Workers in the St. Louis metro area had average hourly wages of $23.19 in May 2016, below the nationwide average of $23.86, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Those numbers aren't far off, but some occupational groups in St. Louis — like legal, life, physical and social science, healthcare practitioners and technical — make significantly less than the national average, according to the research.
Life, physical and social science positions had an average hourly wage of $29 in St. Louis, but $35.06 nationwide, the data said. Those working in arts, design, entertainment, sports and media had an average hourly wage of $24.26 in St. Louis, but $28.07 nationwide.
Three occupational groups had average hourly wages that were much higher than the national averages, including construction and extraction, and production. Construction and extraction had an average hourly wage of $28 in St. Louis, but $23.51 nationwide.
