Workers in the Rochester, MN Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $35.41 in May 2022, 19 percent above the nationwide average of $29.76, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Jason Palmer noted that, after testing for statistical significance, wages in the local area were higher than their respective national averages in 9 of the 22 major occupational groups, including healthcare practitioners and technical; construction and extraction; and life, physical, and social science. Ten groups had significantly lower wages than their respective national averages, including legal; arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media; and management.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, Rochester area employment was more highly concentrated in 4 of the 22 occupational groups, including healthcare practitioners and technical; healthcare support; and life, physical, and social science. Seventeen groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including transportation and material moving, business and financial operations, and sales and related. (See table A.)

One occupational group—healthcare practitioners and technical—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Rochester had 25,560 jobs in healthcare practitioners and technical, accounting for 21.8 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 6.1-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $67.99, significantly above the national wage of $46.52.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group included registered nurses (6,760) and licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses (2,110). Among the higher-paying jobs in this group were radiologists and physicians, pathologists, with mean hourly wages of $183.88 and $183.60, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were emergency medical technicians ($19.96) and veterinary technologists and technicians ($20.58). (Detailed data for the healthcare practitioners and technical occupations are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_40340.htm.)

Location quotients allow us to explore the occupational make-up of a metropolitan area by comparing the composition of jobs in an area relative to the national average. (See table 1.) For example, a location quotient of 2.0 indicates that an occupation accounts for twice the share of employment in the area than it does nationally. In the Rochester area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group. For instance, dermatologists were employed at 24.1 times the national rate in Rochester, and nurse midwives, at 19.0 times the U.S. average. Occupational therapists had a location quotient of 1.0 in Rochester, indicating that this particular occupation’s local and national employment shares were similar.

These statistics are from the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, a federal-state cooperative program between BLS and State Workforce Agencies, in this case, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.

Technical Note

The Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey is a semiannual survey measuring occupational employment and wage rates for wage and salary workers in nonfarm establishments in the United States. The OEWS data available from BLS include cross-industry occupational employment and wage estimates for the nation; over 580 areas, including states and the District of Columbia, metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), nonmetropolitan areas, and territories; national industry-specific estimates at the NAICS sector, 3-digit, most 4-digit, and selected 5- and 6-digit industry levels, and national estimates by ownership across all industries and for schools and hospitals. OEWS data are available at www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm.

The OEWS survey is a cooperative effort between BLS and the State Workforce Agencies (SWAs). BLS funds the survey and provides the procedures and technical support, while the State Workforce Agencies collect most of the data. OEWS estimates are constructed from a sample of about 1.1 million establishments. Each year, two semiannual panels of approximately 179,000 to 187,000 sampled establishments are contacted, one panel in May and the other in November. Responses are obtained by Internet or other electronic means, mail, email, telephone, or personal visit. The May 2022 estimates are based on responses from six semiannual panels collected over a 3-year period: May 2022, November 2021, May 2021, November 2020, May 2020, and November 2019. The unweighted sampled employment of 80 million across all six semiannual panels represents approximately 57 percent of total national employment. The overall national response rate for the six panels, based on the 50 states and the District of Columbia, is 65.4 percent based on establishments and 62.5 percent based on weighted sampled employment. The sample in the Rochester, MN Metropolitan Statistical Area included 1,163 establishments with a response rate of 66 percent. For more information about OEWS concepts and methodology, go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_tec.htm.

A value that is statistically different from another does not necessarily mean that the difference has economic or practical significance. Statistical significance is concerned with the ability to make confident statements about a universe based on a sample. It is entirely possible that a large difference between two values is not significantly different statistically, while a small difference is, since both the size and heterogeneity of the sample affect the relative error of the data being tested.

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.

The Rochester, MN Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Dodge County, Fillmore County, Olmsted County, and Wabasha County.

For more information

Answers to frequently asked questions about the OEWS data are available at www.bls.gov/oes/oes_ques.htm. Detailed information about the OEWS program is available at www.bls.gov/oes/oes_doc.htm.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Table 1. Employment and wage data for healthcare practitioners and technical occupations, Rochester metropolitan area, May 2022

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations	25,560	3.6	$67.99	$141,420
Chiropractors	50	1.6	39.76	82,710
Dentists, general	110	1.1	83.58	173,850
Dietitians and nutritionists	140	2.5	36.67	76,270
Optometrists	80	2.6	71.06	147,810
Pharmacists	630	2.4	70.75	147,150
Physician assistants	1,100	9.9	57.76	120,130
Occupational therapists	110	1.0	39.09	81,310
Physical therapists	280	1.6	41.61	86,560
Respiratory therapists	90	0.9	43.18	89,820
Speech-language pathologists	140	1.1	37.06	77,080
Therapists, all other	50	3.9	33.01	68,660
Veterinarians	60	1.0	50.15	104,310
Registered nurses	6,760	2.8	43.30	90,060
Nurse anesthetists	500	13.6	109.36	227,470
Nurse midwives	120	19.0	51.48	107,080
Nurse practitioners	1,210	5.9	61.03	126,940
Audiologists	110	10.2	45.45	94,540
Anesthesiologists	170	5.7	171.16	356,020
Dermatologists	220	24.1	(5)	(5)
Emergency medicine physicians	60	2.6	168.25	349,970
Family medicine physicians	640	7.9	128.10	266,450
Physicians, pathologists	70	6.7	183.60	381,890
Radiologists	350	14.9	183.88	382,480
Physicians, all other	1,300	5.4	143.61	298,700
Orthopedic surgeons, except pediatric	190	12.5	(7)	(7)
Surgeons, all other	750	36.4	156.35	325,210
Dental hygienists	250	1.5	39.78	82,730
Healthcare diagnosing or treating practitioners, all other	(5)	(5)	72.79	151,400
Clinical laboratory technologists and technicians	1,110	4.2	30.21	62,830
Diagnostic medical sonographers	260	4.1	42.96	89,350
Nuclear medicine technologists	30	2.3	47.53	98,870
Radiologic technologists and technicians	810	4.7	36.49	75,900
Emergency medical technicians	310	2.3	19.96	41,520
Paramedics	170	2.3	30.45	63,330
Pharmacy technicians	700	1.9	21.61	44,960
Surgical technologists	240	2.9	30.86	64,180
Veterinary technologists and technicians	140	1.5	20.58	42,800
Ophthalmic medical technicians	150	2.8	33.01	68,660
Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses	2,110	4.2	25.78	53,620
Medical records specialists	280	1.9	24.82	51,620
Opticians, dispensing	110	1.8	21.61	44,940
Health technologists and technicians, all other	420	3.3	28.99	60,300
Health information technologists and medical registrars	110	3.7	38.31	79,680
Athletic trainers	80	3.5	(6)	54,370
Surgical assistants	100	7.0	50.37	104,760
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Rochester, MN Metropolitan Statistical Area, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_40340.htm. (2) Estimates for detailed occupations may not sum to the totals due to rounding, and because the totals may include occupations that are not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers. (3) 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. (4) 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. (5) Estimate not released. (6) Wages for some occupations that do not generally work year-round, full time, are reported either as hourly wages or annual salaries depending on how they are typically paid. (7) This wage is equal to or greater than $115.00 per hour or $239,200 per year.