Technical Contact:                                                                        USDL:  07-1455
     (202) 691-6199  NCSinfo@bls.gov
Media Contact:                                                                            FOR RELEASE:  10:00 A.M. EDT
     (202) 691-5902                                                                       WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2007
Internet address:
     http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ocs/home.htm


     (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, 2006

     Average pay in the San Francisco metropolitan area was 19 percent above the national average in 2006, the
highest among the 78 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, Texas
metropolitan area with a pay relative of 78, meaning Brownsville workers earned an average of 78 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 78 metropolitan areas, as well as averaged across all
occupations for each area. (See table 1.)  Table A below lists the five highest and five lowest paying metropolitan
areas among those studied in the NCS.  In addition, similar area-to-area comparisons have been calculated for all
78 areas and will soon be available on the BLS website at http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ocs/payrel.htm.


Table A.  Highest and lowest metropolitan area pay relative rankings (of 78 metropolitan areas surveyed)

 Rank                   Metropolitan Area                                       Pay Relative
    1.           San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA                                  119
    2.           New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-CT-PA               114
    3.           Salinas, CA                                                         113
    4.           Boston-Worcester-Lawrence, MA-NH-ME-CT                              112
                 Hartford, CT                                                        112

   74.           Corpus Christi, TX                                                   87
                 Great Falls, MT                                                      87
                 Johnstown, PA                                                        87
                 Springfield, MO                                                      87
   78.           Brownsville-Harlingen-San Benito, TX                                 78


     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 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 are available in the
Technical Note.

     The pay relative in 2006 for workers in construction and extraction occupations in the San Francisco area was 122,
meaning the pay in San Francisco for that occupational group averaged 22 percent more than the national average pay for
that occupational group.  By contrast, the pay relative for workers in construction and extraction occupations in the
Brownsville, Texas area was 67, meaning pay for workers in those occupations averaged 33 percent less than the national
average.

     The National Compensation Survey (NCS), introduced in 1997, collects earnings and other data on employee
compensation covering over 800 detailed occupations in 152 metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas.  Average occupational
earnings from the NCS are published annually for 78 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.

     Data users are cautioned not to use yearly differences in area and occupational pay group differences in pay
relatives to infer changes in underlying economic conditions.


 Table 1. Pay relatives for major occupational groups in
 metropolitan areas, National Compensation Survey, June 2006

 (Average pay nationally for all occupations and for each
 occupational group shown = 100.)


                                                      Management,
           Metropolitan Area1                All       business,
                                         occupations      and
                                                       financial


 United States.........................          100          100

 Amarillo, TX..........................           88           93
 Anchorage, AK.........................          109          104
 Atlanta, GA...........................          102          102
 Augusta-Aiken, GA-SC..................           94           89
 Austin-San Marcos, TX.................           95           91
 Birmingham, AL........................           94           92

 Bloomington, IN.......................           90           89
 Boston-Worcester-Lawrence,
 MA-NH-ME-CT...........................          112          110
 Brownsville-Harlingen-San Benito,
 TX....................................           78           73
 Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY.............          100           91
 Charleston-North Charleston, SC.......           93           98
 Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC-SC...          101           99

 Chicago-Gary-Kenosha, IL-IN-WI........          108          104
 Cincinnati-Hamilton, OH-KY-IN.........           98           93
 Cleveland-Akron, OH...................          100           96
 Columbus, OH..........................          100          100
 Corpus Christi, TX....................           87           92
 Dallas-Fort Worth, TX.................           98          100

 Dayton-Springfield, OH................           98           99
 Denver-Boulder-Greeley, CO............          102           99
 Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint, MI...........          106           97
 Elkhart-Goshen, IN....................           96           96
 Fort Collins-Loveland, CO.............          100           94
 Grand Rapids-Muskegon-Holland, MI.....          101           93

 Great Falls, MT.......................           87           85
 Greensboro-Winston Salem-High Point,
 NC....................................           95           91
 Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, SC...           94           95
 Hartford, CT..........................          112          108
 Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir, NC..........           95           89
 Honolulu, HI..........................          105          105

 Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, TX........           96          100
 Huntsville, AL........................           96           94
 Indianapolis, IN......................           97           82

 (Continued)

 (Average pay nationally for all occupations and for each occupational group shown = 100.)



