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Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2018

43-5041 Meter Readers, Utilities

Read meter and record consumption of electricity, gas, water, or steam.


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)
33,570 3.9 % $21.46 $44,640 1.1 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $11.83 $14.43 $19.40 $26.84 $34.15
Annual Wage (2) $24,600 $30,010 $40,360 $55,820 $71,040


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)
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation) 13,190 0.24 $20.08 $41,770
Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution 6,900 1.76 $26.57 $55,260
Natural Gas Distribution 2,740 2.50 $27.81 $57,850
Water, Sewage and Other Systems 2,040 3.96 $18.43 $38,340
Employment Services 890 0.02 $18.49 $38,450

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Water, Sewage and Other Systems 2,040 3.96 $18.43 $38,340
Natural Gas Distribution 2,740 2.50 $27.81 $57,850
Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution 6,900 1.76 $26.57 $55,260
Pipeline Transportation of Natural Gas 80 0.28 $22.06 $45,890
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation) 13,190 0.24 $20.08 $41,770

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Natural Gas Distribution 2,740 2.50 $27.81 $57,850
Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution 6,900 1.76 $26.57 $55,260
Management of Companies and Enterprises 260 0.01 $22.38 $46,560
Pipeline Transportation of Natural Gas 80 0.28 $22.06 $45,890
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation) 13,190 0.24 $20.08 $41,770


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)
Texas 2,770 0.23 0.99 $16.16 $33,610
Indiana 2,210 0.73 3.13 $20.06 $41,730
California 2,080 0.12 0.53 $29.33 $61,010
Georgia 1,810 0.41 1.78 $18.02 $37,480
Ohio 1,720 0.32 1.37 $21.67 $45,070




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)
Louisiana 1,390 0.73 3.14 $13.34 $27,740
Indiana 2,210 0.73 3.13 $20.06 $41,730
West Virginia 440 0.63 2.72 $19.25 $40,040
Arkansas 730 0.61 2.61 $14.03 $29,180
Mississippi 640 0.57 2.45 $14.55 $30,260




Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Massachusetts 570 0.16 0.69 $29.59 $61,540
California 2,080 0.12 0.53 $29.33 $61,010
Colorado 440 0.17 0.73 $28.91 $60,130
New York 1,160 0.12 0.53 $28.69 $59,670
Connecticut 160 0.09 0.41 $28.48 $59,240





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)
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 1,770 0.19 0.80 (8) (8)
Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN 1,630 1.57 6.76 $19.82 $41,230
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 770 0.13 0.54 $27.87 $57,960
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 630 0.23 1.01 $19.92 $41,420
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 560 0.12 0.52 $28.70 $59,700
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 510 0.17 0.74 $16.02 $33,320
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ 500 0.24 1.05 $25.49 $53,020
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 480 0.14 0.59 $16.76 $34,860
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 450 0.23 0.97 $23.63 $49,140
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 450 0.16 0.68 $28.16 $58,570




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)
Beckley, WV 100 2.30 9.91 $19.31 $40,170
Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN 1,630 1.57 6.76 $19.82 $41,230
Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX 180 1.14 4.92 $15.35 $31,930
Alexandria, LA 70 1.09 4.71 $13.99 $29,100
Lake Havasu City-Kingman, AZ 40 0.85 3.65 $23.41 $48,680
Valdosta, GA 40 0.84 3.63 $13.03 $27,100
Monroe, LA 60 0.79 3.40 $13.13 $27,300
Macon, GA 70 0.70 3.00 $18.36 $38,180
Abilene, TX 40 0.65 2.80 $14.12 $29,370
Wichita, KS 190 0.63 2.72 $18.70 $38,890




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)
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 130 0.05 0.23 $37.57 $78,160
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 90 0.08 0.36 $35.52 $73,870
Anchorage, AK 30 0.17 0.75 $34.37 $71,480
Vallejo-Fairfield, CA (8) (8) (8) $32.35 $67,280
Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA 100 0.10 0.43 $32.26 $67,090
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT 40 0.07 0.31 $32.18 $66,930
New Haven, CT 30 0.12 0.50 $30.81 $64,080
San Diego-Carlsbad, CA 160 0.11 0.46 $30.62 $63,690
Boise City, ID 40 0.11 0.48 $30.62 $63,680
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH 420 0.15 0.65 $30.33 $63,090

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
North Arkansas nonmetropolitan area 230 2.03 8.74 $13.07 $27,180
South Central Kentucky nonmetropolitan area 200 1.17 5.03 $12.96 $26,970
North Texas Region of Texas nonmetropolitan area 200 0.72 3.11 $16.11 $33,510
Northeast Mississippi nonmetropolitan area 160 0.67 2.87 $14.68 $30,530
West Tennessee nonmetropolitan area 130 1.03 4.43 $17.29 $35,960

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
North Arkansas nonmetropolitan area 230 2.03 8.74 $13.07 $27,180
Southwest Louisiana nonmetropolitan area 120 1.66 7.18 $14.42 $29,990
Northeast Louisiana nonmetropolitan area 100 1.50 6.49 $12.61 $26,240
South Central Kentucky nonmetropolitan area 200 1.17 5.03 $12.96 $26,970
Southern West Virginia nonmetropolitan area 80 1.03 4.43 $19.18 $39,890

Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Northwest Colorado nonmetropolitan area (8) (8) (8) $30.67 $63,800
South Central Wisconsin nonmetropolitan area 50 0.22 0.95 $28.93 $60,170
Western Washington nonmetropolitan area 60 0.46 1.98 $28.83 $59,960
West North Dakota nonmetropolitan area 60 0.48 2.07 $27.96 $58,170
Southern Pennsylvania nonmetropolitan area 50 0.26 1.11 $27.26 $56,690


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.

(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