Bureau of Labor Statistics
Dallas Fax-On-Demand: 214-767-9613 Document No. 9570 Dallas/Kansas City Regional Office For Release: Jerome Watters, Regional Economist June 19, 2000 (214) 767-6970 http://www.bls.gov/ro6/
1998 AVERAGE ANNUAL PAY FOR WORKERS
IN METROPOLITAN AREAS IN THE DALLAS/KANSAS CITY REGION
Average pay in the metropolitan areas in the Dallas/Kansas City
Region ranged from $20,717 in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX to
$37,821 in Boulder-Longmont, CO in 1998, according to preliminary
data from the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor
Statistics. (See table 1.) Bob Gaddie, Regional Commissioner,
noted that annual pay in five of the 74 metropolitan areas in the
region, all in Texas and Colorado, exceeded the national average
of $33,381 for the 312 metropolitan areas reporting nationwide in
1998.
Annual pay data are compiled from reports submitted by employers under UI programs covering 124.2 million full- and part-time workers nationwide. Major exclusions from UI coverage include most agricultural workers, the self-employed, and most employees of railroads. Average annual pay is equivalent to the total yearly payroll of employees covered under UI programs divided by the average number of employees on the payroll each month. Pay differences among states reflect the varying local composition of employment by occupation, industry, and hours of work, as well as other factors. Similarly, over-the-year pay changes may reflect shifts in these characteristics, as well as changes in the level of average pay. (See Technical Note.)
Metropolitan and Primary Metropolitan Statistical Areas
Boulder-Longmont, CO had the highest average pay level in the region ($37,821) in 1998, and the 11th highest in the nation overall. This compares to a nationwide high pay level of $51,409 in San Jose, CA. The other metropolitan areas in the region with pay levels greater than the national average were Dallas, TX ($37,323), Houston, TX ($36,732), Denver, CO ($35,628), and Austin-San Marcos, TX ($35,488).
Elsewhere in the region, pay ranged from $32,901 in Brazoria, TX to a regional low of $20,717 in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX, ranking 304th among the nation's 312 metropolitan areas. Pay in Brownsville-Harlingen-San Benito, TX was second lowest in the region at $20,962, and ranked 302nd among all metropolitan areas. Of the 74 metropolitan areas in the region, 29 had pay levels below 75% of the national average. These areas were widely distributed throughout the region from Great Falls, MT to the U.S.-Mexico border. Among all metropolitan areas, the lowest level of annual pay was reported for Arecibo, Puerto Rico, at $15,022; among the 50 states, the lowest pay occurred in Jacksonville, NC, with an average of $19,815.
In 1998, average pay in 19 of the 74 metropolitan areas in the region grew faster than the national average of 5.2 percent for all metropolitan areas. Areas with above average growth spanned the region from Cheyenne, WY, with a 5.6 percent increase, to Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX, with a 5.3 percent gain. Areas with an above-average pay gain spanned a variety of communities, including the large metropolitan areas of Denver (6.8 percent) and Dallas (6.6 percent) and smaller metropolitan areas such as Colorado Springs, CO (7.7 percent) Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR (7.2 percent).
Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Areas
The three Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Areas (CMSAs) in the Region ranked 7th, 8th and 9th in average annual pay among the 17 areas for which data are available. Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, TX had the highest pay level among the region's CMSAs at $36,242, followed by Dallas-Ft.Worth, TX at $35,732 and Denver-Boulder-Greeley, CO at $35,440. (See table 3.) Among the three areas, Denver-Boulder-Greeley had the highest rate of pay growth, 7.6 percent, followed by Dallas-Ft. Worth at 6.3 percent and Houston-Galveston-Brazoria at 5.1 percent. Nationally, annual pay averaged $37,790 among all CMSAs and grew 5.4 percent in 1998. San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA led all 17 CMSAs with a pay level of $43,143 and Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton, WA had the largest increase in pay at 8.8 percent.