           Metropolitan Area1           Professional    Service
                                         and related



 United States.........................          100          100

 Amarillo, TX..........................           85           87
 Anchorage, AK.........................          100          121
 Atlanta, GA...........................          102           97
 Augusta-Aiken, GA-SC..................          100           89
 Austin-San Marcos, TX.................           95           93
 Birmingham, AL........................           95          101

 Bloomington, IN.......................           97           90
 Boston-Worcester-Lawrence,
 MA-NH-ME-CT...........................          108          113
 Brownsville-Harlingen-San Benito,
 TX....................................           95           76
 Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY.............           91          106
 Charleston-North Charleston, SC.......           94           86
 Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC-SC...           93           98

 Chicago-Gary-Kenosha, IL-IN-WI........          107          107
 Cincinnati-Hamilton, OH-KY-IN.........           99          103
 Cleveland-Akron, OH...................          101           98
 Columbus, OH..........................           92          100
 Corpus Christi, TX....................           94           83
 Dallas-Fort Worth, TX.................          101           96

 Dayton-Springfield, OH................           92           96
 Denver-Boulder-Greeley, CO............          102           99
 Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint, MI...........          104          101
 Elkhart-Goshen, IN....................           94           96
 Fort Collins-Loveland, CO.............           95           94
 Grand Rapids-Muskegon-Holland, MI.....           97          104

 Great Falls, MT.......................           76           94
 Greensboro-Winston Salem-High Point,
 NC....................................           94           95
 Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, SC...           90           97
 Hartford, CT..........................          108          119
 Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir, NC..........           89           90
 Honolulu, HI..........................          104          110

 Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, TX........           98           87
 Huntsville, AL........................           96           95
 Indianapolis, IN......................           97           97

 (Continued)

 (Average pay nationally for all occupations and for each occupational group shown = 100.)


                                                      Office and
           Metropolitan Area1             Sales and  administra-
                                           related   tive support



 United States.........................          100          100

 Amarillo, TX..........................           90           87
 Anchorage, AK.........................          108          106
 Atlanta, GA...........................           97          104
 Augusta-Aiken, GA-SC..................           83           96
 Austin-San Marcos, TX.................          100           97
 Birmingham, AL........................           94           96

 Bloomington, IN.......................           78           88
 Boston-Worcester-Lawrence,
 MA-NH-ME-CT...........................          106          113
 Brownsville-Harlingen-San Benito,
 TX....................................           75           77
 Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY.............          105           99
 Charleston-North Charleston, SC.......          101           93
 Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC-SC...          109          102

 Chicago-Gary-Kenosha, IL-IN-WI........          106          109
 Cincinnati-Hamilton, OH-KY-IN.........           94           98
 Cleveland-Akron, OH...................           95          101
 Columbus, OH..........................          105           99
 Corpus Christi, TX....................           88           84
 Dallas-Fort Worth, TX.................          103           99

 Dayton-Springfield, OH................           97           92
 Denver-Boulder-Greeley, CO............          104          102
 Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint, MI...........          101          105
 Elkhart-Goshen, IN....................           95           92
 Fort Collins-Loveland, CO.............          106          101
 Grand Rapids-Muskegon-Holland, MI.....          109          100

 Great Falls, MT.......................           88           80
 Greensboro-Winston Salem-High Point,
 NC....................................           86           97
 Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, SC...           91           93
 Hartford, CT..........................          108          112
 Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir, NC..........           91           95
 Honolulu, HI..........................          105           99

 Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, TX........           95           98
 Huntsville, AL........................          100           96
 Indianapolis, IN......................           95           98

 (Continued)

 (Average pay nationally for all occupations and for each occupational group shown = 100.)


                                       Construction Installation,
          Metropolitan Area1                and      maintenance,
                                         extraction   and repair


 United States.........................          100          100

 Amarillo, TX..........................           83           81
 Anchorage, AK.........................          125          111
 Atlanta, GA...........................           93          102
 Augusta-Aiken, GA-SC..................           95           97
 Austin-San Marcos, TX.................           88          100
 Birmingham, AL........................           84           99

 Bloomington, IN.......................           78           85
 Boston-Worcester-Lawrence,
 MA-NH-ME-CT...........................          124          115
 Brownsville-Harlingen-San Benito,
 TX....................................           67           78
 Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY.............          111          100
 Charleston-North Charleston, SC.......           80           82
 Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC-SC...           92           98

