U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS

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Relative Pay Rates among Census Divisions and Occupational Groups

by John E. Buckley

Bureau of Labor Statistics

Originally Posted: August 27, 2003

Based on the results of the National Compensation Survey, hourly earnings of all workers in private industry and State and

local governments averaged $16.23 in 2001; average earnings varied considerably by census division and major

occupational group, ranging from $32.83 per hour for executive, administrative, and managerial workers in New England to

$8.11 for service occupations in the West South Central division. 1

The results of the 2001 National Compensation Survey (NCS) represent the fifth annual findings of establishment-based

surveys in a sample of 154 metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas. The sample represents the Nation’s 326 metropolitan

statistical areas (as defined by the Office of Management and Budget) and the remaining portions of the 50 States.

Agricultural, private household, and Federal government workers are not included in the NCS.2

For ease of analysis, average earnings for census divisions, major occupational groups, and selected worker characteristics

were compared to the national average and converted to relative earnings. The national average ($16.23) was assigned a

value of 100, and averages for subnational data were converted to a percent of the national estimate. For example, when the

average hourly rate for New England ($17.54) was compared with the national rate, the value for New England converted to

108 ($17.54/16.23 x 100 = 108), which means that average wages in New England are 8 percent above the national

average.

Pay Relative Comparisons

At the all-occupational level, average earnings in the Middle Atlantic, Pacific, and New England census divisions were among

the highest, registering pay relatives of 115, 109, and 108, respectively. (See table 1.) The pay relative for the East North

Central division was 99, while the pay relatives for the remaining four divisions were in the low- to mid-90s. (Appendix A lists

the States included in each of the census divisions.)

White-collar occupations. Nationwide, average hourly earnings of workers in white-collar occupations exceeded those in

blue-collar occupations by about 45 percent; white-collar workers exceeded the average hourly earnings of workers in service

occupations by about 100 percent. Among the white-collar major occupational groups, executive, administrative, and

managerial workers had the highest average earnings, surpassing those of the next highest group, professional specialty and

technical, by about 10 percent. The average pay differences between the executive and professional groups varied

considerably among the census divisions, ranging from little or no statistically significant differences in several divisions to

about a 28-percent advantage for the executive group in the West North Central division. Average earnings for white-collar

workers in the lower-paying sales and administrative support major occupational groups were more in line with blue-collar

rates than for other white-collar jobs.

Blue-collar occupations. There also was wide pay dispersion among the four blue-collar major occupational groups. (Pay

dispersion is a measure of variation in pay among occupational groups.) Nationally, the relative earnings of precision

production, craft, and repair workers (106) were higher than the earnings for machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors

(76), transportation and material movement workers (83), and handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers (64).

Among census divisions, the largest average percentage difference between the highest and lowest paying blue-collar major

occupational groups was in the Mountain division, where the average hourly rate for precision production workers ($17.37)

exceeded the rate for handlers ($9.82) by about 77 percent. (See table 2.) The East North Central division had the smallest

earnings percentage difference between these two major occupational groups, about 58 percent.

Service occupations. The service major occupational group includes workers engaged in providing such diverse services as

firefighting, cooking, janitorial, and hairdressing. Nationally, among the nine major occupational groups, service workers had
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the lowest average hourly earnings, $9.86. However, some service workers, especially in the protective service area, had

average hourly earnings comparable to, or well above, the national average of $16.23. Police and detective supervisors, for

example, averaged $26.99 per hour.

Among the census divisions, average hourly earnings of service workers in the Middle Atlantic division were about 71 percent

of the national average. The Pacific and New England divisions had pay relatives of 69 and 65, respectively. Pay relatives for

service workers in the other divisions ranged from 50 in the West South Central division to 61 in the East North Central

division.

