U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS

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Ranking of Full-time Civilian Occupations by Hourly and Annual Earnings, July

2009

by John E. Buckley

Bureau of Labor Statistics

Originally Posted: September 29, 2010

The ranking of detailed occupations by annual and hourly earnings often shows considerable positional differences when

scheduled annual hours are taken into account.

In June 2010, the Bureau of Labor Statistics published hourly, weekly, and annual earnings estimates from the National

Compensation Survey (NCS) for 591 detailed occupations with a reference month of July 2009.1 The average (mean) hourly

earnings for all full-time civilian workers were $22.36; the weekly and annual averages were $884 and $44,901, respectively.

The NCS also provided average weekly and annual hours data for each of the 591 occupations meeting publication criteria,

or about 72 percent of the 821 detailed occupations found in the Standard Occupational Classification Manual 2000, which is

the classification system used by the NCS.2

The NCS program collects data in a sample of metropolitan and micropolitan areas defined by the U.S. Office of

Management and Budget (OMB) and in a separate sample of counties located outside those defined areas. The NCS

national estimates comprised 227 areas in 2009. The survey is designed so that each metropolitan, micropolitan, or

nonmetropolitan area sampled is representative of itself and any other areas that may be in its sampling cell, and the sample

estimates from all areas combined are representative of the civilian workforce of the United States. Agricultural, private

household, and Federal Government workers are not included in the National Compensation Survey.3 As a sample survey,

the NCS is subject to sampling and nonsampling error. Therefore, the rank of any occupation discussed in this article is an

approximate rather than an exact ranking. The NCS classifies employees as working either a full-time or part-time schedule

based on the definition used by each establishment.

This article presents an analysis of average earnings of full-time civilian workers for whom detailed occupational estimates

were available, and demonstrates how the number of scheduled work hours can affect an occupations rank, depending on

whether the rankings are for hourly or annual earnings. For example, in 2009, full-time general pediatricians had an average

annual work schedule of 2,240 hours, compared with the 2,008 average annual scheduled work hours for all full-time

workers. General pediatricians earned an average of $56.67 per hour--placing them 18th on the hourly scale; when the

hourly rate is multiplied by their 2,240 scheduled annual hours, they placed 9th on the annual scale.

Annual Versus Hourly Earnings: Top 20 Annual Ranking

Among the top 20 ranking full-time civilian occupations arrayed by annual earnings, 9 of them were within 2 places (plus or

minus) of their hourly rank, 3 were within 3 places, the remaining 8 occupations were within 7 and 12 places. For example, as

shown in table 1, economists, were ranked 14th in the annual earnings, yet they were 26th in hourly earnings.
U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS

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Table 1. Ranking of full-time(1) civilian workers: Average annual earnings(2), relative standard errors(3), and average

annual hours, top 20 ranked occupations, National Compensation Survey, July 2009

Hourly earnings

rank(4)

Annual earnings

rank(4) Occupation

Annual earnings Average annual

Mean Relative error hours

(percent)

3 1 Obstetricians and gynecologists $279,635 14.5 2,637

1 2 Anesthesiologists 271,264 15.7 2,400

6 3 Chief executives 192,780 8.1 2,271

5 4 Internists, general 181,081 15.7 2,009

7 5 Family and general practitioners 167,245 14.4 2,119

4 6 Law teachers, postsecondary 152,540 7.4 1,595

8 7 Psychiatrists 149,866 6.4 1,981

9 8 Dentists, general 145,458 9.9 2,049

18 9 Pediatricians, general 126,955 18.2 2,240

2 10 Airline pilots, copilots, and flight

engineers 125,431 9.2 1,110

10 11 Health specialties teachers,

postsecondary 124,357 7.0 1,805

15 12 Engineering managers 120,429 2.6 2,117

20 13 Lawyers 118,241 5.2 2,123

26 14 Economists 114,498 27.7 2,145

24 15 Computer and information

systems managers 114,217 2.3 2,097

23 16 Securities, commodities, and

financial services sales agents 114,064 7.1 2,089

25 17 Computer and information

scientists, research

113,901 9.2 2,106

17 18 Physicists 113,817 11.5 2,007

16 19

Judges, magistrate judges, and

magistrates 109,842 8.1 1,935

27 20 Petroleum engineers 109,635 12.6 2,074

Footnotes:

(1) Employees are classified as working either a full-time or a part-time schedule based on the definition used by each establishment.

