In a prior commentary, we examined Health Services Management Pay in the Top 20 Metro Areas. While the biggest U.S. metropolitan areas are usually the home to the largest number of health services managerial jobs, it is often the smaller metro areas where better average compensation awaits. Secondary and tertiary labor markets offer fewer employment opportunities, but the qualified labor pool is smaller too. Consequently, employers in smaller metro markets sometimes pay more to attract and retain talent than do their big metro area counterparts. May 2021 data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reveals that only five of the largest metro areas in the country were among the 20 best metro areas for health services management pay:
20 Best Metro Areas for Health Services Management Pay
| Metropolitan Area | # Employed | Annual Mean Wages | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | 2,990 | $162,110 | ||
| 2 | Vallejo-Fairfield, CA | 610 | $157,340 | ||
| 3 | New York-Newark-Jersey City (#) | 28,240 | $156,370 | ||
| 4 | California-Lexington Park, MD | 90 | $150,900 | ||
| 5 | San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward (#) | 7,970 | $150,250 | ||
| 6 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA (#) | 3,250 | $147,610 | ||
| 7 | Boston-Cambridge-Nashua (#) | 13,570 | $146,490 | ||
| 8 | Bloomsburg-Berwick, PA | 240 | $146,360 | ||
| 9 | Santa Rosa, CA | 640 | $144,560 | ||
| 10 | Sacramento/Roseville/Arden-Arcade, CA | 3,270 | $141,090 | ||
| 11 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria (#) | 9,410 | $140,860 | ||
| 12 | Ithaca, NY | 60 | $139,030 | ||
| 13 | Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Beaufort, SC | 300 | $137,710 | ||
| 14 | Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | 2,600 | $137,410 | ||
| 15 | Rochester, NY | 1,050 | $137,130 | ||
| 16 | E. Sierra-Mother Lode CA non-metro | 180 | $136,390 | ||
| 17 | Fargo, ND-MN | 220 | $136,040 | ||
| 18 | Modesto, CA | --- | $135,980 | ||
| 19 | Danbury, CT | 340 | $135,910 | ||
| 20 | Salinas, CA | 370 | $135,820 | ||
| National | 436,770 | $119,840 | |||
(#) a top 20 U.S metro population area
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on October 22, 2022