Paid less in Pittsburgh?
#Pittsburgh has a reputation of paying its professionals less than other US cities. I was one of those folks who left Pittsburgh for several years and then returned.
Even after earning an MBA at Pitt, I took a 10% pay cut when I moved back. I don't regret it - Pittsburgh is a great place to raise a family and has a relatively affordable cost of living. But should I have taken a pay cut to live here?
Almost 15 years ago, I did an Op-Ed/analysis piece for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette showing that Pittsburghers made up to 34% less than those living in comparable areas (https://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/2007/09/30/Sunday-Forum-Paid-less-in-Pittsburgh/stories/200709300239). As companies like Google (who has a pretty strong presence here) reconsider pay scale by geography, I'm thinking about digging into the numbers again.
Do you think that Pittsburghers are paid less than those in comparable areas? Are there any specific industries that you think I should look at (tech, finance, etc)? What else should I consider when looking at the numbers?