December 2010 

Occupational Employment

Statistics (OES) Highlights

Occupational Employment and Wages in 

Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Areas

Most U.S. employment is found in urban settings: in 2009, approximately 86 percent 

of U.S. nonfarm wage and salary jobs were located in one of nearly 370 metropolitan 

areas, ranging in size from the New York City metropolitan area, with total 

employment of over 8 million, to Palm Coast, Fla., with total employment of about 

16,000.

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

Percent of employment

Chart 1. Distribution of employment in metropolitan and 

nonmetropolitan areas, by occupational group, May 2009

Metropolitan 

areas

Nonmetropolitan 

areas
2 

Metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas differed not only in their shares of total 

employment, but also in the types of occupations they contained. Employment 

breakdowns by occupational group for metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas are 

shown in chart 1. (See page 8 to view these data in table format.) Compared to 

nonmetropolitan areas, metropolitan areas had higher employment concentrations in 

nearly all of the higher-paying occupational groups. For example, as a share of total 

employment, metropolitan areas had about twice as many legal and business and 

financial operations jobs, and more than three times as many computer and 

mathematical science jobs. Metropolitan areas also had higher employment shares of 

management; architecture and engineering; life, physical, and social science; and 

arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations. Only one occupational 

group with above-average wages—education, training, and library occupations—had 

a higher employment share in nonmetropolitan areas than in metropolitan areas. 

Production occupations made up about 10.6 percent of nonmetropolitan area 

employment, compared with 6.3 percent of employment in metropolitan areas. 

Nonmetropolitan areas also had higher employment shares of most of the other 

lower-paying occupational groups, including healthcare support; food preparation 

and serving related; farming, fishing, and forestry; and transportation and material 

moving occupations, although in many cases the differences were relatively small.1

Personal care and service, sales and related, and office and administrative support 

occupations were the only lower-paying occupational groups with higher employment 

shares in metropolitan areas.

Some occupations were found almost exclusively in metropolitan areas. For example, 

nearly all subway and streetcar operators—99.8 percent—were located in 

metropolitan areas, and over 86 percent of employment in this occupation was found 

in metropolitan areas with employment of 1 million or more. Similarly, 98.7 percent 

of political scientists were employed in metropolitan areas, with approximately twothirds located in a single metropolitan area, Washington, D.C.
3 

 

(See page 9 to view these data in table format.)

Other occupations that were highly concentrated in metropolitan areas are shown in 

chart 2. Aside from political scientists, these included other social science 

occupations, such as sociologists and industrial-organizational psychologists. Four 

occupations related to insurance and finance had 96 percent or more of their 

employment in metropolitan areas: actuaries; insurance appraisers, auto damage; 

financial analysts; and brokerage clerks. Other occupations found almost entirely in 

metropolitan areas included computer hardware and software engineers, several 

transportation-related occupations, and two personal care and service occupations—

shampooers, and manicurists and pedicurists. Like subway and streetcar operators

and political scientists, several of these occupations were especially concentrated in 

the largest metropolitan areas: 70 percent or more of flight attendants; airline pilots, 

copilots, and flight engineers; and shampooers were reported in metropolitan areas 

with employment of 1 million or more.

96 97 98 99 100

Industrial-organizational psychologists

Computer software engineers, applications

Sociologists

Brokerage clerks

Parking lot attendants

Manicurists and pedicurists

Prosthodontists

Financial analysts

Computer software engineers, systems software

Insurance appraisers, auto damage

Medical scientists, except epidemiologists

Airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers

Actuaries

Computer hardware engineers

Shampooers

Biochemists and biophysicists

Semiconductor processors

Political scientists

Flight attendants

Subway and streetcar operators

Percent of occupational employment in metropolitan areas

Chart 2. Occupations with the highest concentration of 

employment in metropolitan areas, May 2009
4 

(See page 10 to view these data in table format.)

Although nonmetropolitan areas made up only about 14 percent of total U.S. 

employment, they contained the majority of employment in some occupations, 

shown in chart 3. Of the 17 occupations in the chart, 7 are related to mining and 

natural resource extraction, including shuttle car operators; underground mining 

loading machine operators; continuous mining machine operators; and mining roof 

bolters, each of which had over 70 percent of employment in nonmetropolitan areas. 

