20 US Cities with the Lowest Average Salaries
In a recent post, we listed America’s 20 highest paying cities, and then thought it would be interesting to look at the opposite side of the spectrum too: US cities with the lowest average salaries. Geo-specific salary information is a reflection of many factors, including (but not limited to) local costs of living, minimum wage […]
In a recent post, we listed America’s 20 highest paying cities, and then thought it would be interesting to look at the opposite side of the spectrum too: US cities with the lowest average salaries.
Geo-specific salary information is a reflection of many factors, including (but not limited to) local costs of living, minimum wage laws, the types of industry available, natural resources, and education opportunities.
Paying attention to local salary data is important for both workers and employers.
If you’re an employee you could be interested in understanding regional pay rates in order to inform where you want to live, growth opportunities in your career, and how to accurately negotiate pay in different states or regions. Generally high pay is correlated to high cost of living. Do you want to earn a lot and spend a lot? Or earn less and spend less?
If you’re an employer, regional pay metrics could inform a variety of your business strategies including things like: determining where to open a new office, and how to hire that’s most cost effective to your business. While tech-hub cities like San Francisco, Boulder/Denver, Seattle, and New York often become the home to startups, investors, and media attention, the reality is there are skilled workers throughout the country, and cheaper office space and labor could be more realistic that you think.
Take Detroit, for example. VentureBeat reported the quasi-abandoned city saw a 250% increase in startup investment in the past 5 years compared to the five years before that, from $577 million to $1.4 billion as investors saw an opportunity to get a bigger bang for their buck.
Could the lowest paying cities be a sparkle in startup founders’ eyes? Could our cheaper cities be home to piles of investment dollars in the near future?
All we can do now is look at the data, ask questions, and in this case, examine our country’s lowest paying cities.
(We know this is a state map as opposed to a city map, but we thought it would be easier to look at)
20 US Cities With the Lowest Average Salaries.
The following 20 cities listed below fall below the national average salary of $50,620, and together comprise the lowest paying US cities not including Puerto Rico (which actually makes up the bottom five).
Each city includes their local averaged salary and a multiplier, that we calculated with a little data crunching. If the multiplier equals 1, that would mean the average salary for that city is 1 x $50,620. If the multiplier was .75, it would be .75 x $50,620 and so on and so forth.
1. Gadsden, Alabama
Average salary: $35,434
Multiplier: .7
2. Brownsville, Texas
Average salary: $35,434
Multiplier: .7
3. Sebring, Florida
Average salary: $35,940
Multiplier: .71
4. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Average salary: $35,940
Multiplier: .71
5. Hot Springs, Arkansas
Average salary: $35,940
Multiplier: .71
6. Daphne, Alabama
Average salary: $35,940
Multiplier: .71
7. Jacksonville, North Carolina
Average salary: $36,446
Multiplier: .72
8. McAllen, Texas
Average salary: $36,446
Multiplier: .72
9. Morrison, Tennessee
Average salary: $36,446
Multiplier: .72
10. Valdosta, Georgia
Average salary: $36,952
Multiplier: .73
11. Laredo, Texas
Average salary: $36,952
Multiplier: .73
12. Fort Smith, Arkansas
Average salary:$36,952
Multiplier: .73
13. Hammond, Louisiana
Average salary: $62,768
Multiplier: .74
14. Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Average salary: $37,458
Multiplier: .74
15. Cleveland, Tennessee
Average salary: $37,458
Multiplier: .74
16. Goldsboro, North Carolina
Average salary: $37,458
Multiplier: .74
17. Anniston, Alabama
Average salary: $37,458
Multiplier: .74
18. Jonesboro, Arkansas
Average salary: $37,458
Multiplier: .75
19. Monroe, Louisiana
Average salary: $37,965
Multiplier: .75
20. Alexandria, Louisiana
Average salary: $37,965
Multiplier: .75
Want to Get More Granular Compensation Data?
To get more specific about the costs of particular roles, and account for things like experience levels or specific job titles, businesses use compensation benchmarking tools to forecast budget or workforce needs.
But hopefully this short list of cities with the lowest average salaries helps get you thinking about the wide range of salary expectations to better arm you for hiring, expanding your business footprint, or considering where the next urban revolution may occur.
