<< Click to Display Table of Contents >> Navigation:  Additional Geographic Assessor Topics (Listed Alphabetically) > Salary Structure Variances

The Geographic Assessor analyses illustrate that salary differentials are not constant for an area or industry.  That is, a single number is not sufficient to describe the relationship between geography and pay across all salary levels.  To account for this variation, the Geographic Assessor uses regression analyses to report the most accurate differential as salary level changes.  ERI’s research has found that different salary ranges can themselves be represented best by different regression lines.  Our findings demonstrate that, to accurately plot salary differentials across geographic regions, a series of different regression lines must be utilized.  From 1989 to January 2011, ERI has reported the results of five regressions for different salary levels per area.  While this methodology has proven accurate over time, we are continually expanding both our research efforts and data collection.  With greater leveraging of the ERI Salary Surveys’ database, we have refined our studies of data in the upper ranges.  

 

As of April 2011, the Geographic Assessor includes the results of eight regression lines instead of five.  

 

Four of the five existing structures will remain the same:

 

1.Wage Earner Structure

2.Low Salary Structure

3.Mid Salary Structure

4.High Salary Structure

 

The fifth structure, previously the top level “Management Structure,” is now broken out into four additional structures, allowing more accurate comparisons:

 

1.Management Structure

2.Executive-1 Structure

3.Executive-2 Structure

4.Executive-3 Structure

 

The program will automatically assign the correct structures by city on the Two City Comparison table, the Comparison List - Labor table, and the Graphs table.  The Two City Comparison screen displays the assigned salary structure above the table.