 Chicago-Gary-Kenosha, IL-IN-WI........          125          114
 Cincinnati-Hamilton, OH-KY-IN.........           90           98
 Cleveland-Akron, OH...................          101          102
 Columbus, OH..........................           98          100
 Corpus Christi, TX....................           92           81
 Dallas-Fort Worth, TX.................           90           95

 Dayton-Springfield, OH................          100          106
 Denver-Boulder-Greeley, CO............           91          105
 Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint, MI...........          110           97
 Elkhart-Goshen, IN....................          109           92
 Fort Collins-Loveland, CO.............           99          104
 Grand Rapids-Muskegon-Holland, MI.....          106           96

 Great Falls, MT.......................          118          100
 Greensboro-Winston Salem-High Point,
 NC....................................           91           98
 Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, SC...           82           84
 Hartford, CT..........................          114          108
 Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir, NC..........           98           91
 Honolulu, HI..........................          113          115

 Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, TX........           91           95
 Huntsville, AL........................           91           90
 Indianapolis, IN......................           93           95

 (Continued)

 (Average pay nationally for all occupations and for each occupational group shown = 100.)


                                                     Transporta-
           Metropolitan Area1            Production    tion and
                                                       material
                                                        moving


 United States.........................          100          100

 Amarillo, TX..........................           89           92
 Anchorage, AK.........................          115          110
 Atlanta, GA...........................          103          107
 Augusta-Aiken, GA-SC..................           98           96
 Austin-San Marcos, TX.................           94           91
 Birmingham, AL........................           87           98

 Bloomington, IN.......................           97          104
 Boston-Worcester-Lawrence,
 MA-NH-ME-CT...........................          108          111
 Brownsville-Harlingen-San Benito,
 TX....................................           76           76
 Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY.............          111          101
 Charleston-North Charleston, SC.......          101          104
 Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC-SC...          104           99

 Chicago-Gary-Kenosha, IL-IN-WI........          104          106
 Cincinnati-Hamilton, OH-KY-IN.........          100           99
 Cleveland-Akron, OH...................          105          106
 Columbus, OH..........................           96          101
 Corpus Christi, TX....................           89           86
 Dallas-Fort Worth, TX.................           91           99

 Dayton-Springfield, OH................          107          105
 Denver-Boulder-Greeley, CO............          103           98
 Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint, MI...........          118          108
 Elkhart-Goshen, IN....................           98          101
 Fort Collins-Loveland, CO.............           95          111
 Grand Rapids-Muskegon-Holland, MI.....          102          101

 Great Falls, MT.......................           96           92
 Greensboro-Winston Salem-High Point,
 NC....................................          101          104
 Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, SC...          105           95
 Hartford, CT..........................          111          107
 Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir, NC..........          100          102
 Honolulu, HI..........................          106          104

 Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, TX........          100           95
 Huntsville, AL........................          100           93
 Indianapolis, IN......................          108           99

 (Continued)

 (Average pay nationally for all occupations and for each occupational group shown = 100.)


                                                      Management,
           Metropolitan Area1                All       business,
                                         occupations      and
                                                       financial


 Iowa City, IA.........................           98           95
 Johnstown, PA.........................           87           86
 Kansas City, MO-KS....................           99           93

 Knoxville, TN.........................           92          103
 Lincoln, NE...........................           89           85
 Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County,
 CA....................................          107          106
 Louisville, KY-IN.....................           96           91
 Melbourne-Titusville-Palm Bay, FL.....           93           85
 Memphis, TN-AR-MS.....................           95           96

 Miami-Fort Lauderdale, FL.............           96          107
 Milwaukee-Racine, WI..................          102          100
 Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI...........          108          101
 Mobile, AL............................           88           81
 New Orleans, LA.......................           95           90
 New York-Northern New Jersey- Long
 Island, NY-NJ-CT-PA...................          114          114

 Norfolk-VA Beach-Newport News,
 VA-NC.................................           91           87
 Ocala, FL.............................           90           88
 Oklahoma City, OK.....................           91           87
 Orlando, FL...........................           93           94
 Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City,
 PA-NJ-DE-MD...........................          105          106
 Phoenix-Mesa, AZ......................           97           99

 Pittsburgh, PA........................           96           91
 Portland-Salem, OR-WA.................          104          104
 Providence-Fall River-Warwick,
 RI-MA.................................          108          109
 Reading, PA...........................          102          105
 Reno, NV..............................           98           97
 Richland-Kennewick-Pasco, WA..........          103           96

 Richmond-Petersburg, VA...............           98           98
 Rochester, NY.........................           97           89
 Rockford, IL..........................          100           90
 Sacramento-Yolo, CA...................          106          102
 Salinas, CA...........................          113          115
 San Antonio, TX.......................           89           93

 (Continued)

 (Average pay nationally for all occupations and for each occupational group shown = 100.)



