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Economic News Release
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Occupational Pay Comparisons Among Metropolitan Areas News Release



Technical Contact:                                                                        USDL: 08-1015
     (202) 691-6199  NCSinfo@bls.gov
Media Contact:
     (202) 691-5902                                                                       For Release:  10:00 AM EDT
Internet Address:                                                                         Friday, July 25, 2008
     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, 2007

     Average pay in the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA metropolitan area was 19 percent above the national
average in 2007, the highest among metropolitan areas studied by the National Compensation Survey (NCS), the
Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today.  In contrast, pay was lowest in
the Brownsville-Harlingen, TX metropolitan area with a pay relative of 76, meaning Brownsville workers earned
an average of 76 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 9 major occupational groups within 77
metropolitan areas, as well as averaged across all occupations for each area. (See table 1.)

     Table A below lists higher and lower paying metropolitan areas among those studied in the NCS.  Table B
provides higher paying metropolitan area for each of nine major occupational groups.  In addition,
area-to-area comparisons have been calculated for all 77 metropolitan areas and will soon be available
on the BLS website at http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ocs/payrel.htm.


Table A.  Metropolitan area pay relative rankings (of 77 metropolitan areas surveyed)

 Rank                        Metropolitan Area                             Pay Relative
    1.               San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA                        119
    2.               New York-Newark-Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA                   115
    3.               Salinas, CA                                               114
    4.               Hartford-West Hartford-Willimantic, CT                    113
    5.               Boston-Worcester-Manchester, MA-NH                        112

  75.                Corpus Christi, TX                                         87
  76.                Johnstown, PA                                              85
  77.                Brownsville-Harlingen, TX                                  76


     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 versus 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.  More information on pay
relative controls and calculations is available in the Technical Note.


Table B.  Metropolitan area pay relative rankings for nine major occupational groups (of 77 metropolitan areas surveyed)

    Major Occupational Group               Rank and Metropolitan Area                       Pay Relative
Management, business,            1.  New York-Newark-Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA                    115
and financial                    2.  Salinas, CA                                                114

Professional and related         1.  Salinas, CA                                                120
                                 2.  San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA                         118

Service                          1.  San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA                         124
                                 2.  Hartford-West Hartford-Willimantic, CT                     121

Sales and related                1.  Salinas, CA                                                128
                                 2.  San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA                         124

Office and administrative        1.  San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA                         121
support                          2.  Boston-Worchester-Manchester, MA-NH                        115
                                 2.  New York-Newark-Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA                    115

Construction and extraction      1.  New York-Newark-Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA                    133
                                 2.  Chicago-Naperville-Michigan City, IL-IN-WI                 131

Installation, maintenance,       1.  Boston-Worcester-Manchester, MA-NH                         115
and repair                       1.  Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Truckee, CA-NV                     115

Production                       1.  Detroit-Warren-Flint, MI                                   117
                                 1.  Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia, WA                                 117
Transportation and material      1.  Springfield, MA                                            113
moving                           2.  Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia, WA                                 112


     The pay relative for construction and extraction occupations in the New York-Newark-Bridgeport area was 133,
meaning the pay in the New York metropolitan area for that occupational group averaged 33 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.

     Yearly differences in area and occupational group differences in 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 2007

 (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..........................           88           88
 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Gainesville,
 GA-AL.................................          101          103
 Austin-Round Rock, TX.................           96           95
 Birmingham-Hoover, AL.................           94           94
 Bloomington, IN.......................           90           87
 Bloomington-Normal, IL................          101          103

 Boston-Worcester-Manchester, MA-NH....          112          108
 Brownsville-Harlingen, TX.............           76           77
 Buffalo-Niagara-Cattaraugus, NY.......          101           90
 Charleston-North
 Charleston-Summerville, SC............           91           94
 Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, NC-SC.....          102          102
 Chicago-Naperville-Michigan City,
 IL-IN-WI..............................          108          102

