Annual wages in Alaska averaged $37,134 in 2002, an increase of 2.7 percent over the year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. Acting Regional Commissioner Nancy Treadwell noted that Alaska's wage level was slightly higher than the national average ($36,764), but was below that for the Pacific division¹ ($40,078). (See table 1.) Alaska ranked 15th highest among all states in wage level and 22nd in rate of increase.

Within the 5-state division, annual wages exceeded the national average in California ($41,419), Washington ($38,242), and Alaska. In the two remaining states, pay levels averaged $33,684 in Oregon and $32,671 in Hawaii. (See table 1.) Four of the five states posted wage gains above or close to the nationwide average of 1.5 percent -- Hawaii (4.5 percent), Alaska (2.7 percent), Washington (2.1 percent), and Oregon (1.4 percent). Still, average wages in the Pacific division grew at the slower than average pace of 0.7 percent in 2002, largely due to California's low rate of growth (0.2 percent), fifth slowest in the nation. Hawaii, on the other hand, had the fastest wage growth in the nation.

Eleven of the 15 states in the U.S. where the average wage level surpassed the national average fell along the east and west coasts. The five highest wage levels nationwide were in the District of Columbia ($57,914), Connecticut ($46,852), New York ($46,328), New Jersey ($45,182), and Massachusetts ($44,954). (See chart A.) The five states with the lowest annual wages in 2002 - Montana, South Dakota, North Dakota, Mississippi, and Arkansas - have posted the five lowest wage levels every year since 1988. Wages in those states ranged from $26,001 to $28,074.

Four-fifths of the 50 states and the District of Columbia had percentage increases in annual wages that exceeded the 1.5-percent growth rate for the nation. Hawaii (4.5 percent), followed by Nebraska (3.8 percent), and the District of Columbia and Rhode Island (3.6 percent each), had the fastest rates of gain in 2002. Eleven other states had percentage increases of 3 percent or more. After a 5-year period without any state or jurisdiction experiencing a decrease in average annual wages, two states, New York (-0.9 percent) and Connecticut (-0.3 percent), reported a decline during 2002. In addition to California, other states with low or no wage growth included Texas (0.6 percent), Colorado (0.1 percent), and Massachusetts (0.0 percent).

Annual wage data are compiled from reports submitted by employers subject to State and federal Unemployment Insurance (UI) laws covering 128.2 million full- and part-time workers nationwide. Average annual wage is computed by dividing total annual payrolls of employees covered by UI programs by the average monthly number of these employees. (See Technical Note.) Wage differences among states reflect the varying composition of employment by occupation, industry, and hours of work, as well as other factors. Similarly, over-the-year wage changes may reflect shifts in these characteristics, as well as changes in the level of average wages.

¹The Pacific division referenced in this release corresponds to the Census definition and is comprised of five states: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington.

Annual wages in Alaska's private sector industries, which comprised 73.8 percent of the work force, increased 2.6 percent in 2002; nationally, wages in the private sector expanded by 1.1 percent. (See table 2.) Private sector wages in Alaska averaged $35,950, fairly close to the national average of $36,539. Retail trade was Alaska's largest industry sector, accounting for 16.0 percent of all private sector employment, followed by health care and social assistance with 12.9 percent. (See chart B.) Mining was the highest-paid industry in the State in 2002, averaging $91,419. Mining workers in Alaska were also the highest paid within the industry nationwide. Arts, entertainment, and recreation was the lowest-paid industry in the State at $14,240. Nine of the 19 private sector industries in Alaska, or roughly half, had higher wage levels than in the United States as a whole.

Among all private sector industries in Alaska that had reportable wages in 2001, only management of companies and enterprises reported a decrease in wages in 2002. Changes in wages ranged from a 2.9-percent decline in management of companies and enterprises to a 9.6-percent increase in educational services. Other high wage growth industries were manufacturing, and administrative and waste services, with increases of 8.7 and 5.7 percent, respectively. Within manufacturing, a wage gain of 11.4 percent in the food manufacturing subsector was the driving force behind the overall industry increase in the State.

