Technical Contact: (202) 691-6199 NCSinfo@bls.gov USDL: 08-1015 

Media Contact: (202) 691-5902 For Release: 10:00 AM EDT 

Internet Address: www.bls.gov/ncs Friday, July 25, 2008 

(This news release was reissued on Wednesday, May 26, 2010, to remove table asterisks that have 

incorrectly indicated statistically significant differences between some estimates. News release text 

references to statistical significance have also been removed. Pay relative estimates have not changed. 

For more information, see http://www.bls.gov/ncs.)

OCCUPATIONAL PAY COMPARISONS AMONG METROPOLITAN AREAS, 2007 

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.) 

Table A below lists higher and lower paying metropolitan areas among those studied in the NCS. Table 

B provides higher paying metropolitan area for each of nine major occupational groups. In addition, area-toarea comparisons have been calculated for all 77 metropolitan areas and will soon be available on the BLS 

website at http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ocs/payrel.htm. 

Table A. Metropolitan area pay relative rankings (of 77 metropolitan areas surveyed) 

 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. Boston-Worcester-Manchester, MA-NH 112 

 75. Corpus Christi, TX 87 

 76. Johnstown, PA 85 

 77. Brownsville-Harlingen, TX 76 

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 

 News

Bureau of Labor Statistics Washington, D.C. 20212 

United States 

Department 

of Labor
2

for areas at different times during the year. Simple pay comparisons calculating the ratio of the average pay 

for an area versus the entire United States in percentage terms would not control for interarea differences in 

occupational composition and other factors, which may have an effect on pay relatives. More information on 

pay relative controls and calculations is available in the Technical Note. 

Table B. Metropolitan area pay relative rankings for nine major occupational groups (of 77 metropolitan areas 

surveyed) 

 Major Occupational Group Rank and Metropolitan Area Pay Relative

Management, business, and financial 1. New York-Newark-Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA 115 

 2. Salinas, CA 114 

Professional and related 1. Salinas, CA 120 

 2. San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA 118 

Service 1. San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA 124 

 2. Hartford-West Hartford-Willimantic, CT 121 

Sales and related 1. Salinas, CA 128 

 2. San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA 124 

Office and administrative support 1. San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA 121 

 2. Boston-Worchester-Manchester, MA-NH 115 

 2. New York-Newark-Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA 115 

Construction and extraction 1. New York-Newark-Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA 133 

 2. Chicago-Naperville-Michigan City, IL-IN-WI 131 

Installation, maintenance, and repair 1. Boston-Worcester-Manchester, MA-NH 115 

1. Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Truckee, CA-NV 115 

Production 1. Detroit-Warren-Flint, MI 117 

1. Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia, WA 117 

 

Transportation and material moving 1. Springfield, MA 113 

 2. Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia, WA 112 

The pay relative for construction and extraction occupations in the New York-Newark-Bridgeport area 

was 133, meaning the pay in the New York metropolitan area for that occupational group averaged 33 percent 

more than the national average pay for that occupational group. By contrast, the pay relative for workers in 

construction and extraction in the Brownsville-Harlingen, Texas area was 66, meaning pay for workers in those 

occupations averaged 34 percent less than the national average. 

Yearly differences in area and occupational group differences in pay relatives do not infer changes in 

underlying economic conditions. 
3

Table 1. Pay relatives for major occupational groups in metropolitan areas, National Compensation Survey, July 2007(Average pay nationally for all occupations and for each occupational group shown = 100.)

Metropolitan Area1 All occupations Management, business, and financial Professional and related Service Sales and related Office and administrative support Construction and extraction Installation, maintenance, and repair Production Transportation and material moving

United States .................................................... 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Amarillo, TX ...................................................... 88 88 83 86 91 88 81 85 91 92

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Gainesville, GA-AL ...... 101 103 102 96 96 106 91 100 104 106

Austin-Round Rock, TX .................................... 96 95 94 90 104 96 87 104 96 92Birmingham-Hoover, AL ................................... 94 94 96 99 95 97 86 94 88 95

Bloomington, IN ................................................ 90 87 92 87 83 91 76 81 97 105

