Most common jobs in Brownsville

Written by:
July 11, 2021
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Most common jobs in Brownsville

The 10 largest occupations in America employ 30.5 million workers, representing 21% of all workers. Keeping America's economy moving would be impossible without office workers, package handlers, food prep workers, and truck drivers. And what would the sick do without the millions of hospital workers, nurses, and home health aides?

Stacker compiled a list of the most common jobs in Brownsville using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Jobs are ranked by total employment as of May 2020. While much has changed during the coronavirus pandemic, the jobs featured here give a holistic view at the most popular industries in your area and how many jobs are supported.

Keep reading to see which jobs in Brownsville are the most common.

#50. Automotive service technicians and mechanics

Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
- Employment: 430 (3.186 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $41,230 (#282 highest pay among all metros)

National
- Employment: 620,110 (4.458 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $46,760
- Entry level education requirements: Postsecondary nondegree award
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Fairbanks, AK ($66,060)
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($64,630)
--- California-Lexington Park, MD ($64,420)
- Job description: Diagnose, adjust, repair, or overhaul automotive vehicles.

#49. Cooks, fast food

Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
- Employment: 440 (3.297 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $19,320 (#283 highest pay among all metros)

National
- Employment: 544,420 (3.914 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $24,300
- Entry level education requirements: No formal educational credential
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Cedar Rapids, IA ($34,790)
--- Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA ($33,580)
--- Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA ($33,570)
- Job description: Prepare and cook food in a fast food restaurant with a limited menu. Duties of these cooks are limited to preparation of a few basic items and normally involve operating large-volume single-purpose cooking equipment.

#47 (tie). Educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors

Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
- Employment: 450 (3.348 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $59,590 (#146 highest pay among all metros)

National
- Employment: 292,230 (2.101 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $62,320
- Entry level education requirements: Master’s degree
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA ($91,420)
--- El Centro, CA ($91,110)
--- Fresno, CA ($90,860)
- Job description: Advise and assist students and provide educational and vocational guidance services.

#47 (tie). Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists

Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
- Employment: 450 (3.329 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $23,300 (#330 highest pay among all metros)

National
- Employment: 302,410 (2.174 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $32,740
- Entry level education requirements: Postsecondary nondegree award
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Worcester, MA-CT ($50,580)
--- New Bedford, MA ($48,390)
--- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA ($47,470)
- Job description: Provide beauty services, such as cutting, coloring, and styling hair, and massaging and treating scalp. May shampoo hair, apply makeup, dress wigs, remove hair, and provide nail and skincare services.

#45 (tie). Industrial truck and tractor operators

Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
- Employment: 470 (3.460 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $26,080 (#357 highest pay among all metros)

National
- Employment: 640,950 (4.608 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $39,210
- Entry level education requirements: No formal educational credential
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Urban Honolulu, HI ($58,230)
--- Hinesville, GA ($56,220)
--- Battle Creek, MI ($52,400)
- Job description: Operate industrial trucks or tractors equipped to move materials around a warehouse, storage yard, factory, construction site, or similar location.

#45 (tie). Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers

Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
- Employment: 470 (3.487 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $31,250 (#367 highest pay among all metros)

National
- Employment: 549,200 (3.948 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $44,580
- Entry level education requirements: High school diploma or equivalent
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Odessa, TX ($85,040)
--- Fairbanks, AK ($80,520)
--- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA ($67,990)
- Job description: Inspect, test, sort, sample, or weigh nonagricultural raw materials or processed, machined, fabricated, or assembled parts or products for defects, wear, and deviations from specifications. May use precision measuring instruments and complex test equipment.

#43 (tie). Education administrators, kindergarten through secondary

Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
- Employment: 490 (3.616 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $82,150 (#289 highest pay among all metros)

National
- Employment: 262,480 (1.887 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $103,010
- Entry level education requirements: Master’s degree
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Modesto, CA ($154,970)
--- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA ($146,070)
--- Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT ($145,590)
- Job description: Plan, direct, or coordinate the academic, administrative, or auxiliary activities of kindergarten, elementary, or secondary schools.