 Cincinnati-Middletown-Wilmington,
 OH-KY-IN..............................           97           93
 Cleveland-Akron-Elyria, OH............          101           96
 Columbus-Marion-Chillicothe, OH.......           99          103
 Corpus Christi, TX....................           87           88
 Dallas-Fort Worth, TX.................           97           99
 Dayton-Springfield-Greenville, OH.....           97          100

 Denver-Aurora-Boulder, CO.............          103          100
 Detroit-Warren-Flint, MI..............          105           98
 Elkhart-Goshen, IN....................           95           99
 Fort Collins-Loveland, CO.............          101           94
 Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI..............          100           89
 Great Falls, MT.......................           88           82

 Greensboro-High Point, NC.............           94           91
 Greenville-Mauldin-Easley, SC.........           93           97
 Hartford-West Hartford-Willimantic,
 CT....................................          113          111
 Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC..........           95           94
 Honolulu, HI..........................          104          107
 Houston-Baytown-Huntsville, TX........           95           99

 Huntsville-Decatur, AL................           96           92

 (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           86
 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Gainesville,
 GA-AL.................................          102           96
 Austin-Round Rock, TX.................           94           90
 Birmingham-Hoover, AL.................           96           99
 Bloomington, IN.......................           92           87
 Bloomington-Normal, IL................          102          103

 Boston-Worcester-Manchester, MA-NH....          109          114
 Brownsville-Harlingen, TX.............           88           76
 Buffalo-Niagara-Cattaraugus, NY.......           94          108
 Charleston-North
 Charleston-Summerville, SC............           92           85
 Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, NC-SC.....           92          101
 Chicago-Naperville-Michigan City,
 IL-IN-WI..............................          108          107

 Cincinnati-Middletown-Wilmington,
 OH-KY-IN..............................           99          102
 Cleveland-Akron-Elyria, OH............          100          101
 Columbus-Marion-Chillicothe, OH.......           95          101
 Corpus Christi, TX....................           90           83
 Dallas-Fort Worth, TX.................           99           93
 Dayton-Springfield-Greenville, OH.....           94           96

 Denver-Aurora-Boulder, CO.............          100          106
 Detroit-Warren-Flint, MI..............          104          103
 Elkhart-Goshen, IN....................           91           97
 Fort Collins-Loveland, CO.............           97           96
 Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI..............           94          104
 Great Falls, MT.......................           77           96

 Greensboro-High Point, NC.............           94           94
 Greenville-Mauldin-Easley, SC.........           89           97
 Hartford-West Hartford-Willimantic,
 CT....................................          109          121
 Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC..........           85           92
 Honolulu, HI..........................          100          113
 Houston-Baytown-Huntsville, TX........           97           86

 Huntsville-Decatur, AL................           95           98

 (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           88
 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Gainesville,
 GA-AL.................................           96          106
 Austin-Round Rock, TX.................          104           96
 Birmingham-Hoover, AL.................           95           97
 Bloomington, IN.......................           83           91
 Bloomington-Normal, IL................           99           96

 Boston-Worcester-Manchester, MA-NH....          106          115
 Brownsville-Harlingen, TX.............           68           77
 Buffalo-Niagara-Cattaraugus, NY.......          102           98
 Charleston-North
 Charleston-Summerville, SC............           97           93
 Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, NC-SC.....          112          102
 Chicago-Naperville-Michigan City,
 IL-IN-WI..............................          109          110

 Cincinnati-Middletown-Wilmington,
 OH-KY-IN..............................           92           97
 Cleveland-Akron-Elyria, OH............           98          101
 Columbus-Marion-Chillicothe, OH.......          105           98
 Corpus Christi, TX....................           87           86
 Dallas-Fort Worth, TX.................          101           99
 Dayton-Springfield-Greenville, OH.....           97           92

 Denver-Aurora-Boulder, CO.............          105          102
 Detroit-Warren-Flint, MI..............           98          105
 Elkhart-Goshen, IN....................           94           92
 Fort Collins-Loveland, CO.............          105          102
 Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI..............          105           98
 Great Falls, MT.......................           90           83

