Employment and Wages of Typical 

U.S. Occupations

Audrey Watson

Audrey Watson is an economist in the Division of Occupational Employment 

Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

What does the typical U.S. job look like? It is difficult to make generalizations about a labor market as large and complex as that of the United States, 

which had employment of nearly 137 million in May 2006.

Nonetheless, it is possible to identify some characteristics of 

typical or average jobs. This article uses data from the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey to examine 

the typical U.S. job from several different viewpoints. First, 

the article analyzes the occupations in the U.S. economy with 

the greatest numbers of jobs. Next, this article focuses on the 

earnings of the average worker by examining occupations 

that paid near the U.S. median wage. Since education is a major factor in determining occupational choice and earnings, 

the third section focuses on jobs commonly held by workers 

with different levels of education.

Even within a particular occupation, wages can vary considerably depending on where in the country a job is located. 

In addition, different geographical areas can exhibit considerable variation in occupational structure: individual occupations usually make up different shares of total employment 

depending on where they’re located. To illustrate these points, 

the last section of the article examines how occupational concentrations and wages for selected large occupations varied 

along the cross-country route of Interstate 80 in 2006

Employment and Wages in the Largest 

Occupations

One way to examine the typical worker’s labor market experience is to analyze the occupations in which he or she is 

most likely to be employed. Although the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system defines over 800 civilian 

occupations, a relatively small handful of these represent a 

large share of U.S. employment. Table 1 shows employment 

and mean wages for occupations with employment over 1 

million. These 28 occupations made up approximately 38

percent of U.S. employment, or nearly  out of every 5 jobs,

in May 2006

In this article, the term “large occupation” will refer to 

an occupation that encompasses a large number of individual 

jobs. The two largest occupations were sales related: retail 

salespersons, with employment of nearly 4.4 million, followed by cashiers, with employment of almost 3.5 million. 

First-line supervisors and managers of retail sales workers 

were also among the largest occupations. Together, these 

three sales occupations made up nearly 7 percent of total employment. A fourth sales occupation—sales representatives, 

wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific products—was also among the largest occupations, with 

nearly 1.5 million jobs.

Although the two largest occupations were in sales, the office and administrative support group had the greatest number 

of occupations that were composed of over one million jobs: 

eight of the 28 occupations in table 1 were in the office and 

administrative support group, with the largest of these, general office clerks, having employment over 3 million. With over 

23 million jobs, office and administrative support was also 

the largest occupational group overall, making up about 17 

percent of U.S. employment; the 8 office and administrative 

support occupations in table 1 alone made up about 11 percent 

of total employment. While some of these occupations were 

concentrated in specific sectors—approximately two-thirds 

of stock clerks and order fillers, for example, were employed 

in retail trade—many office and administrative support occupations were found across a variety of industries, which 

helps to explain the high employment in occupations such as 

secretaries, receptionists, and bookkeeping clerks.

Two food preparation and serving related occupations had 

employment over 1 million: combined food preparation and 

serving workers, including fast food, and waiters and waitresses. These two occupations had combined employment of 

nearly 4.8 million, giving this occupational group the thirdhighest total employment among the groups represented in 

table 1. Two transportation and material moving occupations also had employment over 1 million: laborers and hand 

freight, stock, and material movers; and heavy and tractortrailer truck drivers, with a combined employment over 4 

million. Three education, training, and library occupations 

1

 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics. 

[Online.] Available online at http://www.bls.gov/ces/home.htm (site visited 

April 15, 2008). Data exclude proprietors, the self-employed, unpaid family

or volunteer workers, farm workers, and domestic workers; government 

employment covers only civilian workers.
were included among the largest occupations. These occupations—elementary school teachers, except special education; 

teacher assistants; and secondary school teachers, except special and vocational education—had combined employment 

of about 3.8 million.

Several occupational groups had only one occupation with 

more than 1 million jobs. These groups were management; 

business and financial operations; healthcare practitioner 

and technical; healthcare support; protective service; building and grounds cleaning and maintenance; construction 

and extraction; installation, maintenance, and repair; and 

production occupations. However, two of the occupations 

in these groups—registered nurses in the healthcare practitioner and technical group, and janitors in the building and 

grounds cleaning and maintenance group—were among the 

largest individual occupations, each with employment over 

2 million. The remaining occupational groups were not represented among these largest occupations. Groups with no

occupations in table 1 were computer and mathematical; architecture and engineering; life, physical, and social science; 

community and social services; legal; arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media; personal care and service; and farming, fishing, and forestry occupations.

The majority of these large occupations were relatively 

low paying. Only 7 of these 28 occupations had annual mean

wages above the U.S. average of $39,190: registered nurses; 

general and operations managers; elementary school teachers, 

except special education; sales representatives, wholesale and 

manufacturing, except technical and scientific products; firstline supervisors/managers of office and administrative support workers; accountants and auditors; and secondary school 

teachers, except special and vocational education. Of these, 

the highest-paid were general and operations managers, with 

an annual mean of $99,280. Three of the 28 occupations ha

wages below $10.00 per hour; the lowest paid of these were 

combined food preparation and serving workers, including 

fast food, with an average wage of $7.66 per hour.

Occupations paying near the median wage

The large occupations in table 1 represent average jobs in the 

sense that they were the occupations with the highest shares 

of U.S. employment in 2006. However, as shown in the previous section, few of these large occupations paid near the

average wage, with most being relatively low paying. This 

section looks at the typical job from a different point of view: 

what types of occupations pay average wages?

Table  shows occupations that paid between 5 percent

above and 5 percent below the U.S. median wage. The median, or 50th percentile wage, represents the wage in the middle 

of the wage distribution: half of jobs were estimated to pay 

above and half below the U.S. median wage of $14.61 per 

hour, or $30,400 annually. The median wage may better represent the pay received by the average worker than the mean 

wage, which can be affected by a relatively small percentage 

of jobs with very high pay.

The occupations in table  had wages ranging from $15.34

per hour to $13.89 per hour. Several of these occupations—

such as theatrical and performance makeup artists, terrazzo 

workers and finishers, watch repairers, and musical instrument repairers and tuners—did not have high employment, 

but they are included to show the range of occupations that 

pay typical wages. The largest individual occupations in table 

2 were bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks, with

employment of nearly 1.9 million, and general maintenance 

and repair workers, with employment of about 1.3 million. In 

total, table  contains 70 occupations earning near the median

wage, with combined employment of 8.8 million, representing nearly 7 percent of U.S. employment.