#43 (tie). Construction laborers

Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
- Employment: 490 (3.656 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $30,130 (#363 highest pay among all metros)

National
- Employment: 971,330 (6.983 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $43,000
- Entry level education requirements: No formal educational credential
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI ($66,670)
--- Kankakee, IL ($65,730)
--- Urban Honolulu, HI ($63,860)
- Job description: Perform tasks involving physical labor at construction sites. May operate hand and power tools of all types: air hammers, earth tampers, cement mixers, small mechanical hoists, surveying and measuring equipment, and a variety of other equipment and instruments. May clean and prepare sites, dig trenches, set braces to support the sides of excavations, erect scaffolding, and clean up rubble, debris, and other waste materials. May assist other craft workers.

#41. Cooks, institution and cafeteria

Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
- Employment: 500 (3.696 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $23,340 (#360 highest pay among all metros)

National
- Employment: 387,300 (2.784 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $29,940
- Entry level education requirements: No formal educational credential
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, HI ($46,970)
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($44,240)
--- Fairbanks, AK ($43,890)
- Job description: Prepare and cook large quantities of food for institutions, such as schools, hospitals, or cafeterias.

#41. Billing and posting clerks

Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
- Employment: 500 (3.688 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $30,800 (#379 highest pay among all metros)

National
- Employment: 445,160 (3.2 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $41,610
- Entry level education requirements: High school diploma or equivalent
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($57,240)
--- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($53,200)
--- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV ($51,800)
- Job description: Compile, compute, and record billing, accounting, statistical, and other numerical data for billing purposes. Prepare billing invoices for services rendered or for delivery or shipment of goods.

#41. Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers

Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
- Employment: 500 (3.714 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $38,980 (#338 highest pay among all metros)

National
- Employment: 397,550 (2.858 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $46,690
- Entry level education requirements: High school diploma or equivalent
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Fairbanks, AK ($75,080)
--- Wheeling, WV-OH ($74,970)
--- Anchorage, AK ($73,790)
- Job description: Use hand-welding, flame-cutting, hand-soldering, or brazing equipment to weld or join metal components or to fill holes, indentations, or seams of fabricated metal products.

#39. Tellers

Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
- Employment: 540 (3.995 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $31,280 (#233 highest pay among all metros)

National
- Employment: 423,570 (3.045 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $32,960
- Entry level education requirements: High school diploma or equivalent
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($41,600)
--- Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL ($38,770)
--- Redding, CA ($38,530)
- Job description: Receive and pay out money. Keep records of money and negotiable instruments involved in a financial institution's various transactions.

#37 (tie). Accountants and auditors

Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
- Employment: 560 (4.145 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $59,680 (#372 highest pay among all metros)

National
- Employment: 1,274,620 (9.163 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $81,660
- Entry level education requirements: Bachelor’s degree
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Salinas, CA ($111,680)
--- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA ($105,720)
--- Midland, TX ($103,120)
- Job description: Examine, analyze, and interpret accounting records to prepare financial statements, give advice, or audit and evaluate statements prepared by others. Install or advise on systems of recording costs or other financial and budgetary data.

#37 (tie). Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific products

Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
- Employment: 560 (4.121 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $58,710 (#324 highest pay among all metros)

National
- Employment: 1,278,670 (9.192 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $73,500
- Entry level education requirements: High school diploma or equivalent
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Danbury, CT ($112,810)
--- Napa, CA ($101,850)
--- Santa Fe, NM ($93,680)
- Job description: Sell goods for wholesalers or manufacturers to businesses or groups of individuals. Work requires substantial knowledge of items sold.

