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Bureau of Labor Statistics > Geographic Information > Southwest > News Release
News Release Information
22-1033-DAL
Contacts Technical information:
BLSInfoDallas@bls.gov
www.bls.gov/regions/southwest
Occupational Employment and Wages in Tulsa — May 2021
Workers in the Tulsa, OK Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $24.44 in May 2021, 13 percent below the nationwide average of $28.01, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Michael Hirniak noted that, after testing for statistical significance, wages in the local area were lower than their respective national averages in 17 of the 22 major occupational groups, including arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media; computer and mathematical; and building and grounds cleaning and maintenance. Production was the only major occupational group with wages in the local area higher than its respective national average.
When compared to the nationwide distribution, Tulsa area employment was more highly concentrated in 8 of the 22 occupational groups, including production, food preparation and serving related, and office and administrative support. Thirteen groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including computer and mathematical, educational instruction and library, and business and financial operations. (See table A.)
Table A. Occupational employment and wages by major occupational group, United States and the Tulsa metropolitan area, and measures of statistical significance, May 2021
Major occupational group
Percent of total employment
Mean hourly wage
Percent difference (1)
Total, all occupations
100.0 100.0 $28.01 $24.44* -13
6.3 5.6* 59.31 52.78* -11
Business and financial operations
Computer and mathematical
1.7 2.2* 44.10 42.89 -3
Life, physical, and social science
Community and social service
1.6 1.1* 25.94 23.59* -9
5.8 4.8* 29.88 (2) (2)
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media
Sales and related
9.4 10.0* 22.15 19.98* -10
13.0 14.0* 20.88 19.03* -9
Farming, fishing, and forestry
Construction and extraction
6.0 8.0* 20.71 21.58* 4
Transportation and material moving
9.0 9.0 19.88 18.11* -9
(1) A positive percent difference measures how much the mean wage in the Tulsa, OK Metropolitan Statistical Area is above the national mean wage, while a negative difference reflects a lower wage.
(2) Estimate not released
* The mean hourly wage or percent share of employment is significantly different from the national average of all areas at the 90-percent confidence level.
One occupational group—production—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Tulsa had 33,520 jobs in production, accounting for 8.0 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 6.0-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $21.58, significantly above the national wage of $20.71.
Some of the larger detailed occupations within the production group included welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers (4,010), first-line supervisors of production and operating workers (3,250) and inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers (2,190). Among the higher-paying jobs in this group were petroleum pump system operators, refinery operators, and gaugers, and gas plant operators with mean hourly wages of $40.19 and $36.20, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were laundry and dry-cleaning workers ($11.77) and bakers ($13.19). (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, aircraft structure, surfaces, rigging, and systems assemblers were employed at 10.8 times the national rate in Tulsa, and petroleum pump system operators, refinery operators, and gaugers, at 5.7 times the U.S. average. Electrical, electronic, and electromechanical assemblers, except coil winders, tapers, and finishers had a location quotient of 1.1 in Tulsa, indicating that this particular occupation's local and national employment shares were similar.
These statistics are from the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, a federal-state cooperative program between BLS and State Workforce Agencies, in this case, the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission.
Changes to the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) Data
With the May 2021 estimates release, the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program has implemented a new model-based (MB3) estimation method. For more information, see the May 2021 Survey Methods and Reliability Statement at www.bls.gov/oes/methods_21.pdf and the Monthly Labor Review article at www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2019/article/model-based-estimates-for-the-occupational-employment-statistics-program.htm. OEWS estimates for the years 2015-19 were recalculated using the new estimation method and are available as research estimates at www.bls.gov/oes/oes-mb3-methods.htm.
The May 2021 OEWS estimates are also the first estimates based entirely on survey data collected using the 2018 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system. To improve data quality, the OEWS program aggregates some occupations to the SOC broad occupation level or as OEWS-specific combinations of 2018 SOC detailed occupations.
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. OEWS data are available at www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm.