A high school diploma or less was the most commonly reported level of education for many of the occupations in table 

2. However, some occupations, such as dental assistants, dispensing opticians, and medical transcriptionists, were typically held by workers with some college or an associate’s degree. Rehabilitation counselors was the only occupation for

which the majority of workers reported a bachelor’s degree 

or higher, but several other occupations, including forest and 

conservation technicians and broadcast technicians, contained 

a substantial percentage of workers reporting this level of education. Although educational attainment levels were similar 

for many of the occupations, the amount of training generally 

required varied. Moderate-term on-the-job training was the 

most common level of training required, but several of the 

jobs were associated with either short-term or long-term onthe-job training, while a few were associated with other types 

of training. For example, first-line supervisors of housekeeping and janitorial workers may acquire their skills through 

work in a related occupation, while postsecondary vocational 

awards can provide the necessary training for travel agents, 

medical transcriptionists, and farm equipment mechanics.3 

Many of these average-paying occupations fall under the 

general description of skilled manufacturing jobs or skilled 

trades. Twenty-one of these were production occupations, 

making this the largest group in table  in terms of number

of occupations and the second largest group in terms of total employment. Among the production occupations earning 

near the average wage were inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers, with employment of 483,020 and a median wage of $14.14; welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers,

with employment of 376,630 and a median wage of $15.10; 

and printing machine operators, with employment of 191,610 

and a median wage of $14.90.

The construction and extraction group and the installation, maintenance, and repair group are also well represented 

in table 2. Each had nine occupations earning near the me

 The mean wage of an additional occupation—executive secretaries and 

administrative assistants— did not significantly differ statistically from the 

U.S. mean wage for all occupations.

3

 Educational attainment by occupation for workers 25 to 44 comes from

the Current Population Survey, while education and training level categories 

are produced by the Bureau of Labor Statistics Division of Occupational 

Outlook. These data are available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics 

Employment Projections program at http://www.bls.gov/emp/ (site visited 

May 21, 2008)
dian wage, although at nearly 1.5 million, total employment 

among the average-paying installation, maintenance, and repair occupations was more than twice the total employment 

of average-paying construction and extraction occupations, 

mainly due to the size of a single occupation in the former 

group, general maintenance and repair workers.

In addition to these skilled trades, office and administrative support occupations were prevalent among jobs earning 

average pay. A total of 12 office and administrative support 

occupations appear in table 2, making office and administrative support the group with the second largest number of occupations in the table, after the production group. However, 

these 12 office and administrative support occupations had 

total employment of nearly 3.5 million, exceeding the total 

employment of less than  million in the 21 average-payin

production occupations. In addition to bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks, mentioned above, average-paying 

office and administrative support occupations included bill 

and account collectors, with employment of 423,090 and a

median wage of $13.97, and loan interviewers and clerks, 

with employment of 248,050 and a median wage of $14.89.

Except for the occupational groups discussed above, some 

of the most common occupations paying near the U.S. median wage were dental assistants, with employment of 277,040;

first-line supervisors/managers of housekeeping and janitorial workers (182,690); refuse and recyclable materials collectors (125,770); and rehabilitation counselors (121,380

Typical occupations by education level

As shown above, occupations paying average wages generally required moderate-term on-the-job-training and were typically held by workers with a high school diploma or less or 

some college. Typical education levels were similar for many 

of the largest occupations in the economy, many of which 

were also relatively low-paying and involved short-term or 

moderate-term on-the-job training. Thus, the information in 

tables 1 and 2 may reflect the labor market experience of a 

subset of workers only. However, education levels vary widely in the workforce: in 2006, approximately 41 percent of the

employed had a high school diploma or less, 29 percent had

some college or an associate’s degree, and 30 percent had a 

bachelor’s degree or higher.4 In order to better illustrate the 

typical labor market experience of workers at all education 

levels, this section focuses on occupations most commonly 

held by workers with various levels of education.

There are a number of ways to look at occupational employment by education level; tables 3 and 4 illustrate two of the 

possibilities. Table 3 shows the largest occupations for which 

50 percent or more of workers reported having 1 of 3 possible 

levels of education: a high school diploma or less, some college, or a bachelor’s degree or higher. Therefore, the jobs in 

table 3 represent the largest occupations for which the specified level of education is typical, which in this case means that 

it is reported by the majority of workers in that occupation.5 

However, workers may be employed in jobs for which 

their own level of education is neither typical nor required. 

For example, a worker with a bachelor’s degree may be employed in an occupation in which most workers have only 

a high school diploma. For this reason, table 4 takes an alternative approach by attempting to identify the occupations 

with the highest number of jobs held by workers with a high 

school diploma or less, some college, and a bachelor’s degree 

or higher. In order to estimate the number of jobs in an occupation held by workers with each of the three education levels, total employment for the occupation was multiplied by 

the percentage of workers in the occupation reporting a given 

education level. The occupations with the highest estimated 

employment in each education group are shown in the table.

Comparisons between tables 3 and 4 reveal some interesting patterns. For workers with a high school diploma or less, 

there is little difference between the two tables; for the most 

part, the occupations that were estimated to have the largest 

number of jobs held by workers with a high school diploma 

or less were also occupations for which this level of education is typical. Eight out of the 10 occupations are the same in 

both tables. The exceptions are nursing aides, orderlies, and 

attendants, and general maintenance and repair workers in 

table 3, which are replaced by retail salespersons and general 

office clerks in table 4. Although smaller percentages of retail 

salespersons and general office clerks reported having a high 

school diploma or less, because of the very large size of these 

occupations, more workers with high school diplomas or less 

were estimated to be employed in these jobs than in jobs as 

nursing aides or general maintenance and repair workers. 

Comparing tables 3 and 4 gives very different results for 

the second education group, workers with some college. 

Here, there is no overlap between the occupations in table 

3 and those in table 4. Table 3 shows that the largest occupations for which “some college” is typical are dominated 

by healthcare-related jobs at the technician or assistant level, 

such as licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses, 

dental hygienists, medical assistants, and pharmacy technicians. Fire fighters and interviewers, except eligibility and 

loan, round out the list. However, most of these occupations 

were not extremely large—the largest one, licensed practical 

and licensed vocational nurses, had about 720,000 workers,

and the others were much smaller. 

