O.C. Middle Managers Earn More Than U.S. Average

Middle-management and technical workers in Anaheim and Santa Ana earn 10% more than the national average for those jobs, putting them near the top of the scale, according to a survey released Wednesday.

But that 10% differential isn’t nearly enough to make up for the higher cost of living in this area.

The survey, by benefits consultant William M. Mercer Inc., looked at what companies pay for equivalent mid-level jobs in 200 U.S. metropolitan areas. Such jobs include financial analysts, computer programmers and paralegals.

San Jose ranked No. 1 in the survey, meaning a middle manager there earns 19% more than someone doing the same work in, say, Milwaukee or Yakima, Wash.

In all, seven California metro areas, including Los Angeles and Long Beach, were ranked among the top 15 of surveyed cities in the salary study. Researchers said that confirmed California’s reputation as a relatively high-wage state.

Orange County as a whole ranked 27th in the survey; its workers earn 7% more than the national average.

However, the survey did not take into account the cost of living for these various cities, which diminishes the weight of the salary differences.

For example, in the greater Los Angeles area, the cost of living is 22% higher than the national average, according to the American Chamber of Commerce’s report for early 1995.

After San Jose, the cities that ranked the highest in Mercer’s salary survey were Oakland (15% higher than the national average), New York (+15%), San Francisco (+13%) and Los Angeles (+13%).

Santa Ana was 10th on the list, followed by Anaheim and Long Beach (also 10% higher). Other California cities included Vallejo (+8%), Fairfield (+8%), Ventura (+6%), San Bernardino (+5%) and Riverside (+5%).

Among those areas with the lowest salaries for these mid-level jobs were Brownsville, Texas (20% below the national average); Columbus, Ga. (-14%); and Clarksville, Tenn. (-10%).