The OEWS survey is a cooperative effort between BLS and the State Workforce Agencies (SWAs). BLS funds the survey and provides the procedures and technical support, while the State Workforce Agencies collect most of the data. OEWS estimates are constructed from a sample of about 1.1 million establishments. Each year, two semiannual panels of approximately 179,000 to 187,000 sampled establishments are contacted, one panel in May and the other in November. Responses are obtained by Internet or other electronic means, mail, email, telephone, or personal visit. The May 2021 estimates are based on responses from six semiannual panels collected over a 3-year period: May 2021, November 2020, May 2020, November 2019, May 2019, and November 2018. The unweighted sampled employment of 82 million across all six semiannual panels represents approximately 62 percent of total national employment. The overall national response rate for the six panels, based on the 50 states and the District of Columbia, is 67.2 percent based on establishments and 64.5 percent based on weighted sampled employment. The sample in the Tulsa, OK Metropolitan Statistical Area included 3,233 establishments with a response rate of 76 percent. For more information about OEWS concepts and methodology, go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_tec.htm.
A value that is statistically different from another does not necessarily mean that the difference has economic or practical significance. Statistical significance is concerned with the ability to make confident statements about a universe based on a sample. It is entirely possible that a large difference between two values is not significantly different statistically, while a small difference is, since both the size and heterogeneity of the sample affect the relative error of the data being tested.
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, Okmulgee, Osage, Pawnee, Rogers, Tulsa, and Wagoner Counties.
Answers to frequently asked questions about the OEWS data are available at www.bls.gov/oes/oes_ques.htm. Detailed information about the OEWS program is available at www.bls.gov/oes/oes_doc.htm.
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 2021
Mean wages
Location quotient (3)
33,520 1.3 $21.58 $44,890
3,250 1.7 33.34 69,350
Aircraft structure, surfaces, rigging, and systems assemblers
1,060 10.8 22.37 46,540
Electrical, electronic, and electromechanical assemblers, except coil winders, tapers, and finishers
920 1.1 17.88 37,180
Structural metal fabricators and fitters
Miscellaneous assemblers and fabricators
Butchers and meat cutters
Slaughterers and meat packers
80 0.3 13.13 27,300
Food and tobacco roasting, baking, and drying machine operators and tenders
Food batchmakers
Food cooking machine operators and tenders
Food processing workers, all other
Extruding and drawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic
Rolling machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic
Cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic
Drilling and boring machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic
Grinding, lapping, polishing, and buffing machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic
Lathe and turning machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic
Milling and planing machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic
Machinists
Foundry mold and coremakers
Molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic
Multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic
Tool and die makers
Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers
Welding, soldering, and brazing machine setters, operators, and tenders
Heat treating equipment setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic
Plating machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic
Tool grinders, filers, and sharpeners
Prepress technicians and workers
Printing press operators
Print binding and finishing workers
Laundry and dry-cleaning workers
Sewing machine operators
Tailors, dressmakers, and custom sewers
Extruding and forming machine setters, operators, and tenders, synthetic and glass fibers
Cabinetmakers and bench carpenters
Sawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, wood
Woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing
Power plant operators
Stationary engineers and boiler operators
Water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators
Gas plant operators
Petroleum pump system operators, refinery operators, and gaugers
Plant and system operators, all other
Chemical equipment operators and tenders
Separating, filtering, clarifying, precipitating, and still machine setters, operators, and tenders
Crushing, grinding, and polishing machine setters, operators, and tenders
Grinding and polishing workers, hand
Mixing and blending machine setters, operators, and tenders
Cutting and slicing machine setters, operators, and tenders
Extruding, forming, pressing, and compacting machine setters, operators, and tenders
Furnace, kiln, oven, drier, and kettle operators and tenders
Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers
Jewelers and precious stone and metal workers
Dental laboratory technicians
Ophthalmic laboratory technicians
Packaging and filling machine operators and tenders
Painting, coating, and decorating workers
Coating, painting, and spraying machine setters, operators, and tenders
Computer numerically controlled tool operators
Computer numerically controlled tool programmers
Adhesive bonding machine operators and tenders
Cleaning, washing, and metal pickling equipment operators and tenders
Molders, shapers, and casters, except metal and plastic
Paper goods machine setters, operators, and tenders
Helpers--production workers
Production workers, all other
(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.
Last Modified Date: Friday, July 15, 2022
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