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In 1997, San Jose, Calif. had the highest average annual pay of any metropolitan area in the country. Average pay in the San Jose area was $48,702, well above the national average of $30,336.
[Chart data—TXT]
New York, N.Y. had the second highest average annual pay level, at $47,281. Rounding out the metropolitan areas with the top five pay levels were San Francisco, Calif. ($42,583), New Haven-Bridgeport-Stamford-Waterbury-Danbury, Conn. ($42,485), and Middlesex-Somerset-Hunterdon, N. J. ($41,796).
For the nation, annual pay in metropolitan areas averaged $31,717 in 1997. Average annual pay in nonmetropolitan areas in 1997 was $23,846.
These data on average annual pay are a product of the BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages program. Pay data presented here are for workers covered by State and Federal unemployment insurance programs. Find additional information in "Average Annual Pay Levels in Metropolitan Areas, 1997," news release USDL 99-232.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, San Jose leads nation in annual pay at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/1999/aug/wk4/art04.htm (visited February 18, 2025).