#36. Landscaping and groundskeeping workers

Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
- Employment: 640 (4.751 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $22,780 (#389 highest pay among all metros)

National
- Employment: 872,370 (6.272 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $33,800
- Entry level education requirements: No formal educational credential
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($46,990)
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($45,160)
--- New Haven, CT ($43,820)
- Job description: Landscape or maintain grounds of property using hand or power tools or equipment. Workers typically perform a variety of tasks, which may include any combination of the following: sod laying, mowing, trimming, planting, watering, fertilizing, digging, raking, sprinkler installation, and installation of mortarless segmental concrete masonry wall units.

#34. Light truck drivers

Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
- Employment: 690 (5.151 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $38,650 (#196 highest pay among all metros)

National
- Employment: 929,470 (6.682 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $41,050
- Entry level education requirements: High school diploma or equivalent
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($52,420)
--- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($51,890)
--- Anchorage, AK ($51,590)
- Job description: Drive a light vehicle, such as a truck or van, with a capacity of less than 26,001 pounds Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW), primarily to pick up merchandise or packages from a distribution center and deliver. May load and unload vehicle.

#34. Correctional officers and jailers

Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
- Employment: 690 (5.109 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $38,230 (#166 highest pay among all metros)

National
- Employment: 405,870 (2.918 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $52,340
- Entry level education requirements: High school diploma or equivalent
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Bakersfield, CA ($85,850)
--- Stockton-Lodi, CA ($84,790)
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($83,050)
- Job description: Guard inmates in penal or rehabilitative institutions in accordance with established regulations and procedures. May guard prisoners in transit between jail, courtroom, prison, or other point. Includes deputy sheriffs and police who spend the majority of their time guarding prisoners in correctional institutions.

#34. Child, family, and school social workers

Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
- Employment: 690 (5.088 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $37,420 (#354 highest pay among all metros)

National
- Employment: 328,120 (2.359 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $52,370
- Entry level education requirements: Bachelor’s degree
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Trenton, NJ ($76,020)
--- Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT ($73,490)
--- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV ($70,940)
- Job description: Provide social services and assistance to improve the social and psychological functioning of children and their families and to maximize the family well-being and the academic functioning of children. May assist parents, arrange adoptions, and find foster homes for abandoned or abused children. In schools, they address such problems as teenage pregnancy, misbehavior, and truancy. May also advise teachers.

#32. Passenger vehicle drivers, except bus drivers, transit and intercity

Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
- Employment: 710 (5.250 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $29,990 (#237 highest pay among all metros)

National
- Employment: 599,980 (4.313 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $34,360
- Entry level education requirements: No formal educational credential
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA ($46,580)
--- Fairbanks, AK ($45,780)
--- Bremerton-Silverdale, WA ($44,940)
- Job description: Drive a motor vehicle to transport passengers on a planned or scheduled basis. May collect a fare.

#31. Food preparation workers

Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
- Employment: 720 (5.320 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $23,880 (#267 highest pay among all metros)

National
- Employment: 793,590 (5.705 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $26,820
- Entry level education requirements: No formal educational credential
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, HI ($37,330)
--- Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA ($36,120)
--- Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA ($35,860)
- Job description: Perform a variety of food preparation duties other than cooking, such as preparing cold foods and shellfish, slicing meat, and brewing coffee or tea.

#30. Shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks

Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
- Employment: 740 (5.476 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $28,690 (#381 highest pay among all metros)

National
- Employment: 727,640 (5.231 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $37,210
- Entry level education requirements: High school diploma or equivalent
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Fairbanks, AK ($52,310)
--- California-Lexington Park, MD ($50,180)
--- Bremerton-Silverdale, WA ($49,530)
- Job description: Verify and maintain records on incoming and outgoing shipments involving inventory. Duties include verifying and recording incoming merchandise or material and arranging for the transportation of products. May prepare items for shipment.

