The Highest-Paying Counties (counties with the highest and lowest average weekly wages)

New York Times ^ | 7/22/2009 | Catherine Rampell

[SeekAndFind]

he Bureau of Labor Statistics released new numbers today on employment and wages by county.

The data are from the last quarter of 2008. Of the 335 larger counties surveyed, New York had the highest weekly wages, with an average of $1,856. That’s twice the national average of $918 a week. (Of course, the cost of living in New York is much higher than the rest of the country.)



New York wages, like those in many counties, were trending downward. Compared to the same period the year before, wages fell 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008. The average for the United States overall grew 2.2 percent.

St. Louis City had the biggest growth in wages — 56.8 percent, which the Labor Department attributes predominantly to “the professional and business services and manufacturing supersectors.”

Here are the counties with the biggest percentage increases and declines in average weekly pay:

[rabscuttle385]

St. Louis making as much as Arlington? That’s a bit of a shock.

[cranked]

This is almost misleading because such discussions of who or which has the highest weekly wages, invariably, cost of living are/is left out.

Look at those counties with the highest average weekly wages....and compare the wages to cost of living in those counties. Ridiculous.

[thefactor]

i live and work in manhattan.

sure the rents are ridiculous, but there are deals to be had. many people do not have a car so no payments/insurance (i have one but it's all paid for so insurance is low).

a movie costs $12.50 for one ticket at my theater. gas is at $2.89 for regular. i don't look at prices in the grocery store because i need that stuff. but i do buy store brands if the option is there.

a bottle of budweiser costs $6-10 depending on where you go. if you hit a good happy hour you can still get a can of pabst blue ribbon for $2. life is good.

[SeekAndFind]

How much does the average Manhatanite pay for gourmet coffee ? ( e.g. Espresso, Cappuccino or Latte? )

[Pessimist]

Are they saying household income, or per-person?

I hate when they don’t tell you the specific inputs to their stats.

[thefactor]

ha! you managed to find the one manhattanite who has never tried coffee!

but from what i have seen, it depends. you can go to a deli and get a cup for a dollar.

but starbucks prices seem to be the same as other cities i think since it is a chain and they can standardize their prices.

but again, i can only speak from observation, not personal experience. there are so many places to get coffee in the city and that competition seems to keep prices lower.

[ozarkgirl]

This also has lowest paying counties? I don’t see it. I went to the article, couldn’t find and so I thought I’d google it - first thing that came up on Google was this thread!! But still can’t find lowest paying counties.

[outpostinmass2]

Who cares? ...and it is their choice anyway.

Boston is close to New York in living costs as well. But....a lot of those costs are choices people make. You can live as cheap here as any where else. Sure there are expensive steak restaurants but there are also prime rib dinner specials for $12.00 here.

The life styles of the rich and famous jack up the average living costs. Don't get me wrong, the costs are higher here. But they are not as high as people think.

[Buckeye McFrog]

???? WTF?

Did Minimum Wage in Missouri suddenly quadruple overnight or something??