Bloomington-Normal, IL .................................... 101 103 102 103 99 96 106 93 109 104

Boston-Worcester-Manchester, MA-NH ........... 112 108 109 114 106 115 125 115 108 111

Brownsville-Harlingen, TX ................................ 76 77 88 76 68 77 66 86 76 74

Buffalo-Niagara-Cattaraugus, NY ..................... 101 90 94 108 102 98 114 105 107 103Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville,

SC ................................................................... 91 94 92 85 97 93 78 82 101 102

Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, NC-SC ............... 102 102 92 101 112 102 89 99 102 99Chicago-Naperville-Michigan City, IL-IN-WI ..... 108 102 108 107 109 110 131 112 105 105

Cincinnati-Middletown-Wilmington,

OH-KY-IN ....................................................... 97 93 99 102 92 97 90 99 100 99

Cleveland-Akron-Elyria, OH ............................. 101 96 100 101 98 101 102 102 104 105Columbus-Marion-Chillicothe, OH .................... 99 103 95 101 105 98 99 101 96 98

Corpus Christi, TX ............................................ 87 88 90 83 87 86 94 79 92 86

Dallas-Fort Worth, TX ....................................... 97 99 99 93 101 99 89 96 91 97

Dayton-Springfield-Greenville, OH ................... 97 100 94 96 97 92 102 100 106 102

Denver-Aurora-Boulder, CO ............................. 103 100 100 106 105 102 92 107 100 103Detroit-Warren-Flint, MI .................................... 105 98 104 103 98 105 101 97 117 109Elkhart-Goshen, IN ........................................... 95 99 91 97 94 92 114 89 96 99

Fort Collins-Loveland, CO ................................ 101 94 97 96 105 102 104 104 100 109

Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI ............................. 100 89 94 104 105 98 119 99 101 98Great Falls, MT ................................................. 88 82 77 96 90 83 110 93 100 96

Greensboro-High Point, NC .............................. 94 91 94 94 86 96 88 92 102 102

Greenville-Mauldin-Easley, SC ......................... 93 97 89 97 87 93 79 84 106 93

Hartford-West Hartford-Willimantic, CT ............ 113 111 109 121 107 112 115 111 112 108

Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC ......................... 95 94 85 92 91 95 102 89 100 101

Honolulu, HI ...................................................... 104 107 100 113 108 96 115 107 110 100

Houston-Baytown-Huntsville, TX ...................... 95 99 97 86 95 98 90 92 102 94

Huntsville-Decatur, AL ...................................... 96 92 95 98 102 93 89 90 101 95

Indianapolis-Anderson-Columbus, IN ............... 96 79 97 94 94 96 96 95 106 97

Iowa City, IA ..................................................... 97 102 92 100 93 98 104 102 100 98Johnstown, PA .................................................. 85 79 85 87 86 84 96 89 84 86

Kansas City, MO-KS ......................................... 98 91 98 97 100 98 102 99 106 97

Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, WA ...................... 103 96 96 114 102 100 109 96 97 104Knoxville, TN .................................................... 92 103 99 83 99 95 82 85 88 96

Lincoln, NE ....................................................... 88 84 85 92 84 88 84 94 89 93

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside, CA .......... 107 107 107 109 114 107 111 110 100 104

See footnotes at end of table.
4

Table 1. Pay relatives for major occupational groups in metropolitan areas, National Compensation Survey, July 2007 — Continued(Average pay nationally for all occupations and for each occupational group shown = 100.)

Metropolitan Area1 All occupations Management, business, and financial Professional and related Service Sales and related Office and administrative support Construction and extraction Installation, maintenance, and repair Production Transportation and material moving

