Workers in the Tulsa, OK Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $26.66 in May 2023, compared to the nationwide average of $31.48, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Michael Hirniak noted that higher paying major occupational groups included management ($55.85), legal ($45.45), and healthcare practitioners and technical ($44.80). Lower paying occupations included food preparation and serving related ($13.51), building and grounds cleaning and maintenance ($15.72), and personal care and service ($15.93). (See table A.)

Occupational groups with the highest employment in the Tulsa area included office and administrative support (13.0 percent), sales and related (9.5 percent), and food preparation and serving related (9.5 percent). Major occupational groups on the lower end of local employment included life, physical, and social science (0.6 percent); legal (0.6 percent); and arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media (1.1 percent).

One occupational group—production—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Tulsa had 33,610 jobs in production, accounting for 7.6 percent of local area employment, compared to the 5.8-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $23.32, compared to the national wage of $22.90.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the production group included welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers (3,860); first-line supervisors of production and operating workers (3,000); and inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers (2,510). Among the higher-paying jobs in this group were petroleum pump system operators, refinery operators, and gaugers and power plant operators, with mean hourly wages of $45.32 and $39.86, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were laundry and dry-cleaning workers ($13.32) and food cooking machine operators and tenders ($14.51). (Detailed data for the production occupations are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_46140.htm.)

Location quotients allow us to explore the occupational make-up of a metropolitan area by comparing the composition of jobs in an area relative to the national average. (See table 1.) For example, a location quotient of 2.0 indicates that an occupation accounts for twice the share of employment in the area than it does nationally. In the Tulsa area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the production group. For instance, petroleum pump system operators, refinery operators, and gaugers were employed at 7.3 times the national rate in Tulsa, and welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers, at 3.1 times the U.S. average. Bakers had a location quotient of 1.0 in Tulsa, indicating that this particular occupation’s local and national employment shares were similar.

The statistics in this release are from the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, a cooperative effort between BLS and the State Workforce Agencies (SWAs). BLS funds the survey and provides the procedures and technical support. State Workforce Agencies collect most of the data: in this case, the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission.

Technical Note

The Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey is a semiannual survey measuring occupational employment and wage rates for wage and salary workers in nonfarm establishments in the United States. The OEWS data available from BLS include cross-industry occupational employment and wage estimates for the nation; over 580 areas, including states and the District of Columbia, metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), nonmetropolitan areas, and territories; national industry-specific estimates at the NAICS sector, 3-digit, most 4-digit, and selected 5- and 6-digit industry levels; and national estimates by ownership across all industries and for schools and hospitals. Full OEWS data tables are available online.

Additional information about the OEWS estimates and methodology are available in the national Technical Notes. The overall national response rate for the six panels, based on the 50 states and the District of Columbia, is 65.8 percent based on establishments and 64.3 percent based on weighted sampled employment. The sample in the Tulsa, OK Metropolitan Statistical Area included 3,282 establishments with a response rate of 76 percent.

Metropolitan area definitions

The substate area data published in this release reflect the standards and definitions established by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget.

The Tulsa, OK Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Creek County, Okmulgee County, Osage County, Pawnee County, Rogers County, Tulsa County, and Wagoner County.

For more information

Answers to frequently asked questions about the OEWS data, as well as general program documentation, are available on the OEWS website.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Table 1. Employment and wage data for production occupations, Tulsa metropolitan area, May 2023