Full- and part-time workers. Full-time workers averaged $17.13 per hour in 2001; the average for part-time workers was

$9.17, or about 54 percent of the full-time rate and 57 percent of the national average for all workers. Among the eight

census divisions, full-time workers in the Middle Atlantic had the highest average earnings. The Mountain, West North

Central, West South Central and South Atlantic divisions had the lowest average earnings. Among part-time workers,

average pay was highest in the New England, Pacific, and Middle Atlantic divisions, and lowest in the West South Central

and South Atlantic divisions. Full-time workers in the West South Central division had more than twice the hourly average

rate of their part-time counterparts, the widest percentage difference among the divisions; the narrowest percentage gap

among workers on full- or part-time work schedules occurred in the New England division.

Union and nonunion workers. Union workers averaged $19.50 per hour, about 26 percent more than the average of $15.52

for nonunion workers. Among the eight census divisions, average pay of union workers was highest in the Pacific division,

although the pay difference between the Pacific and New England divisions was not statistically significant. The average

hourly rate for nonunion workers in the Middle Atlantic division ($18.16) surpassed the average rate for union workers in the

West North Central, South Atlantic, and West South Central divisions, but the differences were not statistically significant.

Time and incentive workers. Wages of time workers are based solely on an hourly rate or salary; incentive workers are

those whose wages are at least partially based on productivity payments such as piece rates, commissions, and production

bonuses. Nationwide, average hourly pay of incentive workers was about 27 percent more than time-paid workers, $20.38

versus $16.00. Among the census divisions, there were considerable differences in the pay gaps between these two pay

systems. In New England, for example, there was very little difference in average pay; in some other divisions, however, the

average hourly rate of incentive workers exceeded those of time workers by sizable amounts.

Since the National Compensation Survey is a sample survey and subject to sampling error, caution must be exercised in

making direct salary comparisons of published estimates. This is especially true for incentive-paid workers because the

standard error for these workers is higher than for most other estimates. (See the section on data reliability that follows for an

explanation of standard errors.)

Metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas. Metropolitan and nonmetropolitan summary earnings data also are available by

census division. Workers in metropolitan areas generally had higher average earnings than workers in nonmetropolitan

areas. In the Mountain division, however, nonmetropolitan area workers had higher average earnings than their metropolitan

area counterparts.

The average hourly earnings differences between metropolitan and nonmetropolitan workers were minimal (and not

statistically significant) in the East North Central and West South Central divisions. In the West North Central division,

however, metropolitan area workers had about a 20-percent pay advantage over nonmetropolitan area workers.

Pay spreads for occupations within census divisions. Within the census divisions, average hourly earnings of the highest

and lowest paying major occupational groups varied considerably. For example, in the Pacific census division, the average

hourly pay of executives ($29.13) was about 164 percent higher than the average pay of handlers ($11.04). This contrasted

with the approximately 229-percent advantage in the average pay of the highest paid occupational group (executives) over

the lowest paid group (service workers) in the West South Central division.

Occupational pay dispersion across census divisions. Table 2 presents average hourly earnings for the nine major

occupational groups and eight census divisions, along with a measure of dispersion for occupations across divisions.
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Transportation and material moving occupations posted the narrowest average earnings gap among the groups and across

the divisions. For these transportation workers, there was about a 20-percent difference in average hourly earnings of the

highest paying census division ($14.83 in the Middle Atlantic) and the lowest paying division ($12.35 in the West South

Central). This contrasted with the 43-percent difference in average hourly earnings of workers in service occupations in the

highest and lowest paying census divisions.

Data Reliability

The data in this article are estimates from a scientifically selected probability sample. There are two types of errors possible

in an estimate based on a sample survey: sampling errors and nonsampling errors.

Sampling errors occur because observations come only from a sample and not from an entire population. The sample used

for the NCS is one of a number of possible samples of the same size that could have been selected using the sample design.

Estimates derived from the different samples would differ from each other.