Louisville/Jefferson

County-Elizabethtown-Scottsburg, KY-IN ....... 95 90 91 103 99 96 106 92 99 91

Memphis, TN-MS-AR ....................................... 95 96 88 87 100 98 93 99 97 96Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL ... 98 104 97 100 95 97 93 96 95 101Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, WI .................... 101 99 96 100 105 103 109 102 104 105Minneapolis-St. Paul-St. Cloud, MN-WI ........... 109 111 104 116 110 104 111 104 115 108Mobile, AL ......................................................... 89 78 83 86 95 92 92 98 93 101New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, LA .................... 98 90 100 94 102 99 93 93 101 104New York-Newark-Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA .. 115 115 116 115 115 115 133 114 106 110Ocala, FL .......................................................... 90 80 83 93 93 91 81 106 92 103Oklahoma City, OK ........................................... 90 86 88 91 89 88 103 107 85 84Orlando-Kissimmee, FL .................................... 91 91 85 94 101 88 90 91 85 107Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL ................... 94 85 87 101 96 88 92 103 107 106Philadelphia-Camden-Vineland,

PA-NJ-DE-MD ................................................ 105 106 108 105 98 106 106 112 99 104

Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ .......................... 98 102 101 99 106 99 82 103 97 100Pittsburgh-New Castle, PA ............................... 96 94 95 96 90 97 98 97 98 95Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA .......... 104 100 97 111 114 106 115 111 100 99Providence-New Bedford-Fall River, RI-MA ..... 109 106 113 116 102 107 113 111 111 106Reading, PA ..................................................... 102 110 92 100 106 101 102 108 101 99Reno-Sparks, NV .............................................. 97 95 95 98 104 97 94 109 97 98Richmond, VA ................................................... 98 98 95 97 95 101 92 101 102 100Rochester, NY .................................................. 97 89 96 106 97 98 98 88 99 99Rockford, IL ...................................................... 98 88 97 98 98 96 107 99 102 102Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Truckee, CA-NV ... 108 103 110 112 104 106 101 115 114 109Salinas, CA ....................................................... 114 114 120 118 128 113 126 107 101 104San Antonio, TX ............................................... 91 93 92 87 96 91 97 102 98 89San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA .............. 109 108 110 115 105 106 111 109 105 101San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA ............. 119 112 118 124 124 121 123 114 108 109Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia, WA .......................... 110 103 102 119 113 106 110 107 117 112Springfield, MA ................................................. 110 101 112 107 110 110 109 103 109 113Springfield, MO ................................................. 88 84 87 87 92 87 77 87 93 97St. Louis, MO-IL ................................................ 102 96 100 97 96 100 121 110 106 110Tallahassee, FL ................................................ 92 83 86 96 91 91 81 88 93 93Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL ............. 94 90 91 94 97 97 98 94 93 102Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News,

VA-NC ............................................................ 91 86 90 94 92 92 84 94 92 90

Visalia-Porterville, CA ....................................... 98 106 103 101 98 98 89 90 103 93Washington-Baltimore-Northern Virginia,

DC-MD-VA-WV ............................................... 108 104 111 106 106 112 100 114 107 106

York-Hanover, PA ............................................. 97 105 99 98 90 96 99 98 97 104Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA .......... 96 99 93 93 86 92 95 94 101 110

1 A metropolitan area can be a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) or Combined Statistical Area (CSA) as defined by the Office of Management and Budget, December 2003.
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Technical Note 

Pay relative controls and calculations 

Pay relatives control for differences among areas in occupational composition as well as establishment 

and occupational characteristics. Metropolitan areas often differ greatly in the composition of establishments 

and occupations that are available to the local workforce. For example, in Brownsville-Harlingen, Texas, the 

ratio of workers in the typically high-paying management, business, and financial occupations group to the 

number of workers in all occupations is under 6 percent, whereas nationally this ratio is nearly 9 percent.1 In 

addition to these factors, the NCS collects compensation data for metropolitan areas at different times during 

the year. Payroll reference dates differ between areas, which makes direct comparisons between areas difficult. 

The pay relative approach controls for these differences to isolate the geographic effect on wage 

determination. To illustrate the importance of controlling for these effects, consider the following example. 

The average pay for construction and extraction workers in the New York-Newark-Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA 

area is $30.42 and the average pay for construction and extraction workers in the entire United States is 

$20.14.2

 A simple pay comparison can be calculated from the ratio of the two average pay levels, multiplied by 

100 to express the comparison as a percentage. The pay comparison in the example is calculated as: 

 ($30.42  $20.14)  100  151 

This comparison does not control for differences between the New York-Newark-Bridgeport, NY-NJCT-PA metropolitan area and the nation in the mix of occupations, industries, and other factors. A more 

accurate estimate of the geographic effect of wages can be obtained by taking these differences into account. 

