Occupational Pay Comparisons, United States, 1995 __________________________________________________ U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics August 1997 Summary 97-11 Pay for professional occupations in Boston, MA, and Columbus, OH, equaled the U.S. average (100 percent). These findings are based on relative-pay data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' 1995 Occupational Compensation Survey (OCS). Pay relatives, which express pay levels for occupations by area as a percent of national pay levels, facilitate pay comparisons for occupational groups. The variation in pay between areas was the smallest for professional occupations, with the lowest pay only 5 points below the national average in several cities and the highest, 11 percent above in Oakland, CA. The difference in pay relatives was only slightly larger for administrative occupations, with the lowest, 92 percent, in Huntsville, AL, and the highest, 113 percent in San Francisco, CA. Differences in area pay relatives were similar for technical occupations. Clerical occupations showed greater variations in pay between areas, with the lowest pay, 81 percent in Corpus Christi, TX, and the highest, 120 percent in San Francisco, CA. For material movement occupations, pay was highest, 30 percent above national average, in Nassau-Suffolk, NY. The lowest pay in this occupational group was 16 percent below the national average-in New Orleans, LA and Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC. Pay varied the most for employees in protective service occupations. The range was 100 points, with the lowest pay, 31 percent below the national average, in Scotts Bluff County, NE, and the highest in Bergen-Passaic, NJ, 69 percent above. Other areas with high pay in protective service occupations were Nassau-Suffolk, NY and Anaheim-Santa-Ana, CA-both at 51 percent above the national average. Pay for janitors also showed considerable variation, ranging from a low of 67 percent in New Orleans, LA and Houston, TX to a high of 159 percent in New York, NY. On a national level, establishment characteristics, such as size, industry, region and location, influenced pay differentials (see table 2). Pay in metropolitan areas exceeded that in nonmetropolitan areas for all occupations where comparisons were possible in 1995; differences ranged from a low of 6 percent for professional occupations to a high of 36 percent for protective service occupations. When differences by region are considered, they were again slight for professional occupations and considerably larger for protective service occupations, material movement occupations and janitors. When broken out by establishment size, the data show higher pay relatives for blue collar and protective service occupations in the largest establishments, those with 2,500 workers or more. The differences for white collar occupations were slight. Pay relatives are the result of dividing pay for an occupational group in a particular area or for a particular industry by the corresponding national pay level, and multiplying by 100. Pay relatives are calculated for all areas surveyed in 1995 and some areas surveyed in either November 1994, December 1994, January 1996, or February 1996. Areas included from 1994 and 1996 were not surveyed in 1995. See the technical note on page 2 of this summary for additional information about pay relative computation. Table 1 shows area pay relatives, comparing each OCS area to the national estimates; table 2 shows establishment characteristics pay relatives, contrasting national data for establishments with certain characteristics, such as employment level and region, against national data for all establishments. Additional pay relative data will be available in Occupational Compensation Survey: National Summary, 1995. This publication, to come out this spring, will present pay relatives for over 100 localities along with detailed pay data for individual occupational levels for both the nation and separate localities. Technical Note OCS locality surveys cover establishments in the continental United States employing 50 workers or more in all industries, as classified by The Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Manual, excluding agriculture, the Federal government, private households, and the self- employed. Published survey bulletins, available upon request, provide some industry detail along with occupational pay distributions and a description of survey methods. The OCS localities listed in table 1 refer to metropolitan statistical areas (MSA) and primary metropolitan statistical areas (PMSA) as defined by the Office of Management and Budget, and nonmetropolitan counties. Pay relative definition A percentage measure relating average pay levels for an occupational group to national pay for the same levels S (US Workers j * Comparison Mean j) * 100 ________________________________ S (US Workers j * US Mean j * ECI Factor) where j = published occupations in comparison (area or characteristic) The following procedure, which reduces the effect of differing occupational composition as a factor in pay levels, is the method of pay relative construction: 1. Numerator computation (comparison base). Multiplying average pay ("comparison mean") for each publishable occupational level in a comparison area or characteristic, such as industry, with the corresponding national employment ("US workers"), results in aggregate pay levels. The sum of these products for each occupation ("j") included in the occupational group equals the comparison base (numerator) for that occupational group. 