: Top

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.





States with the highest employment level in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
California 31,020 2.21 1.03 $31.70 $65,940
Texas 22,790 2.21 1.03 $29.49 $61,340
New York 14,140 1.68 0.78 $29.76 $61,910
Pennsylvania 14,010 2.52 1.18 $29.23 $60,790
Florida 13,320 1.86 0.87 $26.49 $55,100




States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
District of Columbia 2,360 3.66 1.71 $39.13 $81,380
Virginia 12,070 3.40 1.59 $33.81 $70,330
Washington 8,740 3.21 1.50 $32.10 $66,760
Michigan 11,520 3.01 1.41 $30.70 $63,850
Alabama 5,300 2.93 1.37 $30.11 $62,630




Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
District of Columbia 2,360 3.66 1.71 $39.13 $81,380
Virginia 12,070 3.40 1.59 $33.81 $70,330
New Jersey 6,230 1.65 0.77 $33.49 $69,670
Maryland 6,830 2.75 1.29 $33.34 $69,340
Delaware 760 1.89 0.88 $32.90 $68,430





Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division 9,080 2.37 1.11 $30.43 $63,290
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division 9,070 3.92 1.83 $38.71 $80,510
New York-White Plains-Wayne, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division 7,610 1.50 0.70 $31.48 $65,490
Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX 6,520 2.56 1.19 $31.60 $65,730
Philadelphia, PA Metropolitan Division 5,670 3.13 1.46 $31.76 $66,060
Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA Metropolitan Division 5,550 4.05 1.89 $34.25 $71,250
Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL Metropolitan Division 5,460 1.52 0.71 $29.84 $62,080
Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX Metropolitan Division 5,090 2.49 1.16 $30.08 $62,570
Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, AZ 4,430 2.61 1.22 $28.41 $59,090
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA 4,330 1.94 0.91 $28.85 $60,000




Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Huntsville, AL 2,060 10.23 4.78 $36.03 $74,940
Warner Robins, GA 430 7.59 3.55 $34.27 $71,290
Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL 420 5.78 2.70 $30.63 $63,720
Dayton, OH 1,780 4.89 2.29 $34.48 $71,730
Wichita, KS 1,280 4.56 2.13 $30.13 $62,660
Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL 850 4.47 2.09 $29.90 $62,190
Olympia, WA 420 4.46 2.08 $27.24 $56,650
Elkhart-Goshen, IN 460 4.40 2.05 $24.73 $51,440
Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, WA 430 4.34 2.03 $34.50 $71,770
Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI 1,560 4.26 1.99 $27.51 $57,220




Top paying metropolitan areas for this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division 9,070 3.92 1.83 $38.71 $80,510
San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, CA Metropolitan Division 1,770 1.84 0.86 $36.50 $75,930
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 3,150 3.59 1.68 $36.15 $75,190
Huntsville, AL 2,060 10.23 4.78 $36.03 $74,940
Salinas, CA 180 1.19 0.56 $35.20 $73,210
Bethesda-Rockville-Frederick, MD Metropolitan Division 2,060 3.70 1.73 $35.19 $73,200
Taunton-Norton-Raynham, MA NECTA Division 100 2.36 1.10 $35.10 $73,020
Lowell-Billerica-Chelmsford, MA-NH NECTA Division 410 3.62 1.69 $35.09 $72,980
Edison-New Brunswick, NJ Metropolitan Division 1,610 1.68 0.78 $34.61 $71,980
Vallejo-Fairfield, CA 180 1.51 0.70 $34.57 $71,900

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Balance of Lower Peninsula of Michigan nonmetropolitan area 690 2.49 1.16 $25.52 $53,090
Kansas nonmetropolitan area 600 1.58 0.74 $21.30 $44,300
East Central Pennsylvania nonmetropolitan area 590 2.53 1.18 $25.86 $53,780
Northern Indiana nonmetropolitan area 590 2.98 1.39 $26.15 $54,390
Other Ohio nonmetropolitan area 490 1.85 0.87 $22.67 $47,150

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
St. Mary's County, Maryland nonmetropolitan area 490 11.54 5.39 $38.30 $79,650
Southeast Alaska nonmetropolitan area 120 3.51 1.64 $27.98 $58,190
Southeast Arizona nonmetropolitan area 200 3.32 1.55 $29.70 $61,780
Southeast Alabama nonmetropolitan area 280 3.24 1.51 $26.39 $54,890
Northern Indiana nonmetropolitan area 590 2.98 1.39 $26.15 $54,390

Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Northeastern Virginia nonmetropolitan area 130 2.77 1.29 $39.86 $82,910
St. Mary's County, Maryland nonmetropolitan area 490 11.54 5.39 $38.30 $79,650
Railbelt / Southwest Alaska nonmetropolitan area 90 1.22 0.57 $35.31 $73,450
West Central North Dakota nonmetropolitan area 70 1.24 0.58 $32.29 $67,160
North Central Massachusetts nonmetropolitan area 60 2.61 1.22 $30.51 $63,450


About May 2011 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia. The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.

The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall. 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.

(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration. A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.


Other OES estimates and related information:

May 2011 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2011 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2011 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2011 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download May 2011 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped XLS files

Technical Notes

 

Last Modified Date: March 27, 2012