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Economic News Release
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Occupational Pay Comparisons Among Metropolitan Areas News Release


Technical Contact:                                                                        USDL 09-0843
     (202) 691-6199  NCSinfo@bls.gov
Media Contact:                                                                            For Release: 10:00 AM EDT
     (202) 691-5902                                                                       Friday, July 24, 2009
Internet Address:
     http://www.bls.gov/ncs


     (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, 2008

     Average pay for civilian workers in the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA metropolitan area was 19 percent
above the national average in 2008, one of 77 metropolitan areas studied by the National Compensation Survey (NCS),
the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today.  The Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
metropolitan area had a pay relative of 77, meaning workers earned an average of 77 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 nine major occupational groups within surveyed metropolitan areas, as well as
averaged across all occupations for each area.  The average pay relative nationally for all occupations and
for each occupational group equals 100.  (See table 1.)

     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 to 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.

     Table A below lists selected metropolitan area pay relatives compared to average pay nationally among
those studied in the NCS.  Table B provides selected metropolitan area pay relatives for each of nine major
occupational groups.  In addition, area-to-area comparisons have been calculated for all 77 metropolitan
areas and are available on the BLS website at http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ocs/payrel.htm.


Table A. Selected metropolitan area pay relatives (of 77 metropolitan areas surveyed)

          Metropolitan Area                          Pay Relative (Average pay nationally = 100)
San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA                                    119
New York-Newark-Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA                               114
Boston-Worcester-Manchester, MA-NH                                    111
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside, CA                                  109
Washington-Baltimore-Northern Virginia, DC-MD-VA-WV                   109
Chicago-Naperville-Michigan City, IL-IN-WI                            108
Philadelphia-Camden-Vineland, PA-NJ-DE-MD                             105
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Gainesville, GA-AL                              100
Houston-Baytown-Huntsville, TX                                         98
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX                                                  97


Table B. Selected metropolitan area-to-national pay relatives for nine major occupational groups, 2008 (of 77 metropolitan areas surveyed)

     Major Occupational Group 		                       Metropolitan Area                     Pay Relative
Management, business, and financial               New York-Newark-Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA             115
                                                  Salinas, CA                                         113

Professional and related                          Salinas, CA                                         120
                                                  San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA                  119

Service                                           San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA                  126
                                                  Salinas, CA                                         123

Sales and related                                 Salinas, CA                                         129
                                                  San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA                  122

Office and administrative support                 San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA                  120
                                                  New York-Newark-Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA             116

Construction and extraction                       New York-Newark-Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA             132
                                                  Chicago-Naperville-Michigan City, IL-IN-WI          131

Installation, maintenance, and repair             Salinas, CA                                         124
                                                  San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA                  117

Production                                        Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Truckee, CA-NV              121
                                                  Bloomington-Normal, IL                              116
                                                  Detroit-Warren-Flint, MI                            116
                                                  Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia, WA                          116

Transportation and material moving                Springfield, MA                                     114
                                                  Fort Collins-Loveland, CO                           113


     The pay relative for construction and extraction occupations in the New York-Newark-Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA area
was 132, meaning the pay in the New York metropolitan area for that occupational group averaged 32 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. (See table 1.)

     Yearly differences in area and occupational group pay relatives do not infer changes in underlying economic
conditions.



 Table 1. Pay relatives for major occupational groups in
 metropolitan areas, National Compensation Survey, July 2008

 (Average pay nationally for all occupations and for each
 occupational group shown = 100.)


