Workers in the Anchorage, AK Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $34.12 in May 2023, compared to the nationwide average of $31.48, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that higher paying major occupational groups included management ($61.78), healthcare practitioners and technical ($55.64), and architecture and engineering ($51.75). Lower paying occupations included food preparation and serving related ($17.64), building and grounds cleaning and maintenance ($19.39), and personal care and service ($20.55). (See table A.)

Occupational groups with the highest employment in the Anchorage area included office and administrative support (13.3 percent), transportation and material moving (10.1 percent), and food preparation and serving related (8.9 percent). Major occupational groups on the lower end of local employment included legal (0.9 percent); arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media (1.2 percent); and computer and mathematical (1.5 percent). (See table A.)

One occupational group—healthcare practitioners and technical—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Anchorage had 12,570 jobs in healthcare practitioners and technical, accounting for 7.4 percent of local area employment, compared to the 6.1-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $55.64, compared to the national wage of $49.07.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group included registered nurses (4,270), medical records specialists (850), and pharmacy technicians (490). Among the higher-paying jobs in this group were general internal medicine physicians and obstetricians and gynecologists, with mean hourly wages of $209.14 and $146.57, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were veterinary technologists and technicians ($21.75) and psychiatric technicians ($22.66). (Detailed data for the healthcare practitioners and technical occupations are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_11260.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 Anchorage area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group. For instance, medical records specialists were employed at 4.1 times the national rate in Anchorage, and psychiatric technicians, at 2.3 times the U.S. average. Speech-language pathologists had a location quotient of 1.0 in Anchorage, 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 Alaska Department of Labor & Workforce Development.

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 Anchorage, AK Metropolitan Statistical Area included 1,923 establishments with a response rate of 74 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 Anchorage, AK Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Anchorage Borough and Matanuska-Susitna Borough.

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 healthcare practitioners and technical occupations, Anchorage metropolitan area, May 2023

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages ($)
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations	12,570	1.2	55.64	115,720
Chiropractors	70	1.6	70.79	147,240
Dentists, general	190	1.4	100.48	209,010
Dietitians and nutritionists	70	0.8	38.96	81,030
Optometrists	50	1.0	72.08	149,920
Pharmacists	310	0.8	71.31	148,330
Physician assistants	340	2.1	73.13	152,110
Occupational therapists	230	1.5	47.42	98,640
Physical therapists	390	1.4	52.54	109,290
Radiation therapists	(5)	(5)	56.92	118,390
Respiratory therapists	90	0.6	45.48	94,590
Speech-language pathologists	200	1.0	47.28	98,350
Therapists, all other	40	2.3	51.84	107,840
Veterinarians	110	1.2	(5)	(5)
Registered nurses	4,270	1.2	52.63	109,470
Nurse midwives	80	9.9	62.68	130,380
Nurse practitioners	370	1.2	59.74	124,270
Audiologists	40	2.6	47.74	99,290
Family medicine physicians	210	1.7	128.61	267,510
General internal medicine physicians	(5)	(5)	209.14	435,020
Obstetricians and gynecologists	50	2.1	146.57	304,870
Pediatricians, general	80	2.1	115.27	239,760
Physicians, pathologists	50	4.1	118.84	247,190
Psychiatrists	30	1.2	(5)	(5)
Physicians, all other	260	0.8	(5)	(5)
Acupuncturists	30	3.0	36.31	75,520
Dental hygienists	360	1.5	56.38	117,260
Healthcare diagnosing or treating practitioners, all other	80	2.4	37.77	78,570
Clinical laboratory technologists and technicians	300	0.8	36.65	76,240
Cardiovascular technologists and technicians	60	1.0	44.70	92,980
Diagnostic medical sonographers	210	2.3	42.51	88,410
Radiologic technologists and technicians	180	0.7	41.24	85,790
Magnetic resonance imaging technologists	50	1.2	53.00	110,240
Emergency medical technicians	230	1.2	23.62	49,130
Paramedics	90	0.8	30.07	62,550
Dietetic technicians	30	1.1	23.41	48,690
Pharmacy technicians	490	1.0	23.88	49,670
Psychiatric technicians	300	2.3	22.66	47,130
Surgical technologists	170	1.4	36.91	76,770
Veterinary technologists and technicians	210	1.5	21.75	45,240
Ophthalmic medical technicians	50	0.6	28.05	58,350
Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses	180	0.3	35.13	73,060
Medical records specialists	850	4.1	28.52	59,330
Opticians, dispensing	80	0.9	26.65	55,420
Health technologists and technicians, all other	350	1.8	27.65	57,510
Health information technologists and medical registrars	100	2.6	27.42	57,040
Athletic trainers	50	1.4	(6)	70,630
Surgical assistants	30	1.5	25.37	52,760
Healthcare practitioners and technical workers, all other	(5)	(5)	46.79	97,330
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Anchorage, AK Metropolitan Statistical Area, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_11260.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. (6) 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.