For release 10:00 A.M. (EDT) USDL-11-0761
WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011
Technical information:
(202) 691-6199 NCSinfo@bls.gov http://www.bls.gov/ncs
Media contact:
(202) 691-5902 PressOffice@bls.gov
OCCUPATIONAL PAY COMPARISONS AMONG METROPOLITAN AREAS, 2010
Average pay for civilian workers in the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA metropolitan area
was 20 percent above the national average in 2010, one of 77 metropolitan areas studied by the
National Compensation Survey (NCS), the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The
Brownsville-Harlingen, TX metropolitan area had a pay relative of 80, meaning workers earned an
average of 80 cents for every dollar earned by workers nationwide. Using data from the NCS, pay
relatives—a means of assessing pay differences—are available for each of the nine major
occupational groups within surveyed metropolitan areas, as well as averaged across all occupations
for each area. The average pay relative nationally for all occupations and for each occupational
group equals 100. (See table 1.)
A pay relative is a calculation of pay—wages, salaries, commissions, and production
bonuses—for a given metropolitan area relative to the nation as a whole. The calculation
controls for differences among areas in occupational composition, establishment and occupational
characteristics, and the fact that data are collected for areas at different times during the year.
Simple pay comparisons calculating the ratio of the average pay for an area to the entire United
States in percentage terms would not control for interarea differences in occupational composition
and other factors, which may impact pay relatives.
Chart 1 above lists selected metropolitan area pay relatives compared to average pay nationally
among those studied in the NCS. Table A provides selected metropolitan area pay relatives for each
of five major occupational groups. In addition, area-to-area comparisons have been calculated for
all 77 metropolitan areas and are available on the BLS website at
http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ocs/payrel.htm.
Table A. Selected metropolitan area-to-national pay relatives and major occupational groups, July 2010
(of 77 metropolitan areas surveyed)
Major Occupational Group Metropolitan Area Pay Relative
Management, business, and financial New York-Newark-Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA 120
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside, CA 108
Reno-Sparks, NV 108
Salinas, CA 108
San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA 108
Office and administrative support San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA 120
New York-Newark-Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA 115
Boston-Worcester-Manchester, MA-NH 114
Hartford-West Hartford-Willimantic, CT 114
Washington-Baltimore-Northern Virginia, 112
DC-MD-VA-WV
Service San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA 126
Salinas, CA 123
Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia, WA 123
Hartford-West Hartford-Willimantic, CT 119
Minneapolis-St. Paul-St. Cloud, MN-WI 115
San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA 115
Production Detroit-Warren-Flint, MI 117
Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Truckee, CA-NV 117
Bloomington-Normal, IL 116
Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia, WA 115
Providence-New Bedford-Fall River, RI-MA 113
Transportation and material moving Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia, WA 117
Minneapolis-St. Paul-St. Cloud, MN-WI 114
Boston-Worcester-Manchester, MA-NH 111
Kansas City, MO-KS 110
Salinas, CA 109
San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA 109
The pay relative for production occupations in the Detroit-Warren-Flint, MI and
Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Truckee, CA-NV areas was 117, meaning the pay in these two metropolitan
areas averaged 17 percent more than the national average pay for that occupational group. By
contrast, the pay relative for production workers in the Brownsville-Harlingen, Texas area was 80,
meaning pay for workers in those occupations averaged 20 percent less than the national average.
(See table 1.)
Statistical significance measures are not available for news release and area-to-area comparison tables.
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NOTICE OF FINAL NEWS RELEASE
This is the final Occupational Pay Comparisons Among Metropolitan Areas news release. Funding
for the Locality Pay Survey program is ending. However, the other programs of the National
Compensation Survey, such as the Employment Cost Index, Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, and
benefit publications will continue to be produced.
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