How Does Portland STEM Employment Compare to Other Areas?

There are about 72,000 people in the greater Portland metro area working in STEM fields, where educational requirements are high and the average wage tops $76,000 annually. But how does Portland compare to other metro areas? Is employment more concentrated in STEM occupations? Is the average wage higher or lower? A recent article by regional economist Amy Vander Vliet looks at employment and wages in the Portland metro area compared to the nation and other metro areas.

Relative to the nation, Portland has a significantly higher concentration of STEM employment. STEM jobs account for 7.2 percent of employment in the Portland metro area. In comparison, STEM jobs account for 5.8 percent of employment in the combined metropolitan portion of the U.S. In other words, Portland is 25 percent more concentrated in STEM employment than metro U.S. Only 12 of the 50 largest metro areas have proportionately more STEM employment than Portland.

Portland metro's average wage across all occupations was $48,750 in 2012, 3.8 percent higher than the U.S. metro average. For all STEM occupations combined, Portland's average wage was $77,206, 2.1 percent lower than the U.S. metro average of $78,878. Broken out by individual occupation, Portland STEM workers earn more than the national metro average in 39 occupations and less in 37.

For more information about STEM employment in the Portland metro area, you can find the full article on QualityInfo.org.