                                                      Management,
          Metropolitan Area(1)               All       business,
                                         occupations      and
                                                       financial


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

 Amarillo, TX..........................           89           98
 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Gainesville,
 GA-AL.................................          100          102
 Austin-Round Rock, TX.................           93           92
 Birmingham-Hoover, AL.................           96          103
 Bloomington, IN.......................           90           91
 Bloomington-Normal, IL................          101          100

 Boston-Worcester-Manchester, MA-NH....          111          105
 Brownsville-Harlingen, TX.............           77           90
 Buffalo-Niagara-Cattaraugus, NY.......           99           89
 Charleston-North
 Charleston-Summerville, SC............           92           92
 Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, NC-SC.....           99          105
 Chicago-Naperville-Michigan City,
 IL-IN-WI..............................          108          104

 Cincinnati-Middletown-Wilmington,
 OH-KY-IN..............................           99           95
 Cleveland-Akron-Elyria, OH............           99          100
 Columbus-Marion-Chillicothe, OH.......           99           96
 Corpus Christi, TX....................           89           85
 Dallas-Fort Worth, TX.................           97           99
 Dayton-Springfield-Greenville, OH.....           96          100

 Denver-Aurora-Boulder, CO.............          104          100
 Detroit-Warren-Flint, MI..............          104           95
 Elkhart-Goshen, IN....................           96           96
 Fort Collins-Loveland, CO.............          102           93
 Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI..............           99           90
 Great Falls, MT.......................           88           86

 Greensboro-High Point, NC.............           95          100
 Greenville-Mauldin-Easley, SC.........           93          105
 Hartford-West Hartford-Willimantic,
 CT....................................          111          105
 Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC..........           94           95
 Honolulu, HI..........................          105          105
 Houston-Baytown-Huntsville, TX........           98          103

 Huntsville-Decatur, AL................           96           95

 (Continued)

 (Average pay nationally for all occupations and for each occupational group shown = 100.)



          Metropolitan Area(1)          Professional    Service
                                         and related



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

 Amarillo, TX..........................           83           91
 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Gainesville,
 GA-AL.................................          102           96
 Austin-Round Rock, TX.................           92           91
 Birmingham-Hoover, AL.................          100           96
 Bloomington, IN.......................           91           86
 Bloomington-Normal, IL................          102          106

 Boston-Worcester-Manchester, MA-NH....          108          114
 Brownsville-Harlingen, TX.............           87           80
 Buffalo-Niagara-Cattaraugus, NY.......           92          107
 Charleston-North
 Charleston-Summerville, SC............           95           87
 Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, NC-SC.....           94           97
 Chicago-Naperville-Michigan City,
 IL-IN-WI..............................          107          107

 Cincinnati-Middletown-Wilmington,
 OH-KY-IN..............................          102          101
 Cleveland-Akron-Elyria, OH............           97          100
 Columbus-Marion-Chillicothe, OH.......           96          102
 Corpus Christi, TX....................           88           85
 Dallas-Fort Worth, TX.................           99           92
 Dayton-Springfield-Greenville, OH.....           92           95

 Denver-Aurora-Boulder, CO.............          103          106
 Detroit-Warren-Flint, MI..............          103          100
 Elkhart-Goshen, IN....................           92           94
 Fort Collins-Loveland, CO.............           96           99
 Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI..............           95          105
 Great Falls, MT.......................           77           96

 Greensboro-High Point, NC.............           94           92
 Greenville-Mauldin-Easley, SC.........           88           94
 Hartford-West Hartford-Willimantic,
 CT....................................          108          120
 Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC..........           84           89
 Honolulu, HI..........................          101          116
 Houston-Baytown-Huntsville, TX........          101           85

 Huntsville-Decatur, AL................           96           94

 (Continued)

 (Average pay nationally for all occupations and for each occupational group shown = 100.)


                                                      Office and
          Metropolitan Area(1)            Sales and  administra-
                                           related   tive support



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

 Amarillo, TX..........................           91           89
 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Gainesville,
 GA-AL.................................           96          105
 Austin-Round Rock, TX.................           95           94
 Birmingham-Hoover, AL.................           93           97
 Bloomington, IN.......................           83           92
 Bloomington-Normal, IL................          102           95

 Boston-Worcester-Manchester, MA-NH....          109          115
 Brownsville-Harlingen, TX.............           70           76
 Buffalo-Niagara-Cattaraugus, NY.......           93           95
 Charleston-North
 Charleston-Summerville, SC............           96           95
 Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, NC-SC.....          100           99
 Chicago-Naperville-Michigan City,
 IL-IN-WI..............................          107          110

