15 Cities With the Largest Employee-Manager Wage Gap

Editor's Note: This story originally appeared on Smartest Dollar.

Despite widespread expectations of a recession in 2023, the U.S. labor market has continued to show signs of strength.

These conditions have been a benefit to many workers. Overall tightness in the market, exacerbated by record-high job turnover in the recent Great Resignation, has allowed many workers to seek higher wages.

However, managers’ and employees’ earning prospects can vary significantly by industry. Differences between employees’ and managers’ wages also exist regionally.

To determine the locations with the largest employee-manager wage gap, researchers at Smartest Dollar calculated the percentage difference in median annual wages between employees and managers working full-time.

Higher percentage differences indicate a greater disparity in wages between employees and managers. In the event of a tie, the location with the lower median annual wage for full-time employees was ranked higher.

The data used in this analysis is from the U.S. Census Bureau as well as O*NET Online.

Here are the U.S. metropolitan areas with the largest employee-manager wage gap.

15. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL

• Employee-manager wage gap: 45.3% less
• Median annual wage for full-time employees (non-manager): $41,000
• Median annual wage for full-time managers: $75,000
• Percentage of workers that are employees (non-manager): 76.1%

14. Birmingham-Hoover, AL

• Employee-manager wage gap: 45.6% less
• Median annual wage for full-time employees (non-manager): $40,800
• Median annual wage for full-time managers: $75,000
• Percentage of workers that are employees (non-manager): 78.7%

13. Raleigh-Cary, NC

• Employee-manager wage gap: 45.7% less
• Median annual wage for full-time employees (non-manager): $50,000
• Median annual wage for full-time managers: $92,000
• Percentage of workers that are employees (non-manager): 70.0%

12. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX

• Employee-manager wage gap: 45.8% less
• Median annual wage for full-time employees (non-manager): $45,000
• Median annual wage for full-time managers: $83,000
• Percentage of workers that are employees (non-manager): 75.2%

11. Memphis, TN-MS-AR

• Employee-manager wage gap: 45.9% less
• Median annual wage for full-time employees (non-manager): $40,000
• Median annual wage for full-time managers: $74,000
• Percentage of workers that are employees (non-manager): 79.9%

10. Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN

• Employee-manager wage gap: 46.3% less
• Median annual wage for full-time employees (non-manager): $43,000
• Median annual wage for full-time managers: $80,000
• Percentage of workers that are employees (non-manager): 74.8%

9. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL

• Employee-manager wage gap: 46.6% less
• Median annual wage for full-time employees (non-manager): $39,000
• Median annual wage for full-time managers: $73,000
• Percentage of workers that are employees (non-manager): 75.8%

8. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA

• Employee-manager wage gap: 47.3% less
• Median annual wage for full-time employees (non-manager): $42,200
• Median annual wage for full-time managers: $80,000
• Percentage of workers that are employees (non-manager): 81.9%

7. San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA

• Employee-manager wage gap: 47.4% less
• Median annual wage for full-time employees (non-manager): $50,000
• Median annual wage for full-time managers: $95,000
• Percentage of workers that are employees (non-manager): 76.2%

6. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA

• Employee-manager wage gap: 47.9% less
• Median annual wage for full-time employees (non-manager): $46,900
• Median annual wage for full-time managers: $90,000
• Percentage of workers that are employees (non-manager): 75.6%

5. Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI

• Employee-manager wage gap: 48.0% less
• Median annual wage for full-time employees (non-manager): $46,800
• Median annual wage for full-time managers: $90,000
• Percentage of workers that are employees (non-manager): 76.7%

4. Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX

• Employee-manager wage gap: 50.0% less
• Median annual wage for full-time employees (non-manager): $43,000
• Median annual wage for full-time managers: $86,000
• Percentage of workers that are employees (non-manager): 77.8%

3. Fresno, CA

• Employee-manager wage gap: 50.0% less
• Median annual wage for full-time employees (non-manager): $40,000
• Median annual wage for full-time managers: $80,000
• Percentage of workers that are employees (non-manager): 81.0%

2. San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA

• Employee-manager wage gap: 52.9% less
• Median annual wage for full-time employees (non-manager): $66,000
• Median annual wage for full-time managers: $140,000
• Percentage of workers that are employees (non-manager): 70.9%

1. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA

• Employee-manager wage gap: 53.3% less
• Median annual wage for full-time employees (non-manager): $70,000
• Median annual wage for full-time managers: $150,000
• Percentage of workers that are employees (non-manager): 71.9%

Methodology

The data used in this analysis is from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2021 American Community Survey as well as O*NET Online’s Management of Personnel Resources and Guiding, Directing, and Motivating Subordinates indexes.

To determine the locations with the largest employee-manager wage gap, researchers at Smartest Dollar calculated the percentage difference in median annual wages between employees and managers working full-time. Higher percentage differences indicate a greater disparity in wages between employees and managers.

In the event of a tie, the location with the lower median annual wage for full-time employees was ranked higher.

For the purpose of this analysis, manager occupations were defined as those that rank in the top 10% in Importance rating for both the Management of Personnel Resources index and Guiding, Directing, and Motivating Subordinates index.

Employee occupations were defined as those that rank in the bottom 75% in Importance rating for those same indexes. To improve relevance, only metropolitan areas with at least 100,000 residents were included.