Workers in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $42.49 in May 2023, 35 percent above 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 higher than their respective national averages in all of the 22 major occupational groups.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, Washington area employment was more highly concentrated in 11 of the 22 occupational groups, including business and financial operations, computer and mathematical, and management. Eleven groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including production, transportation and material moving, and office and administrative support. (See table A.)

One occupational group—business and financial operations—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Washington had 384,770 jobs in business and financial operations, accounting for 12.4 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 6.6-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $56.24, significantly above the national wage of $43.55.

  

View Chart Data

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Chart 1. Hourly mean wages for higher paying business and financial operations occupations in the Washington metropolitan area, May 2023

Occupation	Wage
All occupations	$42.49
Business and financial operations occupations	56.24
Management analysts	80.38
Personal financial advisors	77.46
Financial examiners	66.49
Financial risk specialists	60.74
Project management specialists	59.29

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the business and financial operations group included management analysts (71,340), accountants and auditors (45,080), and project management specialists (37,810). Among the higher-paying jobs in this group were management analysts and personal financial advisors, with mean hourly wages of $80.38 and $77.46, respectively.  (See chart 1.) At the lower end of the wage scale were credit counselors ($31.92) and tax preparers ($33.21). (Detailed data for the business and financial operations occupations are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_47900.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 Washington area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the business and financial operations group. For instance, management analysts were employed at 4.2 times the national rate in Washington, and meeting, convention, and event planners, at 2.1 times the U.S. average. Personal financial advisors had a location quotient of 1.0 in Washington, 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 District of Columbia Department of Employment Services, the Virginia Employment Commission, the Maryland Department of Labor, and Workforce West Virginia.

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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area included 14,545 establishments with a response rate of 60 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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area includes District of Columbia, DC; Calvert County, MD; Charles County, MD; Frederick County, MD; Montgomery County, MD; Prince George's County, MD; Alexandria city, VA; Arlington County, VA; Clarke County, VA; Culpeper County, VA; Fairfax city, VA; Fairfax County, VA; Falls Church city, VA; Fauquier County, VA; Fredericksburg city, VA; Loudoun County, VA; Manassas city, VA; Manassas Park city, VA; Prince William County, VA; Rappahannock County, VA; Spotsylvania County, VA; Stafford County, VA; Warren County, VA; and Jefferson County, WV.

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.