Geography, vintage and the underlying survey · Wage year 2026-27
What GeoLvl means, and when a wage figure is imputed
Every row of the wage table carries a flag saying whether the figure was surveyed where the job is or borrowed from somewhere larger. Most published wage tools don’t show it.
The wage file has a column called GeoLvl. It records how local the figure in that row is. A value of 1 means the wage was surveyed for that metropolitan area. Higher values mean the survey didn’t produce a usable estimate for that area and occupation, so the figure was taken from a broader geography and published under the local area's code.
The row still looks local. It carries the area code, the area name and four wage levels, and nothing on the face of it announces that the number came from somewhere else. The flag is the only signal, and it’s the reason this site publishes it on every page rather than hiding it.
How much of the file is imputed
| GeoLvl | Meaning | Cells in this build | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Surveyed for this metropolitan area | 2,278 | 96.2% |
| 2 | Imputed from a broader geography | 55 | 2.3% |
| 3 | Imputed from a broader geography | 20 | 0.8% |
| 4 | Imputed from a broader geography | 14 | 0.6% |
Computed from ALC_Export.csv in OFLC_Wages_2026-27.zip, wage year 2026-27.
Across the whole source file rather than this subset, 192,397 of 449,440 rows carry GeoLvl 1, which is 42.8%. The rest are imputed. The subset on this site is much cleaner than the file as a whole because the occupations and areas here are the highest-volume ones, and high volume is exactly what makes a local survey estimate publishable.
Computed from ALC_Export.csv in OFLC_Wages_2026-27.zip, wage year 2026-27.
What an imputed figure looks like in practice
Among the cells here with GeoLvl above 1, the one that sits furthest from its occupation's national picture is Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA, flagged GeoLvl 3. Its Level II figure is $136,553.00 an hour against a national Level II of $80,880.00. That gap isn’t a finding about wages in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA. It’s a finding about where the number came from.
| Level | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA, GeoLvl 3 | National |
|---|---|---|
| Level I | $77,200.00 | $58,660.00 |
| Level II | $136,553.00 | $80,880.00 |
| Level III | $195,907.00 | $105,503.00 |
| Level IV | $255,260.00 | $129,770.00 |
Computed from ALC_Export.csv in OFLC_Wages_2026-27.zip, wage year 2026-27.
What to do when yours is imputed
An imputed figure is still the published prevailing wage. It’s not invalid, and using it’s not a violation. What changes is how much weight the number can bear in an argument.
- Note it in the file. If anyone later asks why the figure looks unlike the local market, the flag is the answer, and it’s better recorded at the time than reconstructed.
- Sanity-check it against the occupation nationally and against neighbouring areas. A figure far away from both is worth a second look before it becomes a wage promise.
- Consider whether a wage determination request or an alternative wage source is warranted. Both are discussed in the guides linked below, and both cost time.
- Don’t assume an imputed figure runs low. It can run high, which is a different problem for an employer with a fixed budget and the same problem for the file.
This site only publishes an occupation and area leaf page where GeoLvl is 1. A page built on an imputed cell would restate a broader number with a city name on it, and that’s a page nobody should be reading. The reasoning is set out in Methodology: how these prevailing wage figures are built.
If the imputed figure is genuinely unrepresentative, the two routes out are asking the Department of Labor directly, covered in The prevailing wage determination request, Form ETA-9141, or supporting a different figure with an alternative survey, covered in Using a private wage survey instead of the OES figure. The federal survey behind all of it’s explained in Where the DOL wage data comes from, and the OEWS survey behind it.
More in geography, vintage and the underlying survey
- Area of intended employment, and why the county matters more than the city. How an address becomes an area code, and what a county boundary is worth in dollars.
- The wage year calendar, and when the figures change. When the figures change, what happens to a case that straddles the rollover, and how to date a number.
- Where the DOL wage data comes from, and the OEWS survey behind it. The survey underneath the tables, what it measures, and the limits that come with it.
All 24 guides are indexed at Guides. Wage figures throughout are read from ALC_Export.csv, wage year 2026-27.