Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2011

19-0000 Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations (Major Group)

This major group comprises the following occupations: Animal Scientists ; Food Scientists and Technologists ; Soil and Plant Scientists ; Biochemists and Biophysicists ; Microbiologists ; Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists ; Biological Scientists, All Other ; Conservation Scientists ; Foresters ; Epidemiologists ; Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists ; Life Scientists, All Other ; Astronomers ; Physicists ; Atmospheric and Space Scientists ; Chemists ; Materials Scientists ; Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health ; Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers ; Hydrologists ; Physical Scientists, All Other ; Economists ; Survey Researchers ; Clinical, Counseling, and School Psychologists ; Industrial-Organizational Psychologists ; Psychologists, All Other ; Sociologists ; Urban and Regional Planners ; Anthropologists and Archeologists ; Geographers ; Historians ; Political Scientists ; Social Scientists and Related Workers, All Other ; Agricultural and Food Science Technicians ; Biological Technicians ; Chemical Technicians ; Geological and Petroleum Technicians ; Nuclear Technicians ; Social Science Research Assistants ; Environmental Science and Protection Technicians, Including Health ; Forensic Science Technicians ; Forest and Conservation Technicians ; Life, Physical, and Social Science Technicians, All Other


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 major group:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
1,082,370 0.8 % $32.44 $67,470 0.4 %

Percentile wage estimates for this major group:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $15.05 $20.20 $28.52 $40.54 $54.63
Annual Wage (2) $31,310 $42,020 $59,330 $84,320 $113,620


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)
Scientific Research and Development Services 168,300 26.70 $36.60 $76,140
Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation) 143,770 6.97 $36.02 $74,920
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools 123,660 4.33 $25.72 $53,490
State Government (OES Designation) 82,130 3.61 $27.01 $56,180
Local Government (OES Designation) 79,210 1.43 $28.70 $59,700

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Scientific Research and Development Services 168,300 26.70 $36.60 $76,140
Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing 45,820 17.23 $34.50 $71,760
Paint, Coating, and Adhesive Manufacturing 4,240 7.58 $28.67 $59,640
Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation) 143,770 6.97 $36.02 $74,920
Basic Chemical Manufacturing 9,710 6.81 $30.49 $63,420

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Monetary Authorities-Central Bank 400 2.04 $61.18 $127,250
Oil and Gas Extraction 10,840 6.67 $56.18 $116,860
Securities and Commodity Contracts Intermediation and Brokerage 120 0.03 $54.47 $113,290
Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing 780 0.16 $53.97 $112,260
Lessors of Nonfinancial Intangible Assets (except Copyrighted Works) 40 0.16 $52.76 $109,740


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 166,690 11.87 1.41 $36.26 $75,410
Texas 76,810 7.45 0.88 $32.92 $68,480
New York 62,810 7.45 0.88 $31.90 $66,360
Massachusetts 47,320 14.99 1.78 $35.69 $74,240
Pennsylvania 41,750 7.52 0.89 $31.00 $64,470




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 19,630 30.44 3.61 $45.90 $95,480
Alaska 6,430 20.54 2.43 $31.24 $64,980
Montana 7,550 17.76 2.11 $25.18 $52,370
New Mexico 12,720 16.36 1.94 $35.02 $72,840
Wyoming 4,250 15.58 1.85 $25.09 $52,200




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 19,630 30.44 3.61 $45.90 $95,480
Maryland 38,290 15.44 1.83 $40.44 $84,110
New Jersey 33,880 8.98 1.06 $37.73 $78,480
Virginia 27,380 7.70 0.91 $37.25 $77,490
Connecticut 12,630 7.85 0.93 $36.78 $76,510





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)
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division 38,230 16.55 1.96 $45.43 $94,500
Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA NECTA Division 32,630 19.47 2.31 $35.78 $74,430
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division 32,160 8.41 1.00 $35.01 $72,820
New York-White Plains-Wayne, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division 31,180 6.16 0.73 $35.89 $74,660
Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX 25,310 9.92 1.18 $38.79 $80,670
San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA 25,290 20.48 2.43 $36.06 $75,010
Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL Metropolitan Division 19,160 5.35 0.63 $35.06 $72,920
Philadelphia, PA Metropolitan Division 18,950 10.44 1.24 $34.51 $71,790
Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA Metropolitan Division 18,620 13.59 1.61 $33.50 $69,680
San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, CA Metropolitan Division 17,160 17.89 2.12 $42.53 $88,470




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)
Durham-Chapel Hill, NC 10,320 38.59 4.57 $35.93 $74,730
Fairbanks, AK 1,290 36.60 4.34 $28.51 $59,300
Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, WA 3,490 35.13 4.16 $36.60 $76,130
Ann Arbor, MI 6,640 34.74 4.12 $22.57 $46,950
Ames, IA 1,360 34.17 4.05 $28.00 $58,240
Bloomington, IN 2,440 33.47 3.97 $22.10 $45,970
College Station-Bryan, TX 2,940 31.96 3.79 $23.02 $47,880
Boulder, CO 4,710 30.27 3.59 $42.11 $87,590
Bethesda-Rockville-Frederick, MD Metropolitan Division 15,790 28.41 3.37 $45.49 $94,610
Trenton-Ewing, NJ 5,880 27.16 3.22 $38.01 $79,070




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)
Lawrence-Methuen-Salem, MA-NH NECTA Division 1,120 18.82 2.23 $55.36 $115,150
Bethesda-Rockville-Frederick, MD Metropolitan Division 15,790 28.41 3.37 $45.49 $94,610
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division 38,230 16.55 1.96 $45.43 $94,500
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 12,190 13.91 1.65 $43.97 $91,450
San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, CA Metropolitan Division 17,160 17.89 2.12 $42.53 $88,470
Newark-Union, NJ-PA Metropolitan Division 8,860 9.34 1.11 $42.47 $88,350
Boulder, CO 4,710 30.27 3.59 $42.11 $87,590
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT 2,680 6.54 0.78 $41.02 $85,320
Napa, CA 590 9.51 1.13 $40.29 $83,810
Vallejo-Fairfield, CA 1,010 8.64 1.02 $40.13 $83,460

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)
Southwestern Montana nonmetropolitan area 2,780 23.78 2.82 $24.30 $50,540
Northern Mountains Region of California nonmetropolitan area 2,520 41.44 4.91 $22.27 $46,330
Balance of Lower Peninsula of Michigan nonmetropolitan area 2,110 7.66 0.91 $24.64 $51,250
Kansas nonmetropolitan area 2,060 5.40 0.64 $25.17 $52,360
Eastern Oregon nonmetropolitan area 1,850 32.30 3.83 $21.31 $44,330

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)
Northern Mountains Region of California nonmetropolitan area 2,520 41.44 4.91 $22.27 $46,330
Eastern Sierra Region of California nonmetropolitan area 450 32.72 3.88 $23.89 $49,700
Eastern Oregon nonmetropolitan area 1,850 32.30 3.83 $21.31 $44,330
East Idaho nonmetropolitan area 1,570 32.15 3.81 $28.91 $60,140
Southeast Alaska nonmetropolitan area 1,050 29.98 3.55 $29.54 $61,450

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 580 12.16 1.44 $40.67 $84,590
St. Mary's County, Maryland nonmetropolitan area 380 8.98 1.06 $39.41 $81,980
Northwestern Connecticut nonmetropolitan area 120 3.35 0.40 $36.11 $75,110
Northern Utah nonmetropolitan area (8) (8) (8) $35.12 $73,050
Eastern Tennessee nonmetropolitan area 1,660 12.21 1.45 $35.00 $72,790


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 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