(2) Earnings are the straight-time hourly wages or salaries paid to employees. They include incentive pay, cost-of-living adjustments, and

hazard pay. Excluded are premium pay for overtime, vacations, holidays, non-production bonuses, and tips.

(3) For information on earnings mean, relative standard error, and other calculations, see BLS Handbook of Methods, on the Internet at http://

www.bls.gov/opub/hom/homch8_a.htm.

(4) Rank is a descending order of average earnings.

Table 1 also shows that 5 top-ranked detailed occupations on the annual scale did not make it into the top 20 on the hourly

scale. Airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers were among the 15 occupations that remained in the top 20. At $112.97,

the average hourly earnings of airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers placed them in 2nd place. However, when ranked

by annual earnings they dropped to 10th place, considerably lower in rank than obstetricians and gynecologists and

anesthesiologists, who are ranked 1st and 2nd, respectively. In 2009, full-time airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers had

an average annual work schedule of 1,110 hours, only about 55 percent of the estimated 2,008 hours for all full-time civilian

workers in 2009.
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Data for airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers are somewhat anomalous because work schedules for individual

members might vary every month, depending on flight assignments. As BLS economist Richard Schumann noted in a 2008 

article, “These workers are paid an hourly rate when flying, but they also receive pay for time spent in other activities, such as

training or ground travel between flights.” In addition, “In many cases, the hourly flight pay begins when the plane leaves the

departure gate and ends when the plane pulls into the arrival gate. In these cases, time spent on pre- and post-flight activities

is not compensated and is difficult to collect. As a result of these collection problems, the NCS collects only the hourly flight

rate and the flight hours for flight crews.”4

Annual Versus Hourly Earnings: Lowest 20 Annual Ranking

As shown in table 2, among the 20 lowest ranked full-time civilian occupations in terms of annual earnings, several

occupations had much greater differences in hourly and annual earnings ranks than did the top 20 ranked occupations. This

is because of the greater variation in average annual scheduled work hours among the lowest ranked occupations compared

with the highest ranked occupations. Teacher assistants, for example, were ranked 16th from the lowest in annual earnings;

they were ranked 79th from the lowest in hourly earnings. Considerable differences were evident for lifeguards, ski patrol,

and other recreational protective services workers, whose annual earnings were among the lowest ranks, compared with

66th lowest in hourly earnings. Average scheduled annual work hours for lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational

protective services workers were 793; for teacher assistants the average was 1,465 hours, compared with 2,008 average

scheduled annual work hours for all workers.

Table 2. Ranking of full-time(1) civilian workers: Average annual earnings(2), relative standard errors(3), and average

annual hours, lowest 20 ranked occupations, National Compensation Survey, July 2009

Hourly earnings

rank(4)

Annual earnings

rank(4) Occupation

Annual earnings Average annual

Mean Relative error hours

(percent)

1 1 Waiters and waitresses $9,453 3.5 1,891

66 2

Lifeguards, ski patrol, and other

recreational protective service workers 10,076 17.1 793

3 3 Bartenders 14,099 4.0 1,869

2 4 Gaming dealers 14,250 2.6 2,063

4 5 Dining room and cafeteria attendants and

bartender helpers 15,980 3.9 1,943

26 6 Transportation attendants, except flight

attendants and baggage porters 16,546 21.1 1,573

8 7 Hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge,

and coffee shop

16,703 5.2 1,842

15 8 Amusement and recreation attendants 17,150 5.5 1,785

5 9 Cooks, fast food 17,760 4.1 1,980

10 10 Combined food preparation and serving

workers, including fast food

17,765 1.4 1,912

7 11 Baggage porters and bellhops 17,960 8.3 1,987

Footnotes:

(1) Employees are classified as working either a full-time or a part-time schedule based on the definition used by each establishment.