 Cincinnati-Middletown-Wilmington,
 OH-KY-IN..............................           94           99
 Cleveland-Akron-Elyria, OH............           94          100
 Columbus-Marion-Chillicothe, OH.......          100           98
 Corpus Christi, TX....................           89           86
 Dallas-Fort Worth, TX.................          105          100
 Dayton-Springfield-Greenville, OH.....           95           91

 Denver-Aurora-Boulder, CO.............          104          104
 Detroit-Warren-Flint, MI..............           99          103
 Elkhart-Goshen, IN....................           91           93
 Fort Collins-Loveland, CO.............          103          104
 Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI..............          106           99
 Great Falls, MT.......................           87           80

 Greensboro-High Point, NC.............           99           98
 Greenville-Mauldin-Easley, SC.........           88           97
 Hartford-West Hartford-Willimantic,
 CT....................................          109          113
 Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC..........           94           93
 Honolulu, HI..........................          109           96
 Houston-Baytown-Huntsville, TX........          102           99

 Huntsville-Decatur, AL................           99           95

 (Continued)

 (Average pay nationally for all occupations and for each occupational group shown = 100.)


                                        Construction Installation,
          Metropolitan Area(1)               and     maintenance,
                                         extraction   and repair


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

 Amarillo, TX..........................           86           91
 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Gainesville,
 GA-AL.................................           88          101
 Austin-Round Rock, TX.................           82          103
 Birmingham-Hoover, AL.................           85          102
 Bloomington, IN.......................           77           81
 Bloomington-Normal, IL................          103           94

 Boston-Worcester-Manchester, MA-NH....          120          113
 Brownsville-Harlingen, TX.............           66           90
 Buffalo-Niagara-Cattaraugus, NY.......          113          101
 Charleston-North
 Charleston-Summerville, SC............           78           86
 Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, NC-SC.....           91           99
 Chicago-Naperville-Michigan City,
 IL-IN-WI..............................          131          110

 Cincinnati-Middletown-Wilmington,
 OH-KY-IN..............................           91          100
 Cleveland-Akron-Elyria, OH............          103          105
 Columbus-Marion-Chillicothe, OH.......           99           99
 Corpus Christi, TX....................           99          101
 Dallas-Fort Worth, TX.................           90           97
 Dayton-Springfield-Greenville, OH.....           94           93

 Denver-Aurora-Boulder, CO.............           98          116
 Detroit-Warren-Flint, MI..............          100           99
 Elkhart-Goshen, IN....................          110           87
 Fort Collins-Loveland, CO.............          103          108
 Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI..............          108           94
 Great Falls, MT.......................          114           98

 Greensboro-High Point, NC.............           88           87
 Greenville-Mauldin-Easley, SC.........           78           85
 Hartford-West Hartford-Willimantic,
 CT....................................          113          107
 Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC..........           97           93
 Honolulu, HI..........................          118          112
 Houston-Baytown-Huntsville, TX........           91           96

 Huntsville-Decatur, AL................           89           92

 (Continued)

 (Average pay nationally for all occupations and for each occupational group shown = 100.)


                                                      Transporta-
          Metropolitan Area(1)           Production     tion and
                                                        material
                                                         moving


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

 Amarillo, TX..........................           94           92
 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Gainesville,
 GA-AL.................................          103          101
 Austin-Round Rock, TX.................           91           92
 Birmingham-Hoover, AL.................           91          102
 Bloomington, IN.......................           99          104
 Bloomington-Normal, IL................          116           99

 Boston-Worcester-Manchester, MA-NH....          106          110
 Brownsville-Harlingen, TX.............           75           72
 Buffalo-Niagara-Cattaraugus, NY.......          108           98
 Charleston-North
 Charleston-Summerville, SC............          102           99
 Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, NC-SC.....          103           98
 Chicago-Naperville-Michigan City,
 IL-IN-WI..............................          103          105

