Where the oil price slump hit hardest

Lattice Publishing
The Center Square
The COVID-19 pandemic has sent the world economy into turmoil as lockdowns around the world have caused economic activity to grind to a halt.
The demand for oil has crashed in the wake of the growing pandemic, sending oil prices diving and even dipping below $0 per barrel.
The concentration of oil and gas extraction workers varies widely by location. At the state level, Oklahoma and Wyoming have the highest concentrations of workers in oil and gas extraction at 7.7 and 6.7 times the national average respectively. Texas, with a relative concentration of 5.8 times the national average, boasts the largest number of total oil and gas workers of any state.
To find the metropolitan areas hit hardest by the drop in oil prices, researchers at Construction Coverage ranked metro areas according to the relative concentration of employment in the oil and gas extraction industry. Researchers also looked at the total number of oil and gas extraction workers, the median earnings for those workers, and cost of living.
To improve relevance and accuracy, only metropolitan areas with at least 100,000 people were included in the analysis.
25. Charleston, West Virginia
Relative concentration of oil and gas workers: 2.3 times the national average
Number of oil and gas workers: 151
Total number of workers: 79,033
Median earnings for oil and gas workers: $90,000
Cost of living: 14% below average
24. Baton Rouge,
Louisiana
Relative concentration of oil and gas workers: 2.4 times the national average
Number of oil and gas workers: 760
Total number of workers: 393,009
Median earnings for oil and gas workers: $80,000
Cost of living: 7% below average
23. State College,
Pennsylvania
Relative concentration of oil and gas workers: 2.4 times the national average
Number of oil and gas workers: 153
Total number of workers: 76,627
Median earnings for oil and gas workers: $65,000
Cost of living: 3% above average
22. Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania
Relative concentration of oil and gas workers: 2.7 times the national average
Number of oil and gas workers: 2,514
Total number of workers: 1,144,232
Median earnings for oil and gas workers: $75,000
Cost of living: 6% below average
21. Lubbock,
Texas
Relative concentration of oil and gas workers: 2.9 times the national average
Number of oil and gas workers: 359
Total number of workers: 151,707
Median earnings for oil and gas workers: $86,000
Cost of living: 7% below average
20. Roanoke,
Virginia
Relative concentration of oil and gas workers: 3.1 times the national average
Number of oil and gas workers: 397
Total number of workers: 158,089
Median earnings for oil and gas workers: Not available
Cost of living: 10% below average
19. Santa Maria-
Santa Barbara, California
Relative concentration of oil and gas workers: 3.5 times the national average
Number of oil and gas workers: 618
Total number of workers: 213,397
Median earnings for oil and gas workers: $70,000
Cost of living: 10% above average
18. Morgantown, West Virginia
Relative concentration of oil and gas workers: 3.5 times the national average
Number of oil and gas workers: 193
Total number of workers: 66,346
Median earnings for oil and gas workers: $72,000
Cost of living: 9% below average
17. Denver-
Aurora-
Lakewood,
Colorado
Relative concentration of oil and gas workers: 3.6 times the national average
Number of oil and gas workers: 4,899
Total number of workers: 1,677,095
Median earnings for oil and gas workers: $85,000
Cost of living: 6% above average
16. Bismarck,
North Dakota
Relative concentration of oil and gas workers: 4.1 times the national average
Number of oil and gas workers: 259
Total number of workers: 76,382
Median earnings for oil and gas workers: $100,000
Cost of living: 7% below average
15. Bakersfield,
California
Relative concentration of oil and gas workers: 4.3 times the national average
Number of oil and gas workers: 1,228
Total number of workers: 348,917
Median earnings for oil and gas workers: $120,000
Cost of living: 4% below average
14. Shreveport-
Bossier City,
Louisiana
Relative concentration of oil and gas workers: 4.4 times the national average
Number of oil and gas workers: 645
Total number of workers: 179,726
Median earnings for oil and gas workers: $58,000
Cost of living: 11% below average
13. Tyler,
Texas
Relative concentration of oil and gas workers: 5.0 times the national average
Number of oil and gas workers: 423
Total number of workers: 103,429
Median earnings for oil and gas workers: $100,000
Cost of living: 6% below average
12. Amarillo,
Texas
Relative concentration of oil and gas workers: 5.1 times the national average
Number of oil and gas workers: 522
Total number of workers: 125,842
Median earnings for oil and gas workers: $100,000
Cost of living: 7% below average
11. College
Station-Bryan,
Texas
Relative concentration of oil and gas workers: 5.3 times the national average
Number of oil and gas workers: 460
Total number of workers: 105,264
Median earnings for oil and gas workers: $60,000
Cost of living: 7% below average
10. Houma-
Thibodaux,
Louisiana
Relative concentration of oil and gas workers: 5.4 times the national average
Number of oil and gas workers: 447
Total number of workers: 100,206
Median earnings for oil and gas workers: $95,000
Cost of living: 10% below average
9. Lafayette,
Louisiana
Relative concentration of oil and gas workers: 5.6 times the national average
Number of oil and gas workers: 1,085
Total number of workers: 238,332
Median earnings for oil and gas workers: $111,000
Cost of living: 12% below average
8. San Angelo,
Texas
Relative concentration of oil and gas workers: 5.9 times the national average
Number of oil and gas workers: 273
Total number of workers: 56,396
Median earnings for oil and gas workers: $125,000
Cost of living: 7% below average
7. Anchorage,
Alaska
Relative concentration of oil and gas workers: 6.1 times the national average
Number of oil and gas workers: 1,124
Total number of workers: 223,143
Median earnings for oil and gas workers: $130,000
Cost of living: 8% above average
6. Fort Collins,
Colorado
Relative concentration of oil and gas workers: 7.1 times the national average
Number of oil and gas workers: 1,078
Total number of workers: 185,707
Median earnings for oil and gas workers: $80,000
Cost of living: 2% above average
5. Oklahoma City,
Oklahoma
Relative concentration of oil and gas workers: 7.7 times the national average
Number of oil and gas workers: 4,577
Total number of workers: 721,064
Median earnings for oil and gas workers: $95,000
Cost of living: 9% below average
4. Corpus Christi,
Texas
Relative concentration of oil and gas workers: 8.1 times the national average
Number of oil and gas workers: 1,451
Total number of workers: 217,105
Median earnings for oil and gas workers: $70,000
Cost of living: 6% below average
3. Odessa,
Texas
Relative concentration of oil and gas workers: 10.0 times the national average
Number of oil and gas workers: 621
Total number of workers: 75,980
Median earnings for oil and gas workers: Not available
Cost of living: 4% below average
2. Houston-
The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas
Relative concentration of oil and gas workers: 13.1 times the national average
Number of oil and gas workers: 35,927
Total number of workers: 3,335,536
Median earnings for oil and gas workers: $120,000
Cost of living: 2% above average
1. Midland,
Texas
Relative concentration of oil and gas workers: 88.1 times the national average
Number of oil and gas workers: 6,567
Total number of workers: 90,888
Median earnings for oil and gas workers: $85,000
Cost of living: Average
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Many of the locations with the highest concentration of oil and gas extraction workers are located in Texas, which is the leading producer of crude oil in the country. Texas employs over 65,000 workers in the oil and gas extraction industry, about half of the national total.
Oil and gas workers tend to have high median earnings — on average workers in the metros with the highest concentrations of oil and gas workers earn over $90,000 per year.