Most of the remaining occupations shown in the chart are related to logging or 

forestry, including fallers, logging equipment operators, and forest and conservation 

technicians. Nonmetropolitan areas also contained the majority of postmasters and 

mail superintendents, farm equipment mechanics, and two production occupations 

related to animal production and logging: slaughterers and meat packers and wood 

sawing machine setters, operators, and tenders.

Metropolitan areas had higher wages than nonmetropolitan areas for all occupational 

groups except farming, fishing, and forestry, as well as for most detailed 

50 55 60 65 70 75 80

Farm equipment mechanics

Sawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, wood

Logging workers, all other

Mine cutting and channeling machine operators

Forest fire inspectors and prevention specialists

Extraction workers, all other

Slaughterers and meat packers

Explosives workers, ordnance handling experts & blasters

Postmasters and mail superintendents

Forest and conservation technicians

Log graders and scalers

Logging equipment operators

Fallers

Roof bolters, mining

Continuous mining machine operators

Loading machine operators, underground mining

Shuttle car operators

Percent of occupational employment in nonmetropolitan areas

Chart 3. Occupations found primarily in nonmetropolitan 

areas, May 2009
5 

occupations. However, some occupations had especially high wages in metropolitan 

areas relative to nonmetropolitan areas, including those shown in chart 4. 

(See page 11 to view these data in table format.)

For example, the hourly mean wage for actors was $13.81 in nonmetropolitan areas 

and $29.52 in metropolitan areas, a difference of 114 percent. Arts, design, 

entertainment, sports, and media occupations made up 11 of the 20 occupations in 

the chart. In addition to actors, these occupations included broadcast news analysts, 

producers and directors, and radio and television announcers. Other occupations with 

high wage premiums in metropolitan areas included three occupations related to law 

and law enforcement (lawyers; administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing 

officers; and police and sheriff’s patrol officers) and two related to advertising 

(advertising and promotions managers and advertising sales agents). $0.00 $10.00 $20.00 $30.00 $40.00 $50.00 $60.00

$70.00

Camera operators, television/video/motion picture

Financial managers

Police and sheriff's patrol officers

Advertising sales agents

Editors

Historians

Economists

Lawyers

Artists and related workers, all other

Multi-media artists and animators

Art directors

Advertising and promotions managers

Writers and authors

Admin. law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers

Reporters and correspondents

Film and video editors

Radio and television announcers

Producers and directors

Broadcast news analysts

Actors

Chart 4. Occupations with the highest percentage wage 

premiums in metropolitan areas, May 2009

Hourly mean wage in 

nonmetropolitan 

areas

Wage premium in 

metropolitan areas
6 

(See page 12 to view these data in table format.)

Occupations with the highest percentage wage premiums in nonmetropolitan areas 

are shown in chart 5. Compared with those shown in chart 4, the 

metropolitan/nonmetropolitan wage differences for these occupations were relatively 

small, ranging from nearly 18 percent for telephone operators to less than 5 percent 

for food batchmakers, and in some cases were not statistically significant. 

Several healthcare practitioner occupations had higher wages in nonmetropolitan 

areas than in metropolitan areas, including general pediatricians, psychiatrists, and 

general dentists. Because these occupational categories include healthcare 

practitioners in training, such as medical residents, these data are consistent with a 

greater likelihood for teaching hospitals and dental schools to be located in 

metropolitan areas. Other occupations with higher wages in nonmetropolitan areas 

included three production occupations (tire builders, textile bleaching and dyeing $0.00 $10.00 $20.00 $30.00 $40.00 $50.00 $60.00 $70.00 $80.00 $90.00 $100.00 $110.00

Food batchmakers

Textile bleaching and dyeing machine operators

Motorboat operators

Dentists, general

Segmental pavers

Avionics technicians

Orthodontists

Psychiatrists

Rail yard engineers, dinkey operators, and hostlers

Electromechanical technicians

Pediatricians, general

Loading machine operators, underground mining

Tire builders

Nuclear technicians

Transportation attendants, exc. flight & baggage porters

Health diagnosing and treating practitioners, all other

Physicians and surgeons, all other

Bridge and lock tenders

Mine cutting and channeling machine operators

Telephone operators

Chart 5. Occupations with the highest percentage wage 

premiums in nonmetropolitan areas, May 2009

Hourly mean wage 

in metropolitan 

areas

Wage premium in 

nonmetropolitan 

areas
7 

machine operators, and food batchmakers) and two mining occupations (mine 

cutting and channeling machine operators and underground mining loading machine 

operators). 

