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As originally published, the percentage values in the chart data table's "Percent of total" columns for "Total benefits" and "Wages and salaries" were switched. They were corrected on August 9, 2019.
Total compensation costs $53.65 per hour worked in San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland in March 2019
June 25, 2019
In March 2019, among 15 metropolitan areas for which data are available, total compensation costs per hour worked for private industry workers ranged from $28.48 in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Port St. Lucie, Florida to $53.65 per hour worked in San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, California. In San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, wages and salaries ($37.46) accounted for 69.8 percent of total compensation. In Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Port St. Lucie, wages and salaries ($20.31) were 71.3 percent of the total.
Employer Costs for Employee Compensation per hour worked for private industry workers by metropolitan areas, March 2019
Area
Total compensation
Total benefits
Wages and salaries
Cost in dollars
Percent of total
Cost in dollars
Percent of total
Cost in dollars
Percent of total
San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA
$53.65
100.0%
$16.20
30.2%
$37.46
69.8%
New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA
43.39
100.0
13.58
31.3
29.81
68.7
Seattle-Tacoma, WA
42.57
100.0
12.9
30.3
29.67
69.7
Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-CT
41.49
100.0
13.03
31.4
28.46
68.6
Houston-The Woodlands, TX
39.41
100.0
11.04
28.0
28.37
72.0
Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA
39.36
100.0
11.1
28.2
28.26
71.8
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI
37.98
100.0
11.3
29.7
26.68
70.3
Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA
37.41
100.0
10.74
28.7
26.66
71.3
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ MSA
36.51
100.0
10.95
30.0
25.56
70.0
Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD
36.33
100.0
11.46
31.5
24.88
68.5
Atlanta-Athens-Clarke County-Sandy Springs, GA
35.82
100.0
10.79
30.1
25.03
69.9
Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor, MI
35.6
100.0
11.56
32.5
24.04
67.5
Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI
35.42
100.0
10.74
30.3
24.68
69.7
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX-OK
34.47
100.0
9.74
28.3
24.73
71.7
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Port St. Lucie, FL
28.48
100.0
8.17
28.7
20.31
71.3
 :
Among these areas, wages and salaries as a proportion of total compensation was lowest in Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor, Michigan, where wages and salaries accounted for 67.5 percent of total compensation and benefits accouted for 32.5 percent. Wages and salaries as a proportion of total compensation were highest in Houston-The Woodlands, Texas, where wages and salaries were 72.0 percent of total compensation.
For the nation as a whole, total employer compensation costs for private industry workers averaged $34.49 per hour worked in March 2019. Wages and salaries averaged $24.17 per hour worked and accounted for 70.1 percent of total employer costs. Benefit costs averaged $10.33 per hour worked and accounted for the remaining 29.9 percent.
United States Department of Labor