#29. Maids and housekeeping cleaners

Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
- Employment: 770 (5.742 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $21,360 (#347 highest pay among all metros)

National
- Employment: 795,590 (5.72 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $28,010
- Entry level education requirements: No formal educational credential
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($44,640)
--- Urban Honolulu, HI ($41,370)
--- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($40,490)
- Job description: Perform any combination of light cleaning duties to maintain private households or commercial establishments, such as hotels and hospitals, in a clean and orderly manner. Duties may include making beds, replenishing linens, cleaning rooms and halls, and vacuuming.

#28. Social and human service assistants

Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
- Employment: 790 (5.859 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $32,940 (#269 highest pay among all metros)

National
- Employment: 399,920 (2.875 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $38,230
- Entry level education requirements: High school diploma or equivalent
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Yuba City, CA ($60,070)
--- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($55,910)
--- Merced, CA ($53,300)
- Job description: Assist other social and human service providers in providing client services in a wide variety of fields, such as psychology, rehabilitation, or social work, including support for families. May assist clients in identifying and obtaining available benefits and social and community services. May assist social workers with developing, organizing, and conducting programs to prevent and resolve problems relevant to substance abuse, human relationships, rehabilitation, or dependent care.

#27. Cooks, restaurant

Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
- Employment: 1,040 (7.713 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $20,590 (#389 highest pay among all metros)

National
- Employment: 1,109,650 (7.977 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $29,530
- Entry level education requirements: No formal educational credential
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, HI ($45,200)
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($39,950)
--- Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT ($39,450)
- Job description: Prepare, season, and cook dishes such as soups, meats, vegetables, or desserts in restaurants. May order supplies, keep records and accounts, price items on menu, or plan menu.

#26. Police and sheriff's patrol officers

Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
- Employment: 1,050 (7.810 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $53,020 (#258 highest pay among all metros)

National
- Employment: 654,900 (4.708 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $70,000
- Entry level education requirements: nan
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($131,090)
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($122,570)
--- Santa Rosa, CA ($115,690)
- Job description: Maintain order and protect life and property by enforcing local, tribal, state, or federal laws and ordinances. Perform a combination of the following duties: patrol a specific area; direct traffic; issue traffic summonses; investigate accidents; apprehend and arrest suspects, or serve legal processes of courts. Includes police officers working at educational institutions.

#25. Driver/sales workers

Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
- Employment: 1,100 (8.151 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $23,340 (#342 highest pay among all metros)

National
- Employment: 420,890 (3.026 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $31,870
- Entry level education requirements: High school diploma or equivalent
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Gadsden, AL ($46,460)
--- Cumberland, MD-WV ($45,780)
--- Medford, OR ($45,310)
- Job description: Drive truck or other vehicle over established routes or within an established territory and sell or deliver goods, such as food products, including restaurant take-out items, or pick up or deliver items such as commercial laundry. May also take orders, collect payment, or stock merchandise at point of delivery.

#23 (tie). Medical assistants

Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
- Employment: 1,110 (8.246 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $29,280 (#367 highest pay among all metros)

National
- Employment: 710,200 (5.106 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $36,930
- Entry level education requirements: Postsecondary nondegree award
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($53,960)
--- Vallejo-Fairfield, CA ($53,660)
--- Santa Rosa, CA ($52,520)
- Job description: Perform administrative and certain clinical duties under the direction of a physician. Administrative duties may include scheduling appointments, maintaining medical records, billing, and coding information for insurance purposes. Clinical duties may include taking and recording vital signs and medical histories, preparing patients for examination, drawing blood, and administering medications as directed by physician.

#23 (tie). Security guards

Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
- Employment: 1,110 (8.252 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $24,530 (#358 highest pay among all metros)

National
- Employment: 1,054,400 (7.58 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $34,360
- Entry level education requirements: High school diploma or equivalent
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Idaho Falls, ID ($66,030)
--- San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles-Arroyo Grande, CA ($61,090)
--- Durham-Chapel Hill, NC ($51,850)
- Job description: Guard, patrol, or monitor premises to prevent theft, violence, or infractions of rules. May operate x-ray and metal detector equipment.