2. Denominator computation (national base). National average pay ("US mean") for comparable occupational levels multiplied by the corresponding national employment ("US workers") results in aggregate pay levels. Summing the products of these jobs produces a national base (denominator) for each occupational group. The national estimates (available in Summary 97-6, Occupational Pay in the United States, 1995) represent the aggregation of data from a statistically representative area sample, and reflect an average payroll reference month of November 1995. 3. Reference month adjustment. Because data collection for OCS localities occurred throughout 1995, average payroll reference months differ among localities. The use of appropriate Employment Cost Index components ("ECI factor") may be necessary to adjust the national base to match the reference month of the locality being compared in an area comparison. 4. Pay relative computation. Dividing the comparison base by the corresponding national base and multiplying the result by 100 yields the area pay relative. The national pay relative corresponds to 100. If, for example, an area pay relative is 90, this indicates that the area's average pay for an occupational group is 90 percent of the nationwide pay level, or 10 percent below the national average. These tables show pay relatives only if the national employment which corresponds to the comparison's published occupations equals at least 70 percent of the national total employment of the entire occupational group. Weekly pay data used in computing pay relatives for white- collar and protective service occupations refer to the standard work week (rounded to the nearest tenth of an hour) for which employees receive regular straight time salaries (exclusive of overtime pay at regular and/or premium rates). Hourly pay differentials may be more significant than reflected in the weekly averages. For example, New York, NY, and Houston, TX, both had pay relatives of 109 for administrative occupations in all industries (table 1). However, in 1995, the average workweek for this group was up to 2.8 hours shorter in New York than in Houston. When based on hourly pay, the Houston all-industries pay relative for administrative occupations remains at 109, while the New York pay relative rises to 116. Consult individual area bulletins and summaries for standard work week data. Field economists from the Bureau's eight regional offices collected the survey data which provide the basis for these pay comparisons. Without the cooperation of the many private firms and government jurisdictions that provided pay data, this report would not have been possible. The Bureau thanks all survey respondents for their cooperation. For further information on this program, please call (202) 606-6220. You may also obtain information on the program's Internet web site. The address is http://stats.bls.gov/oschome.htm. Material in this summary is in the public domain and, with appropriate credit, may be reproduced without permis- sion. This information will be made available to sensory- impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 606- 7828; TDD phone: (202) 606-5897; TDD message referral phone: (800) 326-2577. NOTE: Job definitions for attorneys and engineers were revised for a number of surveys in 1995. The job definitions were expanded so that attorneys now include prosecuting attorneys and public defenders, and engineers include industrial engineers and quality control engineers. Thus, data for the professional occupational group may be affected by these changes. Table 1. Pay relatives for occupational groups, selected areas, 1995 Occupational group State and area(1) Janitors Professional Administrative Technical Protective service Clerical Maintenance Material movement Alabama Huntsville............................ 95 92 96 75 93 91 85 76 Arizona Apache................................ - - - - - - - 98 Phoenix............................... 98 96 97 - 87 96 101 80 Arkansas Little Rock±North Little Rock......... - - - - 90 85 - 70 California Anaheim±Santa Ana..................... 106 106 105 151 111 109 100 87 Los Angeles±Long Beach................ 103 106 108 137 113 - - 98 Oakland............................... 111 112 112 139 117 116 121 128 Riverside±San Bernardino.............. 99 101 - 131 104 103 101 111 Sacramento............................ 95 102 108 - 108 107 108 120 San Diego............................. 96 100 98 123 101 103 98 97 San Francisco......................... 109 113 110 145 120 - - 146 Santa Barbara±Santa Maria± Lompac(2).......................... 104 - 107 123 106 102 - 106 Colorado Denver................................ 103 98 101 108 97 101 108 92 Connecticut Danbury............................... - - - - 105 - - 109 New London±Norwich.................... - - - - - - - 116 Delaware Wilmington............................ - - 111 - 106 110 114 100 District of Columbia Washington............................ 101 102 103 106 109 107 110 93 Florida Miami±Hialeah......................... 101 101 - 113 94 92 87 78 Tampa±St. Petersburg± Clearwater......................... 99 101 96 92 89 86 87 78 West Palm Beach....................... - - - 105 95 83 - 89 Georgia Atlanta............................... 95 98 101 77 101 95 - 80 Decatur............................... - - - - - - - 76 Idaho Bannock County........................ - - - - - - - 85 Illinois Chicago............................... 103 105 103 124 107 113 118 106 Vermilion County...................... - - - 92 94 - - 85 Indiana Elkhart-Goshen........................ - - - - 93 88 90 104 Gary±Hammond.......................... - - - - 101 105 103 109 Indianapolis.......................... 