Table 4 suggests that most jobs held by workers with some 

college were found in occupations for which this education 

level was not typical, but which were simply extremely large 

in terms of total employment. The jobs listed in the “some 

college” section of table 4 all had total employment over 1 

million, and they include several of the same jobs shown in 

4

 Bureau of the Census, Current Population Survey. [Online.] Available 

at http://www.census.gov/population/socdemo/education/cps2006/

tab05a-01.xls (site visited May 21, 2008). Data are for employed civilian

16 and older. 5

 Total occupational employment and wages in tables 3 and 4 are from 

the Occupational Employment Statistics survey. In both tables, occupational 

employment by level of education was calculated by multiplying total 

occupational employment by the percentage of workers in that occupation 

reporting the specified level of education, and, then, rounding to the 

nearest 10. Educational attainment by occupation comes from the Current 

Population Survey and is available from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 

Employment Projections program at http://www.bls.gov/emp/ (site visited 

April 15, 2008).
the “high school or less” section of the table. Of the “some 

college” occupations in table 4, five of them had an average 

hourly wage below that of the lowest-paid “some college” occupation in table 3 (medical assistants, with an hourly mean 

of $13.07). Wages for three of these jobs—cashiers, waiters 

and waitresses, and combined food preparation and serving 

workers—were below $9.00 per hour. In these low-paying 

jobs, the majority of workers had a high school diploma or 

less, and the percentage with some college was relatively 

small. For example, about 64 percent of cashiers reported a 

high school diploma or less, and only about 26 percent had

some college. In contrast, “some college” was below the typical level of education for registered nurses: about 58 percent 

of registered nurses had a bachelor’s degree or higher. Registered nurses was the highest-paid occupation among those 

estimated to employ the largest numbers of workers with 

some college, and with a mean hourly wage of $28.71, it was

the only one with a mean wage over $20.00 per hour. Of occupations for which some college was the typical level of

education, three—fire fighters, radiologic technologists and 

technicians, and dental hygienists—had average wages of 

more than $20.00 per hour

For workers with a bachelor’s degree or higher, there is 

some overlap between tables 3 and 4. Six of the 10 occupations are the same in both tables: registered nurses; elementary school teachers, except special education; secondary 

school teachers, except special and vocational education; 

accountants and auditors; middle school teachers, except 

special and vocational education; and lawyers. However, a 

comparison of tables 3 and 4 suggests that more workers with 

a bachelor’s degree or higher were employed as retail salespersons than as accountants or middle school teachers, and 

more were employed as general office clerks than as financial managers or management analysts. In summary, as with 

workers with a high school diploma or less, the occupations 

employing the largest number of workers with a bachelor’s 

degree or higher also appear to be occupations for which this 

level of education is typical. However, a few extremely large 

occupations have also employed large numbers of workers 

with a bachelor’s degree or higher, although the relative share 

of college graduates in most of these occupations is small.

A trip across the United States

Previous sections of this article have used national occupational employment and wage data to identify and describe 

typical U.S. occupations. However, characteristics of typical 

jobs are also subject to regional variation. In particular, the 

same occupation may pay very different wages depending on 

where in the country it is located. Furthermore, the occupational composition of employment varies by location, affected 

by such factors as an area’s industry mix. This section of the 

article follows the route of Interstate 80 to explore regional 

differences in wages and occupational concentrations. 

Interstate 80 runs from California to New Jersey and passes through the States of Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska, 

Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Although it 

does not pass through all regions of the United States, I-80 

services both coasts as well as the middle of the country, and 

it runs through a wide variety of metropolitan areas, ranging 

from the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island MSA, 

with nearly 19 million people, to Cheyenne, Wyoming, with 

about 85,000 people.6 (See table 5.) Tables 6 through 8 show 

employment and wages for 5 selected large occupations in 

the States and metropolitan areas along I-80, arranged in order from west to east coast along the route. These occupations 

were chosen from among the large occupations in table 1 to 

represent a variety of occupational groups and wage levels.

Looking first at the State data, one can see that wages for 

the selected occupations were high at both ends of the route 

and lower in the middle of the country. Both California and 

New Jersey, the two endpoints of the route, had wages above 

the U.S. average for all five of the occupations. California’s 

neighboring State, Nevada, had above average wages for 

three out of the five occupations, while Pennsylvania had 

above average wages for general office clerks and wages that 

were not significantly different from the U.S. average for 

truck drivers and accountants. Of the States between Nevada 

and Pennsylvania, only Illinois had above average wages for 

more than one of the selected occupations. In the remaining 

States, at least four out of the five occupations had below average wages. Among the individual occupations, only truck 

drivers had wages above or near the U.S. average in most 

States, which may reflect the location of these States along a 

major transportation route.

In general, States with higher employment in the selected 

occupations also tended to have higher wages. For example, 

New Jersey, California, Illinois, and Pennsylvania tended 

to have higher wages than Wyoming, Nebraska, and Iowa. 

However, this was not true across the board—for example, 

Nevada had higher wages for several of the occupations than 

Utah, Nebraska, and Iowa, areas with comparable employment. The higher paying occupations showed more wage 

variation across States. Mean wages for registered nurses 

ranged from $22.61 in Iowa to $36.12 in California, a difference of $13.51, or nearly 60 percent. Mean wages for accountants and auditors ranged from $23.54 in Wyoming

$33.74 in New Jersey, a difference of $10.20, or 43 percent.

By comparison, cashiers showed a 32 percent difference between the highest and lowest wages, while both office clerks

and truck drivers showed a range of about 23 percent.

The metropolitan area data in table 7 appear to echo the results seen in the State data. Wages were highest in the California metropolitan areas and the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island metropolitan area, and were generally lower 

in the middle of the country, with the exception of the large 

Chicago metropolitan area. The San Francisco and New York 

metropolitan areas had wages above the national average for 

all of the selected occupations. The other California metropolitan areas, Sacramento and Vallejo-Fairfield, had aboveaverage wages for all of the occupations except accountants 

6

 Population data from U.S. Bureau of the Census, Table 1. Annual 

Estimates of the Population of Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical 

Areas: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2006, available online at http://www.censu

gov/popest/metro.html (site visited April 15, 2008)
and auditors, for which wages were not significantly different 

from the U.S. average. Chicago had above-average wages for 

all of the occupations except registered nurses. 

In general, large metropolitan areas had higher wages than 

small ones, but wage levels weren’t strictly ranked in order of 

MSA size. With almost 19 million inhabitants, the New York 

metropolitan area is by far the largest metropolitan area along 

I-80, and yet it had the highest wages for only one of the five 

occupations, accountants and auditors. San Francisco, with 

a population of about 4 million, had the highest wages for 

three of the five occupations—registered nurses, cashiers, 

and general office clerks. Chicago’s population of over 9 million made it the second largest metropolitan area along I-80, 

but it did not have the highest wages for any of the selected 

occupations, although the wages for truck drivers were not 

significantly different from truck driver wages in San Francisco and New York. In addition, Chicago’s wage levels were 

frequently below those of smaller metropolitan areas. For example, Vallejo-Fairfield, Sacramento, and Reno had higher 

wages for both registered nurses and cashiers. 

