[kyle19125]

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released 2012 numbers for highest average salary figures for the metro areas of Florida which contained some surprising results in my opinion with Duval County tied for 3rd with Hillsborough County.

Highest average weekly wages by county in Florida

Palm Beach: $1,003

Miami-Dade: $976

Hillsborough: $953

Duval: $953

Broward: $920

Pinellas: $901

Brevard: $874

Orange: $860

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Palm Beach County enjoys state's top wage after pay jumps 7.6 percent in 2012 - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

[TXRyan23]

Pretty good information, I was surprised to see Pinellas below Hillsborough though.

I was inspired to look up my local numbers as well.. Harris County, TX - $1,154 per week. I figured Orlando and Orange County would be where it is, it's the most touristy part of the state with tons of low income type jobs.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by TXRyan23

Pretty good information, I was surprised to see Pinellas below Hillsborough though.

I was inspired to look up my local numbers as well.. Harris County, TX - $1,154 per week. I figured Orlando and Orange County would be where it is, it's the most touristy part of the state with tons of low income type jobs.

I don't have historic numbers to back it up but would bet Pinellas is catching up with Hillsborough given it has gotten progressively younger over the past 10-15 years. It's still a bit retiree heavy but far less than it was.
Jacksonville/Duval County to me is the real shocker, especially given the lower cost of living versus other metros in the state though not having nearly as much reliance on the tourist industry/service sector certainly helps.

[TXRyan23]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

I don't have historic numbers to back it up but would bet Pinellas is catching up with Hillsborough given it has gotten progressively younger over the past 10-15 years. It's still a bit retiree heavy but far less than it was.
Jacksonville/Duval County to me is the real shocker, especially given the lower cost of living versus other metros in the state though not having nearly as much reliance on the tourist industry/service sector certainly helps.

Yeah, I was going to say that Jacksonville has more of a manufacturing/military/financial aspect to their economy. Economically, if there was a place to live in Florida, Jacksonville would be the best choice. I think Palm-Beach is only at the top because of the wealth that's already there.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by TXRyan23

Yeah, I was going to say that Jacksonville has more of a manufacturing/military/financial aspect to their economy. Economically, if there was a place to live in Florida, Jacksonville would be the best choice. I think Palm-Beach is only at the top because of the wealth that's already there.

Actually read the article, Palm Beach County just made it to the top and had been ranked lower which dispels the wealth theory.

[TXRyan23]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

Actually read the article, Palm Beach County just made it to the top and had been ranked lower which dispels the wealth theory.

They basically did what most of the other metros SHOULD be doing, creating higher wage jobs in tech and science. Hopefully they'll be able to retain a lot of the college grads that would otherwise head north and west looking for work.

[THX 1138]

Last numbers I had listed it more around $21/HR, but if these are indeed BLS figures, I have yet to see them on the BLS site.

County Employment and Wages in Florida - Third Quarter 2012

Seems a little skewed if you ask me, I have known a few people who took pay cuts in jobs over the past year and frozen salaries on top of it.

What the article fails to mention is, $1K/week is the national US average which makes those numbers in high COL South Florida even more pathetic.

In reality salaries are behind the times here, $1K/week gross is $48K year and change, after taxes and deductions and also if your co-paying health care, it's not much in relation to what the average rents, car insurance rates and etc. cost here.

With regards to the life sciences jobs, first off the whole Scripps and Biotech job market is not as big as it's made to be, they only hire or hired a small handful of scientists and it never has taken off like the County said it would, us PB County taxpayers are still paying for it and the return on investment is a long way off if ever.


"The increase in average wage is proof that Palm Beach County's efforts to attract high-paying jobs is working, said Kelly Smallridge, president and CEO of the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County."

More disinformation from the BDB of PB County.....maybe they can have Gov Skeletor come down for a press conference with a ribbon cutting, dust off the gold plated shovels, they are turning the PB Mall site into outet stores paying minimum wage.

[TXRyan23]

Originally Posted by THX 1138

What the article fails to mention is, $1K/week is the national US average which makes those numbers in high COL South Florida even more pathetic.

Shhhhh... don't say that too loudly, it makes sense and is the truth, so others will tell you that you're full of it!

[THX 1138]

Originally Posted by TXRyan23

They basically did what most of the other metros SHOULD be doing, creating higher wage jobs in tech and science. Hopefully they'll be able to retain a lot of the college grads that would otherwise head north and west looking for work.

That article is pure smoke and mirrors, there are little jobs here in high tech and science... a lot of graduates in the sector leave for greener pastures and those that have experience and the education that are here typically have to leave after losing their jobs or when companies pull out or downsize. I have a friend who worked for Motorola, Electrical Engineer....worked for them for a long time, got hit in the downsizing effort, moved to the SF Bay Area for work since opportunity here was extremely lacking. He mentored at FAU in his spare time, said a lot of students in Engineering were disgusted with the opportunity here...based on my experience in hiring interns from several local universities and elsewhere, I have experienced a similar sentiment....

[TXRyan23]

Originally Posted by THX 1138

That article is pure smoke and mirrors, there are little jobs here in high tech and science... a lot of graduates in the sector leave for greener pastures and those that have experience and the education that are here typically have to leave after losing their jobs or when companies pull out or downsize. I have a friend who worked for Motorola, Electrical Engineer....worked for them for a long time, got hit in the downsizing effort, moved to the SF Bay Area for work since opportunity here was extremely lacking. He mentored at FAU in his spare time, said a lot of students in Engineering were disgusted with the opportunity here...based on my experience in hiring interns from several local universities and elsewhere, I have experienced a similar sentiment....

That was pretty much my experience over a decade ago, I'm often told however, that I'm full of it and that Florida has tons of tech and science jobs. Most of my friends from high school that didn't remain in Florida, have all moved to Georgia, North Carolina, California, and Georgia. All of them left for better opportunities, yet I continue to hear from people that are from the North East about how great things are there. I suppose that's why 71% of the population is from somewhere else?

God help the state when all the pensions die off and there are none left to take their places..