 Cincinnati-Middletown-Wilmington,
 OH-KY-IN..............................          100          103
 Cleveland-Akron-Elyria, OH............          102          102
 Columbus-Marion-Chillicothe, OH.......          101          100
 Corpus Christi, TX....................           92           87
 Dallas-Fort Worth, TX.................           91          102
 Dayton-Springfield-Greenville, OH.....          105          102

 Denver-Aurora-Boulder, CO.............          104          104
 Detroit-Warren-Flint, MI..............          116          108
 Elkhart-Goshen, IN....................           98          102
 Fort Collins-Loveland, CO.............          103          113
 Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI..............          101           98
 Great Falls, MT.......................           93           97

 Greensboro-High Point, NC.............           99          103
 Greenville-Mauldin-Easley, SC.........          106           93
 Hartford-West Hartford-Willimantic,
 CT....................................          112          109
 Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC..........          101          101
 Honolulu, HI..........................          109           96
 Houston-Baytown-Huntsville, TX........          100           94

 Huntsville-Decatur, AL................           99          101

 (Continued)

 (Average pay nationally for all occupations and for each occupational group shown = 100.)


                                                      Management,
          Metropolitan Area(1)               All       business,
                                         occupations      and
                                                       financial


 Indianapolis-Anderson-Columbus, IN....           95           81
 Iowa City, IA.........................           97           98
 Johnstown, PA.........................           86           83
 Kansas City, MO-KS....................           99           92
 Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, WA..........          102          102

 Knoxville, TN.........................           91          105
 Lincoln, NE...........................           88           83
 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside,
 CA....................................          109          110
 Louisville/Jefferson
 County-Elizabethtown-Scottsburg,
 KY-IN.................................           94           89
 Memphis, TN-MS-AR.....................           94           93
 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach,
 FL....................................           98          105

 Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, WI.........           99           97
 Minneapolis-St. Paul-St. Cloud,
 MN-WI.................................          108          108
 Mobile, AL............................           92           94
 New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, LA.......           97           93
 New York-Newark-Bridgeport,
 NY-NJ-CT-PA...........................          114          115
 Ocala, FL.............................           89           77

 Oklahoma City, OK.....................           92           87
 Orlando-Kissimmee, FL.................           91           89
 Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL.....           92           86
 Philadelphia-Camden-Vineland,
 PA-NJ-DE-MD...........................          105          104
 Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ...........           99          102
 Pittsburgh-New Castle, PA.............           95           88

 Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA...          105           98
 Providence-New Bedford-Fall River,
 RI-MA.................................          108          102
 Reading, PA...........................          101          106
 Reno-Sparks, NV.......................           99           96
 Richmond, VA..........................           97           97
 Rochester, NY.........................           99           91

 Rockford, IL..........................           98           89

 (Continued)

 (Average pay nationally for all occupations and for each occupational group shown = 100.)



          Metropolitan Area(1)          Professional    Service
                                         and related


 Indianapolis-Anderson-Columbus, IN....           97           93
 Iowa City, IA.........................           93          101
 Johnstown, PA.........................           84           91
 Kansas City, MO-KS....................           98           98
 Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, WA..........           95          111

 Knoxville, TN.........................           99           82
 Lincoln, NE...........................           83           91
 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside,
 CA....................................          110          112
 Louisville/Jefferson
 County-Elizabethtown-Scottsburg,
 KY-IN.................................           91           97
 Memphis, TN-MS-AR.....................           92           86
 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach,
 FL....................................           96          101

 Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, WI.........           95           97
 Minneapolis-St. Paul-St. Cloud,
 MN-WI.................................          103          116
 Mobile, AL............................           91           90
 New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, LA.......          102           95
 New York-Newark-Bridgeport,
 NY-NJ-CT-PA...........................          115          114
 Ocala, FL.............................           84           93

 Oklahoma City, OK.....................           90           91
 Orlando-Kissimmee, FL.................           87           90
 Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL.....           86           96
 Philadelphia-Camden-Vineland,
 PA-NJ-DE-MD...........................          107          104
 Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ...........          101           99
 Pittsburgh-New Castle, PA.............           94           95

 Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA...          100          112
 Providence-New Bedford-Fall River,
 RI-MA.................................          111          113
 Reading, PA...........................           92           99
 Reno-Sparks, NV.......................           98           99
 Richmond, VA..........................           96           97
 Rochester, NY.........................           98          109

 Rockford, IL..........................           97          101

 (Continued)

 (Average pay nationally for all occupations and for each occupational group shown = 100.)