Wage levels in some small metropolitan areas were also 

higher than would be predicted on the basis of size alone. For 

example, Vallejo-Fairfield, CA, located in a high-paying State 

between two larger metropolitan areas, had higher wages than 

the similarly sized Reno, Des Moines, and Youngstown metropolitan areas for most of the selected occupations. In addition, Vallejo-Fairfeld had higher wages than both New York 

and Salt Lake City for cashiers, registered nurses, and general 

office clerks. Similarly, Reno-Sparks had higher wages than 

Chicago, Cleveland, and Salt Lake City for registered nurses 

and cashiers, although it was one of the lower paid areas for 

accountants and auditors.

Among the individual occupations, truck drivers again 

stand out for having above-average wages in several of the 

metropolitan areas along this important transcontinental 

route. Wage variation within occupations showed similar patterns at the metropolitan area and State levels, although variation for a given occupation was generally greater among metropolitan areas than among States. Like they did at the State 

level, registered nurses had the greatest difference between 

the highest and lowest wages. Wages for this occupation in 

the highest paying metropolitan area, San Francisco, were 

nearly double those in the lowest paying area, DavenportMoline-Rock Island. Accountants and auditors again had the 

second largest wage range among the selected occupations. 

Mean hourly wages for accountants and auditors ranged from 

$19.54 in Cheyenne to $35.91 in New York, a difference of 

84 percent. Cashiers, general office clerks, and truck drivers 

exhibited wage differences between the highest and lowest 

paying metropolitan areas of 56 percent, 50 percent, and 34 

percent, respectively. 

Like wages, occupational concentrations varied by location. Table 8 shows total employment and employment 

concentrations, expressed as occupational employment per 

thousand jobs, for the selected occupations in metropolitan 

areas along I-80. Few of the metropolitan areas had employment concentrations above the U.S. average for cashiers and 

general office clerks, but a larger number had above-average 

concentrations of accountants, registered nurses, and truck 

drivers. 

The four largest metropolitan areas—New York, Chicago, 

San Francisco, and Cleveland—all had above-average concentrations of accountants. Although accountants and auditors 

can be found in many industries, accounting and bookkeeping services and management of companies and enterprises 

had the highest number of jobs in this occupation; about 29

percent of accountants were employed in these two industries. Both industries are well-represented in the industry mix 

of these larger metropolitan areas, which may help explain 

their high concentrations of accountants.7 With the exception 

of Cheyenne, WY, many of the smallest metropolitan areas, 

including Iowa City, Elkhart-Goshen, Vallejo-Fairfield, and 

South Bend-Mishawaka, had low concentrations of accountants.

Registered nurses were found across a variety of healthcare 

industries, but nearly 57 percent were employed in a single 

industry, general medical and surgical hospitals. Differences 

in industry mix can again help explain differences in employment shares of registered nurses across metropolitan areas. 

Of the largest metropolitan areas along I-80, San Francisco 

had below-average concentrations of both registered nurses 

and hospitals, while Cleveland and New York had aboveaverage shares of both hospitals and nurses, with Cleveland 

having the higher shares of both. Toledo, OH, had concentrations of nurses and hospitals similar to those of neighboring Cleveland; both had among the highest concentrations of 

registered nurses in table 8. Several of the metropolitan areas 

along the stretch of I-80 from Cheyenne, WY, to Iowa City, 

IA, also had above-average concentrations of nurses, while 

with the exception of Vallejo-Fairfield, metropolitan areas 

along the western part of the route had low concentrations of 

this occupation.

Although large metropolitan areas are often associated 

with vibrant retail trade sectors, table 8 shows that the largest 

metropolitan areas along I-80 had below-average employment shares of cashiers, as did most of the other metropolitan 

areas along the route. Similarly, only two metropolitan areas, 

Sacramento and New York, had employment shares of general office clerks significantly above the U.S. average. OmahaCouncil Bluffs, Des Moines, Youngstown, Toledo, and Salt 

Lake City had some of the highest concentrations of truck 

drivers along I-80, while the metropolitan areas at each end 

of the route—the New York and the California metropolitan 

areas—had some of the lowest.

Summary

This article used Occupational Employment Statistics data 

to examine characteristics of the typical U.S. job. The 

7

 Location quotient data, where available, show above-average shares 

of both industries in all four metropolitan areas. Data are not available for 

accounting and bookkeeping services in the Chicago MSA and management 

of companies and enterprises in the New York MSA. Quarterly Census of 

Employment and Wages. [Online.] Available at http://www.bls.gov/cew/ 

(site visited April 15, 2008)
first section of the article studied the largest occupations, 

those with employment over 1 million. These occupations 

can be considered typical because of the large percentage 

of employment that they represent: nearly 40 percent of 

employment was in one of these 28 jobs. Many of these

large occupations were relatively low-paying jobs requiring 

short-term or moderate-term on-the-job-training, including 

cashiers, combined food preparation and serving workers, 

and janitors. However, some higher-paying occupations 

typically held by workers with bachelor’s degrees, such as 

registered nurses, accountants and auditors, and elementary 

and secondary school teachers, were also included among 

these large occupations.

A job can also be considered typical in terms of earnings 

rather than employment size. This definition was employed 

in the second section of the article, which focused on the 

types of jobs paying wages near the U.S. median. Office and 

administrative support, production, and construction jobs are 

examples of occupations commonly paying typical wages. 

Next, the article analyzed how typical jobs varied by level of 

education. Large, low-paying occupations, such as cashiers 

and janitors, were a common occupational choice for workers 

with a high school diploma or less, while large occupations 

like registered nurses, teachers, and accountants were significant employers of workers with a bachelor’s degree or higher. 

However, significant numbers of workers with a bachelor’s 

degree or higher were also likely to be found in large occupations for which a college degree was not the norm, such 

as retail salespersons and general office clerks. Employment 

of workers who had some college education but less than a 

bachelor’s degree was estimated to be highest in large occupations employing a mix of education levels, rather than in 

occupations for which some college was the most common 

level of education.

