Workers in the Roanoke, VA Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $26.20 in May 2023, 17 percent below the nationwide average of $31.48, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that, after testing for statistical significance, wages in the local area were lower than their respective national averages in 21 of the 22 major occupational groups, including legal; arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media; and computer and mathematical.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, Roanoke area employment was more highly concentrated in 10 of the 22 occupational groups, including healthcare practitioners and technical, production, and sales and related. Twelve groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including management, computer and mathematical, and business and financial operations. (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. Roanoke had 13,550 jobs in healthcare practitioners and technical, accounting for 9.0 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 6.1-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $41.52, significantly below the national wage of $49.07.

  

View Chart Data

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Chart 1. Hourly mean wages for higher paying healthcare practitioners and technical occupations in the Roanoke metropolitan area, May 2023

Occupation	Wage
All occupations	$26.20
Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations	41.52
Orthopedic surgeons, except pediatric	218.88
General internal medicine physicians	175.86
Physicians, all other	131.18
Psychiatrists	106.30
Family medicine physicians	106.21

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group included registered nurses (5,470) and licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses (1,090). Among the higher-paying jobs in this group were orthopedic surgeons, except pediatric ($212.88) and general internal medicine physicians ($175.86). (See chart 1.) At the lower end of the wage scale were emergency medical technicians ($18.75) and ophthalmic medical technicians ($19.24). (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_40220.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 Roanoke area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group. For instance, radiologic technologists and technicians were employed at 1.9 times the national rate in Roanoke, and clinical laboratory technologists and technicians, at 1.8 times the U.S. average. Nurse practitioners had a location quotient of 1.0 in Roanoke, indicating that this particular occupation’s local and national employment shares were similar.

The statistics in this release are from the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, a cooperative effort between BLS and the State Workforce Agencies (SWAs). BLS funds the survey and provides the procedures and technical support. State Workforce Agencies collect most of the data: in this case, the Virginia Employment Commission.

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. Full OEWS data tables are available online.

Additional information about the OEWS estimates and methodology are available in the national Technical Notes. The overall national response rate for the six panels, based on the 50 states and the District of Columbia, is 65.8 percent based on establishments and 64.3 percent based on weighted sampled employment. The sample in the Roanoke, VA Metropolitan Statistical Area included 1,696 establishments with a response rate of 66 percent.

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 Roanoke, VA Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Botetourt County, Craig County, Franklin County, Roanoke city, Roanoke County, and Salem city.

For more information

Answers to frequently asked questions about the OEWS data, as well as general program documentation, are available on the OEWS website.

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.