Two of the five metropolitan areas in Maryland—Washington and Baltimore—had wages significantly above the national average for secondary, middle, and elementary school teachers, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that except for middle school teachers in Hagerstown-Martinsburg, no metropolitan area in Maryland had a wage that was significantly below that for the nation in any of the three selected occupations. Nationwide, the average (mean) wage was $56,760 for secondary school teachers, $55,780 for middle school teachers, and $55,270 for elementary school teachers. (See table A. For comprehensive definitions of metropolitan areas in Maryland, please see Technical Note.)

Of the five metropolitan areas in the state, the Washington area had the largest number of teaching jobs, with employment of 53,000 in the three teaching occupations combined. The Baltimore-Towson area reported the second-most teaching jobs, totaling 32,250. (See table B.)

Table B. Employment for secondary, middle, and elementary school teachers in the United States and metropolitan areas in Maryland, May 2011

Area	Secondary School	Middle School	Elementary School
United States	1,004,850	642,820	1,415,590
Maryland	21,900	15,660	24,550
Baltimore-Towson	11,490	8,280	12,480
Cumberland	--	--	--
Hagerstown-Martinsburg	790	550	1,450
Salisbury	--	340	610
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria	17,110	11,460	24,430
-- Estimate not released.

Wages for secondary school teachers in metropolitan areas in Maryland

Two metropolitan areas in the state had wages for secondary school teachers that exceeded the national average. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va., was the highest-paying metropolitan area in Maryland for secondary school teachers, at $70,910 per year, more than $14,000 above the U.S. average. The wage for secondary school teachers in Baltimore-Towson, at $61,830, was also measurably higher than the national level. These two adjacent metropolitan areas were located in the central part of the state. (See chart 1.) None of the five metropolitan areas in Maryland had wages for this occupation that were measurably below the national average.

Wages for middle school teachers in metropolitan areas in Maryland

Three of Maryland’s metropolitan areas had wages for middle school teachers that exceeded the national average by more than $10,000—Washington ($68,800), Cumberland, Md.-W.Va. ($67,760), and Baltimore ($66,710). The wages in all three of these areas were significantly higher than those for the nation. Hagerstown-Martinsburg, Md.-W.Va., recorded a wage of $50,760 per year for middle school teachers, significantly below the U.S. average. (See chart 2.)

Wages for elementary school teachers in metropolitan areas in Maryland

As with the other two teaching occupations, the Washington area paid the top wage for elementary school teachers in Maryland, at $69,190. The Baltimore area, at $61,280, also recorded a wage significantly greater than that for the nation; wages for the three remaining metropolitan areas in Maryland were not significantly different from the national average for this occupation. (See chart 3.)

These statistics are from the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey, a federal-state cooperative program between BLS and State Workforce Agencies, in this case the District of Columbia Department of Employment Services; the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation; the Virginia Employment Commission; and WorkForce West Virginia. The OES survey provides estimates of employment and hourly and annual wages for wage and salary workers in 22 major occupational groups and about 800 detailed occupations for the nation, states, metropolitan statistical areas, metropolitan divisions, and nonmetropolitan areas.

Technical Note

The Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey is a semiannual mail survey measuring occupational employment and wage rates for wage and salary workers in nonfarm establishments in the United States. OES estimates are constructed from a sample of about 1.2 million establishments. Forms are mailed to approximately 200,000 establishments in May and November of each year for a 3-year period. The nationwide response rate for the May 2011 survey was 77.3 percent based on establishments and 73.3 percent based on employment. May 2011 estimates are based on responses from six semiannual panels collected over a 3-year period: May 2011, November 2010, May 2010, November 2009, May 2009, and November 2008. For more information about OES concepts and methodology, go to www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.tn.htm.

The May 2011 OES estimates are based in part on data collected using the 2010 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system. Nearly all the occupations in this release are 2010 SOC occupations; however, some are not. The May 2012 OES data will reflect the full set of detailed occupations in the 2010 SOC. For a list of all occupations, including 2010 SOC occupations, and how data collected on two structures were combined, see the OES Frequently Asked Questions online at www.bls.gov/oes/oes_ques.htm#Ques41.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone:  202-691-5200; TDD message referral phone number: 1-800-877-8339.

Metropolitan area definitions
The substate area data published in this release reflect the standards and definitions established by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget.

• Baltimore-Towson, Md. Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) includes Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford, Howard, and Queen Anne’s Counties and Baltimore City in Maryland.
• Cumberland, Md.-W.Va. MSA includes Allegany County in Maryland and Mineral County in West Virginia.
• Hagerstown-Martinsburg, Md.-W.Va. MSA includes Washington County in Maryland and Berkeley and Morgan Counties in West Virginia.
• Salisbury, Md. MSA includes Somerset and Wicomico Counties in Maryland.
• Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va. MSA includes the District of Columbia; Arlington, Clarke, Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun, Prince William, Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Warren Counties and Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Manassas, and Manassas Park cities in Virginia; Calvert, Charles, Frederick, Montgomery, and Prince George’s Counties in Maryland; and Jefferson County in West Virginia.