Controlling for differences in occupational composition, establishment and occupational characteristics, and the 

payroll reference date relative to the nation as the whole, the pay relative for construction and extraction 

occupations in New York-Newark-Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA is equal to 133. 

Survey methodology 

The National Compensation Survey (NCS) collects earnings and other data on employee compensation 

covering over 800 detailed occupations. Average occupational earnings from the NCS are published annually 

for 77 metropolitan areas and for the United States as a whole. Beginning in 2006, the NCS implemented a 

number of significant survey changes including imputing for temporary non-response situations and 

benchmarking estimated employment. For more details on these changes, see the article at 

http://www.bls.gov/opub/cwc/cm20070122ar01p1.htm. 

The NCS program collects data in U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) defined geographic 

areas. The NCS is in its first year of a six-year transition from the June 1993 OMB area definitions to the 

December 2003 OMB area definitions. The area titles have been updated to reflect the new area definitions; 

however, the private industry sample is based on the 1993 area definitions. Area titles are subject to annual 

OMB revision. For more information on the area definitions, see Jason Tehonica, "New Area Sample Selected 

for the National Compensation Survey," Compensation and Working Conditions Online, April 25, 2005, on the 

Internet at: http://www.bls.gov/opub/cwc/cm20050318ar01p1.htm. 

Historical pay relative data are available for 1992-1996, 1998, 2002, and 2004-2006. There are several 

differences between the recent pay relatives and the pay relatives for earlier years, including different industry 

and occupation classification systems, varying methodology, and different survey designs. These differences 

limit comparability. The pay relatives for 2004 through 2007 were calculated using the same industry and 

occupation classification systems, methodology, and survey design. Nonetheless, comparisons between the 

estimates for these years should be made only with a high degree of caution. 
6

Pay relatives were estimated using a multivariate regression technique methodology to control for 

interarea differences. This technique controls for the following ten characteristics: 

 Occupational type 

 Industry type 

 Work level 

 Full-time / part-time status 

 Time / incentive status 

 Union / nonunion status 

 Ownership type 

 Profit / non-profit status 

 Establishment employment 

 Payroll reference date 

Even accounting for the characteristics used in the current regression analysis, there is still wage 

variation across the areas. The variation is due to differences in wage determinants that were not included in 

the model. Examples of these determinants include price levels, environmental amenities such as a pleasant 

climate, and cultural amenities. 

The pay relatives in this release, as with estimates from any sample survey, are subject to sampling and 

non-sampling errors. Sampling errors are differences that occur between the pay relatives estimated from the 

sample and the true pay relatives derived from the population. Pay relatives are also subject to a variety of nonsampling errors that can influence the estimates. The NCS may be unable to obtain information for some 

establishments; there may be difficulties with survey definitions; respondents may be unable to provide correct 

information, or mistakes in recording or coding the data may occur. Non-sampling errors of these kinds were 

not specifically measured. However, they are expected to be minimal due to the extensive training of the field 

economists who gathered the survey data, computer edits of the data, and detailed data review. 

For more details, see Maury B. Gittleman, "Pay Relatives for Metropolitan Areas in the U.S." Monthly 

Labor Review, March 2005, pp. 46-53, and Parastou Karen Shahpoori, "Pay Relatives for Major Metropolitan 

Areas," Compensation and Working Conditions, Spring 2003. 

Obtaining information 

 Articles, bulletins, and other information may be obtained by calling (202) 691-6199, sending email to 

NCSinfo@bls.gov, or visiting the Internet site http://www.bls.gov/ncs. Information in this release will be made 

available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service 

Number: 1-800-877-8339. 

1 Data for this example are based on the May 2007 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates, 

http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oessrcma.htm. 2

 Average pay for construction and extraction workers in the New York - Newark - Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA metropolitan area and for the United 

States are based on wage estimates published in the New York - Newark - Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA, National Compensation Survey, May 2007 

and the upcoming National Compensation Survey: Occupational Wages in the United States, July 2007, http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ocs/ncswage.htm.