Technical Note
These data are the product of a federal-state cooperative program known as Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, or the ES-202 program. The data are derived from summaries of employment and total pay of workers covered by unemployment insurance (UI) legislation and provided by State Employment Security Agencies (SESAs). The summaries are a by-product of the administration of state unemployment insurance programs that require most employers to pay quarterly taxes based on the employment and wages of workers covered by UI. Data for 1998 are preliminary and subject to revision. Effective with third-quarter 1997 processing, employment and wage totals were generated using new systems in each of the states and at the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In some cases, this transition to new systems resulted in larger differences between preliminary and final 1997 levels. This is the second year that BLS has published annual pay data for metropolitan areas within Puerto Rico in this release.
Coverage
Employment and wage data for workers covered by state UI laws and for federal civilian workers covered by the Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) program are compiled from quarterly contribution reports submitted to the SESAs by employers. In addition to the quarterly contribution reports, employers who operate multiple establishments within a state complete a questionnaire, called the Multiple Worksite Report," which provides detailed information on the location and industry of each of their establishments. Average annual pay data included in this release are derived from microdata summaries of nearly 7.7 million employer reports of employment and wages submitted by states to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. These reports are based on place of employment rather than place of residence.
UI and UCFE coverage is broad and basically comparable from state to state. In 1998, UI and UCFE programs covered workers in 124.2 million jobs. The estimated 119.0 million workers in these jobs (after adjustment for multiple jobholders), represented 98.4 percent of wage and salary civilian employment. Multiple jobholder estimates are produced by the Current Population Survey (CPS). Covered workers received $3.961 trillion in pay, representing 95.5 percent of the wage and salary component of personal income and 46.5 percent of the gross domestic product. About 82 percent of all covered workers were employed in metropolitan areas. Total wages of workers in metropolitan areas comprised approximately 86 percent of all covered wages in the United States.
Major exclusions from UI coverage during 1998 included most agricultural workers on small farms, all members of the Armed Forces, elected officials in most states, most employees of railroads, some domestic workers, most student workers at schools, and employees of certain small nonprofit organizations.
Concepts and methodology
Average annual pay is equivalent to the total yearly payroll of employees covered under UI programs divided by the average number of employees on the payroll each month. Included in the annual payroll data are bonuses, the cash value of meals and lodging when supplied, tips and other gratuities, and, in some states, employer contributions to certain deferred compensation plans, such as 401(k) plans, and stock options. Monthly employment is based on the number of workers who worked during or received pay for the pay period including the 12th of the month. With few exceptions, all employees of covered firms are reported, including production and sales workers, corporation officials, executives, supervisory personnel, and clerical workers. Workers on paid vacation and part-time workers are also included. Percent changes in average annual pay were computed using final 1997 data as the base. These final 1997 data may differ from the preliminary 1997 data previously published.
Average annual pay is affected by the ratio of full-time to part-time workers as well as the number of individuals in high-paying and low-paying occupations. When comparing average annual pay levels among metropolitan areas, these factors should be taken into consideration. Annual pay data only approximate annual earnings because an individual may not be employed by the same employer all year or may work for more than one employer. Also, year-to-year changes in average annual pay can result from a change in the proportion of employment in high- and low-wage jobs, as well as from changes in the level of average annual pay.
In order to ensure the highest possible quality of data, SESAs verify with employers and update, if necessary, the industry, location, and ownership classifications of all establishments on a 3-year cycle. Changes in establishment classification codes resulting from the verification process are introduced with the data reported for the first quarter of the year. Changes resulting from improved employer reporting are also introduced in the first quarter. For these reasons, some data, especially at more detailed geographic levels, may not be strictly comparable with earlier years. In 1997, effective with first quarter, improved Department of Defense civilian employment and wages were centrally collected from a new data source.
