Best Cities and Average Salaries

[gekkoplus]

Recent data listing best cities for tech job in the US ranks San Jose No.1. I was thrown out of my chair when I saw the average wage figure - $145K.

1. San Jose/Silicon Valley - BusinessWeek

Could this be real? I live in bay area and earn much less than average though I know my salary is pretty competitive in the marketplace.

I think extreme high salaries of C-level execs are skewing the overall average of population towards higher side. In this case a median would have been a better metric. What do you think?

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I know tons of people in SJ and $145 doesn't sound too high. Most are friends in their 30s, making $100k+.

[MonkeyMama]

I agree (I am from San Jose) - I am sure the median is much lower. Salaries have taken a hit since the tech bust as well. I think almost anyone can make $100k, but don't know many people making above say $130k.

But I agree that there are some highly compensated people in management, for sure. I would imagine that is much of it. I don't know really anyone in management. I have a relative who has been in tech for about 30+ years. He probably pulled $150k at the peak, and closer to $130k these days. He has avoided management, so it seems to me that is about as high as it gets without joining the ranks of management. It's extremely competitive as well.

[yellow heel]

did you check out salary.com?

[Gruntina]

That sounds about right for average income for high tech jobs in San Jose. I work in Silicon Valley and familiar with high tech jobs out there. (Especially software).

While there are a lot of people earning a lot less than 130k, that does not get you very far unless you were good with money management early on and save for a home and such. Median house pricing used to be around 800k in San Jose but now maybe 700k?
San Jose I believe has sales taxes around 8-9% which contributes to high cost of living as well.


Another thought to ponder on is that most marriage couples in this area are both working and bringing home the money. I have a lot of friends who earn more than 100k and they shop at Goodwill’s and Target for clothing.

[jIM_Ohio]

I was impressed my city and employer made the list. I also earn more than the average in my city.