                                                      Office and
          Metropolitan Area(1)            Sales and  administra-
                                           related   tive support


 Indianapolis-Anderson-Columbus, IN....           84           97
 Iowa City, IA.........................           96           99
 Johnstown, PA.........................           85           87
 Kansas City, MO-KS....................          102           98
 Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, WA..........          103           96

 Knoxville, TN.........................           98           90
 Lincoln, NE...........................           85           88
 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside,
 CA....................................          111          107
 Louisville/Jefferson
 County-Elizabethtown-Scottsburg,
 KY-IN.................................          102           97
 Memphis, TN-MS-AR.....................          102           97
 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach,
 FL....................................           97          100

 Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, WI.........          106          101
 Minneapolis-St. Paul-St. Cloud,
 MN-WI.................................          107          104
 Mobile, AL............................           93           93
 New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, LA.......           97           97
 New York-Newark-Bridgeport,
 NY-NJ-CT-PA...........................          113          116
 Ocala, FL.............................           91           90

 Oklahoma City, OK.....................           95           89
 Orlando-Kissimmee, FL.................           96           90
 Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL.....           93           88
 Philadelphia-Camden-Vineland,
 PA-NJ-DE-MD...........................           97          106
 Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ...........          108           99
 Pittsburgh-New Castle, PA.............           92           97

 Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA...          109          107
 Providence-New Bedford-Fall River,
 RI-MA.................................          102          106
 Reading, PA...........................          107          100
 Reno-Sparks, NV.......................          106          100
 Richmond, VA..........................           94          101
 Rochester, NY.........................           98           99

 Rockford, IL..........................           97           96

 (Continued)

 (Average pay nationally for all occupations and for each occupational group shown = 100.)


                                        Construction Installation,
          Metropolitan Area(1)               and     maintenance,
                                         extraction   and repair


 Indianapolis-Anderson-Columbus, IN....           92           96
 Iowa City, IA.........................          104          100
 Johnstown, PA.........................           91           88
 Kansas City, MO-KS....................           98           98
 Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, WA..........          107          100

 Knoxville, TN.........................           78           82
 Lincoln, NE...........................           85           89
 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside,
 CA....................................          111          110
 Louisville/Jefferson
 County-Elizabethtown-Scottsburg,
 KY-IN.................................           93           91
 Memphis, TN-MS-AR.....................           95           99
 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach,
 FL....................................           91           96

 Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, WI.........          105           98
 Minneapolis-St. Paul-St. Cloud,
 MN-WI.................................          114          102
 Mobile, AL............................           93           88
 New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, LA.......           94           95
 New York-Newark-Bridgeport,
 NY-NJ-CT-PA...........................          132          113
 Ocala, FL.............................           76          101

 Oklahoma City, OK.....................          114           96
 Orlando-Kissimmee, FL.................           94           96
 Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL.....           93           99
 Philadelphia-Camden-Vineland,
 PA-NJ-DE-MD...........................          104          110
 Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ...........           91          102
 Pittsburgh-New Castle, PA.............           93           95

 Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA...          114          116
 Providence-New Bedford-Fall River,
 RI-MA.................................          110          111
 Reading, PA...........................          102           99
 Reno-Sparks, NV.......................           88          102
 Richmond, VA..........................           88           99
 Rochester, NY.........................           95           88

 Rockford, IL..........................          110           96

 (Continued)

 (Average pay nationally for all occupations and for each occupational group shown = 100.)


