Among New York’s 12 metropolitan areas, only New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island had wages significantly higher than the national average for registered nurses, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Eight areas, including the New York metropolitan area, Elmira, and Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown, had wages significantly higher than the national average for nursing assistants. Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli noted that nine areas had wages for registered nurses that were measurably below those for the nation, while no metropolitan area reported significantly lower wages for nursing assistants. Nationwide, the average (mean) wage for registered nurses was $33.55, and for nursing assistants, $12.62. (See table A. For comprehensive definitions of metropolitan areas in New York, please see Technical Note.).

Table A. Average (mean) hourly wages for selected nursing occupations in the United States, New York, and metropolitan areas in New York, May 2014

Area	Registered nurses	Nursing assistants
United States	$33.55	$12.62
New York	37.07*	15.61*
Albany-Schenectady-Troy	28.99*	13.27*
Binghamton	31.33*	13.63*
Buffalo-Niagara Falls	32.94	13.81*
Elmira	27.85*	14.87*
Glens Falls	29.32*	13.92*
Ithaca	27.78*	12.48
Kingston	30.19*	13.40
New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island	40.22*	15.78*
Nassau-Suffolk	38.91*	17.12*
New York-White Plains-Wayne	41.35*	16.33*
Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown	34.17	14.41*
Rochester	29.54*	12.68
Syracuse	28.42*	13.52*
Utica-Rome	28.41*	12.22
Note: An asterisk indicates that the mean annual wage for this area is significantly different from the national average of all areas at the 90-percent confidence level.

Of the 12 metropolitan areas located entirely or partially in the state, the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island area had the largest number of registered nurses (161,080) and nursing assistants (100,770). The New York metropolitan area is made up of four metropolitan divisions. Over 61 percent (98,330) of the area’s registered nurses worked in the New York-White Plains-Wayne division and 15 percent worked in the Nassau-Suffolk division. (See table B. The New York area’s other divisions, Newark-Union and Edison-New Brunswick, contain no counties in New York State, and their data have not been presented in this release.) Albany-Schenectady-Troy, Rochester, and Buffalo-Niagara Falls were the three other metropolitan areas in New York with at least 9,000 registered nurses.

Table B. Employment of selected nursing occupations in the United States, New York, and metropolitan areas in New York, May 2014

Area	Registered nurses	Nursing assistants
United States	2,687,310	1,427,740
New York	169,560	101,030
Albany-Schenectady-Troy	9,720	5,080
Binghamton	2,230	1,110
Buffalo-Niagara Falls	11,370	5,670
Elmira	1,090	660
Glens Falls	1,040	730
Ithaca	750	400
Kingston	1,020	720
New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island	161,080	100,770
Nassau-Suffolk	24,550	14,280
New York-White Plains-Wayne	98,330	61,870
Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown	4,640	3,220
Rochester	10,940	6,010
Syracuse	5,700	3,090
Utica-Rome	2,880	2,350

Wages for registered nurses in metropolitan areas in New York

New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island was the highest-paying metropolitan area in the state for registered nurses, at $40.22 per hour, nearly $7.00 above the U.S. average of $33.55 for this occupation. By contrast, wages for registered nurses in 9 of the 12 metropolitan areas in the state were significantly below the national average. Elmira ($27.85) and Ithaca ($27.78) were among the lower-paying areas for this occupation. Two areas had wages for registered nurses that were not measurably different from the national average. (For the purpose of completeness, the chart also includes nonmetropolitan areas.) (See chart 1.)

Wages for nursing assistants in metropolitan areas in New York

The New York metropolitan area ($15.78 per hour), Elmira ($14.87), and Poughkeepsie ($14.41) were among the eight areas with significantly higher wages for nursing assistants than the national average. Four areas in New York State had wages for nursing assistants that were not measurably different from the U.S. average of $12.62. (See chart 2.)

These statistics are from the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey, a federal-state cooperative program between BLS and State Workforce Agencies, in this case, the New York State Department of Labor and the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

Technical Note

The Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey is a semiannual mail survey measuring occupational employment and wage rates for wage and salary workers in nonfarm establishments in the United States. Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands are also surveyed, but their data are not included in the national estimates. OES estimates are constructed from a sample of about 1.2 million establishments. Forms are mailed to approximately 200,000 sampled establishments in May and November each year. May 2014 estimates are based on responses from six semiannual panels collected over a 3-year period: May 2014, November 2013, May 2013, November 2012, May 2012, and November 2011. The overall national response rate for the six panels is 74.3 percent based on establishments and 70.5 percent based on weighted sampled employment. The unweighted employment of sampled establishments across all six semiannual panels represents approximately 57.1 percent of total national employment. (Response rates are slightly lower for these estimates due to the federal shutdown in October 2013.) For more information about OES concepts and methodology, go to www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.tn.htm.

The OES survey provides estimates of employment and hourly and annual wages for wage and salary workers in 22 major occupational groups and 821 detailed occupations for the nation, states, metropolitan statistical areas, metropolitan divisions, and nonmetropolitan areas. In addition, employment and wage estimates for 94 minor groups and 458 broad occupations are available in the national data. OES data by state and metropolitan/nonmetropolitan area are available from www.bls.gov/oes/current/oessrcst.htm and www.bls.gov/oes/current/oessrcma.htm, respectively.

The May 2014 OES estimates are based on the 2010 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system and the 2012 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). Information about the 2010 SOC is available on the BLS website at www.bls.gov/soc and information about the 2012 NAICS is available at www.bls.gov/bls/naics.htm.

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.

• Albany-Schenectady-Troy, N.Y. Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) includes Albany, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, and Schoharie Counties in New York.
• Binghamton, N.Y. MSA includes Broome and Tioga Counties in New York.
• Buffalo-Niagara Falls, N.Y. MSA includes Erie and Niagara Counties in New York.
• Elmira, N.Y. MSA includes Chemung County in New York.
• Glens Falls, N.Y. MSA includes Warren and Washington Counties in New York.
• Ithaca, N.Y. MSA includes Tompkins County in New York.
• Kingston, N.Y. MSA includes Ulster County in New York.
• New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa. MSA includes the following:
  • Edison-New Brunswick, N.J. Metropolitan Division (MD) includes Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, and Somerset Counties in New Jersey.
  • Nassau-Suffolk, N.Y. MD includes Nassau and Suffolk Counties in New York.
  • Newark-Union, N.J.-Pa. MD includes Essex, Hunterdon, Morris, Sussex, and Union Counties in New Jersey and Pike County in Pennsylvania.
  • New York-White Plains-Wayne, N.Y.-N.J. MD includes Bergen, Hudson, and Passaic Counties in New Jersey; and Bronx, Kings, New York, Putnam, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, and Westchester Counties in New York.
• Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown, N.Y. MSA includes Dutchess and Orange Counties in New York.
• Rochester, N.Y. MSA includes Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Orleans, and Wayne Counties in New York.
• Syracuse, N.Y. MSA includes Madison, Onondaga, and Oswego Counties in New York.
• Utica-Rome, N.Y. MSA includes Herkimer and Oneida Counties in New York.

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