Stuck in the Middle:
What Happened to the Middle Wage Jobs?
Regional Snapshot, January 2016
For more information, contact:
Audrey Spiegel
aspiegel@atlantaregional.com

In Sum…
• Nationally, metro Atlanta has fairly high wages, especially when considering its low cost-of-
living.
• But overall wage growth has stagnated since 2010…
• … especially in middle-wage jobs.
• In fact, when compared to a set of peer metro areas, growth in middle-wage occupations in
metro Atlanta is lagging significantly.

Nationally, There Is Much Discussion About the Disappearing
Middle Class…

Average Earning Per Job, 2014
In terms of earnings per job, metro Atlanta is in the top 40 when compared to the top 100 U.S. metros. It has
average annual earnings of $57,168.
How do metro Atlanta wages compare to other U.S. metros?
Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis, via Neighborhood Nexus

Change in Average Earnings Per Job, 2010-2014
Despite having a higher average income than many of the other largest U.S. Metros, the change in earnings
since 2010 has been flat. In fact, it has declined by $70 (in current dollars) between 2010 and 2014.
How have metro Atlanta earnings changed since 2010 ?
Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis, via Neighborhood Nexus

Cost of Living Index
91.9
92.2
93.2
95.6
99.4
100.7
106
111
112.5
116.9
121.4
126.5
132.5
136.4
140.7
164
216.7
0 50 100 150 200 250
Dallas
Houston
Charlotte
Atlanta
Detroit
Phoenix
Miami
Minneapolis
Riverside
Chicago
Seattle
Philadephia
Boston
Los Angeles
Washington D.C
San Francisco
New York
http://www.infoplease.com/business/economy/cost-living-index-us-cities.html Data are from 2010, from C2ER
We can’t discuss wages in each metro area with also discussing cost of living. This chart ranks the cost of living index in large
U.S. cities. Cities with the largest index are the most expensive, while cities with the lowest are the least expensive. So, as
mentioned before, Atlanta ranks relatively well in terms of median wages, and it also has a fairly low cost of living. Conversely
while New York and San Francisco have the highest wages, they also have the highest cost of living.

391,540
265,740
214,020 204,650
157,610 149,020 139,720 131,230
118,260
97,810 97,070
75,320 63,280 54,440 53,330 49,440
34,900 32,790 23,390 21,670 11,500 1,250
0
50000
100000
150000
200000
250000
300000
350000
400000
450000
High-Wage
Mid-Wage
This chart looks at total employment among the major occupational groupings in metro Atlanta for 2014. The bars are
color-coded based on whether they are low-, middle- or high-wage occupations.
Total Employment by Major Occupation Groupings, 2014
Low-Wage
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

Low, Middle, and High Income EMPLOYMENT CHANGE, 2010-2014
While wages are mostly down across all categories and across similar metro areas, middle-wage occupations have experienced
almost no growth in metro Atlanta since 2010, which is not the case in most other peer metros.
… But Job Growth in Middle-Wage Occupations
Lagging in ATL
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
14.9% 14.3%
9.3%
14.1%
16.7%
9.7%
8.3%
0.2%
6.0%
-0.6%
7.9%
9.4%
5.5%
2.0%
11.2%
19.5%
9.6%
14.5%
16.7%
11.6%
10.3%
-5.0%
0.0%
5.0%
10.0%
15.0%
20.0%
25.0%
Atlanta Charlotte Chicago Dallas Houston Minneapolis U.S.
Employment Change by Wage Levels, 2010-2014
Low Middle High