OES metropolitan area data are based on the Metropolitan Statistical Area definitions 

issued by the Office of Management and Budget; OES-defined nonmetropolitan areas 

contain the remainder of each state outside of the Metropolitan Statistical Areas. The 

aggregate metropolitan and nonmetropolitan area data presented here are based on 

a special tabulation performed for the purpose of this highlight. May 2009 OES data 

for individual metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, as well as national industryspecific estimates and national and state cross-industry estimates, are available from 

the OES home page at www.bls.gov/oes. This highlight was prepared by Audrey 

Watson. For more information, please contact the OES program at 

www.bls.gov/oes/home.htm#contact.

 

1 Because OES does not cover the majority of the agricultural sector, with the exception of 

logging and support activities for crop and animal production, OES data may tend to 

understate metropolitan/nonmetropolitan differences in employment of farming, fishing, and 

forestry occupations.
8 

Table 1. Distribution of employment in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, 

by occupational group, May 2009

Occupational group

Employment

in 

metropolitan 

areas

Percent of 

total 

metropolitan 

area 

employment

Employment 

in nonmetropolitan 

areas

Percent of 

total nonmetropolitan 

area 

employment

Management 5,409,080 4.8 665,420 3.8

Business and financial operations 5,571,050 5.0 444,650 2.5

Computer and mathematical science 3,127,800 2.8 141,120 0.8

Architecture and engineering 2,188,030 2.0 210,210 1.2

Life, physical, and social science 1,163,350 1.0 137,410 0.8

Community and social services 1,602,600 1.4 285,120 1.6

Legal 929,450 0.8 65,620 0.4

Education, training, and library 7,156,560 6.4 1,327,510 7.5

Arts, design, entertainment, sports, 

and media

1,578,230 1.4 144,430 0.8

Healthcare practitioner and technical 6,216,320 5.5 960,700 5.5

Healthcare support 3,256,800 2.9 616,760 3.5

Protective service 2,694,310 2.4 461,410 2.6

Food preparation and serving related 9,564,820 8.5 1,619,500 9.2

Building and grounds cleaning and 

maintenance

3,623,410 3.2 613,520 3.5

Personal care and service 3,022,620 2.7 423,560 2.4

Sales and related 11,866,960 10.6 1,730,730 9.8

Office and administrative support 19,534,520 17.4 2,638,180 15.0

Farming, fishing, and forestry 307,680 0.3 107,240 0.6

Construction and extraction 4,764,830 4.3 917,620 5.2

Installation, maintenance, and repair 4,236,510 3.8 819,990 4.7

Production 7,014,070 6.3 1,868,620 10.6

Transportation and material moving 7,274,100 6.5 1,387,830 7.9

All occupations 112,103,080 17,587,140

Note: occupational group estimates may not sum to all-occupations totals due to rounding.
9 