Finally, the article examined variation in wages and occupational concentration for several large occupations along 

Interstate 80. The selected occupations showed a wide range 

of wages, particularly at the metropolitan area level, where 

wages for most of the occupations were 50 percent to 90 percent higher in the highest-paying areas than in the lowestpaying areas. Geographical region, population, proximity to 

other metropolitan areas, and even the specific combination 

of occupation and area (illustrated in this article by truck drivers along a major highway) were some of the potential factors 

influencing wages. Employment concentrations also varied 

considerably for the selected occupations, with the varying 

mix of industries present along the route representing a possible explanation for these differences. This discussion serves 

as an important reminder that, even for common occupations, 

job characteristics can be greatly affected by location.
Retail salespersons Sales and related 4,374,230 $23,940 $11.51

Cashiers Sales and related 3,479,390 17,930 8.62

Office clerks, general Office and administrative support 3,026,710 25,200 12.12

Combined food preparation and serving workers,

 including fast food Food preparation and serving related 2,461,890 15,930 7.66

Registered nurses Healthcare practitioner and technical 2,417,150 59,730 28.71

Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand Transportation and material moving 2,372,130 23,050 11.08

Waiters and waitresses Food preparation and serving related 2,312,930 17,190 8.27

Customer service representatives Office and administrative support 2,147,770 30,400 14.61

Janitors and cleaners, except maids and

 housekeeping cleaners Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance 2,124,860 21,730 10.45

Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks Office and administrative support 1,856,890 31,780 15.28

Secretaries, except legal, medical, and executive Office and administrative support 1,750,600 28,460 13.68

Stock clerks and order fillers Office and administrative support 1,705,450 22,440 10.79

Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer Transportation and material moving 1,673,950 36,320 17.46

General and operations managers Management 1,663,280 99,280 47.73

Elementary school teachers, except special education Education, training, and library 1,509,180 48,700 **

Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, 

 except technical and scientific products Sales and related 1,488,990 58,540 28.14

Executive secretaries and administrative assistants Office and administrative support 1,487,310 39,160 18.83

Nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants Healthcare support 1,376,660 22,960 11.04

First-line supervisors/managers of office 

 and administrative support workers Office and administrative support 1,351,180 46,530 22.37

Maintenance and repair workers, general Installation, maintenance, and repair 1,310,580 33,510 16.11

Team assemblers Production 1,250,120 26,180 12.59

Teacher assistants Education, training, and library 1,246,030 21,860 **

Receptionists and information clerks Office and administrative support 1,112,350 23,810 11.45

First-line supervisors/managers of retail sales workers Sales and related 1,111,740 38,830 18.67

Accountants and auditors Business and financial operations 1,092,960 60,670 29.17

Secondary school teachers, except special and 

 vocational education Education, training, and library 1,030,780 51,150 **

Construction laborers Construction and extraction 1,016,530 29,930 14.39

Security guards Protective service 1,004,130 23,620 11.35

All occupations 132,604,980 39,190 18.84

** Wages for some occupations that do not generally work year-round, full 

time, are reported either as hourly wages or annual salaries, depending on 

how they are typically paid. 

Major group Employment

Annual

mean

wage

Hourly

mean

Occupation title wage

Table 1. Employment and mean wages, all occupations and occupations with employment over 1 million, May 2006 
Table 2. Occupations earning wages near the all-occupations median, May 2006

Maintenance and repair workers, general Installation, maintenance, and repair 1,310,580 $31,910 $15.34

Logging workers, all other Farming, fishing, and forestry 5,880 31,870 15.32

Makeup artists, theatrical and performance Personal care and service 1,250 31,820 15.30

Agricultural and food science technicians Life, physical, and social science 19,220 31,730 15.26

Computer-controlled machine tool operators, 

 metal and plastic Production 139,580 31,670 15.23

Communications equipment operators, all 

 other Office and administrative support 4,220 31,680 15.23

Terrazzo workers and finishers Construction and extraction 6,550 31,630 15.21

Mechanical door repairers Installation, maintenance, and repair 15,130 31,610 15.20

Milling and planing machine setters, operators, 

 and tenders, metal and plastic Production 29,040 31,570 15.18

Highway maintenance workers Construction and extraction 138,670 31,540 15.17

Recreational vehicle service technicians Installation, maintenance, and repair 13,560 31,510 15.15

Patternmakers, wood Production 2,270 31,510 15.15

Paper goods machine setters, operators, 

 and tenders Production 113,930 31,490 15.14

Police, fire, and ambulance dispatchers Office and administrative support 94,710 31,470 15.13

Entertainers and performers, sports and 

 related workers, all other Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media 59,450 ** 15.11

Septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners Construction and extraction 22,090 31,430 15.11

Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers Production 376,630 31,400 15.10

Paving, surfacing, and tamping equipment 

 operators Construction and extraction 63,090 31,300 15.05

First-line supervisors/managers of 

 housekeeping and janitorial workers Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance 182,690 31,290 15.04

Statistical assistants Office and administrative support 19,680 31,250 15.02

Painters, construction and maintenance Construction and extraction 263,390 31,190 15.00

Medical appliance technicians Production 10,610 31,180 14.99

Information and record clerks, all other Office and administrative support 230,990 31,150 14.98

Insurance claims and policy processing clerks Office and administrative support 238,210 31,120 14.96

Rolling machine setters, operators, and 

 tenders, metal and plastic Production 34,710 31,050 14.93

Printing machine operators Production 191,610 30,990 14.90

Welding, soldering, and brazing machine 

 setters, operators, and tenders Production 48,770 30,980 14.90

Loan interviewers and clerks Office and administrative support 248,050 30,970 14.89

Court, municipal, and license clerks Office and administrative support 107,100 30,980 14.89

Watch repairers Installation, maintenance, and repair 3,050 30,900 14.86

Forest and conservation technicians Life, physical, and social science 30,580 30,880 14.84

Heat treating equipment setters, operators, 

 and tenders, metal and plastic Production 27,050 30,850 14.83

Automotive glass installers and repairers Installation, maintenance, and repair 18,650 30,720 14.77

Broadcast technicians Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media 32,070 30,690 14.75

Sailors and marine oilers Transportation and material moving 31,690 30,630 14.73

Tool grinders, filers, and sharpeners Production 17,620 30,640 14.73

Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks Office and administrative support 1,856,890 30,560 14.69

Multiple machine tool setters, operators, and 

 tenders, metal and plastic Production 96,480 30,530 14.68

Insulation workers, floor, ceiling, and wall Construction and extraction 31,450 30,510 14.67

Construction and related workers, all other Construction and extraction 56,130 30,470 14.65

All occupations 132,604,980 30,400 14.61

Pipelayers Construction and extraction 58,330 30,330 14.58

Meter readers, utilities Office and administrative support 45,770 30,330 14.58

Furnace, kiln, oven, drier, and kettle 

 operators and tenders Production 27,100 30,320 14.58

Opticians, dispensing Healthcare practitioners and technical 65,190 30,300 14.57

Structural metal fabricators and fitters Production 99,680 30,290 14.56

Hourly

median

wage

Annual

mean

Occupation title Major group Employment wage
10

Hourly

median

wage

Annual

mean

Occupation title Major group Employment wage

Material moving workers, all other Transportation and material moving 52,120 30,270 14.55