$- $50,000 $100,000 $150,000
Food Preparation and Serving
Personal Care and Service
Building/Grounds Cleaning,…
Healthcare Support
Sales and Related
Transportation and Material…
Production
Protective Service
Office and Admin Support
Construction and Extraction
Installation, Maintenance,…
Education, Training, and…
Arts/Entertainment, Sports,…
Life, Physical, and Social…
Healthcare Practitioners…
Business and Financial…
Architecture and Engineering
Legal
Computer and Mathematical
Management
High-Wage
Occupations
Mid-Wage
Occupations
Low-Wage
Occupations
-20,000 -10,000 0 10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000
Median Annual Wage, 2014 Job Change, 2010-2014
This chart once again splits out
all occupations into either
high-wage, middle-wage or
low-wage. While the
groupings are somewhat
arbitrary, this shows that those
seven occupations in the
middle have seen very little
growth since 2010, especially
when compared to growth in
the lower-wage occupations.
Job Change by Occupation Grouping, 2010-2014
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

$- $40,000 $80,000 $120,000
Food Preparation and Serving
Personal Care and Service
Building/Grounds Cleaning,…
Healthcare Support
Sales and Related
Transportation and Material…
Production
Protective Service
Office and Admin Support
Construction and Extraction
Installation, Maintenance,…
Education, Training, and Library
Arts/Entertainment, Sports,…
Life, Physical, and Social…
Healthcare Practitioners and…
Business and Financial…
Architecture and Engineering
Legal
Computer and Mathematical
Management
Median Annual Wage, 2014 Wage Change, 2010-2014 ($2014)
$(6,000) $(4,000) $(2,000) $- $2,000
High-
Wage
Occupations
Mid-Wage
Occupations
Low-Wage
Occupations
Shifting from change in the
number of jobs to change in
real wages, this graph shows
that the only occupations to
see any significant increase
in wages since 2010 are
those in the high-wage
category. During that same
time, wages in the middle-
and low-wage occupations
experienced dramatic
declines.
Wage Change by Major Occupations, 2010-2014
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

Labor Demand: Top Job Postings in metro Atlanta
Last 12 months
6,197
6,467
7,130
7,213
7,580
7,581
8,575
8,905
8,946
13,300
14,283
20,891
23,159
28,134
0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000 30,000
Computer Systems Engineers/Architects
Accountants
Business Intelligence Analysts
Sales Managers
Human Resources Specialists
Managers, All Other
Customer Service Representatives
Computer Systems Analysts
First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers
Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except…
Retail Salespersons
Registered Nurses
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers
Software Developers, Applications
Through Burning Glass Technologies, we are able to see the supply of these occupations in real-time. This chart shows the top
occupations that employers are searching for in metro Atlanta. This shows a mix of “new economy” and “old economy” jobs
Source: Burning Glass

Software
Developers
Retail Sales Persons
Laborers and
Freight
Secretaries/Admin
Maintenance/Repair
1st Line Supervisors,
Retail
Customer Service
Rep
Computer Systems
Analyst
Accountants
Sales Rep/
Wholesale Trade
Network & Computer
System Admin
Database
Administrators
Management
Analysts
Medical and Health
Managers
General/Occupation
Managers
Managers, All Other
Sales Managers
Marketing Managers
Heavy and Tractor Trailer
Truck Drivers
Sales Reps
1st Line Supervisors of
Office/Admin
Human Resources
Specialists
Registered Nurses
Burning Glass-
Labor Insight:
Top Job Postings & Mean Salary
This scatterplot shows the top job
postings in metro Atlanta and
the mean salary of the jobs. The
highlighted area is the middle
income distribution band (this
spans between 80 to 120
percent of the mean salary in
metro Atlanta). After collapsing
some of the most in-demand
occupations into “computer
occupations”, only 5 of the most
in-demand occupations falls
within the middle-income band.
As you can see, a majority of the
remaining top postings are high
or low-wage occupations-only
four are within the middle-wage
distribution band.
Source: Burning Glass & BLS
Web Developers
Computer Support
Specialist

So where do middle income residents live in metro Atlanta?
Now that we know what middle class
wage jobs are looking like in Atlanta, let’s
take a look where high concentrations of
middle wage workers live in metro
Atlanta. The largest concentrations are
located on the exurban fringe and in the
suburbs of Atlanta. Given the high levels
of income inequality in the City of Atlanta
very few middle-income households are
located in City of Atlanta.
Source: American Community Survey, via Neighborhood Nexus