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Garden State’s paychecks are Green
03/11/03
By: Teresa M. McAleavy, The Record
New Jersey is disparaged for high property taxes and auto insurance rates, but when it comes to salaries, residents win: Employers here tend to pay considerably more than the national median.
For a job that pays $30,000 nationally, for example, a worker in Newark will likely earn $33,900, or 13 percent more.
"When it comes to the cost of labor, location matters,'' said Darrell Cira of New York-based Mercer Human Resources Consulting.
The data, from Mercer's 2003 Geographic Salary Differentials Survey, are used largely by employers with workers in several locations throughout the country.
"It helps employers understand where they should be setting their pay lines for specific geographies,'' said Cira, a senior compensation consultant in Mercer's Philadelphia office. "It's a way for them to make sure they stay competitive and fair.''
The annual survey compares local pay rates for jobs in more than 175 cities to the national median. Pay rates were measured for such positions as secretaries, accountants, and human resource specialists.
"Employers want to pay to the market and that varies from location to location,'' Cira said.
In all cases, New Jersey municipalities included in the survey outpaced the national median.
"It's the New York City bedroom-community effect,'' said Dan Moynihan, a principal in Compensation Resources Inc., an Upper Saddle River-based human resources consulting firm.
"Bergen and Passaic counties are among the highest housing markets in the country," he said. "You just have to have higher-than-average income.''
The survey found that a $30,000 salary nationally would be 12.9 percent higher in Middlesex Township, 11.9 percent higher in Parsippany, 7.2 percent higher in Trenton, and 4.3 percent higher in Atlantic City.
John Sarno, president of the Employers Association of New Jersey, said talent and resources also drive up salaries here.
"For employers, it's a trade-off,'' Sarno said. "You have to have higher wages because New Jersey is a premium location and has excellent universities, research facilities, and transportation. It's a quality labor pool.''
Although the Mercer survey does not include information on local resources, transportation, housing, and other factors, Cira said it can be useful for workers who are considering a move.
"In the northern New Jersey area, it's fairly clear that pay is above the national average,'' Cira said. "But the cost of living is high, so you may have less disposable income or buy smaller homes.''
People in Little Rock, Ark., who earn the lowest pay rates measured in the survey, may have more elbow room but they don't have as many jobs to apply for, Cira said.
They earn 10.6 percent less, or $26,820 against the national median of $30,000.
"It depends on what your priorities are,'' Cira said.
"People there may have more bang for their buck, but they don't have the shore.''
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