 Greensboro-High Point, NC.............           86           96
 Greenville-Mauldin-Easley, SC.........           87           93
 Hartford-West Hartford-Willimantic,
 CT....................................          107          112
 Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC..........           91           95
 Honolulu, HI..........................          108           96
 Houston-Baytown-Huntsville, TX........           95           98

 Huntsville-Decatur, AL................          102           93

 (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..........................           81           85
 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Gainesville,
 GA-AL.................................           91          100
 Austin-Round Rock, TX.................           87          104
 Birmingham-Hoover, AL.................           86           94
 Bloomington, IN.......................           76           81
 Bloomington-Normal, IL................          106           93

 Boston-Worcester-Manchester, MA-NH....          125          115
 Brownsville-Harlingen, TX.............           66           86
 Buffalo-Niagara-Cattaraugus, NY.......          114          105
 Charleston-North
 Charleston-Summerville, SC............           78           82
 Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, NC-SC.....           89           99
 Chicago-Naperville-Michigan City,
 IL-IN-WI..............................          131          112

 Cincinnati-Middletown-Wilmington,
 OH-KY-IN..............................           90           99
 Cleveland-Akron-Elyria, OH............          102          102
 Columbus-Marion-Chillicothe, OH.......           99          101
 Corpus Christi, TX....................           94           79
 Dallas-Fort Worth, TX.................           89           96
 Dayton-Springfield-Greenville, OH.....          102          100

 Denver-Aurora-Boulder, CO.............           92          107
 Detroit-Warren-Flint, MI..............          101           97
 Elkhart-Goshen, IN....................          114           89
 Fort Collins-Loveland, CO.............          104          104
 Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI..............          119           99
 Great Falls, MT.......................          110           93

 Greensboro-High Point, NC.............           88           92
 Greenville-Mauldin-Easley, SC.........           79           84
 Hartford-West Hartford-Willimantic,
 CT....................................          115          111
 Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC..........          102           89
 Honolulu, HI..........................          115          107
 Houston-Baytown-Huntsville, TX........           90           92

 Huntsville-Decatur, AL................           89           90

 (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..........................           91           92
 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Gainesville,
 GA-AL.................................          104          106
 Austin-Round Rock, TX.................           96           92
 Birmingham-Hoover, AL.................           88           95
 Bloomington, IN.......................           97          105
 Bloomington-Normal, IL................          109          104

 Boston-Worcester-Manchester, MA-NH....          108          111
 Brownsville-Harlingen, TX.............           76           74
 Buffalo-Niagara-Cattaraugus, NY.......          107          103
 Charleston-North
 Charleston-Summerville, SC............          101          102
 Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, NC-SC.....          102           99
 Chicago-Naperville-Michigan City,
 IL-IN-WI..............................          105          105

 Cincinnati-Middletown-Wilmington,
 OH-KY-IN..............................          100           99
 Cleveland-Akron-Elyria, OH............          104          105
 Columbus-Marion-Chillicothe, OH.......           96           98
 Corpus Christi, TX....................           92           86
 Dallas-Fort Worth, TX.................           91           97
 Dayton-Springfield-Greenville, OH.....          106          102

 Denver-Aurora-Boulder, CO.............          100          103
 Detroit-Warren-Flint, MI..............          117          109
 Elkhart-Goshen, IN....................           96           99
 Fort Collins-Loveland, CO.............          100          109
 Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI..............          101           98
 Great Falls, MT.......................          100           96

 Greensboro-High Point, NC.............          102          102
 Greenville-Mauldin-Easley, SC.........          106           93
 Hartford-West Hartford-Willimantic,
 CT....................................          112          108
 Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC..........          100          101
 Honolulu, HI..........................          110          100
 Houston-Baytown-Huntsville, TX........          102           94

 Huntsville-Decatur, AL................          101           95

 (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....           96           79
 Iowa City, IA.........................           97          102
 Johnstown, PA.........................           85           79
 Kansas City, MO-KS....................           98           91
 Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, WA..........          103           96

 Knoxville, TN.........................           92          103
 Lincoln, NE...........................           88           84
 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside,
 CA....................................          107          107
 Louisville/Jefferson
 County-Elizabethtown-Scottsburg,
 KY-IN.................................           95           90
 Memphis, TN-MS-AR.....................           95           96
 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach,
 FL....................................           98          104

 Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, WI.........          101           99
 Minneapolis-St. Paul-St. Cloud,
 MN-WI.................................          109          111
 Mobile, AL............................           89           78
 New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, LA.......           98           90
 New York-Newark-Bridgeport,
 NY-NJ-CT-PA...........................          115          115
 Ocala, FL.............................           90           80

 Oklahoma City, OK.....................           90           86
 Orlando-Kissimmee, FL.................           91           91
 Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL.....           94           85
 Philadelphia-Camden-Vineland,
 PA-NJ-DE-MD...........................          105          106
 Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ...........           98          102
 Pittsburgh-New Castle, PA.............           96           94

 Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA...          104          100
 Providence-New Bedford-Fall River,
 RI-MA.................................          109          106
 Reading, PA...........................          102          110
 Reno-Sparks, NV.......................           97           95
 Richmond, VA..........................           98           98
 Rochester, NY.........................           97           89

 Rockford, IL..........................           98           88

 (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           94
 Iowa City, IA.........................           92          100
 Johnstown, PA.........................           85           87
 Kansas City, MO-KS....................           98           97
 Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, WA..........           96          114

 Knoxville, TN.........................           99           83
 Lincoln, NE...........................           85           92
 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside,
 CA....................................          107          109
 Louisville/Jefferson
 County-Elizabethtown-Scottsburg,
 KY-IN.................................           91          103
 Memphis, TN-MS-AR.....................           88           87
 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach,
 FL....................................           97          100

 Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, WI.........           96          100
 Minneapolis-St. Paul-St. Cloud,
 MN-WI.................................          104          116
 Mobile, AL............................           83           86
 New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, LA.......          100           94
 New York-Newark-Bridgeport,
 NY-NJ-CT-PA...........................          116          115
 Ocala, FL.............................           83           93

 Oklahoma City, OK.....................           88           91
 Orlando-Kissimmee, FL.................           85           94
 Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL.....           87          101
 Philadelphia-Camden-Vineland,
 PA-NJ-DE-MD...........................          108          105
 Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ...........          101           99
 Pittsburgh-New Castle, PA.............           95           96

 Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA...           97          111
 Providence-New Bedford-Fall River,
 RI-MA.................................          113          116
 Reading, PA...........................           92          100
 Reno-Sparks, NV.......................           95           98
 Richmond, VA..........................           95           97
 Rochester, NY.........................           96          106

 Rockford, IL..........................           97           98

 (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....           94           96
 Iowa City, IA.........................           93           98
 Johnstown, PA.........................           86           84
 Kansas City, MO-KS....................          100           98
 Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, WA..........          102          100

 Knoxville, TN.........................           99           95
 Lincoln, NE...........................           84           88
 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside,
 CA....................................          114          107
 Louisville/Jefferson
 County-Elizabethtown-Scottsburg,
 KY-IN.................................           99           96
 Memphis, TN-MS-AR.....................          100           98
 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach,
 FL....................................           95           97

 Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, WI.........          105          103
 Minneapolis-St. Paul-St. Cloud,
 MN-WI.................................          110          104
 Mobile, AL............................           95           92
 New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, LA.......          102           99
 New York-Newark-Bridgeport,
 NY-NJ-CT-PA...........................          115          115
 Ocala, FL.............................           93           91

 Oklahoma City, OK.....................           89           88
 Orlando-Kissimmee, FL.................          101           88
 Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL.....           96           88
 Philadelphia-Camden-Vineland,
 PA-NJ-DE-MD...........................           98          106
 Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ...........          106           99
 Pittsburgh-New Castle, PA.............           90           97

 Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA...          114          106
 Providence-New Bedford-Fall River,
 RI-MA.................................          102          107
 Reading, PA...........................          106          101
 Reno-Sparks, NV.......................          104           97
 Richmond, VA..........................           95          101
 Rochester, NY.........................           97           98

 Rockford, IL..........................           98           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....           96           95
 Iowa City, IA.........................          104          102
 Johnstown, PA.........................           96           89
 Kansas City, MO-KS....................          102           99
 Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, WA..........          109           96

