GreaseBook now has dozens of independent operators and hundreds of pumpers using its app spread out over nine oil and gas producing States…
That being said, it’s not uncommon for service companies or independent operators to call and ask if we know any (good) pumpers looking for work. And, many times we can help out with these sorts of requests…
Anyways, we stumbled across what we think is a pretty cool set of data outlined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics regarding wellhead pumpers the nation over…
We get pretty excited about this stuff, so we thought we’d share it with you!
The first photo outlines the concentration of Pumpers in the lower 48:
Next, we have the same map, only a little more granular. We think it’s cool to see how this coincides with specific oil plays…
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 3,780 | 0.35 | 3.42 | $23.31 | $48,490 |
| Oklahoma | 1,130 | 0.73 | 7.20 | $21.30 | $44,300 |
| Pennsylvania | 930 | 0.17 | 1.65 | $20.35 | $42,330 |
| New Mexico | 930 | 1.18 | 11.71 | $23.77 | $49,440 |
| West Virginia | 880 | 1.24 | 12.28 | $19.06 | $39,650 |
Side note: Now, lot’s of folks ask us what’s the appropriate amount to pay a pumper. This varies from State to State, as many pumpers are paid per well in Texas (as opposed to per lease due to well spacing laws in States like Oklahoma). Also, contract pumpers are generally responsible for their own tools, truck, insurance, etc…
While we think the numbers posted below are well below what we’ve seen (it’s not uncommon for a good contract gauger to make 6 figures…), it’s still interesting to check out how much salaries vary by locale…
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division | (8) | (8) | (8) | $32.69 | $68,000 |
| Farmington, NM | 220 | 4.32 | 42.77 | $28.17 | $58,590 |
| Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX | 90 | 0.10 | 1.01 | $25.32 | $52,660 |
| Greeley, CO | 160 | 1.84 | 18.20 | $25.26 | $52,550 |
| Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, CO | 300 | 0.23 | 2.32 | $25.11 | $52,230 |
| Odessa, TX | (8) | (8) | (8) | $24.64 | $51,250 |
| Victoria, TX | (8) | (8) | (8) | $24.20 | $50,340 |
| Wichita, KS | (8) | (8) | (8) | $24.18 | $50,290 |
| Midland, TX | 250 | 3.05 | 30.15 | $24.16 | $50,240 |
| Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX | 1,020 | 0.37 | 3.68 | $23.88 | $49,680 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern New Mexico nonmetropolitan area | 670 | 5.20 | 51.44 | $22.25 | $46,270 |
| Northwestern Texas nonmetropolitan area | 650 | 2.51 | 24.87 | $23.76 | $49,420 |
| North Central West Virginia nonmetropolitan area | 520 | 3.68 | 36.40 | $18.83 | $39,160 |
| Kansas nonmetropolitan area | 420 | 1.10 | 10.83 | $19.33 | $40,200 |
| Northwestern Oklahoma nonmetropolitan area | 280 | 2.40 | 23.78 | $23.96 | $49,850 |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northwestern Wyoming nonmetropolitan area | 230 | 5.75 | 56.87 | $24.43 | $50,810 |
| Eastern Montana nonmetropolitan area | 200 | 5.68 | 56.18 | $23.60 | $49,080 |
| Eastern New Mexico nonmetropolitan area | 670 | 5.20 | 51.44 | $22.25 | $46,270 |
| Eastern Utah nonmetropolitan area | 260 | 5.10 | 50.46 | $24.18 | $50,300 |
| Northeastern Wyoming nonmetropolitan area | 230 | 4.70 | 46.50 | $19.46 | $40,480 |
We take our oilfield app building very seriously — in fact, nothing excites us more than a lease operator telling us how much time the GreaseBook app saves him (even better, how many new wells or relief pumpers he’s been able to take on with the new time he’s found… cha-ching!)
Anyways, we work with operators and their pumpers every day, so think the above data is pretty interesting — we hope you found it as informative as we did…
Happy Pumping,
~GreaseBook
