Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2011

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
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)
187,730 0.8 % $30.13 $62,670 0.3 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $16.59 $21.33 $28.10 $36.71 $46.13
Annual Wage (2) $34,510 $44,370 $58,460 $76,360 $95,950


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)
Building Equipment Contractors 30,030 1.84 $31.12 $64,720
Nonresidential Building Construction 18,490 2.84 $33.63 $69,950
Building Finishing Contractors 15,310 2.43 $29.05 $60,430
Foundation, Structure, and Building Exterior Contractors 15,170 2.24 $30.05 $62,500
Residential Building Construction 11,930 2.07 $28.73 $59,750

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Nonresidential Building Construction 18,490 2.84 $33.63 $69,950
Building Finishing Contractors 15,310 2.43 $29.05 $60,430
Foundation, Structure, and Building Exterior Contractors 15,170 2.24 $30.05 $62,500
Residential Building Construction 11,930 2.07 $28.73 $59,750
Other Specialty Trade Contractors 10,020 1.88 $29.89 $62,170

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Other Financial Investment Activities (8) (8) $50.05 $104,100
Oil and Gas Extraction 30 0.02 $40.44 $84,120
Lessors of Real Estate 40 0.01 $38.61 $80,310
Pipeline Transportation of Natural Gas 30 0.11 $38.17 $79,390
Computer Systems Design and Related Services 750 0.05 $38.16 $79,360


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 21,760 1.55 1.06 $33.63 $69,950
Texas 12,570 1.22 0.83 $30.58 $63,600
Pennsylvania 10,560 1.90 1.30 $28.93 $60,170
New York 10,350 1.23 0.84 $34.08 $70,880
Florida 10,040 1.40 0.96 $27.51 $57,230




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)
Montana 980 2.29 1.57 $26.06 $54,200
Delaware 840 2.08 1.42 $30.80 $64,060
Virginia 7,110 2.00 1.37 $30.92 $64,310
Colorado 4,270 1.96 1.34 $29.82 $62,020
Utah 2,230 1.91 1.31 $27.43 $57,050




Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Alaska 280 0.89 0.60 $38.80 $80,700
Massachusetts 4,660 1.48 1.01 $36.19 $75,270
New Jersey 4,050 1.08 0.73 $34.35 $71,460
New York 10,350 1.23 0.84 $34.08 $70,880
Connecticut 1,920 1.20 0.82 $33.80 $70,310





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)
New York-White Plains-Wayne, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division 4,840 0.96 0.65 $38.98 $81,070
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division 4,150 1.09 0.74 $32.08 $66,730
Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL Metropolitan Division 3,960 1.10 0.75 $35.22 $73,270
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division 3,800 1.64 1.12 $33.74 $70,170
Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX 3,570 1.40 0.96 $33.93 $70,570
Philadelphia, PA Metropolitan Division 3,500 1.93 1.32 $31.34 $65,190
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA 3,090 1.39 0.95 $27.90 $58,020
St. Louis, MO-IL 3,040 2.39 1.64 $29.90 $62,200
Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX Metropolitan Division 2,930 1.43 0.98 $30.99 $64,450
Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, CA Metropolitan Division 2,920 2.10 1.44 $33.77 $70,240




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)
Fond du Lac, WI 150 3.58 2.45 $30.56 $63,570
York-Hanover, PA 590 3.44 2.35 $28.63 $59,560
Lancaster, PA 700 3.16 2.16 $27.52 $57,250
Harrisonburg, VA 180 3.07 2.10 $26.47 $55,050
Fort Wayne, IN 600 3.02 2.07 $30.73 $63,920
Redding, CA 170 2.93 2.00 $24.91 $51,810
Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, WA 280 2.84 1.94 $34.48 $71,720
Missoula, MT 150 2.79 1.91 $25.58 $53,200
Canton-Massillon, OH 440 2.77 1.89 $25.98 $54,040
Billings, MT 220 2.72 1.86 $27.42 $57,030




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)
Fairbanks, AK 40 1.11 0.76 $41.49 $86,310
Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta, CA 240 1.46 1.00 $41.08 $85,440
Framingham, MA NECTA Division 270 1.75 1.20 $40.37 $83,970
Taunton-Norton-Raynham, MA NECTA Division 70 1.62 1.10 $40.32 $83,870
San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, CA Metropolitan Division 1,420 1.48 1.01 $40.27 $83,750
New York-White Plains-Wayne, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division 4,840 0.96 0.65 $38.98 $81,070
Brockton-Bridgewater-Easton, MA NECTA Division 160 1.83 1.25 $38.47 $80,020
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 1,520 1.73 1.19 $38.00 $79,050
Anchorage, AK 210 1.25 0.86 $38.00 $79,040
Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA NECTA Division 2,310 1.38 0.94 $37.89 $78,810

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)
Kansas nonmetropolitan area 430 1.13 0.77 $20.21 $42,040
Other Ohio nonmetropolitan area 430 1.60 1.10 $27.70 $57,610
West Northwestern Ohio nonmetropolitan area 420 1.92 1.31 $26.57 $55,270
Western Central North Carolina nonmetropolitan area 410 1.71 1.17 $26.47 $55,060
Balance of Lower Peninsula of Michigan nonmetropolitan area 400 1.44 0.98 $23.40 $48,680

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)
Mother Lode Region of California nonmetropolitan area 110 2.85 1.95 $29.55 $61,450
Southwestern Montana nonmetropolitan area 320 2.74 1.87 $26.31 $54,730
Sussex County, Delaware nonmetropolitan area 180 2.52 1.72 $26.90 $55,940
Coastal Oregon nonmetropolitan area 160 2.30 1.57 $34.35 $71,440
North Central Colorado nonmetropolitan area 160 2.28 1.56 $32.74 $68,090

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)
Los Alamos County, New Mexico nonmetropolitan area 30 2.14 1.46 $40.03 $83,260
Other Nevada nonmetropolitan area 50 0.87 0.59 $38.74 $80,570
Western Central Nevada nonmetropolitan area 70 2.05 1.40 $37.59 $78,180
Northwestern Connecticut nonmetropolitan area 60 1.81 1.24 $37.00 $76,960
Hawaii / Maui / Kauai nonmetropolitan area 140 0.92 0.63 $36.56 $76,050


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.

(8) Estimate not released.

(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