Occupational Compensation

Do Urban Workers
Earn More Than
Their Country
Cousins?

BY ELIZABETH DIETZ AND JORDAN PFUNTNER

“God made the country, and man made the town.*—Willlam Cowper

In the past, workers tended to receive lower wages in
nonmetropolitan areas than in metropolitan ones.' But, is
this still true, occupation by occupation? What kinds of
jobs earn the highest premium for working in metropolitan
areas? A look at recent data from the Occupational Com-
pensation Survey Program (OCSP) gives interesting answers
to these questions. While data from the 1994 national sur-
vey show that workers in nonmetropolitan areas typically
average about 90 percent of what their metropolitan coun-
terparts earn for comparable jobs, pay relationships vary
considerably from job to job.

Although the main focus of the OCSP is providing wage
and salary information for major metropolitan areas, the
program does include the nonmetropolitan portions of the
country in its national database. There are about 2,300
nonmetropolitan counties in the United States, and almost
10 million workers, 16 percent of the U.S. workforce, work
in them. To represent this segment of the country, BLS
selected a sample of 70 nonmetropolitan counties. This
sample was split in half, each half of which is surveyed on
a 2-year rotating basis.

Of the 144 occupational work levels studied, 65 yielded
comparable data for metropolitan and nonmetropolitan ar-
eas. Pay rates were higher in metropolitan areas for 61 of
the 65 jobs. Among professional occupations (accountants,
engineers, and nurses), pay in nonmetropolitan areas aver-
aged 90 to 97 percent of that in metropolitan areas. Excep-

Elizabeth Dietz and Jordan Pfuntner are economists in the Division of
‘Compensation Data Analysis and Planning, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Tele-
phone (202) 606-6287.

39 Compensation and Working Conditions June 1996

tions to this pattern were registered nurses II, who aver-
aged 81 percent of the rates recorded in metropolitan areas,
and entry-level engineers where rural workers enjoyed a 1-
percent pay advantage over their urban counterparts. A
similar pattern held for administrative workers (buyers/con-
tracting specialists, computer programmers, computer sys-
tems analysts, and personnel specialists), where rural pay
averaged 88 to 96 percent of urban pay.

Metropolitan pay advantages were slightly larger among
comparable technical occupations (computer operators,
drafters, civil engineering technicians, licensed practical
nurses, and nursing assistants), where rural pay averaged
between 81 and 92 percent of urban pay.

Among the occupational groups surveyed, the largest pay
variations were noted for protective services jobs.

Table 1. Protective services occupations, average weekly
earings, 1994

Ratio of
‘Metro- | Nonmetro-| nonmetro-
‘Occupation politan politan | politan to
areas: areas: metro-
politan
Corrections officers $564 $401 0.87
Firefighters 651 475 3
Police officers | 684 520 76

Workers in these jobs are virtually all employed by State
and local governments.

Fifteen clerical jobs yielded comparable data, and aver-
age pay rates were higher for each job in metropolitan ar-
eas. The pattern was similar to that of professional, ad-



ministrative, and technical occupations: Average pay rates
in rural counties ranged from 83 percent of urban pay for
general clerks IV to 95 percent for personnel assistants II;
accounting clerks II and IV, general clerks II, key entry
operators I, and switchboard operators-receptionists all av-
eraged 89 percent.

Data were published for both types of geographic areas
for 16 blue-collar jobs. The predominant pattern noted for
white-collar workers applied to maintenance and toolroom
workers. Nonmetropolitan averages expressed as a per-
centage of metropolitan averages ranged from 79 percent
(motor vehicle maintenance mechanics) to 97 percent (main-
tenance machinists).

A different pattern emerged for custodial and material
movement workers. Drivers of tractor-trailers for estab-
lishments based in nonmetropolitan areas averaged $9.83
per hour, 70 percent of the $14.14 per hour recorded for
their city counterparts. On the other hand, guards I aver-
aged $7.43 in rural settings, 11 percent above the $6.71
paid to guards in urban worksites. Guards was the only
occupation where rural workers enjoyed a significant pay
advantage over urban workers. The other jobs in this group
ranged widely as the following table shows:

Table 2. Custodial and materia! movement occupations,

Looking across occupational categories, some interest-
ing results are found. Health services jobs tended to show
nonmetropolitan to metropolitan ratios in the 80 to 90 per-
cent range. Registered nurses level I and nursing assis-
tants level III in nonmetropolitan areas earned about 90
percent of their metropolitan counterparts, while registered
nurses level II, licensed practical nurses level II, and nurs-
ing assistants level II earned closer to 80 percent.

Data for individual counties met publication standards
for about 20 of the 70 nonmetropolitan counties surveyed
in 1993-94. Although the counties yielding publishable
data should not be construed as representative or typical
counties, a look at individual county data shows wide pay
differences across the country. Janitors, the most populous
job surveyed, earned $7.57 per hour nationwide, and $7.12
in nonmetropolitan areas in 1993. Among the counties
surveyed in 1993, average hourly earnings for janitors in
San Luis Obispo County, California were $10.27, nearly
double the $5.16 rate for janitors in Acadia Parish, Louisi-
ana,

Protective services jobs also showed wide dispersion in
Pay rates. For the nonmetropolitan sections of the Nation
as a whole, weekly earnings for firefighters averaged $475
in 1994. Among the counties surveyed in 1994, firefighters
in Greenwood County, South Carolina earned $363 per week

average hourly earnings, 1994 .
on average, about half the $660 weekly earings recorded
Metro. |N Ratio of for such personnel in Sweetwater County, Wyoming.
Occupation poltan ‘pol me ot bh ‘e Clearly, when workers in similar jobs are examined,
metro- workers in urban workplaces typically earn more than their
politan Tural compatriots. What this study cannot say, however, is
samings whether one class of worker is better off. The differences
Forklift operators. $11.56 | $8.91 077 in occupational earnings mentioned here are based only on
Guards 1 6.71 7.43 41 tes. B i 7
a 700 roa "oe pay rat . jecause this sind does not compare other fac.
janitors handling laborers 971 734 6 tors, such as nonwage nefits, cost of living, and differ-
Shipping and receiving clerks 10.31 9.08 88 ences in amenities between metropolitan and
Tener 3.89 a2 95 nonmetropolitan areas, the findings cannot be extended to
Medium truck 13.96 13.21 ‘95 gauge the relative well-being of urban versus rural work-
Heavy truck 12.96 | 11.11 86 ers.
Tractor-trailer 14.14 9.83 70
Warehouse specialists 12.09 11.10 92
—ENDNOTE—

' The Bureau's Covered Employment and Wages program annual aver-
age pay news releases indicate that historically workers tend to receive lower
‘wages in nonmetropolitan areas than in metropolitan ones.

Compensation and Working Conditions June 1996 40



Ratio of rural pay to urban pay, selected occupations, 1994

Engineers IV Computer Computer Police General Machinery Janitors
eae operators | officers | clerks It mechanics
a ts I

Wi Ratio of rural to urban pay |

41 Compensation and Working Conditions June 1996