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) defines metropolitan areas for use in federal statistical activities and updates these definitions as needed each summer. Data in this release use metropolitan area criteria established by OMB in definitions issued June 30, 1996 (OMB Bulletin No. 96-08). These definitions reflect information obtained from the 1990 Decennial Census and the 1992 and 1994 Bureau of the Census population estimates. Metropolitan statistical area definitions are typically redefined on a yearly basis. Over the past 11 years, changes to metropolitan area definitions have occurred in 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, and 1996. A complete list of metropolitan area definitions is available from the National Technical Information Service (NTIS), Document Sales, 5205 Port Royal Road, Springfield, Va. 22161, telephone 1-800-553-6847.
Generally speaking, a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) is a free-standing urban area that meets a specified size criteria. Primary Metropolitan Statistical Areas (PMSAs) are free-standing areas within very large MSAs. Once an area is identified as a PMSA, the term MSA no longer is used to describe the area. The large metropolitan area that is the sum of the PMSAs is called a Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area (CMSA). The set of areas known as MSAs, PMSAs, and CMSAs are collectively designated and referred to as metropolitan areas. Nonmetropolitan areas include counties that do not fall within defined metropolitan areas. Covered employment and wage data include establishments classified as foreign locations, out-of-state locations, and unknown locations in nonmetropolitan areas.
Current metropolitan area definitions are based on standards published in the Federal Register on March 30, 1990 (55 FR12154-12160). Under the 1990 standards, an area qualifies for recognition as an MSA in one of two ways: (1) if it includes a city of at least 50,000 population, or (2) if it includes a Bureau of the Census-defined urbanized area (of at least 50,000 population) and has a total metropolitan population of at least 100,000 (75,000 in New England). In addition to the county(ies) containing the main city or urbanized area, an MSA may include additional counties that have strong economic and social ties to the central county(ies) and meet other specified requirements of metropolitan character. The ties are determined chiefly by census data on commuting to work. An MSA may contain more than one city of 50,000 population and may cross state lines.
An area that meets these requirements for recognition as an MSA but also has a total population of one million or more may be recognized as a CMSA if: (1) separate component areas can be identified within the entire area by meeting specified statistical criteria, and (2) local opinion indicates there is support for the component areas. If recognized, the component areas are designated PMSAs, and the entire area becomes a CMSA. If no PMSAs are recognized, the entire area is an MSA.
OMB defines metropolitan areas in terms of entire counties, except in the six New England states where they are defined in terms of cities and towns. New England data in this news release, however, are based on a county concept defined by OMB as New England County Metropolitan Areas (NECMAs) because county-level data are the most detailed available from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages program. NECMAs are county-based alternatives to the city- and town-based metropolitan areas in New England. The NECMA for an MSA or CMSA includes: (1) the county containing the first-named city in that MSA/CMSA title (this county may include the first-named cities of other MSAs/CMSAs), and (2) each additional county having at least half its population in the MSA(s)/CMSA(s) whose first-named cities are in the county identified in step 1.
Additional statistics and other information
Also published from this program is the comprehensive bulletin, Employment and Wages, which features information by detailed industry on establishments, employment, and wages for the nation and all states. Employment and Wages Annual Averages, 1998 is available for sale from the BLS Publications Sales Center, P.O. Box 2145, Chicago, Illinois 60690.
Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; TDD phone: 202-691-5200; TDD message referral phone number: 1-800-326-2577. To receive a faxed version of this release along with the tables, call 214-767-9613 and request document 9570.