 Knoxville, TN.........................           82           85
 Lincoln, NE...........................           84           94
 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside,
 CA....................................          111          110
 Louisville/Jefferson
 County-Elizabethtown-Scottsburg,
 KY-IN.................................          106           92
 Memphis, TN-MS-AR.....................           93           99
 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach,
 FL....................................           93           96

 Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, WI.........          109          102
 Minneapolis-St. Paul-St. Cloud,
 MN-WI.................................          111          104
 Mobile, AL............................           92           98
 New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, LA.......           93           93
 New York-Newark-Bridgeport,
 NY-NJ-CT-PA...........................          133          114
 Ocala, FL.............................           81          106

 Oklahoma City, OK.....................          103          107
 Orlando-Kissimmee, FL.................           90           91
 Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL.....           92          103
 Philadelphia-Camden-Vineland,
 PA-NJ-DE-MD...........................          106          112
 Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ...........           82          103
 Pittsburgh-New Castle, PA.............           98           97

 Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA...          115          111
 Providence-New Bedford-Fall River,
 RI-MA.................................          113          111
 Reading, PA...........................          102          108
 Reno-Sparks, NV.......................           94          109
 Richmond, VA..........................           92          101
 Rochester, NY.........................           98           88

 Rockford, IL..........................          107           99

 (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....          106           97
 Iowa City, IA.........................          100           98
 Johnstown, PA.........................           84           86
 Kansas City, MO-KS....................          106           97
 Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, WA..........           97          104

 Knoxville, TN.........................           88           96
 Lincoln, NE...........................           89           93
 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside,
 CA....................................          100          104
 Louisville/Jefferson
 County-Elizabethtown-Scottsburg,
 KY-IN.................................           99           91
 Memphis, TN-MS-AR.....................           97           96
 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach,
 FL....................................           95          101

 Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha, WI.........          104          105
 Minneapolis-St. Paul-St. Cloud,
 MN-WI.................................          115          108
 Mobile, AL............................           93          101
 New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, LA.......          101          104
 New York-Newark-Bridgeport,
 NY-NJ-CT-PA...........................          106          110
 Ocala, FL.............................           92          103

 Oklahoma City, OK.....................           85           84
 Orlando-Kissimmee, FL.................           85          107
 Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL.....          107          106
 Philadelphia-Camden-Vineland,
 PA-NJ-DE-MD...........................           99          104
 Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ...........           97          100
 Pittsburgh-New Castle, PA.............           98           95

 Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA...          100           99
 Providence-New Bedford-Fall River,
 RI-MA.................................          111          106
 Reading, PA...........................          101           99
 Reno-Sparks, NV.......................           97           98
 Richmond, VA..........................          102          100
 Rochester, NY.........................           99           99

 Rockford, IL..........................          102          102

 (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.................................          108          103
 Salinas, CA...........................          114          114
 San Antonio, TX.......................           91           93
 San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA.....          109          108
 San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA....          119          112

 Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia, WA............          110          103
 Springfield, MA.......................          110          101
 Springfield, MO.......................           88           84
 St. Louis, MO-IL......................          102           96
 Tallahassee, FL.......................           92           83
 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL...           94           90

 Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News,
 VA-NC.................................           91           86
 Visalia-Porterville, CA...............           98          106
 Washington-Baltimore-Northern
 Virginia, DC-MD-VA-WV.................          108          104
 York-Hanover, PA......................           97          105
 Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA.....           96           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.................................          110          112
 Salinas, CA...........................          120          118
 San Antonio, TX.......................           92           87
 San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA.....          110          115
 San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA....          118          124

 Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia, WA............          102          119
 Springfield, MA.......................          112          107
 Springfield, MO.......................           87           87
 St. Louis, MO-IL......................          100           97
 Tallahassee, FL.......................           86           96
 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL...           91           94

 Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News,
 VA-NC.................................           90           94
 Visalia-Porterville, CA...............          103          101
 Washington-Baltimore-Northern
 Virginia, DC-MD-VA-WV.................          111          106
 York-Hanover, PA......................           99           98
 Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA.....           93           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.................................          104          106
 Salinas, CA...........................          128          113
 San Antonio, TX.......................           96           91
 San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA.....          105          106
 San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA....          124          121

 Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia, WA............          113          106
 Springfield, MA.......................          110          110
 Springfield, MO.......................           92           87
 St. Louis, MO-IL......................           96          100
 Tallahassee, FL.......................           91           91
 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL...           97           97

 Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News,
 VA-NC.................................           92           92
 Visalia-Porterville, CA...............           98           98
 Washington-Baltimore-Northern
 Virginia, DC-MD-VA-WV.................          106          112
 York-Hanover, PA......................           90           96
 Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA.....           86           92

 (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.................................          101          115
 Salinas, CA...........................          126          107
 San Antonio, TX.......................           97          102
 San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA.....          111          109
 San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA....          123          114

 Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia, WA............          110          107
 Springfield, MA.......................          109          103
 Springfield, MO.......................           77           87
 St. Louis, MO-IL......................          121          110
 Tallahassee, FL.......................           81           88
 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL...           98           94

 Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News,
 VA-NC.................................           84           94
 Visalia-Porterville, CA...............           89           90
 Washington-Baltimore-Northern
 Virginia, DC-MD-VA-WV.................          100          114
 York-Hanover, PA......................           99           98
 Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA.....           95           94

 (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.................................          114          109
 Salinas, CA...........................          101          104
 San Antonio, TX.......................           98           89
 San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA.....          105          101
 San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA....          108          109

 Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia, WA............          117          112
 Springfield, MA.......................          109          113
 Springfield, MO.......................           93           97
 St. Louis, MO-IL......................          106          110
 Tallahassee, FL.......................           93           93
 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL...           93          102

 Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News,
 VA-NC.................................           92           90
 Visalia-Porterville, CA...............          103           93
 Washington-Baltimore-Northern
 Virginia, DC-MD-VA-WV.................          107          106
 York-Hanover, PA......................           97          104
 Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA.....          101          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 typically high-paying management, business, and financial occupations group to the number
of workers in all occupations is under 6 percent, whereas nationally this ratio is nearly 9 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 wage determination.
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 area is $30.42 and the average
pay for construction and extraction workers in the entire United States is $20.14.(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:

     ($30.42 ÷ $20.14) × 100 ≅ 151

     This comparison does not control for differences between the New York-Newark-Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA
metropolitan area and the nation in the mix of occupations, industries, and other factors.  A more accurate estimate
of the geographic effect of wages can be obtained by taking these differences into account.  Controlling for
differences in occupational composition, establishment and occupational characteristics, and the payroll reference
date relative to the nation as the whole, the pay relative for construction and extraction occupations in New
York-Newark-Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA is equal to 133.

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.  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 the article 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. The NCS
is in its first 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; however, the private industry
sample is based on the 1993 area definitions.  Area titles are subject to annual OMB revision.  For more information
on the area definitions, see Jason Tehonica, "New Area Sample Selected for the National Compensation Survey,"
Compensation and Working Conditions Online, April 25, 2005, on the Internet at:
http://www.bls.gov/opub/cwc/cm20050318ar01p1.htm.

     Historical pay relative data are available for 1992-1996, 1998, 2002, and 2004-2006.  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 for 2004 through 2007 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 a high degree of caution.

     Pay relatives were estimated using a multivariate regression technique methodology 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 U.S." Monthly Labor
Review, March 2005, pp. 46-53, and Parastou Karen Shahpoori, "Pay Relatives for Major Metropolitan Areas,"
Compensation and Working Conditions, Spring 2003.

Obtaining information

     Articles, bulletins, and other information 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 2007 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and
Wage Estimates, http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oessrcma.htm.

  (2) Average pay for construction and extraction workers in the New York - Newark - Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA metropolitan
area 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 2007 and the upcoming National Compensation Survey: Occupational Wages in the United
States, July 2007, http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ocs/ncswage.htm.




Last Modified Date: May 26, 2010