Tuesday, May 24, 2005
Huntsville - 2nd Best Salary Value in the United States
I was going to put the usual baseball update in, but, as it turns out, Auburn's baseball team and alumni not named Tim Hudson are all doing a magnificent job of sucking right now. Thus, I'll skip the depressing update and post some actual regional news.
It's worth noting that New London, CT, is slated to lose a large number of jobs due to the recent recommendations of the Base Realignments and Closures Committee in Washington, DC. If the major naval base in New London closes, then Huntsville will likely become the best city in the country to live in in terms of salary relative to living costs.
Speaking of Huntsville, congratulations are in order for former Brounies (and occasional Broun Blog lurkers) Jason Steinhouser and Missy Davis on their recent engagement.
A detailed report just released by Salary.com of living costs and average pay in nearly 200 U.S. cities ranks Huntsville the No. 2 most favorable city in the nation.Full story
The new Salary.com report, called "The Salary Value Index," issued today, rates New London, Conn., as the "most favorable" city, followed by Huntsville. New York City was ranked the "least favorable" from a cost-of-living standpoint.
"This couldn't come at a better time," Huntsville Mayor Loretta Spencer said Monday, referring to recent news that some 1,600 new jobs could come to Huntsville as a result of the latest round of base realignments and closures.
"We shouldn't be surprised, but we are," Spencer said. "Providing good jobs and providing affordable housing is a priority for us."
Salary.com analyzed multiple criteria from 188 metropolitan areas with more than 250,000 residents. The average pay for each area was correlated across more than 2,500 job categories, along with other factors that include living costs, housing costs and employment rate. The analysis did not take into account quality-of-life issues such as school systems, weather, infrastructure and culture.
The report identified the difference, or spread, between average pay and living costs in each city. Through this approach, the most favorable cities offer the largest difference between pay and costs.
It's worth noting that New London, CT, is slated to lose a large number of jobs due to the recent recommendations of the Base Realignments and Closures Committee in Washington, DC. If the major naval base in New London closes, then Huntsville will likely become the best city in the country to live in in terms of salary relative to living costs.
Speaking of Huntsville, congratulations are in order for former Brounies (and occasional Broun Blog lurkers) Jason Steinhouser and Missy Davis on their recent engagement.