Table 1. Average annual pay for 1997 and 1998 for all covered workers (1) by metropolitan
area -- sorted by percent change in pay -- Dallas/Kansas City Region
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Ranking of
Average annual pay areas:
Metropolitan area (2) Percent By level of
1997 1998(3) change, average annual
1997-1998(4) pay for 1998
All metropolitan areas nationwide(5)...... $31,734 $33,381 5.2 - Regional metropolitan areas Austin-San Marcos, TX..................... 31,061 35,488 14.3 22 Boulder-Longmont, CO...................... 33,199 37,821 13.9 11 Colorado Springs, CO...................... 27,299 29,407 7.7 96 Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR........ 24,351 26,115 7.2 194 Lawton, OK................................ 21,504 23,042 7.2 284 Denver, CO................................ 33,359 35,628 6.8 20 Dallas, TX................................ 35,015 37,323 6.6 14 Fort Collins-Loveland, CO................. 27,410 29,159 6.4 103 Sherman-Denison, TX....................... 25,431 27,025 6.3 156 San Antonio, TX........................... 25,514 26,984 5.8 158 Las Cruces, NM............................ 21,477 22,705 5.7 290 Lincoln, NE............................... 25,180 26,608 5.7 174 Cheyenne, WY.............................. 23,024 24,314 5.6 255 Tyler, TX................................. 26,109 27,572 5.6 143 Sioux City, IA-NE......................... 23,603 24,909 5.5 239 San Angelo, TX............................ 22,237 23,444 5.4 274 Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX.................. 28,704 30,236 5.3 80 Fort Worth-Arlington, TX.................. 30,054 31,660 5.3 49 Santa Fe, NM.............................. 25,542 26,900 5.3 164 Alexandria, LA............................ 22,710 23,881 5.2 263 New Orleans, LA........................... 27,560 28,983 5.2 104 Topeka, KS................................ 26,120 27,479 5.2 147 Houston, TX............................... 34,938 36,732 5.1 16 Victoria, TX.............................. 24,104 25,339 5.1 222 Baton Rouge, LA........................... 26,975 28,335 5.0 124 Columbia, MO.............................. 24,411 25,623 5.0 212 Des Moines, IA............................ 29,167 30,627 5.0 71 Galveston-Texas City, TX.................. 26,926 28,238 4.9 126 Kansas City, MO-KS........................ 29,809 31,278 4.9 56 Lubbock, TX............................... 23,439 24,597 4.9 248 Brownsville-Harlingen-San Benito, TX...... 20,009 20,962 4.8 302 Little Rock-North Little Rock, AR......... 26,438 27,703 4.8 137 McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX.............. 19,785 20,717 4.7 304 Provo-Orem, UT............................ 24,175 25,301 4.7 223 Springfield, MO........................... 23,640 24,743 4.7 245 Salt Lake City-Ogden, UT.................. 27,140 28,365 4.5 122 Waco, TX.................................. 24,383 25,470 4.5 217 Greeley, CO............................... 25,294 26,408 4.4 182 Houma, LA................................. 25,994 27,142 4.4 153 St. Joseph, MO............................ 24,050 25,105 4.4 232 Tulsa, OK................................. 27,464 28,673 4.4 112 Albuquerque, NM........................... 27,011 28,185 4.3 128 Fort Smith, AR-OK......................... 22,921 23,901 4.3 262 Shreveport-Bossier City, LA............... 24,517 25,566 4.3 213 Wichita, KS............................... 29,211 30,474 4.3 77 Casper, WY................................ 24,139 25,144 4.2 229 El Paso, TX............................... 22,743 23,697 4.2 268 Lawrence, KS.............................. 21,913 22,833 4.2 287 St. Louis, MO-IL.......................... 30,989 32,263 4.1 41 Grand Junction, CO........................ 23,608 24,555 4.0 249 Pine Bluff, AR............................ 23,822 24,768 4.0 244 Amarillo, TX.............................. 24,013 24,926 3.8 238 Pueblo, CO................................ 23,091 23,953 3.7 261 Bryan-College Station, TX................. 21,581 22,358 3.6 294 Corpus Christi, TX........................ 25,635 26,557 3.6 176 Omaha, NE-IA.............................. 27,591 28,584 3.6 114 Oklahoma City, OK......................... 25,093 25,980 3.5 200 Great Falls, MT........................... 21,782 22,509 3.3 292 Lafayette, LA............................. 25,684 26,514 3.2 178 Killeen-Temple, TX........................ 22,491 23,185 3.1 279 Odessa-Midland, TX........................ 27,523 28,350 3.0 123 Jonesboro, AR............................. 22,981 23,647 2.9 270 Lake Charles, LA.......................... 27,064 27,751 2.5 135 Laredo, TX................................ 21,470 22,003 2.5 298 Wichita Falls, TX......................... 22,429 22,999 2.5 285 Longview-Marshall, TX..................... 24,797 25,396 2.4 219 Brazoria, TX.............................. 32,206 32,901 2.2 33 Joplin, MO................................ 22,912 23,424 2.2 275 Monroe, LA................................ 24,065 24,525 1.9 250 Abilene, TX............................... 21,944 22,283 1.5 295 Billings, MT.............................. 24,519 24,802 1.2 242 Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA.................. 26,432 26,728 1.1 172 Enid, OK.................................. 21,557 21,765 1.0 300 Texarkana, TX-Texarkana, AR............... 23,999 24,225 0.9 258
(1) Includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation
for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.
