Salary database: Columbia County employees earn more on average than Augusta-Richmond County's

Jozsef Papp, Augusta Chronicle
·4 min read

Augusta-Richmond County government continues to have almost double the amount of full-time employees as Columbia County but government employees earn more in Columbia County.

The Augusta Chronicle obtained and analyzed salary records from both counties and looked at how much employees earned on average.

In Augusta-Richmond County, the mean salary – the average of all salaries – is $46,291.96 and the median salary is $42,734.64 out of approximately 2,389 full-time employees. Median salary is the middle amount for which 50 percent of a company’s salaries are higher than and 50 percent of the company’s salaries are lower than that salary.

Search Salary Data: Here's what Richmond County employees make

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In Columbia County, the mean salary is $50,511.99 and the median salary is $45,444.10 out of around 1,292 full-time employees. Some employees like Superior Court judges and district attorney for both judicial circuits, were not included in the analysis since a part of their salaries is paid by the state.

Columbia County approved a $15 minimum wage per hour for all employees, which went into effect last summer, so the lowest paid full-time employee in the county earns $15 an hour or $31,200 a year, which is $8,845.64 more than Augusta's lowest paid full-time employee at $22,354.36.

The Richmond County government operates more services than Columbia County, such as the Augusta Regional Airport, a fully-functioning landfill and the Augusta Canal Authority, and therefore employees more people.

Even though Columbia County workers, on average, earn more than Richmond County employees, Richmond County still has the highest earners overall. Richmond County has 10 people, or less than 0.5% of the workforce, earning more than $150,000, including two earning more than $200,000, for an average of $175,236.77, while Columbia County has nine people, or 0.7% of the workforce, earning more than $150,000, only one earning more than $200,000, for a mean of $167,800.88.

Search Salary Data: Here's what Columbia County employees make

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The majority of employees in both counties – 1,677 or 70% in Richmond County; 860 or 67% in Columbia County – earn between $25,000 to $50,000.

Augusta's highest paid employee is departing Administrator Odie Donald II, at $240,000, followed by Airport Director Hebert Judon at $202,904.58. Columbia County Administrator Scott Johnson earns $208,893.36, followed by Sheriff Clay Whittle earning $191,420.55.

How many employees can afford a house or apartment?

An analysis by The Augusta Chronicle in August found how much local residents would have to earn to afford rent based on fair-market rent values in Richmond, Columbia, Burke and McDuffie counties. The data was compiled by nonprofit National Low Income Housing Coalition and gathered from government reports.

According to the coalition, rent is considered affordable if the cost of rent and utilities does not exceed 30% of a household's income. A higher percentage of the Augusta-Richmond County workforce is able to afford a two-bedroom apartment, compared to the Columbia County workforce.

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Departing Augusta administrator Odie Donald II is the highest paid employee in Augusta-Richmond County. Donald is leaving his position to be chief of staff for new Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens beginning Feb. 28.
Departing Augusta administrator Odie Donald II is the highest paid employee in Augusta-Richmond County. Donald is leaving his position to be chief of staff for new Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens beginning Feb. 28.

In Richmond County, the average fair-market rent for a one-bedroom dwelling is $705 a month and $823 for two bedrooms.

Richmond County residents would have to earn at least $13.55 an hour, or around $28,100 a year, to afford a one-bedroom rental and $15.83 an hour, or approximately $32,926 a year, to afford a two-bedroom rental.

A total of 1,947 Augusta-Richmond County full-time employees could afford a two-bedroom rental in the county, according to an analysis of salary by The Augusta Chronicle. That's 82% of its workers.

But 194 full-time employees, or 8%, make less than $28,100 a year.Those include custodians, deputy clerks of court and library assistants. A total of 248 full-time employees, or 10% of the county's workers, make between $28,300 and $32,900 including 911 operators, deputy clerks of court and tax tag clerks.

For home buyers: What must you earn to buy a home in Columbia County?

For renters: Want to rent in Augusta or Columbia County? Here's how much you have to make an hour

A Columbia County resident would have to earn around $16.57 an hour for a one-bedroom rental, and $19.26 an hour for a two-bedroom with the average fair-market rate for a one-bedroom rental in Columbia County at $862 a month and for a two-bedroom rental at $1,002.

In Columbia County, 973 full-time employees could afford a two-bedroom rental, according to an analysis of salary data by The Augusta Chronicle. That is 75% of the county employees.

There are 164 employees, or 13%, in Columbia County who make less than $16.57 an hour and a total of 155 full-time employees, or 12%, that make between $16.58 and $19.15 an hour, according to a data analysis by the Augusta Chronicle.

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Employee salaries: Here's what Columbia, Richmond County workers make