#22. Nursing assistants

Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
- Employment: 1,120 (8.338 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $28,140 (#280 highest pay among all metros)

National
- Employment: 1,371,050 (9.857 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $32,050
- Entry level education requirements: Postsecondary nondegree award
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($48,420)
--- Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA ($43,960)
--- Vallejo-Fairfield, CA ($42,200)
- Job description: Provide or assist with basic care or support under the direction of onsite licensed nursing staff. Perform duties such as monitoring of health status, feeding, bathing, dressing, grooming, toileting, or ambulation of patients in a health or nursing facility. May include medication administration and other health-related tasks. Includes nursing care attendants, nursing aides, and nursing attendants.

#21. First-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers

Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
- Employment: 1,140 (8.481 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $29,090 (#373 highest pay among all metros)

National
- Employment: 891,540 (6.409 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $37,880
- Entry level education requirements: High school diploma or equivalent
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, HI ($59,490)
--- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($53,350)
--- Napa, CA ($53,230)
- Job description: Directly supervise and coordinate activities of workers engaged in preparing and serving food.

#20. First-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers

Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
- Employment: 1,150 (8.558 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $50,150 (#347 highest pay among all metros)

National
- Employment: 1,427,260 (10.261 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $62,010
- Entry level education requirements: High school diploma or equivalent
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Bremerton-Silverdale, WA ($78,770)
--- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA ($77,030)
--- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA ($75,820)
- Job description: Directly supervise and coordinate the activities of clerical and administrative support workers.

#19. Medical secretaries and administrative assistants

Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
- Employment: 1,200 (8.886 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $33,960 (#285 highest pay among all metros)

National
- Employment: 597,100 (4.293 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $39,000
- Entry level education requirements: High school diploma or equivalent
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($55,220)
--- Salinas, CA ($53,900)
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($52,020)
- Job description: Perform secretarial duties using specific knowledge of medical terminology and hospital, clinic, or laboratory procedures. Duties may include scheduling appointments, billing patients, and compiling and recording medical charts, reports, and correspondence.

#18. Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses

Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
- Employment: 1,210 (8.938 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $45,120 (#264 highest pay among all metros)

National
- Employment: 676,440 (4.863 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $50,090
- Entry level education requirements: Postsecondary nondegree award
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($75,950)
--- Santa Rosa, CA ($74,820)
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($74,520)
- Job description: Care for ill, injured, or convalescing patients or persons with disabilities in hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, private homes, group homes, and similar institutions. May work under the supervision of a registered nurse. Licensing required.

#17. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks

Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
- Employment: 1,230 (9.138 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $32,580 (#386 highest pay among all metros)

National
- Employment: 1,443,940 (10.381 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $44,100
- Entry level education requirements: Some college, no degree
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($56,700)
--- Santa Rosa, CA ($55,720)
--- Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT ($55,720)
- Job description: Compute, classify, and record numerical data to keep financial records complete. Perform any combination of routine calculating, posting, and verifying duties to obtain primary financial data for use in maintaining accounting records. May also check the accuracy of figures, calculations, and postings pertaining to business transactions recorded by other workers.

#16. Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers

Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
- Employment: 1,250 (9.278 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $44,680 (#264 highest pay among all metros)

National
- Employment: 1,797,710 (12.924 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $48,710
- Entry level education requirements: Postsecondary nondegree award
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Barnstable Town, MA ($65,170)
--- Danville, IL ($63,230)
--- Lewiston, ID-WA ($62,250)
- Job description: Drive a tractor-trailer combination or a truck with a capacity of at least 26,001 pounds Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW). May be required to unload truck. Requires commercial drivers' license. Includes tow truck drivers.