(2) Includes data for Metropolitan Statistical Areas and Primary Metropolitan Statistical
Areas as of June 1998. In the New England areas, the New England County Metropolitan Area
(NECMA) definitions were used. See Technical Note.
(3) Data are preliminary.
(4) Percent changes were computed from unrounded average annual pay data and may differ
from those computed using data rounded to the nearest dollar.
(5) Totals were calculated using estimated data for New Jersey for the third and fourth
quarters in 1998 and do not include the six MSAs within Puerto Rico.
(6) MSAs containing New Jersey data are not available for 1998. Please see text for more
information.
(7) Data are not available for release.
(8) Data do not meet BLS or State agency disclosure standards.
Table 2. Average annual pay for 1997 and 1998 for all covered workers (1) by Consolidated
Metropolitan Statistical Area
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Average annual pay: Ranking of
areas by
Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area (2) Percent level of
1997 1998(3) change, average
1997-1998(4) pay for
1998
Consolidated metropolitan statistical areas (5). $35,844 $37,790 5.4 -
Boston-Worcester-Lawrence-Lowell-Brockton, MA-NH 36,218 38,357 5.9 3
Chicago-Gary-Kenosha, IL-IN-WI.................. 35,284 37,105 5.2 6
Cincinnati-Hamilton, OH-KY-IN................... 30,278 31,937 5.5 14
Cleveland-Akron, OH............................. 30,654 32,011 4.4 13
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX........................... 33,610 35,732 6.3 8
Denver-Boulder-Greeley, CO...................... 32,941 35,440 7.6 9
Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint, MI..................... 36,430 38,624 6.0 2
Houston-Galveston-Brazoria,TX................... 34,497 36,242 5.1 7
Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County, CA......... 33,321 34,974 5.0 10
Miami-Fort Lauderdale, FL....................... 29,038 30,477 5.0 16
Milwaukee-Racine, WI............................ 30,658 32,069 4.6 12
New York-Northern New Jersey-
Long Island, NY-NJ-CT-PA............... 42,142 (6) (6) (6)
Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City, PA-NJ-DE- 33,889 (6) (6) (6)
Portland-Salem, OR-WA........................... 30,689 31,919 4.0 15
Sacramento-Yolo, CA............................. 30,988 32,897 6.2 11
San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA.............. 40,649 43,143 6.1 1
San Juan-Caguas-Arecibo, PR..................... 17,741 18,677 5.3 17
Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton, WA.................... 34,165 37,179 8.8 5
Washington-Baltimore, DC-MD-VA-WV............... 36,034 38,016 5.5 4
(1) Includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs. (2) Includes data for Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Areas as of June 1998. In the New England areas, the New England County Metropolitan Area (NECMA) definitions were used. See Technical Note. (3) Data are preliminary. (4) Percent changes were computed from unrounded average annual pay data and may differ from those computed using data rounded to the nearest dollar. (5) Totals were calculated using estimated data for New Jersey for the third and fourth quarters in 1998 and do not include the six MSAs within Puerto Rico. (6) CMSAs containing New Jersey data are not available for 1998. Please see text for more information.
Last Modified Date: January 6, 2004
