National study rates San Francisco
metropolitan area wages highest in U.S.

By Bren Begin, Bay City News Service

September 28, 2006

Workers in the three largest cities in the San Francisco Bay Area are the highest paid in the country, according to a report released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The study, which included data on nine different occupations in 123 metropolitan areas, placed pay in San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose far above other cities like Boston and New York.

Combined salaries in the three Bay Area cities are 17 percent above the national average, according to the report. San Francisco excelled especially in the service and construction industries where workers earn 23 percent more than average wages across the country.

But while the report encompasses several different fields and pay structures, it fails to incorporate the cost of living, which according to the Public Policy Institute of California is a key factor in determining poverty.

According to "Poverty in California," a study released in May, San Francisco has one of the state's highest costs of living, and despite a minimum wage expected to go up to $9.14 in January, workers still struggle to live. The average rent, for example, in San Francisco in 2004 was $1,175 per month for a two-bedroom apartment.

When the cost of living is taken into account, according to the institute's study, San Francisco's poverty level more than doubles.

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