Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2016

19-4031 Chemical Technicians

Conduct chemical and physical laboratory tests to assist scientists in making qualitative and quantitative analyses of solids, liquids, and gaseous materials for research and development of new products or processes, quality control, maintenance of environmental standards, and other work involving experimental, theoretical, or practical application of chemistry and related sciences.

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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 occupation:

Employment (1)	Employment RSE (3)	Mean hourly wage	Mean annual wage (2)	Wage RSE (3)
65,510	1.9 %	$23.93	$49,770	1.2 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$13.33	$16.80	$22.04	$29.23	$36.98
Annual Wage (2)	$27,730	$34,940	$45,840	$60,790	$76,930

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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)
Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services	14,420	1.03	$19.71	$41,000
Scientific Research and Development Services	6,580	0.98	$30.18	$62,770
Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing	6,380	2.25	$22.31	$46,410
Basic Chemical Manufacturing	5,690	3.78	$26.71	$55,550
Resin, Synthetic Rubber, and Artificial Synthetic Fibers and Filaments Manufacturing	2,700	2.93	$27.94	$58,120

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Basic Chemical Manufacturing	5,690	3.78	$26.71	$55,550
Paint, Coating, and Adhesive Manufacturing	2,110	3.45	$24.15	$50,220
Resin, Synthetic Rubber, and Artificial Synthetic Fibers and Filaments Manufacturing	2,700	2.93	$27.94	$58,120
Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing	6,380	2.25	$22.31	$46,410
Other Chemical Product and Preparation Manufacturing	1,780	2.20	$23.07	$47,980

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation)	50	(7)	$36.59	$76,110
Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution	790	0.20	$34.54	$71,830
Oil and Gas Extraction	170	0.09	$30.76	$63,970
Warehousing and Storage	30	(7)	$30.70	$63,850
Water, Sewage and Other Systems	90	0.19	$30.65	$63,750

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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	6,710	0.42	0.90	$22.84	$47,510
Texas	6,260	0.53	1.14	$25.87	$53,810
New Jersey	4,170	1.05	2.26	$32.23	$67,030
Pennsylvania	3,980	0.69	1.48	$22.34	$46,470
Ohio	3,760	0.70	1.51	$21.45	$44,620

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)
Delaware	640	1.45	3.11	$29.60	$61,560
Wyoming	330	1.18	2.54	$22.48	$46,750
Louisiana	2,050	1.07	2.29	$28.95	$60,220
New Jersey	4,170	1.05	2.26	$32.23	$67,030
West Virginia	600	0.87	1.86	$23.90	$49,700

Top paying States for this occupation:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
North Dakota	70	0.15	0.33	$32.91	$68,460
New Jersey	4,170	1.05	2.26	$32.23	$67,030
Delaware	640	1.45	3.11	$29.60	$61,560
Louisiana	2,050	1.07	2.29	$28.95	$60,220
Alaska	140	0.43	0.92	$28.80	$59,910

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)
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX	2,720	0.93	1.98	$28.27	$58,790
New York-Jersey City-White Plains, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division	2,140	0.32	0.70	$24.87	$51,740
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division	1,580	0.37	0.80	$20.32	$42,260
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	1,290	0.67	1.44	$26.57	$55,260
Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights, IL Metropolitan Division	1,210	0.33	0.71	$23.39	$48,650
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA NECTA Division	1,060	0.59	1.26	$27.55	$57,300
Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN	1,040	1.00	2.14	$20.82	$43,310
Montgomery County-Bucks County-Chester County, PA Metropolitan Division	1,000	0.98	2.10	$21.34	$44,390
Pittsburgh, PA	1,000	0.88	1.88	$21.63	$44,990
Cleveland-Elyria, OH	960	0.93	2.00	$21.41	$44,530

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)
Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX	500	3.10	6.64	$31.78	$66,110
Lake Charles, LA	300	2.94	6.30	$28.41	$59,090
Beckley, WV	100	2.34	5.01	$14.46	$30,080
Baton Rouge, LA	790	2.01	4.30	$32.59	$67,780
Wilmington, DE-MD-NJ Metropolitan Division	670	1.94	4.16	$29.29	$60,920
Evansville, IN-KY	280	1.81	3.88	$25.70	$53,450
Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA	130	1.81	3.87	$26.34	$54,790
Cleveland, TN	80	1.68	3.59	$23.41	$48,690
Lowell-Billerica-Chelmsford, MA-NH NECTA Division	240	1.59	3.40	$23.71	$49,310
Charleston, WV	170	1.53	3.28	$27.06	$56,290