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Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2020

13-1051 Cost Estimators

Prepare cost estimates for product manufacturing, construction projects, or services to aid management in bidding on or determining price of product or service. May specialize according to particular service performed or type of product manufactured.


National estimates for Cost Estimators
Industry profile for Cost Estimators
Geographic profile for Cost Estimators

National estimates for Cost Estimators:

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Cost Estimators:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
199,360 1.0 % $ 35.08 $ 72,960 0.4 %

Percentile wage estimates for Cost Estimators:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $ 19.41 $ 24.99 $ 32.03 $ 42.53 $ 54.98
Annual Wage (2) $ 40,380 $ 51,980 $ 66,610 $ 88,460 $ 114,360


Industry profile for Cost Estimators:

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Cost Estimators are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in Cost Estimators, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in Cost Estimators:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Building Equipment Contractors 28,380 1.30 $ 36.92 $ 76,800
Nonresidential Building Construction 20,520 2.54 $ 39.66 $ 82,480
Foundation, Structure, and Building Exterior Contractors 17,450 1.89 $ 34.77 $ 72,320
Building Finishing Contractors 15,990 1.99 $ 33.82 $ 70,340
Residential Building Construction 14,480 1.81 $ 33.25 $ 69,160

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Cost Estimators:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Nonresidential Building Construction 20,520 2.54 $ 39.66 $ 82,480
Building Finishing Contractors 15,990 1.99 $ 33.82 $ 70,340
Foundation, Structure, and Building Exterior Contractors 17,450 1.89 $ 34.77 $ 72,320
Residential Building Construction 14,480 1.81 $ 33.25 $ 69,160
Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction 5,570 1.56 $ 40.99 $ 85,260

Top paying industries for Cost Estimators:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Natural Gas Distribution 900 0.84 $ 45.31 $ 94,250
Software Publishers 60 0.01 $ 44.46 $ 92,480
Communications Equipment Manufacturing 70 0.09 $ 44.41 $ 92,370
Waste Treatment and Disposal 60 0.06 $ 44.34 $ 92,230
Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities 60 0.01 $ 43.56 $ 90,610


Geographic profile for Cost Estimators:

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Cost Estimators are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in Cost Estimators, see the Create Customized Tables function.





States with the highest employment level in Cost Estimators:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
California 25,330 1.54 1.08 $ 39.98 $ 83,150
Texas 16,500 1.36 0.95 $ 35.17 $ 73,150
Florida 12,940 1.53 1.07 $ 31.42 $ 65,350
New York 8,640 0.99 0.69 $ 38.44 $ 79,950
Virginia 8,290 2.24 1.56 $ 35.77 $ 74,400




States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Cost Estimators:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Virginia 8,290 2.24 1.56 $ 35.77 $ 74,400
Montana 1,010 2.21 1.54 $ 28.14 $ 58,540
South Dakota 890 2.16 1.50 $ 28.90 $ 60,100
Delaware 910 2.12 1.48 $ 33.56 $ 69,800
Colorado 5,430 2.11 1.47 $ 35.48 $ 73,790




Top paying states for Cost Estimators:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
District of Columbia 420 0.61 0.43 $ 50.41 $ 104,840
Massachusetts 5,320 1.59 1.11 $ 43.73 $ 90,950
Hawaii 690 1.20 0.83 $ 40.57 $ 84,380
California 25,330 1.54 1.08 $ 39.98 $ 83,150
Alaska 250 0.84 0.59 $ 39.64 $ 82,450





Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Cost Estimators:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 9,060 1.03 0.72 $ 39.73 $ 82,640
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 7,580 1.30 0.91 $ 39.48 $ 82,130
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 5,530 1.54 1.07 $ 35.37 $ 73,570
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 4,660 1.57 1.10 $ 37.65 $ 78,300
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 4,540 1.50 1.05 $ 41.11 $ 85,520
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 4,290 0.98 0.69 $ 36.45 $ 75,820
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH 4,180 1.61 1.12 $ 44.67 $ 92,910
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 4,080 1.51 1.06 $ 38.21 $ 79,480
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ 3,770 1.79 1.25 $ 35.28 $ 73,390
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 3,670 1.88 1.31 $ 40.07 $ 83,350




Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Cost Estimators:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Greeley, CO 380 3.62 2.53 $ 30.86 $ 64,180
Wausau, WI 230 3.31 2.31 $ 29.62 $ 61,600
Harrisonburg, VA 200 3.19 2.22 $ 32.17 $ 66,920
Bend-Redmond, OR 250 3.12 2.17 $ 29.88 $ 62,160
Lynchburg, VA 300 3.11 2.17 $ 26.92 $ 56,000
St. George, UT 210 3.08 2.15 $ 29.02 $ 60,360
Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC 2,160 3.00 2.09 $ 36.10 $ 75,080
Rapid City, SD 190 2.97 2.07 $ 30.61 $ 63,660
Manhattan, KS 110 2.92 2.04 $ 34.57 $ 71,910
Billings, MT 240 2.89 2.01 $ 31.08 $ 64,660




Top paying metropolitan areas for Cost Estimators:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 3,520 1.51 1.05 $ 50.25 $ 104,530
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL 310 1.81 1.27 $ 50.13 $ 104,270
Norwich-New London-Westerly, CT-RI 100 0.88 0.62 $ 48.57 $ 101,020
Vallejo-Fairfield, CA 360 2.73 1.91 $ 46.43 $ 96,580
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH 4,180 1.61 1.12 $ 44.67 $ 92,910
San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles-Arroyo Grande, CA 120 1.10 0.77 $ 44.55 $ 92,660
Fresno, CA 610 1.61 1.12 $ 43.97 $ 91,470
Santa Rosa, CA 550 2.84 1.98 $ 43.88 $ 91,270
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT 490 1.31 0.91 $ 43.82 $ 91,130
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 1,620 1.47 1.03 $ 43.54 $ 90,560

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Cost Estimators:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Kansas nonmetropolitan area 640 1.70 1.19 $ 31.86 $ 66,270
North Northeastern Ohio nonmetropolitan area (noncontiguous) 590 1.88 1.31 $ 29.72 $ 61,820
South Central Wisconsin nonmetropolitan area 400 2.02 1.41 $ 24.64 $ 51,260
Piedmont North Carolina nonmetropolitan area 370 1.52 1.06 $ 29.53 $ 61,420
Southwest Montana nonmetropolitan area 330 2.44 1.70 $ 24.51 $ 50,980

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Cost Estimators:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Northwest Virginia nonmetropolitan area 160 2.54 1.77 $ 29.01 $ 60,340
Southwest Montana nonmetropolitan area 330 2.44 1.70 $ 24.51 $ 50,980
Western Washington nonmetropolitan area 270 2.27 1.58 $ 35.71 $ 74,280
Northwest Colorado nonmetropolitan area 260 2.25 1.57 $ 32.09 $ 66,750
West South Dakota nonmetropolitan area 130 2.23 1.56 $ 26.16 $ 54,410

Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Cost Estimators:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Massachusetts nonmetropolitan area 100 1.80 1.26 $ 50.60 $ 105,250
Connecticut nonmetropolitan area 40 1.37 0.96 $ 46.52 $ 96,760
North Missouri nonmetropolitan area 110 1.02 0.71 $ 41.10 $ 85,490
Hawaii / Kauai nonmetropolitan area 80 0.84 0.59 $ 40.76 $ 84,780
Southwest Missouri nonmetropolitan area 50 0.67 0.47 $ 38.04 $ 79,120


About May 2020 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 top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.

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 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.

(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 OEWS estimates and related information:

May 2020 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2020 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2020 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2020 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2020 Occupation Profiles

Technical Notes

 

Last Modified Date: March 31, 2021