Table 2. Occupations with the highest concentration of employment in 

metropolitan areas, May 2009

Occupation

Total 

occupational 

employment

Percent of 

total 

occupational 

employment 

in 

metropolitan 

areas

Subway and streetcar operators 6,040 99.8

Flight attendants 94,710 98.9

Political scientists 3,920 98.7

Semiconductor processors 25,320 98.3

Biochemists and biophysicists 22,320 97.6

Shampooers 15,770 97.5

Computer hardware engineers 63,790 97.5

Actuaries 17,480 97.4

Airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers 72,460 97.4

Medical scientists, except epidemiologists 99,030 97.3

Insurance appraisers, auto damage 10,650 97.2

Computer software engineers, systems software 373,880 97.1

Financial analysts 228,170 97.0

Prosthodontists 640 97.0

Manicurists and pedicurists 51,320 96.8

Parking lot attendants 125,800 96.8

Brokerage clerks 60,450 96.8

Sociologists 4,280 96.6

Computer software engineers, applications 478,300 96.5

Industrial-organizational psychologists 1,650 96.5
10 

Table 3. Occupations found primarily in nonmetropolitan areas, May 2009

Occupation

Total 

occupational 

employment

Percent of total 

occupational 

employment in 

nonmetropolitan 

areas

Shuttle car operators 800 77.3

Loading machine operators, underground mining 900 74.2

Continuous mining machine operators 3,250 71.1

Roof bolters, mining 1,600 70.6

Fallers 1,970 69.6

Logging equipment operators 7,350 68.9

Log graders and scalers 1,150 60.5

Forest and conservation technicians 13,220 57.9

Postmasters and mail superintendents 10,910 56.2

Explosives workers, ordnance handling experts, and blasters 2,750 55.6

Slaughterers and meat packers 43,400 55.5

Extraction workers, all other 3,160 54.2

Forest fire inspectors and prevention specialists 710 53.9

Mine cutting and channeling machine operators 3,660 53.8

Logging workers, all other 1,910 52.4

Sawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, wood 19,880 52.3

Farm equipment mechanics 14,470 52.1

Note: excludes some occupations that are concentrated in the agricultural sector, which is not covered 

by the OES survey (except logging and support activities for crop and animal production).
11 

Table 4. Occupations with the highest percentage wage premiums in 

metropolitan areas, May 2009

Occupation

Mean hourly 

wage, 

metropolitan 

areas

Mean hourly 

wage, nonmetropolitan 

areas

Wage 

difference 

between 

metropolitan 

and nonmetropolitan 

areas

Percentage 

wage 

difference 

between 

metropolitan 

and nonmetropolitan 

areas

Actors $29.52 $13.81 $15.71 113.8

Broadcast news analysts 34.27 17.38 16.89 97.2

Producers and directors 42.31 23.02 19.29 83.8

Radio and television announcers 21.98 12.17 9.81 80.6

Film and video editors 30.99 17.95 13.04 72.6

Reporters and correspondents 22.21 13.23 8.98 67.9

Administrative law judges, 

adjudicators, and hearing officers

43.71 26.49 17.22 65.0

Writers and authors 31.84 19.63 12.21 62.2

Advertising and promotions managers 47.96 30.22 17.74 58.7

Art directors 44.52 28.08 16.44 58.5

Multi-media artists and animators 30.34 19.18 11.16 58.2

Artists and related workers, all other 28.69 18.14 10.55 58.2

Lawyers 63.15 40.32 22.83 56.6

Economists 47.09 30.27 16.82 55.6

Historians 28.45 18.79 9.66 51.4

Editors 28.72 19.34 9.38 48.5

Advertising sales agents 26.42 17.80 8.62 48.4

Police and sheriff’s patrol officers 27.91 18.82 9.09 48.3

Financial managers 56.19 37.98 18.21 47.9

Camera operators, television, video, 

and motion picture

24.03 16.25 7.78 47.9
12 

Table 5. Occupations with the highest percentage wage premiums in 

nonmetropolitan areas, May 2009

Occupation

Mean hourly 

wage, nonmetropolitan 

areas

Mean hourly 

wage, 

metropolitan 

areas

Wage 

difference 

between 

nonmetropolitan 

and 

metropolitan 

areas

Percentage 

wage 

difference 

between nonmetropolitan 

and 

metropolitan 

areas

Telephone operators $18.14 $15.40 $2.74 17.8

Mine cutting and channeling machine 

operators

22.08 19.15 2.93 15.3

Bridge and lock tenders 22.14 19.38 2.76 14.2

Physicians and surgeons, all other 93.42 82.80 10.62 12.8

Health diagnosing and treating 

practitioners, all other

41.72 37.07 4.65 12.5

Transportation attendants, except 

flight attendants and baggage 

porters

12.17 10.93 1.24 11.3

Nuclear technicians 34.98 31.65 3.33 10.5

Tire builders 19.55 17.69 1.86 10.5

Loading machine operators, 

underground mining

21.62 19.73 1.89 9.6

Pediatricians, general 84.19 77.02 7.17 9.3

Electromechanical technicians 26.00 23.80 2.20 9.2

Rail yard engineers, dinkey operators, 

and hostlers

17.41 15.99 1.42 8.9

Psychiatrists 83.71 78.20 5.51 7.0

Orthodontists 105.10 98.36 6.74 6.9

Avionics technicians 25.59 24.08 1.51 6.3

Segmental pavers 14.55 13.73 .82 6.0

Dentists, general 79.05 75.01 4.04 5.4

Motorboat operators 19.27 18.31 0.96 5.2

Textile bleaching and dyeing machine 

operators and tenders

12.29 11.68 0.61 5.2

Food batchmakers 13.34 12.73 0.61 4.8

Note: excludes some occupations that are concentrated in the agricultural sector, which is not covered 

by the OES survey (except logging and support activities for crop and animal production).