A measure of the variation among these differing estimates is called the standard error or sampling error. It indicates the

precision with which an estimate from a particular sample approximates the average result of all possible samples. The

relative standard error is the standard error divided by the estimate.3

The standard error can be used to calculate a "confidence interval" around a sample estimate. As an example, the mean

hourly earnings for incentive-paid workers in New England were $17.87, with a relative standard error of 13.5 percent for this

estimate. At the 90-percent level, the confidence interval for this estimate is $13.90 to $21.84 ($17.87 plus or minus 1.645

times 13.5 percent [i.e., 0.135] = $3.97); ($17.87 + $3.97 = $21.84; $17.87 - $3.97 = $13.90). If all possible samples were

selected to estimate the population value, the interval from each sample would include the true population value

approximately 90 percent of the time.

Nonsampling errors also affect survey results. They can stem from many sources, such as inability to obtain information for

some establishments, difficulties with survey definitions, inability of the respondents to provide correct information, or

mistakes in recording or coding the data obtained. Although they are not specifically measured, the nonsampling errors are

expected to be minimal due to the extensive training of the field economists who gather the survey data by personal visit,

computer edits of the data, and detailed data review.

Appendix A: Nine Census Divisions And States Included In Each Division.

New England Middle Atlantic4 East North Central5 West North Central6

Connecticut

Maine

Massachusetts

New Hampshire

Rhode Island

Vermont

New Jersey

New York

Pennsylvania

Illinois

Indiana

Michigan

Ohio

Wisconsin

Iowa

Kansas

Minnesota

Missouri

Nebraska

North Dakota

South Dakota

South Atlantic East South

Central7

West South

Central Mountain Pacific
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Delaware

District of Columbia

Florida

Georgia

Maryland

North Carolina

South Carolina

Virginia

West Virginia

Alabama

Kentucky

Mississippi

Tennessee

Arkansas

Louisiana

Oklahoma

Texas

Arizona

Colorado

Idaho

Montana

Nevada

New Mexico

Utah

Wyoming

Alaska

California

Hawaii

Oregon

Washington

John E. Buckley

Economist, Division of Compensation Data Analysis and Planning, Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

Telephone: 202-691-6299, E-mail: Buckley.John@bls.gov

Notes

1 Data are presented for eight census divisions; data for the East South Central division are not included because they do not meet BLS

publication standards. Certain series are not published when the number of observations is insufficient to warrant presentation. Prepublication

review of data prevents possible disclosure of information about a specific establishment.

2 For more information on the NCS, see National Compensation Survey: Occupational Wages in the United States, 2001, Bulletin 2552

(Bureau of Labor Statistics, January 2003); see also the NCS website at http://stats.bls.gov/ncs/home.htm. 3 Relative standard errors for all published earnings’ estimates can be found in National Compensation Survey: Occupational Wages in the

United States, 2001, Bulletin 2552; and on the NCS website at http://stats.bls.gov/ncs/home.htm. 4 The Middle Atlantic census division also includes the New York, NY, Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area (which comprises parts of

New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania), and the Philadelphia, PA, Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area (which

comprises parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland).

5 The East North Central census division also includes the Cincinnati, OH, Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area (which comprises parts

of Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana).

6 The West North Central census division also includes the St. Louis, MO, Metropolitan Statistical Area (which comprises parts of Missouri and

Illinois), and the Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN, Metropolitan Statistical Area (which comprises parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin).

