Thursday, July 10, 2014

10 Cities Where Wages Are Increasing

The top city has seen a 3 percent rise in wages



According to the quarterly PayScale Index, wages have risen 7.4 percent overall since 2006. But you'd never know it, because when you take inflation into account and look at what those wages can actually purchase, they've actually fallen closer to 7.9 percent. Nevertheless, improvement is anticipated for 2014's third quarter, to the tune of a 1.9 percent increase in wage growth.

This is good news for people working in the mining, transportation, and real estate industries, which saw the most growth in Q2. But what about which cities have had the most significant wage increases this year? We'd wait for the Q3 report before you start considering a move, but for now let's take a look at the top 10.

USA, Columbia, Washington DC, Capitol Building
Flickr
10. Washington, D.C.
Q2 2014 year-over-year percentage change in pay: 1.8 percent

Downtown Tampa Florida Skyline at Night
Getty Images
9. Tampa
Q2 2014 year-over-year percentage change in pay: 1.9 percent

Midtown Atlanta Skyline in Fall
Getty Images
8. Atlanta
Q2 2014 year-over-year percentage change in pay: 2.0 percent

Famous Lombard Street in San Francisco
Getty Images

7. San Francisco
Q2 2014 year-over-year percentage change in pay: 2.1 percent

Manhattan Rooftops
Getty Images

6. New York
Q2 2014 year-over-year percentage change in pay: 2.1 percent

Boston State Street
Getty Images

5. Boston
Q2 2014 year-over-year percentage change in pay: 2.2 percent

Chicago
Getty Images

4 [tie]. Chicago and Detroit
Q2 2014 year-over-year percentage change in pay: 2.4 percent

The Stone Arch Bridge in Minneapolis Minnesota.
Getty Images

2. Minneapolis
Q2 2014 year-over-year percentage change in pay: 2.7 percent

Houston Skyline - Buffalo Bayou Bridge
Getty Images

1. Houston
Q2 2014 year-over-year percentage change in pay: 3.0 percent

Take a bow, Houston residents! It must be mentioned, however, that these cities have a high cost of living to go along with their wage growth--New York and San Francisco in particular make frequent appearances on lists of the nation's most expensive places to live. As for the cities where wages have actually decreased over the past year, well, best of luck in the next quarter, Miami, Phoenix, and Riverside, California.

Head over to PayScale for more from the report, or just check out this interactive chart to explore trends by industry, job category, and metro area.
Annual Trends in Compensation for National (US)
National (US)
National (US) Forecast

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