stomy
5th June 2011, 17:59
For employees in most occupations, it pays to work on the coast.
Those working in metro areas scattered along the East and West coasts – San Jose, New York, Seattle – tended to get paid better last year than their middle-America counterparts, according to the Labor Department’s report comparing occupational pay in 77 metro areas (http://www.bls.gov/news.release/ncspay.nr0.htm), released Wednesday. Employees in the heartland and in certain southern metro areas, such as Lincoln, Neb., and Tallahassee, Fla., earned the least. (See a full-size interactive map.)
Click here for a full-size interactive map. (http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2011/05/25/comparing-wages-across-the-u-s/tab/interactive/)
Those working in the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, Calif., metro were the best paid. They earned 20% more than the average American worker last year. Employees in every major field there – from sales to construction – raked in above-average wages in 2010.
The New York-Newark-Bridgeport area was also high on the list, with workers making an average of $1.14 for every $1 the average worker in the country earned.
Workers in the Brownsville-Harlingen, Texas, metro area were the worst paid, bringing home 20% less than the average employee nationwide. Also low on the list: Ocala, Fla., and Lincoln, Neb., where workers earned 87 cents for every dollar their colleagues brought home nationwide.
The wage disparities often stem from the mix of jobs available in the community. In Brownsville-Harlingen, Texas, for instance, there are relatively few high-paying financial jobs. The ratio of management, business and financial jobs to all positions is below 6%. Nationwide it’s about 10%.
Construction workers faced the largest pay disparities based on where they worked. The field was most lucrative in the New York and San Jose metros as well as in the Chicago-Naperville-Michigan City area. Workers there earned nearly 30% more than the average construction worker in the U.S. While workers in the New York area earned $1.29 compared to every dollar earned nationwide, construction workers in the Brownsville, Texas, metro earned just 68 cents to the dollar.
Employees in installation, maintenance and repair fields also saw significant pay differences based on where they worked. In the best paying metro area — Fort Collins-Loveland, Colo. – workers earned 33% more than the average nationwide. But in the worst-paying area — Johnstown, Pa. – employees earned just 78 cents for every dollar repair and maintenance workers brought home nationwide.
Enjoy the data while they last. The Labor Department said this was the last time it will conduct the survey that compares pay across metro areas because funding for the program has run dry.
Update: See a followup post looking at cost of living adjustments. (http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2011/05/31/adjusting-wage-disparities-for-cost-of-living/)
Source: http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2011/05/25/comparing-wages-across-the-u-s/
Those working in metro areas scattered along the East and West coasts – San Jose, New York, Seattle – tended to get paid better last year than their middle-America counterparts, according to the Labor Department’s report comparing occupational pay in 77 metro areas (http://www.bls.gov/news.release/ncspay.nr0.htm), released Wednesday. Employees in the heartland and in certain southern metro areas, such as Lincoln, Neb., and Tallahassee, Fla., earned the least. (See a full-size interactive map.)
Click here for a full-size interactive map. (http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2011/05/25/comparing-wages-across-the-u-s/tab/interactive/)
Those working in the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, Calif., metro were the best paid. They earned 20% more than the average American worker last year. Employees in every major field there – from sales to construction – raked in above-average wages in 2010.
The New York-Newark-Bridgeport area was also high on the list, with workers making an average of $1.14 for every $1 the average worker in the country earned.
Workers in the Brownsville-Harlingen, Texas, metro area were the worst paid, bringing home 20% less than the average employee nationwide. Also low on the list: Ocala, Fla., and Lincoln, Neb., where workers earned 87 cents for every dollar their colleagues brought home nationwide.
The wage disparities often stem from the mix of jobs available in the community. In Brownsville-Harlingen, Texas, for instance, there are relatively few high-paying financial jobs. The ratio of management, business and financial jobs to all positions is below 6%. Nationwide it’s about 10%.
Construction workers faced the largest pay disparities based on where they worked. The field was most lucrative in the New York and San Jose metros as well as in the Chicago-Naperville-Michigan City area. Workers there earned nearly 30% more than the average construction worker in the U.S. While workers in the New York area earned $1.29 compared to every dollar earned nationwide, construction workers in the Brownsville, Texas, metro earned just 68 cents to the dollar.
Employees in installation, maintenance and repair fields also saw significant pay differences based on where they worked. In the best paying metro area — Fort Collins-Loveland, Colo. – workers earned 33% more than the average nationwide. But in the worst-paying area — Johnstown, Pa. – employees earned just 78 cents for every dollar repair and maintenance workers brought home nationwide.
Enjoy the data while they last. The Labor Department said this was the last time it will conduct the survey that compares pay across metro areas because funding for the program has run dry.
Update: See a followup post looking at cost of living adjustments. (http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2011/05/31/adjusting-wage-disparities-for-cost-of-living/)
Source: http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2011/05/25/comparing-wages-across-the-u-s/