97 95 99 87 95 103 109 93 Iowa Carroll............................... - - - - - - - 91 Davenport±Rock Island±Moline.......... - - - - 101 99 103 105 Kentucky Louisville............................ - - - - 94 93 93 86 Louisiana New Orleans........................... 103 97 102 - 89 90 84 67 Maryland Baltimore............................. 98 97 99 97 98 97 105 91 Cumberland............................ - - - 86 92 - - 109 Massachusetts Boston................................ 100 102 103 110 107 106 114 109 Springfield........................... - - - - - - - 122 Michigan Detroit............................... 103 103 107 - 107 111 126 122 Upper Peninsula(2).................... - - - - 102 89 96 124 Minnesota Minneapolis±St. Paul.................. 99 100 100 112 104 105 112 108 Missouri Kansas City........................... 95 100 99 85 96 101 108 96 St. Louis............................. 93 98 98 94 96 100 118 89 Nebraska Scotts Bluff County................... - - - 69 - - - 88 New Jersey Bergen±Passaic........................ 103 - - 169 109 107 111 99 New York Nassau-Suffolk........................ 101 106 105 151 110 110 130 146 New York.............................. 103 109 - 123 115 120 121 159 Rochester............................. - - - - 106 104 111 105 North Carolina Charlotte±Gastonia±Rock Hill.......... 98 97 - 81 98 86 84 84 North Dakota Ward.................................. - - - - - - - 94 Ohio Cincinnati............................ 96 105 98 97 98 101 - 94 Cleveland............................. 95 97 94 97 98 105 103 94 Columbus.............................. 100 99 - 103 100 94 - 104 Dayton±Springfield.................... 96 97 97 101 95 103 105 100 Gallia County......................... - - - - - - - 99 Mercer County......................... - - - - - - - 115 Oregon Portland.............................. 100 99 97 127 99 99 108 105 Pennsylvania Philadelphia.......................... 102 101 101 107 103 100 109 116 Pittsburgh............................ 97 96 103 104 96 96 111 104 Reading............................... 95 - - - 98 98 - 124 Tennessee Memphis............................... 98 98 - 80 93 97 - 71 Texas Corpus Christi........................ 99 96 - 86 81 92 - 75 Dallas±Fort Worth..................... 99 99 94 90 100 96 91 74 Houston............................... 108 109 110 87 103 101 - 67 Panola County......................... - - - - - - - 69 Utah Salt Lake City±Ogden.................. 95 98 92 87 89 93 96 85 Vermont Burlington............................ - - - - - 83 - 104 Virginia Richmond±Petersburg................... 101 99 - 91 98 106 94 78 Washington Seattle±Tacoma±Bremerton.............. - 97 - 122 102 114 - 117 West Virginia Parkersburg±Marietta.................. - - - - 88 88 - 82 Wisconsin Milwaukee............................. 95 97 98 101 99 105 - 100 Wyoming Sweetwater County..................... 102 - - - - 120 - 125 1 Areas are Metropolitan Statistical Areas or Primary Metropolitan Statistical Areas as defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, and nometropolitan counties. 2 The limited industry scope for this survey excluded mining, construction, and selected service-producing industries. In addition, programmers and systems analysts were the only professional and administrative occupations studied in all industries. Table 2. Pay relatives for occupational groups, establishment characteristics, 1995 Occupational group Establishment characteristic Janitors Professional Administrative Technical Protective service Clerical Maintenance Material movement Industry All industries....................... 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 Private industry................... 101 100 100 - 100 100 100 92 Goods producing.................. 102 102 99 - 103 99 96 131 Construction................... - - - - - - - 112 Manufacturing.................. 101 102 99 - 103 99 97 131 Durable goods................ 101 101 98 - 104 101 96 144 Nondurable goods............. 103 103 103 - 101 94 100 110 Service producing................ 100 100 102 - 99 103 101 87 Transportation and utilities... 103 106 111 - 107 112 102 134 Wholesale trade................ - 100 - - 99 - 93 108 Retail trade................... - - - - 95 - 93 93 Finance, insurance, and real estate................... - 99 - - 98 - - 121 Services....................... 99 99 100 - 97 95 84 85 State and local government......... 94 97 106 101 100 101 103 121 Region(1) Northeast............................ 99 101 101 117 105 104 111 124 South................................ 99 97 98 79 93 90 87 81 Midwest.............................. 99 100 99 98 98 103 106 103 West................................. 103 103 103 124 106 106 101 101 Area classification(2) Metropolitan......................... 100 100 101 106 101 103 102 101 Nonmetropolitan...................... 94 - - 78 91 85 85 92 Establishments employing Less than 500 workers................ 99 99 97 80 98 92 92 87 500-999 workers...................... 100 99 98 96 98 98 103 103 1,000-2,499 workers.................. 103 102 102 - 102 104 116 110 2,500 workers or more................ 100 101 106 112 104 115 131 125 1 The regions are defined as follows: Northeast±Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont; South±Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia; Midwest±Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; and West±Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. 2 Metropolitan areas are the 326 Metropolitan Statistical Areas in the United States (excluding Alaska and Hawaii) as defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. For pay relative purposes, the remaining portion of the United States is nonmetropolitan.