Average Wage
The average wage is a measure of individual economic well-being for those working in wage and salary jobs. It is calculated from wage and salary disbursements and wage and salary employment.
The latest current dollar average wage figure by county is presented on Arizona Indicators, along with data for the same year for the United States, the U.S. metro average, the U.S. nonmetro average, and Arizona. The figure for Arizona also is expressed as a percentage of the national average. Counties within a metropolitan area are presented as a percentage of the U.S. metro average; the remaining counties are compared to the national nonmetro average. A history of Arizona’s current dollar figure as a percentage of the national average is presented back to 1969. In addition, the inflation-adjusted percent change in average wage is displayed for each area, beginning with 1970. The data are inflation adjusted using the gross domestic product implicit price deflator (GDP deflator).
Annual data are from the U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis. State and national data are reported nine months after the end of a year. The data can be accessed from http://www.bea.gov/regional/spi/; wage and salary disbursements and wage and salary employment are included in table SA04. Preliminary county data are released 12 months after the end of a year, accessible at http://www.bea.gov/regional/reis/; wage and salary disbursements and wage and salary employment are included in table CA34. Revised county data are released 16 months after the end of a year, accessible at http://www.bea.gov/regional/reis/; wage and salary disbursements and wage and salary employment are included in table CA04.
The GDP deflator is available from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis: http://www.bea.gov/national/nipaweb/SelectTable.asp?Selected=Y (Table 1.1.9).
The employment and disbursement figures are estimates that are primarily based on the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages. However, the BEA must estimate employment and disbursements for those employees not counted in the census. Proprietors are not included. The employment data do not distinguish between full- and part-time employment. Thus, the average wage has not been adjusted for those jobs in which more or less than 40 hours per week are worked.
Average Wage, 2009
Visualization Notes:
Reasonable targets for Arizona are for the state’s average wage to be near the national average, for the larger metro counties to have a figure near the U.S. metro average, and for the nonmetro counties to have a figure equal to the nonmetro average.
The most recent data for average wage by county are for 2009. These estimates remain subject to revision. The preliminary data indicate that the average wage in 2009 was less than the U.S. metro average in each of the state’s seven metropolitan counties. However, seven of the eight nonmetro counties had a figure in excess of the U.S. nonmetro average.
Average Wage as Percentages of the National Averages, 2009
Visualization Notes:
Among Arizona’s seven metropolitan counties, Maricopa was the only one with an average wage that approached the U.S. metro average in 2009, at 3 percent less. Each of the others had a figure from 14-to-31 percent below the metro average. In contrast, among the eight nonmetro counties, the average wages in Cochise and Greenlee were far higher than the U.S. nonmetro average and five counties had a figure from 3-to-13 percent higher. Only in La Paz County was the figure lower than average.
Average Wage in Arizona as a Percentage of the National Average
Visualization Notes:
A reasonable target is for Arizona’s average wage to be near the national average. This was the case during the early 1970s when the state’s figure was within 1 percent of the national average. The average wage in Arizona was within 5 percent of the national average in each year from 1969 through 1984. During the 2000s, Arizona’s figure has been between 5 and 6 percent below average, with the 2010 figure 5.9 percent less.
Average Wage, Inflation-Adjusted Percent Change
Visualization Notes:
The inflation-adjusted percent change in the average wage is cyclical, with declines or small gains common during recessions and larger increases usually occurring during expansions. The annual percent change in Arizona typically is not much different from the national average; it was a little above average from 2004 through 2006, but was below average in three of the last four years.
Data Source
Annual data are from the U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis. State and national data are reported nine months after the end of a year. The data can be accessed from http://www.bea.gov/regional/spi/; wage and salary disbursements and wage and salary employment are included in table SA04. Preliminary county data are released 12 months after the end of a year, accessible at http://www.bea.gov/regional/reis/; wage and salary disbursements and wage and salary employment are included in table CA34. Revised county data are released 16 months after the end of a year, accessible at http://www.bea.gov/regional/reis/; wage and salary disbursements and wage and salary employment are included in table CA04.
The GDP deflator is available from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis: http://www.bea.gov/national/nipaweb/SelectTable.asp?Selected=Y (Table 1.1.9).
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