#15. First-line supervisors of retail sales workers

Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
- Employment: 1,300 (9.619 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $41,340 (#325 highest pay among all metros)

National
- Employment: 1,063,110 (7.643 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $47,300
- Entry level education requirements: High school diploma or equivalent
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT ($62,180)
--- Yakima, WA ($61,710)
--- Sheboygan, WI ($61,610)
- Job description: Directly supervise and coordinate activities of retail sales workers in an establishment or department. Duties may include management functions, such as purchasing, budgeting, accounting, and personnel work, in addition to supervisory duties.

#14. Waiters and waitresses

Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
- Employment: 1,320 (9.820 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $17,980 (#387 highest pay among all metros)

National
- Employment: 1,944,240 (13.977 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $27,470
- Entry level education requirements: No formal educational credential
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Urban Honolulu, HI ($62,630)
--- Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, HI ($57,210)
--- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA ($43,160)
- Job description: Take orders and serve food and beverages to patrons at tables in dining establishment.

#12 (tie). Maintenance and repair workers, general

Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
- Employment: 1,560 (11.601 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $27,080 (#389 highest pay among all metros)

National
- Employment: 1,357,630 (9.76 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $43,790
- Entry level education requirements: High school diploma or equivalent
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($58,140)
--- Yuba City, CA ($57,930)
--- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($54,820)
- Job description: Perform work involving the skills of two or more maintenance or craft occupations to keep machines, mechanical equipment, or the structure of a building in repair. Duties may involve pipe fitting; HVAC maintenance; insulating; welding; machining; carpentry; repairing electrical or mechanical equipment; installing, aligning, and balancing new equipment; and repairing buildings, floors, or stairs.

#12 (tie). Substitute teachers, short-term

Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
- Employment: 1,560 (11.538 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $23,150 (#237 highest pay among all metros)

National
- Employment: 512,030 (3.681 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $36,090
- Entry level education requirements: Bachelor’s degree
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Salisbury, MD-DE ($87,620)
--- Santa Rosa, CA ($61,870)
--- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($60,900)
- Job description: Teach students on a short-term basis as a temporary replacement for a regular classroom teacher, typically using the regular teacher's lesson plan.

#11. Secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education

Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
- Employment: 1,620 (11.977 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $54,070 (#242 highest pay among all metros)

National
- Employment: 991,000 (7.124 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $67,340
- Entry level education requirements: Bachelor’s degree
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Napa, CA ($99,170)
--- Fresno, CA ($96,200)
--- Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA ($95,500)
- Job description: Teach one or more subjects to students at the secondary school level.

#10. Teaching assistants, except postsecondary

Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
- Employment: 1,700 (12.613 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $21,310 (#359 highest pay among all metros)

National
- Employment: 1,272,840 (9.151 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $30,630
- Entry level education requirements: Some college, no degree
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA ($42,110)
--- New Bedford, MA ($41,780)
--- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA ($41,160)
- Job description: Assist a preschool, elementary, middle, or secondary school teacher with instructional duties. Serve in a position for which a teacher has primary responsibility for the design and implementation of educational programs and services.

#9. Stockers and order fillers

Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
- Employment: 1,760 (13.053 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $25,090 (#382 highest pay among all metros)

National
- Employment: 2,210,960 (15.895 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $31,010
- Entry level education requirements: High school diploma or equivalent
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Odessa, TX ($39,130)
--- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA ($39,040)
--- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($38,580)
- Job description: Receive, store, and issue merchandise, materials, equipment, and other items from stockroom, warehouse, or storage yard to fill shelves, racks, tables, or customers' orders. May operate power equipment to fill orders. May mark prices on merchandise and set up sales displays.

#8. Elementary school teachers, except special education

Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
- Employment: 1,940 (14.388 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $54,700 (#217 highest pay among all metros)

National
- Employment: 1,364,870 (9.812 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $65,420
- Entry level education requirements: Bachelor’s degree
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Merced, CA ($99,360)
--- Kingston, NY ($93,780)
--- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA ($92,910)
- Job description: Teach academic and social skills to students at the elementary school level.