7 The East South Central census division also includes the Louisville, KY, Metropolitan Statistical Area (which comprises parts of Kentucky

and Indiana), and the Memphis, TN, Metropolitan Statistical Area (which comprises parts of Tennessee, Arkansas, and Mississippi). As noted

in the text, data for the East South Central division did not meet publishability standards.
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Table 1. Relative pay levels for all civilian workers by eight census divisions, major occupational group, and selected

characteristics, National Compensation Survey, 2000-2001

Major occupational group

United

States 

(1)

Census divisions (2)

New

England

Middle

Atlantic

East

North

Central

West

North

Central

South

Atlantic

West

South

Central

Mountain Pacific

All civilian workers 100 108 115 99 92 94 93 91 109

White-collar occupations 122 141 143 119 111 115 115 109 130

White collar, excluding

sales 131 150 150 124 120 124 126 114 139

Professional specialty

and technical 161 161 192 157 137 155 160 149 169

Executive,

administrative, and

managerial

177 202 199 175 175 164 164 154 179

Sales 85 83 100 96 75 76 76 83 85

Administrative

support 79 87 86 76 73 77 73 72 87

Blue-collar occupations 85 79 91 90 83 79 77 86 90

Precision production,

craft, and repair 106 106 118 110 104 99 95 107 116

Machine operators,

assemblers, and

inspectors

76 70 75 84 79 73 65 67 70

Transportation and

material moving 83 87 91 88 78 76 76 87 91

Handlers, equipment

cleaners, helpers and

laborers

64 62 70 70 63 60 56 61 68

Service occupations 61 65 71 61 58 55 50 53 69

Worker characteristics

Full time (3) 106 114 123 104 98 99 98 96 115

Part time (3) 57 68 61 56 53 50 47 53 65

Union 120 128 123 119 111 107 110 113 131

Nonunion 96 104 112 93 89 92 92 88 101

Time 99 108 115 97 90 92 91 89 108

Incentive 126 110 130 140 137 126 123 120 122

Metropolitan areas 101 109 116 99 95 95 93 89 109

Nonmetropolitan areas – 96 102 97 80 82 89 108 – Footnotes:

(1) U.S. average for all workers = $16.23 = 100.

(2) Data for the East South Central division are not shown because they do not meet BLS publication criteria.

(3) Employees are classified as working full or part time on the basis of the definitions used by the establishment employing them.

Note: Blanks indicate that the data for that cell do not meet BLS publication criteria.
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Table 2. Average (mean) hourly earnings and dispersion percents for all civilian workers by major occupational groups

in eight census divisions, all civilian workers, National Compensation Survey, 2000-2001

Major occupational

groups

Census divisions (1)

New

England

Middle

Atlantic

East

North

Central

West

North

Central

South

Atlantic

West

South

Central

Mountain Pacific Dispersion

percent (2)

White-collar

occupations:

Professional

speciality and

technical

$26.17 $31.12 $25.46 $22.23 $25.10 $25.91 $24.12 $27.42 40

Executive,

administrative, and

managerial

32.83 32.26 28.44 28.48 26.67 26.67 24.94 29.13 32

Sales 13.43 16.18 15.54 12.23 12.28 12.34 13.48 13.78 32

Administrative

support 14.09 13.95 12.28 11.87 12.51 11.91 11.74 14.20 21

Blue-collar occupations:

Precision

production, craft,

and repair

17.22 19.19 17.89 16.87 16.04 15.47 17.37 18.78 24

Machine

operators,

assemblers, and

inspectors

11.43 12.20 13.58 12.90 11.91 10.58 10.87 11.40 28

Transportation and

material moving 14.12 14.83 14.22 12.68 12.40 12.35 14.20 14.69 20

Handlers,

equipment

cleaners, helpers

and laborers

10.11 11.38 11.33 10.27 9.69 9.11 9.82 11.04 25

Service

occupations 10.56 11.58 9.97 9.48 8.95 8.11 8.60 11.19 43

Footnotes:

(1) Data for the East South Central division are not shown because they do not meet BLS publication criteria.

(2) The dispersion percent shows, within an occupational group, the percentage difference between average earnings in the highest paying

census division and the lowest paying division. For example, the average hourly rate of professional specialty and technical workers in the

Middle Atlantic division ($31.12) exceeded the average rate of the same group in the West North Central division ($22.23) by 40 percent.

Note: Average hourly earnings of all U.S. civilian workers = $16.23.

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