Bookbinders Production 7,120 30,260 14.55

Dental assistants Healthcare support 277,040 30,220 14.53

Transportation workers, all other Transportation and material moving 42,130 30,180 14.51

Parking enforcement workers Protective service 10,090 30,160 14.50

Motorcycle mechanics Installation, maintenance, and repair 16,700 30,050 14.45

Electronic home entertainment equipment 

 installers and repairers Installation, maintenance, and repair 35,310 29,980 14.42

Credit authorizers, checkers, and clerks Office and administrative support 67,400 29,970 14.41

Medical transcriptionists Healthcare support 86,790 29,950 14.40

Drilling and boring machine tool setters, 

 operators, and tenders, metal and plastic Production 42,480 29,870 14.36

Jewelers and precious stone and metal 

 workers Production 26,220 29,750 14.30

Logging equipment operators Farming, fishing, and forestry 28,300 29,700 14.28

Pourers and casters, metal Production 14,880 29,570 14.22

Farm equipment mechanics Installation, maintenance, and repair 29,500 29,460 14.16

Word processors and typists Office and administrative support 153,530 29,430 14.15

Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and 

 weighers Production 483,020 29,420 14.14

Mixing and blending machine setters, 

 operators, and tenders Production 140,710 29,330 14.10

Log graders and scalers Farming, fishing, and forestry 4,810 29,240 14.06

Travel agents Sales and related 87,600 29,210 14.05

Rehabilitation counselors Community and social services 121,380 29,200 14.04

Musical instrument repairers and tuners Installation, maintenance, and repair 5,120 29,200 14.04

Bill and account collectors Office and administrative support 423,090 29,050 13.97

Forging machine setters, operators, and 

 tenders, metal and plastic Production 31,050 28,980 13.94

Refuse and recyclable material collectors Transportation and material moving 125,770 28,970 13.93

Floor sanders and finishers Construction and extraction 7,480 28,890 13.89

Table 2. Occupations earning wages near the all-occupations median, May 2006—Continued

Occupations shown have wages within plus or minus 5 percent of the 

all-occupation median of $30,400 per year or $14.61 per hour.

** Wages for some occupations that do not generally work year-round, full 

time, are reported either as hourly wages or annual salaries, depending 

on how they are typically paid.
11

Table 3. Employment and mean wages for the largest occupations with 50 percent or more of workers reporting a high school diploma or less, some 

college, or a bachelor’s degree or higher, May 2006

Estimated 

employment, 

high school or 

less

Total 

Employment

Percent 

reporting high 

school or less

Hourly 

mean 

wage

Annual 

mean

Major group wage

 

Workers with a high school diploma or less:

 

Cashiers Sales and related 3,479,390 64.3 2,237,790 $8.62 $17,930

Combined food preparation and serving workers, including fast food Food preparation and serving related 2,461,890 69.0 1,699,330 7.66 15,930

Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand Transportation and material moving 2,372,130 71.3 1,690,820 11.08 23,050

Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance 2,124,860 78.9 1,676,520 10.45 21,730

Waiters and waitresses Food preparation and serving related 2,312,930 53.6 1,240,420 8.27 17,190

Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer Transportation and material moving 1,673,950 71.7 1,200,740 17.46 36,320

Stock clerks and order fillers Office and administrative support 1,705,450 62.9 1,073,020 10.79 22,440

Team assemblers Production 1,250,120 71.8 897,150 12.59 26,180

Nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants Healthcare support 1,376,660 60.7 835,250 11.04 22,960

Maintenance and repair workers, general Installation, maintenance, and repair 1,310,580 57.7 755,850 16.11 33,510

Workers with some college:

Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses Healthcare practitioner and technical 720,380 70.9 510,570 $18.05 $37,530

Medical assistants Healthcare support 409,570 53.4 218,550 13.07 27,190

Fire fighters Protective service 283,630 57.9 164,080 20.37 42,370

Dental assistants Healthcare support 277,040 56.7 157,100 14.83 30,850

Pharmacy technicians Healthcare practitioner and technical 282,450 53.3 150,480 12.75 26,510

Radiologic technologists and technicians Healthcare practitioner and technical 190,180 68.3 129,830 23.71 49,320

Emergency medical technicians and paramedics Healthcare practitioner and technical 196,190 64.7 126,890 14.13 29,390

Interviewers, except eligibility and loan Office and administrative support 211,500 53.5 113,150 13.07 27,190

Dental hygienists Healthcare practitioner and technical 166,380 65.9 109,660 30.01 62,430

Healthcare support workers, all other Healthcare support 185,580 53.4 99,030 13.55 28,170

Workers with a bachelor’s degree or higher:

Registered nurses Healthcare practitioner and technical 2,417,150 58.2 1,406,060 $28.71 $59,730

Elementary school teachers, except special education Education, training, and library 1,509,180 92.3 1,393,400 ** 48,700

Secondary school teachers, except special and vocational education Education, training, and library 1,030,780 95.1 980,050 ** 51,150

Accountants and auditors Business and financial operations 1,092,960 75.5 824,840 29.17 60,670

Middle school teachers, except special and vocational education Education, training, and library 652,700 92.3 602,630 ** 49,470

Lawyers Legal 547,710 97.9 536,300 54.65 113,660

Computer software engineers, applications Computer and mathematical science 472,520 83.2 392,910 39.42 82,000

Management analysts Business and financial operations 476,070 76.3 363,050 37.15 77,270

Teachers and instructors, all other Education, training, and library 576,840 53.0 305,540 ** 35,370

Financial managers Management 468,270 59.2 277,240 48.77 101,450

Estimated 

employment, 

some college

Total 

Employment

Percent 

reporting high 

some college

Hourly 

mean 

wage

Annual 

mean

Major group wage

Estimated 

employment, 

bachelor’s

degree or

higher

Total 

Employment

Percent 

reporting

bachelor’s

degree or

higher

Hourly 

mean 

wage

Annual 

mean

Major group wage

Data represent the largest occupations for which 50 percent or more of workers indicated 

they had the specified level of education. Occupational employment by level of education was 

estimated by multiplying OES total employment figures for each occupation by the percentage 

of workers in that occupation reporting each level of education and rounding to the nearest 

10. Estimated employment by level of education may differ from total employment times 

percent reporting a given level of education because of rounding. Educational attainment 

by occupation derived from Current Population Survey data and available from Bureau 

of Labor Statistics Employment Projections program, http://www.bls.gov/emp/home.

htm. 