Metropolitan area wages

Average wages in Anchorage, Alaska's lone metropolitan area, were $39,112 in 2002; this was above the national average for all metropolitan areas of $38,423. Among the 318 metropolitan areas nationwide, average wages in Anchorage ranked 33rd overall. (See table 3.) From 2001 to 2002 wages in Anchorage increased 2.9 percent, well above the 1.4-percent average recorded for all metropolitan areas.

Nationwide, San Jose, Calif., retained its position as the metropolitan area with the highest average annual wages ($63,056), a position it has held since 1997. Still, wages in San Jose were down 4.4 percent over the year--the second-largest decline among the 14 metropolitan areas in the U.S. with decreases in 2002. New York, N.Y., had the second highest wage level ($57,708), followed by San Francisco, Calif. ($56,602); New Haven-Bridgeport-Stamford-Waterbury-Danbury, Conn. ($51,170); and Middlesex-Somerset-Hunterdon, N.J. ($50,457). No other metropolitan area in the country had a wage level greater than $50,000. Wages in these five areas ranged from 31 to 64 percent above the $38,423 average for all metropolitan areas in the nation. Of the 318 metropolitan areas in the United States, only 38 reported levels above the average metropolitan wage.

For the 13th straight year, Jacksonville, N.C., had the lowest average annual wage among metropolitan areas ($22,269). The second lowest wage level occurred in Brownsville-Harlingen-San Benito, Tex. ($22,892), followed by McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Tex. ($23,179), Yuma, Ariz. ($23,429), and Myrtle Beach, S.C. ($24,672). While the order of rankings has differed in prior years, these five metropolitan areas have had the lowest average annual wages since 1996. From 2001 to 2002, 45 metropolitan areas experienced less than average wage growth (1.4 percent). Of these, 13 areas had increases of 1.0 to 1.3 percent, 17 experienced growth of less than 1 percent and one metropolitan area had no change. Fourteen areas recorded declines in average annual wages. Seven metropolitan areas reported declines of 1 percent or less in average annual wages, six areas reported declines of more than 1 percent but less than 5 percent, and one reported a decline of more than 5 percent.

Wages in large counties

Average wages in Anchorage, Alaska's lone large county, were $39,112 in 2002. Among the 315 large counties nationwide, wages in Anchorage ranked 77th overall. From 2001 to 2002, average wages in Anchorage County rose 2.9 percent; the increase was above the nationwide average of 1.5 percent, ranking 124th in wage growth. (See table 4.)

New York County, N.Y., comprised entirely of the borough of Manhattan, retained the top position among the highest-paid large counties with an average annual wage of $72,454. Santa Clara County, Calif., was second averaging $63,056, followed by Fairfield, Conn. with $60,712, San Francisco, Calif. with $58,510, and Suffolk, Mass. with $58,253. There were 201 counties with wage levels below the national average. Cameron County, Texas ($22,892) reported the lowest wage, followed by the counties of Hidalgo, Texas ($23,179), Horry, S.C. ($24,672), Yakima, Wash. ($24,934), and Pasco, Fla. ($25,602).

Manatee County, Fla., led the nation in wage growth with an increase of 7.3 percent from 2001 to 2002. Kitsap County, Wash., was second with 7.1-percent growth, followed by Alexandria City, Va. (5.4 percent), Elkhart County, Ind. (5.3 percent), Onondaga County, N.Y., (5.2 percent), and Madison County, Ala. (5.1 percent). No other large counties in the country had percentage increases of 5 percent or more. Twenty-two large counties showed declines in average annual wages from 2001 to 2002. Loudon County, Va., had the largest decrease, registering a 22.1-percent decline. Williamson County, Tex., was second with a 16.8-percent decline, followed by the counties of San Mateo, Calif. (-8.1 percent), Santa Clara, Calif. (-4.4 percent), and San Francisco, Calif. (-4.2 percent).