Sunday, May 17, 2009 | 1:55 a.m.
(Related story: Some of Nevada’s public workers sitting pretty)
NEVADA CONSISTENTLY RANKS AT THE BOTTOM EXCEPT IN COMPENSATING ITS WORKERS. When it comes to employees of state and local governments, Nevada spends well above the national average despite paying one of the smallest percentages of per capita income in state and local taxes in the country, receiving, in return, some of the worst crime rates and rankings for education and health care.
Raising the pay curve: Total pay and benefits for government employees in the state are driven sharply higher by a small class of workers whose pay is far above national averages — police, firefighters and many local government employees. Without those workers, average compensation for state employees is closer to the national average.
The big effect of overtime: Often workers push up Nevada’s average by earning extraordinary amounts of overtime. The overtime hours are the result of an policy choice by local government officials — they have decided paying the overtime is cheaper than hiring and training new employees.
Parsing the retirement benefits: State and local employees can make a maximum of 75 percent of their average pay. They are also eligible for health care subsidies.
No Social Security: Roughly 30 percent of state and local public employees across the country are not covered by Social Security. Public employee unions assert that Nevada saves money by not participating in Social Security, meaning it does not have to pay a 6.2 percent payroll tax. Unions also argue that this distorts how Nevada workers rank in state benefits, placing them higher when compared with the rest of the country because Social Security benefits received by workers in other states are not reflected in their pensions.
Average pay for employees of state governments* | Average pay for employees of local governments by state* | Average retirement benefits from state, local governments by state** | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rank | State | Annual pay | Rank | State | Annual pay | Rank | State | Annual benefit |
U.S. average | $50,350 | U.S. average | $46,449 | U.S. average | $21,801 | |||
1 | California | $66,928 | 1 | California | $63,481 | 1 | Connecticut | $29,407 |
2 | New Jersey | $63,284 | 2 | Washington DC | $60,917 | 2 | New Jersey | $28,531 |
3 | Connecticut | $61,074 | 3 | New Jersey | $57,854 | 3 | Rhode Island | $27,914 |
4 | Iowa | $58,007 | 4 | Washington | $56,313 | 4 | Colorado | $27,457 |
5 | New York | $57,790 | 5 | New York | $55,766 | 5 | California | $26,517 |
6 | Minnesota | $56,613 | 6 | Nevada | $55,049 | 6 | Nevada | $26,009 |
7 | Illinois | $56,543 | 7 | Maryland | $54,105 | 7 | Illinois | $25,261 |
8 | Rhode Island | $56,455 | 8 | Connecticut | $53,510 | 8 | Georgia | $25,211 |
9 | Massachusetts | $56,022 | 9 | Rhode Island | $52,637 | 9 | New York | $25,194 |
10 | Colorado | $55,602 | 10 | Hawaii | $52,560 | 10 | Oregon | $25,078 |
11 | Michigan | $55,003 | 11 | Alaska | $52,304 | 11 | Wisconsin | $23,145 |
12 | Nevada | $54,831 | 12 | Massachusetts | $51,568 | 12 | Ohio | $22,994 |
13 | Wisconsin | $54,365 | 13 | Michigan | $49,133 | 13 | Hawaii | $22,979 |
14 | Alaska | $53,748 | 14 | Illinois | $47,981 | 14 | Massachusetts | $22,978 |
