2007 Occupational Pay Comparisons Among Metropolitan Areas — 2008-07-25

Average pay in the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA metropolitan area was 19 percent above the national average in 2007, the highest among metropolitan areas studied by the National Compensation Survey (NCS), the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. In contrast, pay was lowest in the Brownsville-Harlingen, TX metropolitan area with a pay relative of 76, meaning Brownsville workers earned an average of 76 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 9 major occupational groups within 77 metropolitan areas, as well as averaged across all occupations for each area. (See table 1.) Rank Metropolitan Area Pay Relative 1. San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA 119 2. New York-Newark-Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA 115 3. Salinas, CA 114 4. Hartford-West Hartford-Willimantic, CT 113 5.