                                                     Transporta-
          Metropolitan Area(1)           Production    tion and
                                                       material
                                                        moving


 Indianapolis-Anderson-Columbus, IN....          109          100
 Iowa City, IA.........................           99           94
 Johnstown, PA.........................           85           83
 Kansas City, MO-KS....................          102           97
 Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, WA..........          100          105

 Knoxville, TN.........................           86           96
 Lincoln, NE...........................           88           99
 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside,
 CA....................................           99          102
 Louisville/Jefferson
 County-Elizabethtown-Scottsburg,
 KY-IN.................................          102           91
 Memphis, TN-MS-AR.....................           94           94
 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach,
 FL....................................           92           97

 Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, WI.........          105          104
 Minneapolis-St. Paul-St. Cloud,
 MN-WI.................................          111          107
 Mobile, AL............................           96           98
 New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, LA.......          104          101
 New York-Newark-Bridgeport,
 NY-NJ-CT-PA...........................          107          108
 Ocala, FL.............................           94          101

 Oklahoma City, OK.....................           85           86
 Orlando-Kissimmee, FL.................           99          108
 Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL.....          107          112
 Philadelphia-Camden-Vineland,
 PA-NJ-DE-MD...........................           99          104
 Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ...........           96          100
 Pittsburgh-New Castle, PA.............           97           95

 Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA...          103          102
 Providence-New Bedford-Fall River,
 RI-MA.................................          110          108
 Reading, PA...........................          102           99
 Reno-Sparks, NV.......................           98          101
 Richmond, VA..........................          105           99
 Rochester, NY.........................          103           98

 Rockford, IL..........................          100          103

 (Continued)

 (Average pay nationally for all occupations and for each occupational group shown = 100.)


                                                      Management,
          Metropolitan Area(1)               All       business,
                                         occupations      and
                                                       financial


 Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Truckee,
 CA-NV.................................          109          106
 Salinas, CA...........................          113          113
 San Antonio, TX.......................           91           95
 San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA.....          109          106
 San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA....          119          111

 Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia, WA............          110          103
 Springfield, MA.......................          110          100
 Springfield, MO.......................           89           84
 St. Louis, MO-IL......................          104          100
 Tallahassee, FL.......................           89           83
 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL...           93           93

 Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News,
 VA-NC.................................           92           85
 Visalia-Porterville, CA...............          100           89
 Washington-Baltimore-Northern
 Virginia, DC-MD-VA-WV.................          109          105
 York-Hanover, PA......................           95          110
 Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA.....           93           99

 (Continued)

 (Average pay nationally for all occupations and for each occupational group shown = 100.)


          Metropolitan Area(1)          Professional    Service
                                         and related


 Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Truckee,
 CA-NV.................................          114          112
 Salinas, CA...........................          120          123
 San Antonio, TX.......................           93           89
 San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA.....          107          118
 San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA....          119          126

 Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia, WA............          106          117
 Springfield, MA.......................          110          109
 Springfield, MO.......................           85           88
 St. Louis, MO-IL......................          100           98
 Tallahassee, FL.......................           82           95
 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL...           90           94

 Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News,
 VA-NC.................................           91           95
 Visalia-Porterville, CA...............          103          104
 Washington-Baltimore-Northern
 Virginia, DC-MD-VA-WV.................          110          106
 York-Hanover, PA......................           98           96
 Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA.....           90           93

 (Continued)

 (Average pay nationally for all occupations and for each occupational group shown = 100.)


                                                      Office and
          Metropolitan Area(1)            Sales and  administra-
                                           related   tive support


 Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Truckee,
 CA-NV.................................          108          106
 Salinas, CA...........................          129          108
 San Antonio, TX.......................           86           90
 San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA.....          103          105
 San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA....          122          120

 Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia, WA............          113          105
 Springfield, MA.......................          111          108
 Springfield, MO.......................           93           87
 St. Louis, MO-IL......................           98          101
 Tallahassee, FL.......................           91           89
 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL...          100           96

 Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News,
 VA-NC.................................           95           91
 Visalia-Porterville, CA...............          102           96
 Washington-Baltimore-Northern
 Virginia, DC-MD-VA-WV.................          108          112
 York-Hanover, PA......................           90           93
 Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA.....           87           94

 (Continued)

 (Average pay nationally for all occupations and for each occupational group shown = 100.)


