Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2018

19-3092 Geographers

Study the nature and use of areas of the Earth's surface, relating and interpreting interactions of physical and cultural phenomena. Conduct research on physical aspects of a region, including land forms, climates, soils, plants, and animals, and conduct research on the spatial implications of human activities within a given area, including social characteristics, economic activities, and political organization, as well as researching interdependence between regions at scales ranging from local to global.

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)
1,390	3.1 %	$38.72	$80,530	1.1 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$24.38	$30.42	$38.60	$46.62	$52.84
Annual Wage (2)	$50,720	$63,270	$80,300	$96,980	$109,900

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)
Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation)	840	0.04	$42.23	$87,830
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools	230	0.01	$31.22	$64,950
State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation)	80	0.00	$29.56	$61,490
Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services	80	0.01	$36.17	$75,230
Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services	80	0.01	$38.02	$79,080

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation)	840	0.04	$42.23	$87,830
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools	230	0.01	$31.22	$64,950
Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services	80	0.01	$38.02	$79,080
Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services	80	0.01	$36.17	$75,230
State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation)	80	0.00	$29.56	$61,490

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)	840	0.04	$42.23	$87,830
Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services	80	0.01	$38.02	$79,080
Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services	80	0.01	$36.17	$75,230
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools	230	0.01	$31.22	$64,950
State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation)	80	(7)	$29.56	$61,490

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)
Maryland	310	0.11	11.97	$40.86	$84,990
Texas	150	0.01	1.28	$31.25	$65,000
California	120	0.01	0.71	$41.12	$85,530
Colorado	70	0.03	2.81	$40.57	$84,380
Minnesota	60	0.02	2.03	$32.61	$67,820

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)
Maryland	310	0.11	11.97	$40.86	$84,990
Colorado	70	0.03	2.81	$40.57	$84,380
Oregon	30	0.02	1.86	$37.80	$78,630
Minnesota	60	0.02	2.03	$32.61	$67,820
Louisiana	30	0.02	1.77	$39.02	$81,160

Top paying States for this occupation:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
California	120	0.01	0.71	$41.12	$85,530
Maryland	310	0.11	11.97	$40.86	$84,990
Colorado	70	0.03	2.81	$40.57	$84,380
Washington	40	0.01	1.25	$40.16	$83,530
Louisiana	30	0.02	1.77	$39.02	$81,160

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)
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	310	0.10	10.37	$43.45	$90,370
Austin-Round Rock, TX	80	0.08	8.06	$31.51	$65,550
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD	70	0.05	5.36	$40.47	$84,180
Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO	50	0.04	3.74	$41.80	$86,940
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	50	0.03	2.61	$32.54	$67,680

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)
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	310	0.10	10.37	$43.45	$90,370
Austin-Round Rock, TX	80	0.08	8.06	$31.51	$65,550
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD	70	0.05	5.36	$40.47	$84,180
Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO	50	0.04	3.74	$41.80	$86,940
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	50	0.03	2.61	$32.54	$67,680

Top paying metropolitan areas for this occupation:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	310	0.10	10.37	$43.45	$90,370
Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO	50	0.04	3.74	$41.80	$86,940
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD	70	0.05	5.36	$40.47	$84,180
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	(8)	(8)	(8)	$38.12	$79,280
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	50	0.03	2.61	$32.54	$67,680
Austin-Round Rock, TX	80	0.08	8.06	$31.51	$65,550

About May 2018 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.

(7) The value is less than .005 percent of industry employment.

(8) Estimate not released.

(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 OES estimates and related information:

May 2018 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2018 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2018 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2018 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2018 Occupation Profiles

Technical Notes

Last Modified Date: March 29, 2019