(2) Earnings are the straight-time hourly wages or salaries paid to employees. They include incentive pay, cost-of-living adjustments, and

hazard pay. Excluded are premium pay for overtime, vacations, holidays, non-production bonuses, and tips.

(3) For information on earnings mean, relative standard error, and other calculations, see BLS Handbook of Methods, on the Internet at http://

www.bls.gov/opub/hom/homch8_a.htm.

(4) Rank is an ascending order of average earnings.
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Hourly earnings

rank(4)

Annual earnings

rank(4) Occupation

Annual earnings Average annual

Mean Relative error hours

(percent)

12 12 Counter attendants, cafeteria, food

concession, and coffee shop

18,146 3.8 1,916

6 13 Parking lot attendants 18,273 3.8 2,026

9 14 Dishwashers 18,443 2.5 2,000

14 15 Pressers, textile, garment, and related

materials 18,969 4.8 1,980

79 16 Teacher assistants 19,186 1.2 1,465

53 17 Farmworkers and laborers, crop,

nursery, and greenhouse

19,199 4.9 1,546

13 18 Food servers, nonrestaurant 19,286 5.9 2,017

11 19 Textile bleaching, and dyeing machine

operators and tenders 19,488 5.4 2,075

16 20 Child care workers 19,573 1.8 1,981

Footnotes:

(1) Employees are classified as working either a full-time or a part-time schedule based on the definition used by each establishment.

(2) Earnings are the straight-time hourly wages or salaries paid to employees. They include incentive pay, cost-of-living adjustments, and

hazard pay. Excluded are premium pay for overtime, vacations, holidays, non-production bonuses, and tips.

(3) For information on earnings mean, relative standard error, and other calculations, see BLS Handbook of Methods, on the Internet at http://

www.bls.gov/opub/hom/homch8_a.htm.

(4) Rank is an ascending order of average earnings.

Waiters and waitresses were among the lowest paid workers in terms of both annual and hourly earnings. The low earnings

for these workers may be somewhat misleading because the NCS is designed to measure employers' costs for wages and

salaries, which precludes collecting tips as part of wages. As a result, total earnings for waiters and waitresses are

understated. Rates for some other low-ranked occupations--such as bartenders, baggage porters and bellhops, parking lot

attendants, and tour guides and escorts--were similarly affected by the absence of information on tips.

Note that the ranking in table 2 counts from the lowest ranked upward. For example, the 66th hourly earnings rank for

lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers indicates that among the 591 published estimates,

525 occupations ranked higher, and 65 occupations ranked lower, in terms of average hourly earnings.5

In addition to presenting earnings data for detailed occupations, the NCS publishes average earnings for five broad

occupational groups. Table 3 shows that average hourly earnings, by broad occupational group, are consistent with average

annual earnings. Table 3 also shows the distribution into these five broad occupational groups of both the lowest and highest

20 detailed occupations among full-time civilian workers in terms of hourly earnings.

Table 3. Average hourly earnings and relative earnings of major occupational groups, full-time civilian workers,

National Compensation Survey, July 2009

(All workers = 100)

Occupational group Average hourly

earnings

Relative

earnings

Top 20 occupations ranked by

hourly earnings

Lowest 20 occupations ranked

by hourly earnings

All workers $22.36 100

Management,

professional, and related 34.41 154 19 0
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Occupational group Average hourly

earnings

Relative

earnings

Top 20 occupations ranked by

hourly earnings

Lowest 20 occupations ranked

by hourly earnings

Service 13.40 60 0 17

Sales and office 17.49 78 0 0

Natural resources,

construction, and

maintenance

21.16 95 0 0

Production,

transportation, and

material moving

16.37 73 1 3

Nineteen of the top 20 ranked occupations were in the management, professional, and related occupations group. Airline

pilots, copilots, and flight engineers, which are classified under the production, transportation, and material moving group,

were the one exception. When the list was extended to the top 50 ranked occupations (in terms of hourly earnings), the

management, professional, and related group held 48 positions; the securities, commodities, and financial services sales

agents (sales and office occupations) and airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers (production, transportation, and material

moving occupations) accounted for the remaining 2 positions.

