Many Chattanoogans may dream of earning a six-figure income, but fewer than one of every 71 workers in Chattanooga makes over $100,000 a year, a new study of higher paid workers reports.
In metro Chattanooga, you are only about one-fifth as likely to be paid a six-figure salary as you are in the rest of the country, according to the most recent data available from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Only 1.4% of all workers, or 3,290 employees in the 6-county Chattanooga metro area, earned over $100,000 in 2018. Nationwide, 6.7% of all workers, or more than 9.7 million Americans, earned six-figure incomes in 2018.
In coastal cities, especially in California, the share of workers earning more than $100,000 a year is rises to as much as 28.2% of all workers in in San Jose, California where over 300,000 workers reported six-figure incomes in 2018. Silicon Valley pay was boosted by the digital economy and the high share of software developers, which was one of the top six-figure income professions outside of management or health care in the country.
Among the top 10 metro areas for top-earning workers, five were in California and all of the top 10 were either in on the East or West coast of the United States.
Of course, the cost of living is far higher in those cities so workers need higher income to pay for more expensive housing, energy, food and a host of other services. The median home price in San Jose, California for instance, is more than $1 million, or more than four times the U.S. average.
The cost of living was even higher than San Jose in New York City, according to the American Chamber of Commerce Researchers Association.
"In some parts of the country, earning six figures is practically a requirement to live comfortably," said Kevin Fowler, who authored the study for the e-commerce software company Volusion.
In Chattanooga, the cost of living is 16.2% below the U.S. average, according to ratings data compiled distributed by the online real estate service BestPlaces.com.
Adjusted for the lower costs for housing, taxes and energy, the typical Chattanooga worker fares slightly better than the U.S. average. According to the BLS, the median wage for workers in Chattanooga is 2018 was $34,420. While that was 11% below the U.S. average wage in 2018 of $38,640, it was better than the U.S. average when adjusted for the 16.2% cheaper cost of living in Chattanooga.
Top cities for six-figure incomes
1. San Jose California, 28.2 percent of workers earn six-figure incomes; median wage is $60,1102. Washington D.C., 20.9 percent of workers earn six-figure incomes; median wage is $54,6803. San Francisco, 20.9 percent of workers earn six-figure incomes; median wage is $54,090 4. Boston, 14 percent of workers earn six-figure incomes; median wage if $51,5105. Seattle, 13.1 percent of workers earn six-figure incomes; median wage is $50,860Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2018 data analyzed by volusion.com
But BLS data also indicate that Chattanooga median wages, adjusted for inflation, actually declined 0.9% from 2015 to 2018, despite a 2.2% increase nationwide, due to the higher growth rate in lower paying jobs in food services and the hospitality industries.
The number of workers who topped $100,000 in pay rose in Chattanooga by 45.6% from 2015 to 2018, but that was only about half the 84.6% growth rate for six-figure wage workers nationwide.
In Chattanooga, BLS data indicate the highest-paying occupations remain in health care with the top three paying jobs being anesthesiologists, surgeons and and family and general practitioners. Additionally, Chattanooga's biggest share of "over-indexed" six-figure income jobs (where the local share tops the U.S. as a whole) was for nurse practitioners.
Most popular six-figure occupations in the U.S. / photo courtesy of the Bureau of Labor StatisticsNationally, general and operations managers are the most popular occupations with median annual earnings over $100,000. Nearly 2.3 million American employees work as general and operations managers.
Other six-figure jobs employing large numbers of Americans include software developers and computer and information systems managers and jobs in the healthcare industry, including pharmacists, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants.
But for the overwhelming number of Americans, the prospect of making $100,000 or more a year in income is still a stretch since the median pay is still more than 60% below the six-figure bar.
"Earning a six-figure income is a goal for many Americans, but few actually achieve it," Fowler said.
Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6340.