Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2018

53-7081 Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors

Collect and dump refuse or recyclable materials from containers into truck. May drive truck.

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)
118,520	1.6 %	$19.50	$40,560	1.1 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$10.71	$13.60	$17.92	$23.68	$31.74
Annual Wage (2)	$22,290	$28,280	$37,260	$49,260	$66,020

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)
Waste Collection	55,230	30.76	$18.69	$38,870
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation)	39,230	0.72	$20.08	$41,760
Waste Treatment and Disposal	16,870	17.25	$22.09	$45,940
Employment Services	2,210	0.06	$13.88	$28,880
Remediation and Other Waste Management Services	2,130	1.42	$17.22	$35,820

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Waste Collection	55,230	30.76	$18.69	$38,870
Waste Treatment and Disposal	16,870	17.25	$22.09	$45,940
Remediation and Other Waste Management Services	2,130	1.42	$17.22	$35,820
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation)	39,230	0.72	$20.08	$41,760
Employment Services	2,210	0.06	$13.88	$28,880

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Postal Service (federal government)	160	0.03	$24.47	$50,900
State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation)	420	0.02	$22.87	$47,580
Waste Treatment and Disposal	16,870	17.25	$22.09	$45,940
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation)	39,230	0.72	$20.08	$41,760
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	70	(7)	$18.96	$39,430

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)
California	13,130	0.77	0.94	$25.83	$53,730
New York	10,480	1.12	1.36	$27.27	$56,710
Texas	9,050	0.75	0.91	$16.58	$34,500
Florida	5,810	0.67	0.82	$17.53	$36,460
North Carolina	5,070	1.16	1.41	$14.12	$29,370

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)
Vermont	410	1.34	1.64	$16.35	$34,020
Nebraska	1,300	1.33	1.63	$15.88	$33,030
Arkansas	1,590	1.31	1.61	$13.99	$29,090
Maine	780	1.28	1.56	$14.81	$30,800
Alabama	2,450	1.26	1.54	$14.94	$31,080

Top paying States for this occupation:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Illinois	4,420	0.74	0.90	$27.73	$57,680
New York	10,480	1.12	1.36	$27.27	$56,710
California	13,130	0.77	0.94	$25.83	$53,730
Washington	2,450	0.75	0.92	$24.89	$51,780
Alaska	220	0.70	0.85	$23.08	$48,000

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	10,340	1.09	1.33	$27.43	$57,050
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	4,220	0.69	0.84	$26.80	$55,750
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI	3,260	0.70	0.86	$28.83	$59,960
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA	2,470	1.02	1.24	$30.75	$63,970
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX	2,380	0.80	0.97	$15.98	$33,240
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI	2,330	1.18	1.44	$21.48	$44,680
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	2,010	0.64	0.78	$23.21	$48,270
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL	1,770	1.35	1.65	$18.47	$38,420
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	1,750	0.49	0.60	$16.94	$35,230
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ	1,750	0.85	1.04	$20.29	$42,200