15 | Ohio | $52,503 | 15 | Arizona | $47,970 | 15 | Arizona | $21,367 |
16 | Washington | $51,868 | 16 | Minnesota | $47,603 | 16 | Pennsylvania | $20,919 |
17 | Maryland | $51,465 | 17 | Oregon | $47,319 | 17 | Texas | $20,679 |
18 | Vermont | $49,368 | 18 | Pennsylvania | $45,748 | 18 | Missouri | $20,508 |
19 | Pennsylvania | $48,725 | 19 | Wisconsin | $45,636 | 19 | New Mexico | $20,344 |
20 | Delaware | $48,472 | 20 | Delaware | $45,630 | 20 | Minnesota | $20,167 |
21 | Oregon | $47,740 | 21 | Colorado | $45,428 | 21 | Alabama | $20,095 |
22 | Virginia | $47,733 | 22 | Florida | $44,753 | 22 | Nebraska | $19,921 |
23 | New Hampshire | $47,668 | 23 | Ohio | $44,093 | 23 | Kentucky | $19,666 |
24 | Arizona | $47,142 | 24 | Virginia | $43,411 | 24 | Maryland | $19,420 |
25 | Hawaii | $46,876 | 25 | Wyoming | $42,362 | 25 | Washington | $19,098 |
26 | Idaho | $46,810 | 26 | Utah | $42,110 | 26 | Louisiana | $18,853 |
27 | Utah | $46,660 | 27 | North Dakota | $41,640 | 27 | Michigan | $18,616 |
28 | Texas | $45,546 | 28 | New Hampshire | $41,454 | 28 | Utah | $18,296 |
29 | Maine | $45,194 | 29 | Nebraska | $41,279 | 29 | Mississippi | $18,281 |
30 | Montana | $44,712 | 30 | Vermont | $39,850 | 30 | Arkansas | $17,682 |
31 | Alabama | $44,570 | 31 | Iowa | $39,180 | 31 | Virginia | $17,652 |
32 | Kansas | $44,185 | 32 | Indiana | $39,114 | 32 | Alaska | $17,164 |
33 | Indiana | $44,174 | 33 | North Carolina | $39,075 | 33 | North Carolina | $17,028 |
34 | Florida | $43,962 | 34 | Texas | $38,584 | 34 | Oklahoma | $16,875 |
35 | North Carolina | $43,825 | 35 | Georgia | $38,396 | 35 | Florida | $16,867 |
36 | Louisiana | $43,129 | 36 | Maine | $37,780 | 36 | District of Columbia | $16,289 |
37 | Wyoming | $42,540 | 37 | Tennessee | $37,548 | 37 | New Hampshire | $16,226 |
38 | Kentucky | $42,487 | 38 | Missouri | $37,183 | 38 | Maine | $16,119 |
39 | Oklahoma | $42,319 | 39 | Kansas | $37,079 | 39 | South Carolina | $15,808 |
40 | Georgia | $42,274 | 40 | Idaho | $36,358 | 40 | Delaware | $15,629 |
41 | New Mexico | $42,115 | 41 | South Carolina | $36,134 | 41 | Kansas | $14,898 |
42 | South Dakota | $41,661 | 42 | Montana | $35,933 | 42 | Idaho | $14,823 |
43 | Nebraska | $41,473 | 43 | Alabama | $35,517 | 43 | Indiana | $14,540 |
44 | Tennessee | $41,385 | 44 | New Mexico | $34,690 | 44 | Vermont | $14,304 |
45 | North Dakota | $40,142 | 45 | West Virginia | $34,521 | 45 | South Dakota | $13,951 |
46 | South Carolina | $39,751 | 46 | South Dakota | $34,184 | 46 | Tennessee | $13,941 |
47 | Arkansas | $38,863 | 47 | Louisiana | $34,101 | 47 | Wyoming | $13,381 |
48 | Mississippi | $38,654 | 48 | Oklahoma | $33,545 | 48 | Montana | $13,038 |
49 | Missouri | $37,832 | 49 | Kentucky | $32,801 | 49 | North Dakota | $12,978 |
50 | West Virginia | $37,798 | 50 | Arkansas | $32,722 | 50 | Iowa | $12,664 |
51 | Mississippi | $32,326 | 51 | West Virginia | $11,192 |
* Average public pay in each state is based on a survey of total payroll in March 2007, including items like bonuses and overtime.
** The average annual benefit in each state only includes the periodic payments to retirees or their survivors.
SOURCES: U.S. Census; Public Fund Survey
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