           Metropolitan Area1           Professional    Service
                                         and related



 Iowa City, IA.........................           95          102
 Johnstown, PA.........................           91           89
 Kansas City, MO-KS....................           95           95

 Knoxville, TN.........................           98           84
 Lincoln, NE...........................           88           91
 Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County,
 CA....................................          109          109
 Louisville, KY-IN.....................           96          103
 Melbourne-Titusville-Palm Bay, FL.....           81          101
 Memphis, TN-AR-MS.....................           92           91

 Miami-Fort Lauderdale, FL.............           95           96
 Milwaukee-Racine, WI..................           97          100
 Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI...........          104          118
 Mobile, AL............................           85           84
 New Orleans, LA.......................           96           91
 New York-Northern New Jersey- Long
 Island, NY-NJ-CT-PA...................          116          114

 Norfolk-VA Beach-Newport News,
 VA-NC.................................           90           95
 Ocala, FL.............................           88           92
 Oklahoma City, OK.....................           85           91
 Orlando, FL...........................           88           94
 Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City,
 PA-NJ-DE-MD...........................          107          105
 Phoenix-Mesa, AZ......................          101           96

 Pittsburgh, PA........................           97           98
 Portland-Salem, OR-WA.................           95          112
 Providence-Fall River-Warwick,
 RI-MA.................................          111          112
 Reading, PA...........................           94          101
 Reno, NV..............................           95           99
 Richland-Kennewick-Pasco, WA..........           95          113

 Richmond-Petersburg, VA...............           95           98
 Rochester, NY.........................           97          104
 Rockford, IL..........................           97           99
 Sacramento-Yolo, CA...................          107          111
 Salinas, CA...........................          121          115
 San Antonio, TX.......................           91           87

 (Continued)

 (Average pay nationally for all occupations and for each occupational group shown = 100.)


                                                      Office and
           Metropolitan Area1             Sales and  administra-
                                           related   tive support



 Iowa City, IA.........................           92          101
 Johnstown, PA.........................           86           84
 Kansas City, MO-KS....................           96          100

 Knoxville, TN.........................           98           95
 Lincoln, NE...........................           85           87
 Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County,
 CA....................................          115          106
 Louisville, KY-IN.....................           99           98
 Melbourne-Titusville-Palm Bay, FL.....           96           89
 Memphis, TN-AR-MS.....................          104           98

 Miami-Fort Lauderdale, FL.............           95           96
 Milwaukee-Racine, WI..................          102          104
 Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI...........          109          103
 Mobile, AL............................           95           90
 New Orleans, LA.......................          101           96
 New York-Northern New Jersey- Long
 Island, NY-NJ-CT-PA...................          112          114

 Norfolk-VA Beach-Newport News,
 VA-NC.................................           94           91
 Ocala, FL.............................           93           88
 Oklahoma City, OK.....................           93           89
 Orlando, FL...........................          101           90
 Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City,
 PA-NJ-DE-MD...........................          100          106
 Phoenix-Mesa, AZ......................          107          101

 Pittsburgh, PA........................           89           97
 Portland-Salem, OR-WA.................          110          105
 Providence-Fall River-Warwick,
 RI-MA.................................          103          106
 Reading, PA...........................          106          102
 Reno, NV..............................          101           99
 Richland-Kennewick-Pasco, WA..........          105          100

 Richmond-Petersburg, VA...............           99           99
 Rochester, NY.........................           96           98
 Rockford, IL..........................          100           97
 Sacramento-Yolo, CA...................          102          104
 Salinas, CA...........................          129          111
 San Antonio, TX.......................           84           91

 (Continued)

 (Average pay nationally for all occupations and for each occupational group shown = 100.)


