"For decades, wages have been rising," says Issi Romem, a fellow at the ADP Research Institute. And as of the last few years, amid the pandemic, "they've been rising more."
Romem is part of a team of ADP researchers who recently surveyed the 53 biggest metro areas in the U.S. (those with more than 1 million residents) to see where salaried workers had seen the biggest gains between 2019 and 2021. Among its findings, The Geography of Recent U.S. Wage Growth found salaried workers at every end of the spectrum ― high, median and low ― saw a rise.
When it comes to median-income earners, for example, average monthly earnings in the U.S. went from $6,325 in 2019 to $6,753 in 2021, a 6.77% rise.
Here are the 10 metro areas with the greatest gains for median-income earners, including their percent gain and average monthly salaries in 2019 and 2021.
Austin-Round Rock, Texas
Percent gain: 9.40%
2019 monthly salary: $7,063
Money Report
2021 monthly salary: $7,727
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-Pennsylvania
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Percent gain: 9.51%
2019 monthly salary: $6,763
2021 monthly salary: $7,406
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California
Percent gain: 9.71%
2019 monthly salary: $6,987
2021 monthly salary: $7,666
Grand Rapids-Wyoming, Michigan
Percent gain: 9.97%
2019 monthly salary: $5,632
2021 monthly salary: $6,193
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD
Percent gain: 10.00%
2019 monthly salary: $6,275
2021 monthly salary: $6,902
New Orleans-Metairie, Louisiana
Percent gain: 10.57%
2019 monthly salary: $5,045
2021 monthly salary: $5,579
Providence-Warwick, Rhode Island-Massachusetts
Percent gain: 11.12%
2019 monthly salary: $6,156
2021 monthly salary: $6,841
Sacramento-Roseville-Arden-Arcade, California
Percent gain: 11.22%
2019 monthly salary: $6,600
2021 monthly salary: $7,340
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, North Carolina-South Carolina
Percent gain: 12.36%
2019 monthly salary: $6,081
2021 monthly salary: $6,832
Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, New York
Percent gain: 14.01%
2019 monthly salary: $5,276
2021 monthly salary: $6,015
"Labor shortages are the key word that explains what is going on," says Sinem Buber, lead economist at ZipRecruiter. "We don't have enough people, we have too many jobs." This tight labor market ultimately means employers are competing for workers and raising wages as a result.
Employers are also trying to keep wages in sync with inflation, she says, which has affected the price of food and shelter, among other expenses,this past year. The consumer price index rose 8.3% year over year in August.
Many workers are reporting their current paychecks ― even after a raise ― aren't enough.
"We are able to afford less with a bigger paycheck ― that's the case for every single percentile in the wage spectrum," says Buber. "Workers are demanding higher wages right now because they are not able to keep up with the high inflation."
Check out:
You should ask for a raise right now—here's how
What's a good salary or raise to ask for right now? How to find your number in this wild job market
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