** Wages for some occupations that do not generally work year-round, full time, are 

reported either as hourly wages or annual salaries, depending on how they are typically paid. 
1

Table 4. Employment and mean wages for occupations estimated to have the highest employment of workers with a high school diploma or less, some 

college, or bachelor’s degree or higher, May 2006 

A high school diploma or less:

Cashiers Sales and related 3,479,390 64.3 2,237,790 $8.62 $17,930

Retail salespersons Sales and related 4,374,230 40.7 1,780,740 11.51 23,940

Combined food preparation and serving workers, including fast food Food preparation and serving related 2,461,890 69.0 1,699,330 7.66 15,930

Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand Transportation and material moving 2,372,130 71.3 1,690,820 11.08 23,050

Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance 2,124,860 78.9 1,676,520 10.45 21,730

Waiters and waitresses Food preparation and serving related 2,312,930 53.6 1,240,420 8.27 17,190

Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer Transportation and material moving 1,673,950 71.7 1,200,740 17.46 36,320

Office clerks, general Office and administrative support 3,026,710 38.5 1,166,770 12.12 25,200

Stock clerks and order fillers Office and administrative support 1,705,450 62.9 1,073,020 10.79 22,440

Team assemblers Production 1,250,120 71.8 897,150 12.59 26,180

Some college:

Retail salespersons Sales and related 4,374,230 33.2 1,451,410 $11.51 $23,940

Office clerks, general Office and administrative support 3,026,710 41.6 1,260,330 12.12 25,200

Registered nurses Healthcare practitioner and technical 2,417,150 40.1 969,100 28.71 59,730

Cashiers Sales and related 3,479,390 25.8 895,980 8.62 17,930

Customer service representatives Office and administrative support 2,147,770 40.8 876,490 14.61 30,400

Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks Office and administrative support 1,856,890 44.9 833,060 15.28 31,780

Secretaries, except legal, medical, and executive Office and administrative support 1,750,600 46.4 812,190 13.68 28,460

Waiters and waitresses Food preparation and serving related 2,312,930 31.7 732,960 8.27 17,190

Executive secretaries and administrative assistants Office and administrative support 1,487,310 46.4 690,040 18.83 39,160

Combined food preparation and serving workers, including fast food Food preparation and serving related 2,461,890 25.1 616,900 7.66 15,930

Bachelor’s degree or higher:

Registered nurses Healthcare practitioner and technical 2,417,150 58.2 1,406,060 $28.71 $59,730

Elementary school teachers, except special education Education, training, and library 1,509,180 92.3 1,393,400 ** 48,700

Retail salespersons Sales and related 4,374,230 26.1 1,142,080 11.51 23,940

Secondary school teachers, except special 

 and vocational education Education, training, and library 1,030,780 95.1 980,050 ** 51,150

Accountants and auditors Business and financial operations 1,092,960 75.5 824,840 29.17 60,670

General and operations managers Management 1,663,280 48.1 799,900 47.73 99,280

Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, 

 except technical and scientific products Sales and related 1,488,990 49.6 738,140 28.14 58,540

Middle school teachers, except special and vocational education Education, training, and library 652,700 92.3 602,630 ** 49,470

Office clerks, general Office and administrative support 3,026,710 19.8 599,600 12.12 25,200

Lawyers Legal 547,710 97.9 536,300 54.65 113,660

Estimated 

employment, 

high school or 

less

Total 

Employment

Percent 

reporting high 

school or less

Hourly 

mean 

wage

Annual 

mean

Major group wage

Estimated 

employment, 

some college

Total 

Employment

Percent 

reporting high 

some college

Hourly 

mean 

wage

Annual 

mean

Major group wage

Estimated 

employment, 

bachelor’s

degree or

higher

Total 

Employment

Percent 

reporting

bachelor’s

degree or

higher

Hourly 

mean 

wage

Annual 

mean

Major group wage

Data represent the occupations estimated to employ the largest number of workers 

with the specified level of education. Occupational employment by level of education was 

estimated by multiplying OES total employment figures for each occupation by the percentage 

of workers in that occupation reporting each level of education and rounding to the nearest 

10. Estimated employment by level of education may differ from total employment times 

percent reporting a given level of education because of rounding. Educational attainment 

by occupation derived from Current Population Survey data and available from Bureau of 

Labor Statistics, Employment Projections program, http://www.bls.gov/emp/home.htm.

** Wages for some occupations that do not generally work year-round, full time, are 

reported either as hourly wages or annual salaries, depending on how they are typically paid. 
13

Table 5. Estimated population of metropolitan statistical areas along I-80, July 1, 2006

San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA MSA................................................................ 4,180,027

Vallejo-Fairfield, CA MSA............................................................................................ 411,680

Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, CA MSA.......................................................... 2,067,117

Reno-Sparks, NV MSA............................................................................................... 400,560

Salt Lake City, UT MSA.............................................................................................. 1,067,722

Cheyenne, WY MSA................................................................................................... 85,384

Lincoln, NE MSA......................................................................................................... 283,970

Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA MSA............................................................................. 822,549

Des Moines, IA MSA................................................................................................... 534,230

Iowa City, IA MSA....................................................................................................... 139,567

Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL MSA................................................................. 377,291

Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL-IN-WI ............................................................................ 9,505,748

South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI MSA.......................................................................... 318,007

Elkhart-Goshen, IN MSA............................................................................................ 198,105

Toledo, OH MSA......................................................................................................... 653,695

Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, OH MSA............................................................................. 2,114,155

Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA MSA............................................................ 586,939

New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA MSA................................... 18,818,536

Estimated population 

as of 

July 1, 2006

Population data from U.S. Bureau of the 

Census, Table 1. Annual Estimates of the Population 

of Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas: 

April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2006, available online at 

http://www.census.gov/popest/metro.html. 

Information regarding Interstate 80 is available 

from the Department of Transportation, Federal 

Highway Administration at http://www.fhwa.dot.

gov/reports/routefinder/index.cfm. Cities along 

I-80 were mapped to Metropolitan Statistical Areas 

using the OES MSA definitions at http://www.

bls.gov/oes/current/oessrcma.htm. 