Among the five major occupational groups, service workers had the lowest hourly earnings, averaging about 39 percent of

the average hourly earnings of workers in management, professional, and related occupations. Thus, the service

occupational group was strongly represented in the lowest 20 ranked occupations, holding 17 of the 20 positions. The three

remaining occupations--parking lot attendants; textile bleaching and dyeing machine operators and tenders; and pressers,

textile, garment, and related materials--were in the production, transportation, and material moving group. When the list was

extended to the lowest 50 ranked occupations (in terms of hourly earnings), the services group held 27 positions; the

production, transportation, and material moving group held 14; and the remaining 9 places were spread among the sales and

office; natural resources, construction, and maintenance; and management, professional, and related occupations.

The Standard Occupational Classification places some occupations, such as apprentices and trainees, with the occupations

for which they were being trained. Likewise, teacher assistants are classified in the same broad management, professional,

and related group as teachers, even though the assistants low earnings are not consistent with the earnings of most

occupations in the management and related group. Floral designers, which are classified under management, professional,

and related occupations, is an occupation that provides another example of a low-paying job in a high-paying group.

The 2009 National Compensation Survey bulletin contains a broad variety of occupational wage data beyond those

presented in this article. For example, the average hourly earnings of full-time civilian accountants and auditors were $29.29.

In addition, BLS published NCS data for nine levels of accountants and auditors, ranging from $17.48 to $61.07 per hour.

The bulletin also presents data for State and local government separately from private industry, part-time, union and

nonunion, and hospital industry workers, as well as earnings averages by earnings percentiles.

Note: Because of the relatively high standard errors for some occupations, users should exercise caution when making direct

salary comparisons. This is especially applicable when the differences in average earnings are small. This article includes

three appendix tables: Appendix table 1 ranks data by full-time hourly earnings for all civilian occupations. Appendix table 2

ranks full-time civilian annual earnings and annual hours scheduled. Appendix table 3 presents an alphabetic list of

occupations, and annual hours, ranked by annual earnings.

John E. Buckley

Economist, Division of Compensation Data Analysis and Planning, Office of Compensation and Working Conditions, Bureau of

Labor Statistics.

Telephone: (202) 691-6299; E-mail: Buckley.John@bls.gov.
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Notes

1 See National Compensation Survey: Occupational Earnings in the United States,2009, Bulletin 2738 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, June 2010),

on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ncswage2009.htm. Hourly earnings estimates for full-time surgeons and real estate brokers in the

civilian sector were not published for July 2009. Although annual earnings estimates were published for these two occupations, they are

omitted from this analysis. The NCS data in this bulletin were collected between December 2008 and January 2010, with an average reference

month of July 2009.

2 See Standard Occupational Classification Manual 2000 (Office of Management and Budget, October 2000); an online version of the 2000

Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system is available on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/soc/2000/soc_majo.htm.

3 For more information on the scope of the National Compensation Survey, see the technical note in National Compensation Survey:

Occupational Earnings in the United States,2009, Bulletin 2738, Appendix A, on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ncswage2009.htm.

4 See Richard Schumann, “Work Schedules in the National Compensation Survey,” Compensation and Working Conditions Online, July 28,

2008, on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/opub/cwc/cm20080722ar01p1.htm.

5 See notes at the end of appendix table 3.

Appendix Tables

• Appendix table 1. Ranking of full-time civilian workers: Average (mean) hourly earnings and relative errors, all occupations, National

Compensation Survey, July 2009 [PDF] [XLS] • Appendix table 2. Ranking of full-time civilian workers: Average (mean) annual earnings, relative errors, and average (mean) annual

hours, all occupations, National Compensation Survey, July 2009 [PDF] [XLS] • Appendix table 3. Alphabetic listing: Full-time civilian workers, average (mean) annual earnings, relative errors, and average (mean)

annual hours, all occupations, National Compensation Survey, July 2009 [PDF] [XLS]

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