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Generalized statistics are quite reasonably applied to NYC. The NYC average wage (37k) is only about 10k more than the national median, 28k. Yes, the wealthies

by hapless 14y ago

Generalized statistics are quite reasonably applied to NYC. The NYC average wage (37k) is only about 10k more than the national median, 28k. Yes, the wealthiest people in the world live in NYC, but the average New Yorker is not substantially wealthier than the average American, by any measure. He is, in fact, poorer, thanks to cost of living. There are census tracts in NYC where the median income is under $10,000.

apaprocki 14y ago
According to the BLS[1], the average wage (based upon weekly pay in 2012 Q1) in Manhattan is $128k and the average wage in other boroughs is around $41k. [1]: http://www.bls.gov/ro2/qcew9310.htm
- hapless 14y ago
  let's start from the beginning 1. Manhattan is 7% of NYC's land area 2. Manhattan (County of New York) is the richest county in NY by per capita income (as opposed to resident income: Manhattan is home to hundreds of thousands of urban poor) 3. the arithmetic average wage is not the same as the median personal income. The average wage in America is around $41k. The median wage is about 28k.
  - apaprocki 14y ago
    I will admit it makes the case that statistics are applicable, but I suppose I'd like to see Manhattan as an exception then rather than all of NYC. Where are you getting this $28k figure from? BLS[1] more recently stated that the median wage was $758/wk in 2012 Q3 (~$40k/yr). [1]: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/wkyeng.pdf
    - hapless 14y ago
      The BLS figures you cite only include full-time hourly and salaried workers. These are the upper crust of employment in America. My figure comes from payrolls reported to the Social Security Administration: http://www.ssa.gov/cgi-bin/netcomp.cgi?year=2011 http://www.ssa.gov/cgi-bin/netcomp.cgi?year=2011 "By definition, 50 percent of wage earners had net compensation less than or equal to the median wage, which is estimated to be $26,965.43 for 2011." 28k was a peak value from a graph that adjusted old dollar values to present dollars. (The SSA data is unadjusted for inflation.)
    - hapless 14y ago
      Something I should have mentioned yesterday: Manhattan alone, county of New York, has a higher poverty rate than NY state as a whole. Urban poverty and inequality are inescapable facts in NYC.

by hapless 14y ago

apaprocki 14y ago

According to the BLS[1], the average wage (based upon weekly pay in 2012 Q1) in Manhattan is $128k and the average wage in other boroughs is around $41k. [1]: http://www.bls.gov/ro2/qcew9310.htm

hapless 14y ago
let's start from the beginning 1. Manhattan is 7% of NYC's land area 2. Manhattan (County of New York) is the richest county in NY by per capita income (as opposed to resident income: Manhattan is home to hundreds of thousands of urban poor) 3. the arithmetic average wage is not the same as the median personal income. The average wage in America is around $41k. The median wage is about 28k.
- apaprocki 14y ago
  I will admit it makes the case that statistics are applicable, but I suppose I'd like to see Manhattan as an exception then rather than all of NYC. Where are you getting this $28k figure from? BLS[1] more recently stated that the median wage was $758/wk in 2012 Q3 (~$40k/yr). [1]: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/wkyeng.pdf
  - hapless 14y ago
    The BLS figures you cite only include full-time hourly and salaried workers. These are the upper crust of employment in America. My figure comes from payrolls reported to the Social Security Administration: http://www.ssa.gov/cgi-bin/netcomp.cgi?year=2011 http://www.ssa.gov/cgi-bin/netcomp.cgi?year=2011 "By definition, 50 percent of wage earners had net compensation less than or equal to the median wage, which is estimated to be $26,965.43 for 2011." 28k was a peak value from a graph that adjusted old dollar values to present dollars. (The SSA data is unadjusted for inflation.)
  - hapless 14y ago
    Something I should have mentioned yesterday: Manhattan alone, county of New York, has a higher poverty rate than NY state as a whole. Urban poverty and inequality are inescapable facts in NYC.