Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2017

31-0000 Healthcare Support Occupations (Major Group)

This major group comprises the following occupations: Home Health Aides ; Psychiatric Aides ; Nursing Assistants ; Orderlies ; Occupational Therapy Assistants ; Occupational Therapy Aides ; Physical Therapist Assistants ; Physical Therapist Aides ; Massage Therapists ; Dental Assistants ; Medical Assistants ; Medical Equipment Preparers ; Medical Transcriptionists ; Pharmacy Aides ; Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers ; Phlebotomists ; Healthcare Support Workers, All Other


National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
Geographic profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this major group:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
4,113,410 0.4 % $15.05 $31,310 0.2 %

Percentile wage estimates for this major group:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $9.84 $11.28 $13.80 $17.53 $22.44
Annual Wage (2) $20,470 $23,450 $28,710 $36,460 $46,680


Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals 669,510 12.17 $15.87 $33,010
Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities) 654,330 40.35 $13.71 $28,530
Home Health Care Services 529,580 37.92 $12.16 $25,300
Offices of Physicians 446,810 17.54 $16.31 $33,920
Offices of Dentists 311,330 33.40 $18.55 $38,580

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities) 654,330 40.35 $13.71 $28,530
Home Health Care Services 529,580 37.92 $12.16 $25,300
Offices of Dentists 311,330 33.40 $18.55 $38,580
Continuing Care Retirement Communities and Assisted Living Facilities for the Elderly 259,090 28.38 $12.68 $26,380
Offices of Other Health Practitioners 197,880 22.59 $19.79 $41,160

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Civic and Social Organizations 260 0.07 $26.21 $54,520
Machinery, Equipment, and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers (8) (8) $25.71 $53,470
Educational Support Services 480 0.27 $23.68 $49,260
Other Amusement and Recreation Industries 3,660 0.29 $22.22 $46,210
Technical and Trade Schools 290 0.22 $21.77 $45,270


Geographic profile for this occupation: Top

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.





States with the highest employment level in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New York 380,640 41.34 1.43 $14.82 $30,820
California 359,580 21.54 0.75 $17.83 $37,100
Texas 327,980 27.58 0.96 $14.18 $29,500
Florida 250,050 29.70 1.03 $14.70 $30,570
Ohio 192,490 35.84 1.24 $13.80 $28,700




States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New York 380,640 41.34 1.43 $14.82 $30,820
Rhode Island 19,030 39.98 1.39 $15.94 $33,160
New Jersey 157,770 39.37 1.36 $15.01 $31,220
Ohio 192,490 35.84 1.24 $13.80 $28,700
Maine 20,760 34.64 1.20 $14.67 $30,510




Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Alaska 8,620 27.09 0.94 $21.14 $43,970
California 359,580 21.54 0.75 $17.83 $37,100
Oregon 49,280 26.92 0.93 $17.58 $36,570
Washington 83,720 26.27 0.91 $17.56 $36,530
Massachusetts 105,660 29.95 1.04 $17.27 $35,930



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Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New York-Jersey City-White Plains, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division 320,970 47.95 1.66 $14.43 $30,010
Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights, IL Metropolitan Division 99,310 27.12 0.94 $15.46 $32,150
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division 99,250 22.40 0.78 $17.03 $35,430
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 67,180 22.93 0.79 $14.33 $29,800
Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX Metropolitan Division 61,290 24.60 0.85 $15.66 $32,570
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 57,420 21.92 0.76 $15.06 $31,320
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 51,950 26.89 0.93 $17.11 $35,590
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division 51,680 20.51 0.71 $16.45 $34,220
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ 49,330 24.91 0.86 $15.46 $32,160
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA NECTA Division 45,630 24.80 0.86 $18.08 $37,610


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Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Brownsville-Harlingen, TX 10,650 76.23 2.64 $10.31 $21,440
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX 14,940 58.79 2.04 $11.00 $22,870
Goldsboro, NC 2,210 56.35 1.95 $13.01 $27,060
Glens Falls, NY 2,970 56.14 1.95 $13.62 $28,320
Lynn-Saugus-Marblehead, MA NECTA Division 2,400 55.76 1.93 $15.25 $31,720
Lawrence-Methuen Town-Salem, MA-NH NECTA Division 4,560 55.62 1.93 $16.42 $34,140
Bay City, MI 1,870 54.93 1.90 $13.70 $28,500
Rochester, MN 6,070 52.91 1.83 $17.76 $36,940
Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC 8,050 52.33 1.81 $13.32 $27,700
Greenville, NC 3,880 52.05 1.80 $12.78 $26,580


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Top paying metropolitan areas for this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
San Francisco-Redwood City-South San Francisco, CA Metropolitan Division 14,880 13.33 0.46 $22.62 $47,050
Anchorage, AK 5,160 29.75 1.03 $21.69 $45,120
Fairbanks, AK 670 18.17 0.63 $21.66 $45,050
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 18,210 16.72 0.58 $20.87 $43,410
Santa Rosa, CA 4,510 22.31 0.77 $20.16 $41,930
San Rafael, CA Metropolitan Division 2,550 22.20 0.77 $20.02 $41,650
Salinas, CA 3,160 18.38 0.64 $19.58 $40,720
Napa, CA 1,730 23.80 0.82 $19.54 $40,640
Vallejo-Fairfield, CA 3,280 24.13 0.84 $19.07 $39,670
Oakland-Hayward-Berkeley, CA Metropolitan Division 26,070 22.90 0.79 $19.04 $39,600

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
North Northeastern Ohio non-metropolitan area (non-contiguous) 12,440 37.49 1.30 $13.54 $28,160
Southeast Coastal North Carolina nonmetropolitan area 11,380 45.96 1.59 $11.66 $24,250
Piedmont North Carolina nonmetropolitan area 11,010 42.93 1.49 $12.84 $26,710
North Texas Region of Texas nonmetropolitan area 8,380 31.10 1.08 $12.92 $26,880
Southeast Missouri nonmetropolitan area 7,650 46.56 1.61 $12.18 $25,330

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Washington Parish, Louisiana nonmetropolitan area 500 52.71 1.83 $10.02 $20,850
Northwest Florida nonmetropolitan area 1,520 50.01 1.73 $12.99 $27,030
Eastern Ohio nonmetropolitan area 6,780 49.78 1.73 $12.40 $25,800
Coastal Plains Region of Texas nonmetropolitan area 6,750 47.03 1.63 $10.76 $22,380
Southeast Missouri nonmetropolitan area 7,650 46.56 1.61 $12.18 $25,330

Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Eastern Sierra Region of California nonmetropolitan area 150 10.41 0.36 $20.56 $42,760
Balance of Alaska nonmetropolitan area 1,940 27.31 0.95 $20.07 $41,750
Southeast Alaska nonmetropolitan area 830 23.71 0.82 $19.62 $40,800
Nantucket Island and Martha's Vineyard nonmetropolitan area 290 16.29 0.56 $19.24 $40,020
North Coast Oregon nonmetropolitan area 800 18.02 0.62 $18.39 $38,260


About May 2017 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia.

The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate--50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.


(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) 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 wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

(8) Estimate not released.

(9) 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.


Other OES estimates and related information:

May 2017 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2017 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2017 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2017 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2017 Occupation Profiles

Technical Notes

 

Last Modified Date: March 30, 2018