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages ($)
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Production occupations	33,610	1.3	23.32	48,510
First-line supervisors of production and operating workers	3,000	1.5	35.47	73,780
Aircraft structure, surfaces, rigging, and systems assemblers	240	2.8	24.81	51,610
Electrical, electronic, and electromechanical assemblers, except coil winders, tapers, and finishers	800	1.0	19.28	40,110
Engine and other machine assemblers	150	1.1	23.61	49,120
Structural metal fabricators and fitters	470	2.8	21.92	45,600
Miscellaneous assemblers and fabricators	5,520	1.3	19.38	40,300
Bakers	630	1.0	14.53	30,210
Butchers and meat cutters	420	1.1	16.02	33,330
Food and tobacco roasting, baking, and drying machine operators and tenders	50	0.9	15.08	31,370
Food batchmakers	550	1.1	14.57	30,310
Food cooking machine operators and tenders	60	0.7	14.51	30,180
Food processing workers, all other	50	0.3	17.97	37,370
Extruding and drawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic	270	1.5	19.42	40,390
Rolling machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic	40	0.6	19.41	40,370
Cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic	870	1.7	20.41	42,460
Drilling and boring machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic	50	3.0	21.06	43,810
Grinding, lapping, polishing, and buffing machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic	280	1.3	19.23	40,000
Lathe and turning machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic	120	2.1	28.05	58,340
Milling and planing machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic	80	2.0	20.62	42,890
Machinists	1,770	2.1	25.02	52,040
Metal-refining furnace operators and tenders	30	0.5	22.67	47,160
Foundry mold and coremakers	30	0.9	16.17	33,630
Molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic	680	1.5	17.80	37,030
Multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic	480	1.3	21.35	44,400
Tool and die makers	120	0.7	30.09	62,580
Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers	3,860	3.1	25.23	52,470
Welding, soldering, and brazing machine setters, operators, and tenders	100	1.0	21.01	43,700
Heat treating equipment setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic	40	1.0	22.30	46,380
Plating machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic	40	0.5	18.83	39,160
Prepress technicians and workers	100	1.4	16.37	34,040
Printing press operators	510	1.2	18.45	38,370
Print binding and finishing workers	80	0.7	17.51	36,420
Laundry and dry-cleaning workers	670	1.3	13.32	27,710
Sewing machine operators	80	0.2	16.28	33,860
Extruding and forming machine setters, operators, and tenders, synthetic and glass fibers	40	0.9	18.97	39,460
Cabinetmakers and bench carpenters	300	1.2	17.84	37,110
Sawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, wood	30	0.3	18.26	37,970
Woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing	90	0.5	16.87	35,090
Power plant operators	80	0.8	39.86	82,900
Stationary engineers and boiler operators	80	0.8	26.34	54,780
Water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators	570	1.6	21.38	44,460
Gas plant operators	190	4.0	36.11	75,120
Petroleum pump system operators, refinery operators, and gaugers	710	7.3	45.32	94,260
Plant and system operators, all other	30	0.7	24.26	50,460
Chemical equipment operators and tenders	260	0.7	28.28	58,820
Crushing, grinding, and polishing machine setters, operators, and tenders	130	1.7	17.33	36,050
Grinding and polishing workers, hand	140	3.9	16.68	34,690
Mixing and blending machine setters, operators, and tenders	200	0.7	24.33	50,600
Cutters and trimmers, hand	60	2.8	14.80	30,780
Cutting and slicing machine setters, operators, and tenders	(5)	(5)	18.70	38,900
Extruding, forming, pressing, and compacting machine setters, operators, and tenders	80	0.5	21.31	44,310
Furnace, kiln, oven, drier, and kettle operators and tenders	70	1.6	23.48	48,830
Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers	2,510	1.5	28.23	58,710
Jewelers and precious stone and metal workers	40	0.6	21.51	44,730
Dental laboratory technicians	140	1.4	25.23	52,470
Packaging and filling machine operators and tenders	800	0.7	17.34	36,070
Painting, coating, and decorating workers	90	2.8	16.84	35,040
Coating, painting, and spraying machine setters, operators, and tenders	770	1.7	21.93	45,620
Computer numerically controlled tool operators	870	1.6	22.38	46,560
Computer numerically controlled tool programmers	160	2.0	33.60	69,890
Cleaning, washing, and metal pickling equipment operators and tenders	90	2.0	24.28	50,500
Molders, shapers, and casters, except metal and plastic	110	1.0	20.11	41,830
Paper goods machine setters, operators, and tenders	590	2.1	25.64	53,340
Helpers--production workers	850	1.6	17.17	35,710
Production workers, all other	360	0.5	18.92	39,350
(1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Tulsa, OK Metropolitan Statistical Area, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_46140.htm. (2) Estimates for detailed occupations may not sum to the totals due to rounding, and because the totals may include occupations that are not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers. (3) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration. A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average. (4) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a 'year-round, full-time' hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly mean wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data. (5) Estimate not released.