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What US Cities Pay the Most (and Least) for Everyday Jobs

From accountants to nurses to data scientists, the same job can deliver about 50% more pay if you’re willing and able to relocate.

Office workers at desks in a WeWork co-working office space in the Waterloo district in London, U.K. on Monday, Aug. 2, 2021. A survey this month showed that just 17% of London’s white-collar workers want a full-time return, and many said it’d take a pay rise to get them back five days a week. Photographer: Jason Alden/Bloomberg
Office workers at desks in a WeWork co-working office space in the Waterloo district in London, U.K. on Monday, Aug. 2, 2021. A survey this month showed that just 17% of London’s white-collar workers want a full-time return, and many said it’d take a pay rise to get them back five days a week. Photographer: Jason Alden/Bloomberg

Common jobs can vary widely in salary, depending on where in the US they’re based.   

Want to be in accounting or human resources? New York City pays the best, according to an analysis by workforce intelligence firm Revelio Labs. Administrative assistants and customer-service reps, meanwhile, should head to Chicago. And nurses and lab technicians might want to head out west to get the most bang for their salary buck. The data are adjusted based on median income levels in cities.

“Many factors impact salaries in a city —  the types of employers present, the overall income and cost of living there, and the relative supply and demand for a role,” said Lisa Simon, senior economist at Revelio. “In absolute terms, a data scientist may make the most in San Francisco, but that is no longer true when we adjust for the cost of living there. For nurses, the best place is the relatively remote Bakersfield, California, while accountants benefit from being in the city close to where their clients are.”

What US Cities Pay the Most (and Least) for Everyday Jobs

The findings unearth some quirks inside what remains a strong US labor market, with hiring and pay gains  accelerating in April despite mounting layoffs and increasing signs of corporate belt-tightening. There are plenty of job openings out there, but they’re “no longer resisting gravity and clearly trending downward,” according to Nick Bunker, the economic research director for North America at job site Indeed.

With remote-friendly job options steadily declining over the past year, according to LinkedIn, those career opportunities are increasingly tethered to a particular city or region. So jobseekers should know, say, that a law clerk in Washington will make 50% more than one in Riverside, California.

Company-sponsored employee relocations are another option for those looking for a change of scenery. More than two in three organizations surveyed by transportation firm Atlas World Group reported an increase in the overall number of employees who relocated last year, up from 61% who said so in 2021. Companies with between 100 and 199 workers were the most likely to move workers, the survey found, and the most common reason cited was to transfer skills and knowledge to areas in need. A majority of firms expect to increase the number of employees they’ll relocate in 2023.

The Revelio salary differentials contain a few surprises. For example, New York is usually a highly-remunerative location, but not for economists, who stand to make 35% more in Seattle. 

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