Quote:
Originally Posted by Shawn
I wouldn't have expected to see Boston above Chicago and so close to DC. Are salaries that much lower in Chicago? I didn't think so. Miami punching above its weight here too.
Also, you're not joking about the Inland Empire:
$11.6 Billion Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA (4.6 million population)
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I'm not suprised to see LA's economy punch so far below its weight class. 5 million people earning very low wages in the IE dilutes LA's numbers enormously. Sad to say but economically and culturally, the IE doesn't amount to much of importance. It could disappear from LA's CSA and not really be missed by the remainder of the metro.
Even more amazing is the implication that earnings-wise, SF Bay Area rivals LA with half as many people. There is plenty of extreme poverty in the Bay, but it is overall still an issue of quality over quantity. Id much rather live in a metro with higher per-capita earnings. It tends to mean that the average person you rub shoulders against is more likely to be skilled or do important, far-reaching work for a living. Its unfortunate, but "working class" in america is just a nice way to call someone poor.
Another interesting thing is that DC is much lower than the Bay Area on tax liability, despite DC being roughly on-par with it in measures of household and per-capita income (and education level). I wonder what accounts for this discrepancy. Do income measures not take into account stock earnings?
Another CSA-pair I always notice is Denver-San Diego. Similar populations, similar per-capita and household earnings, but for some reason Denver scores much higher here.