Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
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Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2018
51-8031 Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators
Operate or control an entire process or system of machines, often through the use of control boards, to transfer or treat water or wastewater.
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) |
| 123,650 |
1.0 % |
$23.79 |
$49,490 |
0.4 % |
Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Hourly Wage |
$13.60 |
$17.30 |
$22.49 |
$28.88 |
$36.64 |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$28,300 |
$35,980 |
$46,780 |
$60,080 |
$76,200 |
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) |
95,220 |
1.74 |
$23.91 |
$49,720 |
| Water, Sewage and Other Systems |
13,740 |
26.68 |
$22.21 |
$46,190 |
| Waste Treatment and Disposal |
2,700 |
2.76 |
$26.07 |
$54,230 |
| Animal Slaughtering and Processing |
860 |
0.17 |
$18.30 |
$38,060 |
| State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation) |
810 |
0.04 |
$28.83 |
$59,960 |
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 |
13,740 |
26.68 |
$22.21 |
$46,190 |
| Waste Treatment and Disposal |
2,700 |
2.76 |
$26.07 |
$54,230 |
| Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation) |
95,220 |
1.74 |
$23.91 |
$49,720 |
| Metal Ore Mining |
120 |
0.31 |
$29.78 |
$61,930 |
| Pulp, Paper, and Paperboard Mills |
270 |
0.30 |
$24.97 |
$51,930 |
Top paying industries for this occupation:
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 |
12,100 |
1.00 |
1.17 |
$18.92 |
$39,360 |
| California |
11,980 |
0.70 |
0.82 |
$34.93 |
$72,650 |
| Florida |
6,340 |
0.74 |
0.86 |
$23.42 |
$48,710 |
| Pennsylvania |
5,340 |
0.91 |
1.07 |
$23.95 |
$49,810 |
| New York |
4,720 |
0.50 |
0.59 |
$28.46 |
$59,190 |
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) |
| Arkansas |
2,600 |
2.15 |
2.52 |
$17.01 |
$35,380 |
| South Dakota |
880 |
2.09 |
2.45 |
$20.47 |
$42,580 |
| West Virginia |
1,410 |
2.02 |
2.36 |
$17.54 |
$36,480 |
| Idaho |
1,330 |
1.88 |
2.20 |
$21.62 |
$44,970 |
| Alaska |
570 |
1.82 |
2.13 |
$30.36 |
$63,160 |
Top paying States for this occupation:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| California |
11,980 |
0.70 |
0.82 |
$34.93 |
$72,650 |
| Connecticut |
1,000 |
0.60 |
0.70 |
$32.00 |
$66,560 |
| Washington |
2,850 |
0.87 |
1.02 |
$30.54 |
$63,520 |
| Alaska |
570 |
1.82 |
2.13 |
$30.36 |
$63,160 |
| Nevada |
(8) |
(8) |
(8) |
$30.34 |
$63,110 |
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 |
3,680 |
0.39 |
0.45 |
$32.23 |
$67,050 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
2,630 |
0.43 |
0.50 |
$37.02 |
$77,000 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
2,180 |
0.47 |
0.55 |
$31.07 |
$64,630 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX |
2,000 |
0.67 |
0.78 |
$21.54 |
$44,810 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
1,990 |
0.56 |
0.65 |
$20.38 |
$42,390 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
1,820 |
0.58 |
0.68 |
$26.99 |
$56,150 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
1,680 |
0.59 |
0.69 |
$26.56 |
$55,250 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA |
1,580 |
0.59 |
0.69 |
$21.30 |
$44,310 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA |
1,520 |
1.01 |
1.19 |
$33.39 |
$69,460 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI |
1,360 |
0.70 |
0.81 |
$28.45 |
$59,170 |
United States Department of Labor