                                        Construction Installation,
          Metropolitan Area(1)               and     maintenance,
                                         extraction   and repair


 Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Truckee,
 CA-NV.................................          113          110
 Salinas, CA...........................          126          124
 San Antonio, TX.......................          100           99
 San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA.....          109          109
 San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA....          123          117

 Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia, WA............          110          106
 Springfield, MA.......................          109           99
 Springfield, MO.......................           79           86
 St. Louis, MO-IL......................          116          112
 Tallahassee, FL.......................           91           84
 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL...          100           91

 Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News,
 VA-NC.................................           85           93
 Visalia-Porterville, CA...............           87           96
 Washington-Baltimore-Northern
 Virginia, DC-MD-VA-WV.................          101          114
 York-Hanover, PA......................           98           92
 Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA.....           90           89

 (Continued)

 (Average pay nationally for all occupations and for each occupational group shown = 100.)


                                                     Transporta-
          Metropolitan Area(1)           Production    tion and
                                                       material
                                                        moving


 Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Truckee,
 CA-NV.................................          121          109
 Salinas, CA...........................           93          104
 San Antonio, TX.......................           93           91
 San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA.....          106          101
 San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA....          108          109

 Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia, WA............          116          110
 Springfield, MA.......................          110          114
 Springfield, MO.......................           94           98
 St. Louis, MO-IL......................          108          110
 Tallahassee, FL.......................           92           94
 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL...           91           97

 Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News,
 VA-NC.................................           89           92
 Visalia-Porterville, CA...............          103          107
 Washington-Baltimore-Northern
 Virginia, DC-MD-VA-WV.................          105          108
 York-Hanover, PA......................           96           98
 Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA.....           94          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.



                                                   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 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 nearly 10 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 wages.  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 metropolitan area is $33.14 and
the average pay for construction and extraction workers in the United States is $20.91.(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:

     ($33.14 ÷ $20.91) × 100 ≅ 158

     This comparison does not control for differences between New York and the nation in the mix of occupations,
industries, and other factors.  A more accurate estimate of the geographic effect of wages in New York 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 New York relative to the nation
as a whole, the pay relative for construction and extraction occupations in New York is 132.

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.  This release provides data for the civilian economy, which includes the
total private nonfarm economy excluding private households, and the public sector excluding the federal government.
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 James E. Smith
and Robert W. Van Giezen, "Change Comes to the National Compensation Survey Locality Wage Bulletins," Compensation
and Working Conditions Online, January 24, 2007 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.   With
the collection of the 2008 data, the NCS is in its second 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.  For more information on the area definitions, see Jason Techonica, "New Area Sample Selected for the
National Compensation Survey," Compensation and Working Conditions Online, March, 30 2005 at
http://www.bls.gov/opub/cwc/cm20050318ar01p1.htm.

     Historical pay relatives data are available for the survey years 1992-1996, 1998, 2002, 2004-2007.  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 since 2004 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 caution.

     Pay relatives were estimated using a multivariate regression technique designed 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 NCS" Monthly Labor Review,
March 2005, pp. 46-53, and Parastou Karen Shahpoori, "Pay Relatives for Major Metropolitan Areas," Compensation and
Working Conditions Online, April 28, 2003.

Obtaining information

     Articles, bulletins, and other information from the National Compensation Survey 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.


__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Footnotes

  (1) Data for this example are based on the May 2008 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates,
http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oessrcma.htm.

  (2) Average pay for construction and extraction workers in New York 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 2008 and the forthcoming National
Compensation Survey: Occupational Wages in the United States, 2008, http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ocs/compub.htm.


Last Modified Date: May 26, 2010