#7. General and operations managers

Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
- Employment: 2,070 (15.320 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $82,830 (#364 highest pay among all metros)

National
- Employment: 2,347,420 (16.876 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $125,740
- Entry level education requirements: Bachelor’s degree
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT ($183,170)
--- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($175,990)
--- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA ($172,370)
- Job description: Plan, direct, or coordinate the operations of public or private sector organizations, overseeing multiple departments or locations. Duties and responsibilities include formulating policies, managing daily operations, and planning the use of materials and human resources, but are too diverse and general in nature to be classified in any one functional area of management or administration, such as personnel, purchasing, or administrative services. Usually manage through subordinate supervisors. Excludes First-Line Supervisors.

#6. Registered nurses

Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
- Employment: 2,150 (15.975 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $73,810 (#122 highest pay among all metros)

National
- Employment: 2,986,500 (21.47 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $80,010
- Entry level education requirements: Bachelor’s degree
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($149,200)
--- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($146,870)
--- Vallejo-Fairfield, CA ($142,140)
- Job description: Assess patient health problems and needs, develop and implement nursing care plans, and maintain medical records. Administer nursing care to ill, injured, convalescent, or disabled patients. May advise patients on health maintenance and disease prevention or provide case management. Licensing or registration required.

#5. Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners

Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
- Employment: 2,410 (17.868 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $23,900 (#364 highest pay among all metros)

National
- Employment: 1,990,510 (14.31 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $31,410
- Entry level education requirements: No formal educational credential
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA ($44,110)
--- Barnstable Town, MA ($43,860)
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($42,250)
- Job description: Keep buildings in clean and orderly condition. Perform heavy cleaning duties, such as cleaning floors, shampooing rugs, washing walls and glass, and removing rubbish. Duties may include tending furnace and boiler, performing routine maintenance activities, notifying management of need for repairs, and cleaning snow or debris from sidewalk.

#4. Office clerks, general

Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
- Employment: 3,220 (23.912 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $27,390 (#364 highest pay among all metros)

National
- Employment: 2,788,090 (20.044 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $37,770
- Entry level education requirements: High school diploma or equivalent
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($49,560)
--- Napa, CA ($47,570)
--- Boulder, CO ($47,160)
- Job description: Perform duties too varied and diverse to be classified in any specific office clerical occupation, requiring knowledge of office systems and procedures. Clerical duties may be assigned in accordance with the office procedures of individual establishments and may include a combination of answering telephones, bookkeeping, typing or word processing, office machine operation, and filing.

#3. Customer service representatives

Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
- Employment: 3,420 (25.367 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $24,880 (#386 highest pay among all metros)

National
- Employment: 2,833,250 (20.368 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $38,510
- Entry level education requirements: High school diploma or equivalent
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($49,930)
--- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($47,720)
--- Midland, MI ($47,250)
- Job description: Interact with customers to provide basic or scripted information in response to routine inquiries about products and services. May handle and resolve general complaints. Excludes individuals whose duties are primarily installation, sales, repair, and technical support.

#2. Cashiers

Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
- Employment: 3,450 (25.580 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $22,560 (#300 highest pay among all metros)

National
- Employment: 3,333,100 (23.962 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $25,710
- Entry level education requirements: No formal educational credential
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($35,970)
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($34,480)
--- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA ($34,320)
- Job description: Receive and disburse money in establishments other than financial institutions. May use electronic scanners, cash registers, or related equipment. May process credit or debit card transactions and validate checks.

#1. Retail salespersons

Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
- Employment: 5,010 (37.169 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $23,660 (#387 highest pay among all metros)

National
- Employment: 3,659,670 (26.31 per 1,000 jobs)
- Annual mean salary: $30,940
- Entry level education requirements: No formal educational credential
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($43,160)
--- Carson City, NV ($40,030)
--- Santa Rosa, CA ($39,160)
- Job description: Sell merchandise, such as furniture, motor vehicles, appliances, or apparel to consumers.

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