                                        Construction Installation,
           Metropolitan Area1                and     maintenance,
                                         extraction   and repair


 Iowa City, IA.........................          101          102
 Johnstown, PA.........................           96           88
 Kansas City, MO-KS....................          108          104

 Knoxville, TN.........................           85           87
 Lincoln, NE...........................           85           93
 Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County,
 CA....................................          110          106
 Louisville, KY-IN.....................          110           94
 Melbourne-Titusville-Palm Bay, FL.....           92          101
 Memphis, TN-AR-MS.....................           94           98

 Miami-Fort Lauderdale, FL.............           91           93
 Milwaukee-Racine, WI..................          110          101
 Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI...........          113          107
 Mobile, AL............................           94           98
 New Orleans, LA.......................           90           91
 New York-Northern New Jersey- Long
 Island, NY-NJ-CT-PA...................          128          114

 Norfolk-VA Beach-Newport News,
 VA-NC.................................           87           94
 Ocala, FL.............................           83          106
 Oklahoma City, OK.....................          101          108
 Orlando, FL...........................           91           93
 Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City,
 PA-NJ-DE-MD...........................          106          112
 Phoenix-Mesa, AZ......................           82          100

 Pittsburgh, PA........................           96           96
 Portland-Salem, OR-WA.................          114          110
 Providence-Fall River-Warwick,
 RI-MA.................................          104          108
 Reading, PA...........................          102          100
 Reno, NV..............................           96          111
 Richland-Kennewick-Pasco, WA..........          111           93

 Richmond-Petersburg, VA...............           92           99
 Rochester, NY.........................           94           89
 Rockford, IL..........................          111          104
 Sacramento-Yolo, CA...................          103          118
 Salinas, CA...........................          132          110
 San Antonio, TX.......................           97           97

 (Continued)

 (Average pay nationally for all occupations and for each occupational group shown = 100.)


                                                     Transporta-
           Metropolitan Area1            Production    tion and
                                                       material
                                                        moving


 Iowa City, IA.........................          101           96
 Johnstown, PA.........................           84           82
 Kansas City, MO-KS....................          104           97

 Knoxville, TN.........................           89           96
 Lincoln, NE...........................           91           91
 Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County,
 CA....................................           99          102
 Louisville, KY-IN.....................           99           94
 Melbourne-Titusville-Palm Bay, FL.....          105          103
 Memphis, TN-AR-MS.....................           97           96

 Miami-Fort Lauderdale, FL.............           97           98
 Milwaukee-Racine, WI..................          106          107
 Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI...........          117          107
 Mobile, AL............................           96           91
 New Orleans, LA.......................           95          100
 New York-Northern New Jersey- Long
 Island, NY-NJ-CT-PA...................          105          110

 Norfolk-VA Beach-Newport News,
 VA-NC.................................           93           89
 Ocala, FL.............................           95          103
 Oklahoma City, OK.....................           89           87
 Orlando, FL...........................           85          106
 Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City,
 PA-NJ-DE-MD...........................          100          108
 Phoenix-Mesa, AZ......................           96          100

 Pittsburgh, PA........................           99           96
 Portland-Salem, OR-WA.................          101          100
 Providence-Fall River-Warwick,
 RI-MA.................................          112          105
 Reading, PA...........................           99          102
 Reno, NV..............................           98          101
 Richland-Kennewick-Pasco, WA..........           98          100

 Richmond-Petersburg, VA...............          102          100
 Rochester, NY.........................          100          100
 Rockford, IL..........................          103          104
 Sacramento-Yolo, CA...................          111          108
 Salinas, CA...........................           95          104
 San Antonio, TX.......................           96           86

 (Continued)

 (Average pay nationally for all occupations and for each occupational group shown = 100.)


                                                      Management,
           Metropolitan Area1                All       business,
                                         occupations      and
                                                       financial



 San Diego, CA.........................          108          106
 San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA....          119          114
 Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton, WA..........          109          103
 Springfield, MA.......................          109          104
 Springfield, MO.......................           87           82
 St. Louis, MO-IL......................          101           97

 Tallahassee, FL.......................           91           81
 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL...           95           89
 Visalia-Tulare-Porterville, CA........           99          101
 Washington-Baltimore, DC-MD-VA-WV.....          107          103
 York, PA..............................           97          102
 Youngstown-Warren, OH.................           96           96

 (Continued)

 (Average pay nationally for all occupations and for each occupational group shown = 100.)