Accountants Truck drivers, heavy

and auditors Registered nurses Cashiers General office clerks and tractor-trailer 

Hourly Hourly Hourly Hourly Hourly

mean mean mean mean mean

Employment wage Employment wage Employment wage Employment wage Employment wage

United States............................ 1,092,960 $29.17 2,417,150 $28.71 3,479,390 $8.62 3,026,710 $12.12 1,673,950 $17.46

California .................................. 124,560 30.96 234,260 36.12 356,880 10.30 396,750 13.21 131,760 18.51

Nevada ..................................... 7,650 25.88 14,050 30.36 36,570 9.45 21,040 12.01 14,430 18.23

Utah.......................................... 8,730 26.76 16,510 26.24 30,560 8.33 25,920 10.70 19,560 18.92

Wyoming................................... 1,570 23.54 4,010 23.54 5,960 8.09 2,820 10.88 6,110 17.12

Nebraska .................................. 7,480 27.41 16,840 24.71 23,520 7.86 16,350 10.86 27,690 16.72

Iowa.......................................... 9,980 26.19 31,040 22.61 41,530 7.77 31,220 11.52 37,720 15.65

Illinois........................................ 54,810 31.16 103,100 27.21 140,770 8.64 113,710 12.27 74,360 19.03

Indiana...................................... 18,530 27.08 52,910 25.39 73,270 8.00 53,370 11.17 53,030 18.32

Ohio.......................................... 43,660 28.17 111,840 26.50 139,980 7.99 99,600 11.37 68,760 17.80

Pennsylvania ............................ 49,070 29.21 126,120 27.42 156,430 7.92 155,670 12.29 73,720 17.66

New Jersey............................... 35,740 33.74 80,330 32.02 105,460 9.09 86,070 13.12 44,250 19.29

Table 6. Employment and hourly mean wages for selected large occupations in the United States and States along Interstate 80, May 2006
14

Table 7. Hourly mean wages for selected large occupations in the United States and metropolitan areas along 

Interstate 80, May 2006 

United States............................................................................................... $29.17 $28.71 $8.62 $12.12 $17.46

San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA MSA................................................. 32.52 41.61 11.79 15.10 19.56

Vallejo-Fairfield, CA MSA............................................................................. 28.39 35.86 10.66 13.72 18.57

Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, CA MSA........................................... 29.29 37.65 10.62 13.65 18.77

Reno-Sparks, NV MSA................................................................................ 25.09 31.35 9.50 12.09 19.30

Salt Lake City, UT MSA............................................................................... 25.81 27.04 8.80 11.31 18.72

Cheyenne, WY MSA.................................................................................... 19.54 25.23 8.37 10.52 15.10

Lincoln, NE MSA.......................................................................................... 25.50 24.33 7.79 11.48 NA

Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA MSA.............................................................. 28.73 25.82 8.45 11.80 18.19

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA MSA ...................................................... 27.40 23.83 8.60 12.12 17.99

Iowa City, IA MSA........................................................................................ 24.19 24.77 8.11 13.31 16.32

Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL MSA.................................................. 26.76 21.50 7.85 11.14 17.09

Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL-IN-WI ............................................................. 32.10 28.55 8.83 12.72 20.24

South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI MSA........................................................... 25.45 24.43 8.04 11.23 17.56

Elkhart-Goshen, IN MSA............................................................................. 27.47 29.43 8.85 10.08 18.37

Toledo, OH MSA.......................................................................................... 28.53 26.27 7.89 11.09 18.67

Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, OH MSA.............................................................. 27.87 28.05 8.07 11.74 18.80

Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA MSA............................................. 24.43 25.82 7.54 10.14 18.89

New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA MSA.................... 35.91 34.84 9.19 13.22 19.98

NOTE: NA indicates data not available. 

Accountants 

and

auditors

Registered 

nurses Cashiers

General office 

clerks

Truck drivers, 

heavy and 

tractor-trailer

Table 8. Employment and number per thousand employees for selected large occupations in the United States and metropolitan areas 

along Interstate 80, May 2006 

Accountants Truck drivers, heavy 

and auditors Registered nurses Cashiers General office clerks and tractor-trailer

Number Number Number Number Number 

per per per per per

Employ- thousand Employ- thousand Employ- thousand Employ- thousand Employ- thousand

ment employees ment employees ment employees ment employees ment employees

United States...................................... 1,092,960 8.2 2,417,150 18.2 3,479,390 26.2 3,026,710 22.8 1,673,950 12.6

San Francisco-Oakland-

 Fremont, CA MSA............................. 19,590 9.8 32,870 16.5 45,130 22.6 46,570 23.4 13,000 6.5

Vallejo-Fairfield, CA MSA.................... 780 6.0 2,730 21.0 4,090 31.5 2,960 22.8 1,400 10.8

Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-

 Roseville, CA MSA............................ 6,550 7.3 13,490 15.1 21,510 24.0 31,590 35.3 7,660 8.6

Reno-Sparks, NV MSA....................... 1,760 8.0 2,880 13.1 5,660 25.8 3,660 16.7 3,660 16.7

Salt Lake City, UT MSA...................... 5,240 8.8 8,830 14.9 13,930 23.5 13,490 22.8 10,450 17.6

Cheyenne, WY MSA........................... 520 12.6 860 20.9 1,060 25.7 400 9.7 500 12.1

Lincoln, NE MSA................................. 1,590 10.0 3,190 20.0 3,450 21.6 2,580 16.2 NA NA

Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA MSA..... 4,430 10.1 8,820 20.0 10,690 24.3 7,300 16.6 15,960 36.2

Des Moines-West 

 Des Moines, IA MSA......................... 3,190 10.2 6,010 19.2 7,110 22.7 7,190 23.0 5,920 18.9

Iowa City, IA MSA............................... 400 5.2 3,510 46.0 2,200 28.8 2,140 28.1 NA NA

Davenport-Moline-

 Rock Island, IA-IL MSA..................... 1,470 7.9 2,890 15.5 4,620 24.7 4,010 21.4 3,060 16.4

Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, 

 IL-IN-WI MSA.................................... 46,660 10.6 77,620 17.6 103,260 23.4 83,670 19.0 54,450 12.3

South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI MSA.. 860 6.3 2,510 18.4 3,390 24.9 4,110 30.2 1,870 13.7

Elkhart-Goshen, IN MSA.................... 770 5.9 2,060 15.8 1,930 14.8 1,890 14.5 1,950 15.0

Toledo, OH MSA................................. 2,310 7.1 8,060 23.3 8,810 27.2 5,610 17.3 5,750 17.7

Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, OH MSA..... 11,070 10.4 24,810 23.3 26,580 25.0 21,430 20.2 10,150 9.5

Youngstown-Warren-

 Boardman, OH-PA MSA ................... 1,480 6.2 5,240 21.9 7,010 29.3 5,110 21.4 4,270 17.9

New York-Northern New Jersey-

 Long Island, NY-NJ-PA MSA............. 99,450 12.1 161,600 19.7 186,680 22.8 198,220 24.2 55,150 6.7

NOTE: NA indicates data not available.