For most workers, salary and cost of living play a major role in where they choose to live and work. Not surprisingly, information technology managers and staffers working in the biggest and most technology-focused cities in the United States will earn the highest median salaries this year, according to a nationwide salary survey of IT managers and staff conducted by Network Computing in conjunction with an economic analysis by researchers at the Software Industry Center at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.
The top-dollar towns for IT manager and staff salaries are San Francisco, New York, Boston and the Washington metropolitan area, according to the study, which is available as part of the Network Computing salary survey and methodology. The study provides a basis for evaluating compensation and benefit trends for IT managers and staff in 20 major metropolitan areas throughout the United States.
Of the 18 percent of IT professionals who said the location of their company was among the factors that matter most about their jobs, the highest percentage are from Denver; Phoenix; Portland, Ore.; San Diego; and Seattle. The lowest percentage are from Atlanta, Chicago, Indianapolis and Philadelphia.
Of course, big cities equal big bucks: IT managers in San Francisco earn the most, with a median base salary of $105,000. Other top cities for IT manager pay are New York ($95,000), Boston ($90,000) and the Washington metro area ($90,000). IT managers who work in smaller cities, such as Austin, Texas ($77,000), St. Louis ($76,000), Kansas City, Mo. ($75,000), and Indianapolis ($71,000), earn less in base salary.
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National Salary Survey
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For IT staffers, meanwhile, San Francisco again comes out on top with a median salary of $76,000. Next are New York ($68,200), Boston ($68,000) and the Washington metropolitan area ($67,000). Salaries are lower for staffers in smaller cities, such as St. Louis ($56,000), Indianapolis ($54,100) and Portland, Ore. ($54,000).
Cost of Living Counts
But factor in the cost of living, and it's a different story. The rankings shift significantly when IT salaries in the Network Computing survey/Carnegie Mellon University economic analysis are adjusted to account for metrics such as the Accra Cost of Living Index 1999 and the Places Rated indexes from the sixth edition of Places Rated Almanac (David Savageau and Ralph B. D'Agostino; Hungry Minds: November 1999).
Using the Accra Cost of Living Index, or COLI, to account for cost of living in the cities in this survey, Houston ranks at the top for IT manager salaries, with a median adjusted salary of $91,900. The next cities for highest adjusted managerial salaries are Dallas ($87,600), Atlanta ($82,300), St. Louis ($78,600), Denver ($78,300) and Austin ($78,300). At the bottom of the scale are Boston ($65,900), San Diego ($64,900) and New York ($40,900).
The COLI also changes the scale of salaries for IT staffers. Texas cities again come out on top, with Houston first, with a median salary of about $68,600. Next are Dallas ($65,700) and Austin ($63,500) and then Atlanta ($62,900). Here's a reality check for paycheck-mongers: San Francisco, with $47,800, and New York, with $29,400, fall to the bottom of the list.
Using the Places Rated indexes for comparing IT salaries in different areas, Houston also comes out on top with the highest manager salaries with a median of $84,500, followed by Dallas ($82,200) and Atlanta ($76,600). San Diego ($57,000) and New York ($53,400) rank the lowest, according to this index. For salaries of IT staffers, the Places Rated indexes also put Houston at the top with $63,100, followed by Dallas ($61,700), Atlanta ($58,600) and Austin ($58,400). Lowest in salaries are San Diego ($42,200) and New York ($38,300).
Some technology chiefs say variations in living costs in different locations can be a factor in attracting new employees. Dave Stutts, director of technology resource management at Virginia Port Authority in Norfolk, recalls a young IT worker in the past year considering jobs at Virginia Port Authority and another position in Washington, D.C. He took the job at the port authority because "he realized the cost of living in Virginia would be lower than in Washington," Stutts says. "That can make a difference."
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