           Metropolitan Area1           Professional    Service
                                         and related




 San Diego, CA.........................          110          112
 San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA....          117          123
 Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton, WA..........           99          119
 Springfield, MA.......................          109          105
 Springfield, MO.......................           88           84
 St. Louis, MO-IL......................           99           94

 Tallahassee, FL.......................           90           96
 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL...           91           95
 Visalia-Tulare-Porterville, CA........           98          101
 Washington-Baltimore, DC-MD-VA-WV.....          107          106
 York, PA..............................           98           98
 Youngstown-Warren, OH.................           93           91

 (Continued)

 (Average pay nationally for all occupations and for each occupational group shown = 100.)


                                                      Office and
           Metropolitan Area1             Sales and  administra-
                                           related   tive support




 San Diego, CA.........................          106          105
 San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA....          124          122
 Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton, WA..........          111          108
 Springfield, MA.......................          113          110
 Springfield, MO.......................           91           86
 St. Louis, MO-IL......................          100           99

 Tallahassee, FL.......................           92           91
 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL...           98          100
 Visalia-Tulare-Porterville, CA........          102           97
 Washington-Baltimore, DC-MD-VA-WV.....          106          111
 York, PA..............................           91           95
 Youngstown-Warren, OH.................           92           92

 (Continued)

 (Average pay nationally for all occupations and for each occupational group shown = 100.)


                                        Construction Installation,
           Metropolitan Area1                and     maintenance,
                                         extraction   and repair



 San Diego, CA.........................          107          107
 San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA....          122          117
 Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton, WA..........          111          106
 Springfield, MA.......................          105          110
 Springfield, MO.......................           77           91
 St. Louis, MO-IL......................          117          107

 Tallahassee, FL.......................           88           87
 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL...           97           94
 Visalia-Tulare-Porterville, CA........           92           93
 Washington-Baltimore, DC-MD-VA-WV.....          100          116
 York, PA..............................          102           99
 Youngstown-Warren, OH.................           99           95

 (Continued)

 (Average pay nationally for all occupations and for each occupational group shown = 100.)


                                                     Transporta-
           Metropolitan Area1            Production    tion and
                                                       material
                                                        moving



 San Diego, CA.........................          104          101
 San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA....          108          108
 Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton, WA..........          117          113
 Springfield, MA.......................          108          115
 Springfield, MO.......................           94           89
 St. Louis, MO-IL......................          104          108

 Tallahassee, FL.......................           95           93
 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL...           93          103
 Visalia-Tulare-Porterville, CA........          105           97
 Washington-Baltimore, DC-MD-VA-WV.....          108          106
 York, PA..............................           96          103
 Youngstown-Warren, OH.................          102          110

   1 A metropolitan area can be a Metropolitan Statistical Area
 (MSA) or Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area (CMSA) as
 defined by the Office of Management and Budget, 1994.


                                                    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, Texas, the ratio of workers in
the high-paying management, business, and financial occupational group to the number of workers in all occupations is
under 6 percent, whereas nationally this ratio is over 8 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
professional and related workers in San Francisco is $37.57 and the average pay for professional and related workers in
the entire United States is $29.76.(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:

     ($37.57 / $29.76) X 100 = 126

     This comparison does not control for differences between San Francisco and the nation in the mix of occupations,
industries, and other factors.  A more accurate estimate of the geographic effect of wages in San Francisco can be
obtained by taking these differences into account.  Controlling for differences in occupational composition, establishment
and occupational characteristics, and the payroll reference date in San Francisco relative to the nation as the whole,
the pay relative for professional and related occupations in San Francisco is equal to 117.

Historical data

     Historical pay relative data are available for 1992-1996, 1998, 2002, 2004, and 2005.  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, 2005, and 2006 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.

Survey methodology

     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 non-sampling 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.


__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Footnotes

  (1) Data for this example are based on the May 2006 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates,
http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oessrcma.htm.

  (2) Average pay for professional workers in San Francisco and for the United States are based on wage estimates published
in the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA National Compensation Survey, March 2006 and the National Compensation Survey:
Occupational Wages in the United States, June 2006, http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ocs/compub.htm.