U.S. Pay Varies Widely by Location

Our annual U.S. geographic pay analysis of technology and life science industry wages shows the variability in pay rates between locales and areas and demonstrates the importance of considering the impact of geography on pay.

Culpepper Compensation Surveys provide three different types of U.S. geographic data cuts.

Each step-up, from Geographic Locale to Geographic Area to Pay Zone, provides a larger grouping of geographic data with similar pay rates.

This year's analysis confirms that the California Bay Area continues to have the highest market wage levels in the U.S. In locales within the California Bay Area, companies pay an average rate of 112.7% of the national average.

The next highest area, Middle-Atlantic High, falls below California Bay Area pay levels at 108.4% of the national average. Northwest High, Northeast High, and Mountain/Plains High round out the top five highest wage areas in the U.S.

Participants report the lowest wage levels for employees in the Mountain/Plains Low and Northwest Low areas. These areas include most of the great plains and northwestern states, but exclude higher-paying metro locations within them.

Table 1 displays the Culpepper Geographic Pay Index (CGPI) for different locales and areas in the U.S. The CGPI is calculated from actual employee pay data by zip code collected from participating companies in Culpepper Compensation Surveys.

Table 1: Market Wage Levels by U.S. Geographic Area
Geographic Area	Locales	Culpepper Geographic Pay Index (CGPI) (Average Pay Rate of the Geographic Area as a Percent of National Average)
Pay Zone 1 (110.0% of National Average and above)
California Bay Area	CA: East & North Bay CA: San Francisco CA: Silicon Valley	112.7%
Pay Zone 2 (105.0% - 109.9% of National Average)
Middle-Atlantic High	NJ: Newark NY: New York City NY: Westchester	108.4%
Pay Zone 3 (100.0% - 104.9% of National Average)
Northwest High	WA: Seattle	104.2%
Northeast High	CT: Bridgeport/New Haven CT: Stamford/Greenwich/Norwalk MA: Boston MA: Worcester NH: Manchester	103.8%
Mountain/Plains High	CO: Denver/Boulder	103.7%
Southwest High	CA: Los Angeles CA: Orange County CA: Sacramento CA: San Diego	103.2%
Middle-Atlantic Mid	DE: Wilmington DC: Washington, D.C. MD: Baltimore MD: D.C. Suburbs MD: Other NJ: Atlantic City NJ: Trenton NJ: Other NY: Buffalo NY: Long Island PA: Philadelphia VA: D.C. Suburbs VA: Reston/Dulles	102.8%
Midwest High	IL: Chicago MN: Minneapolis/St. Paul	101.9%
Southeast High	FL: Miami/Ft. Lauderdale GA: Atlanta	100.4%
Pay Zone 4 (97.0% - 99.9% of National Average)
Northeast Mid	CT: Hartford MA: Other MA: Springfield RI: Other RI: Providence VT: Burlington	99.9%
Northwest Mid	OR: Other OR: Portland WA: Other WA: Tacoma/Olympia	99.9%
Southwest Mid	AZ: Phoenix AZ: Tucson CA: Bakersfield CA: Fresno CA: Oxnard/Ventura CA: Stockton/Modesto CA: Other NV: Las Vegas TX: Austin TX: Dallas/Ft. Worth TX: Houston	99.3%
Midwest Mid	IN: Indianapolis MI: Detroit/Ann Arbor MI: Grand Rapids MO: Kansas City (KS & MO) MO: St. Louis OH: Cincinnati/Dayton OH: Cleveland/Akron/Canton OH: Columbus OH: Toledo WI: Madison WI: Milwaukee	97.7%
Non-Contiguous U.S.	AK: Alaska GU: Guam HI: Hawaiian Islands PR: Puerto Rico	97.6%
Southeast Mid	FL: Orlando FL: Tampa/St. Petersburg LA: New Orleans NC: Charlotte NC: Greensboro/Winston-Salem NC: Research Triangle SC: Charleston TN: Knoxville TN: Nashville	97.2%
Pay Zone 5 (94.0% - 96.9% of National Average)
Mountain/Plains Mid	CO: Colorado Springs CO: Other NE: Omaha/Lincoln OK: Oklahoma City	96.2%
Middle-Atlantic Low	DE: Other NY: Other NY: Rochester PA: Pittsburgh PA: Other VA: Norfolk/Virginia Beach VA: Other VA: Richmond WV: West Virginia	96.0%
Northeast Low	CT: Other ME: Portland ME: Other NH: Other VT: Other	95.7%
Southwest Low	AZ: Other NV: Other NM: Albuquerque NM: Other TX: San Antonio TX: Other UT: Salt Lake City UT: Other	94.7%
Pay Zone 6 (93.9% of National Average and below)
Southeast Low	AL: Birmingham AL: Huntsville AL: Mobile AL: Montgomery AL: Other AR: Little Rock AR: Other FL: Jacksonville FL: Other GA: Augusta GA: Columbus GA: Macon GA: Other KY: Lexington KY: Louisville KY: Other LA: Other MS: Jackson MS: Other NC: Other SC: Columbia SC: Greenville/Spartanburg SC: Other TN: Chattanooga TN: Memphis TN: Other	93.9%
Midwest Low	IA: Cedar Rapids IA: Des Moines IA: Other IL: Other IN: Other KS: Other MI: Other MN: Other MO: Other OH: Other WI: Other	93.2%
Mountain/Plains Low	MT: Billings MT: Other ND: North Dakota NE: Other OK: Other OK: Tulsa SD: South Dakota WY: Wyoming	92.6%
Northwest Low	ID: Boise ID: Other WA: Spokane	91.0%
Note: States with "Other" designations exclude the locations within locales already specified for that state (e.g., "AZ: Other" is all of Arizona excluding Phoenix and Tucson, which are designated within their own locales, "AZ: Phoenix" and "AZ: Tucson").