What Erie earns: A look at the jobs we do and how much we get paid for doing them

A strike of more than two months' duration at Erie's Wabtec plant has invited all of us, rightly or not, to examine how much some of our fellow citizens earn and decide for ourselves whether it's too little, too much or just right.

Forgive us if we are inclined to be inquisitive. It's how many of us are wired.

But there's also value in understanding how much folks get paid for the work they do. What jobs strike us as a good balance between risk, investment and reward? Is a career change in order. Should we be highlighting the possibility of a potentially lucrative career to our children?

And maybe we just like the idea of knowing just how green the grass is on the other side of the fence.

As we prepare to mark Labor Day — an event associated with the labor movement that aimed to raise both wages and working standards — here is a look at the average paychecks for a variety of jobs in Erie County.

These numbers, provided by state Department of Labor & Industry, are averages as of May 2022, the latest data available, and might not reflect what you or others you know are earning:

On the front lines

The average annual pay for an employee in Erie checks in at $48,610. Here's a look at average pay rates for some specific jobs:

• Parking lot attendant: $28,200

• Crane operator: $44,370

• Locomotive engineer: $76,510

• School bus driver: $37,470

• Commercial pilot: $112,000

• Air traffic controller: $122,760

• Janitor and cleaner: $30,520

• Waiter and waitress: $28,400

Jobs that put our bodies on the line

Risking one's life doesn't always pay, at least not in dollars and cents.

Consider the work of a logger who uses a chainsaw to chop down trees. According to researchers at Pennsylvania State University, they have the most dangerous job in the country. In fact, the fatal injury rate for loggers is 30 times higher than the rate for all U.S. workers.

But are they being fully compensated for their skills and the risks they face?

Loggers in Pennsylvania earn an average of $21.65 an hour, or $45,030 a year, according to the state Department of Labor & Industry.

Many others put their lives and their bodies in peril every time they go to work or subject themselves to the day-in-day-out physical grind that accompanies their work. Here are a few examples:

• Firefighter: $57,600

• Police and sheriff patrol officer: $74,890

• Corrections officer: $54,780

• Tree trimers and pruners: $53,910

• Roofer: $50,470

• Construction laborer: $44,150

• Structural iron and steel worker: $70,170

Skilled workers

• CNC tool programmer: $55.310

• Plumbers and pipefitters: $60,180

• Hairstylists: $31,710

• Welder: $47,380

• Tool and die maker: $53,940

• Machinist: $46,660

White-collar work

• Clergy: $46,740

• Secretary: $38,010

• Legal secretary: $43,120

• Drafter: $60,890

• Postal Service clerk: $56,130

• Computer programmer: $97,590

• Web developer: $70,360

• Loan officer: $57,390

• Insurance underwriter: $74,110

The medical field

• Orderly: $33,030

• Veterinarian: $110,470

• Registered nurse: $72,790

• Nurse practitioner: $115,800

• Family physician: $277,560

• Podiatrist: $115,000

• Dentist: $174,300

• Cardiologist: $478,340

Pay varies by location:

There are exceptions to the rule, but paychecks for many jobs tend to be higher in larger cities. Here are a few comparisons between jobs in Pittsburgh and Erie.

• Public relations manager: Erie, $90,430; Pittsburgh, $132,240.

• Purchasing manager: Erie, $90,550; Pittsburgh,$136,130.

• Architect: Erie, $77,520; Pittsburgh, $83,600.

• Surveyor: Erie, $62,160; Pittsburgh, $114,160.

• Conservation scientist: Erie, $45,670; Pittsburgh, $57,190.

• Secondary teacher: Erie, $63,550; Pittsburgh, $79,950.

• Radiation therapist: Erie, $87,330; Pittsburgh, $83,100.

• Restaurant cook: Erie, $28,180: Pittsburgh, $30,770.

• Foundry machine operator: Erie: $51,330; Pittsburgh, $47,580.

Putting pay in perspective

So how do these Erie County paychecks stack up against what others earn?

Average yearly pay in the United States ranges from a low of $45,180 in Mississippi to a high of $76,600 in Massachusetts. Pennsylvania's average annual salary lands somewhere in the middle at $58,470, according to a Forbes report. That's just slightly below the average annual U.S. salary of $59,428 and about $10,000 more than Erie's average pay.

As comparisons with Pittsburgh demonstrate, sometimes the pay differences between one location and another can be stark.

And that can put a place like Erie at a disadvantage, said Ken Louie, a professor of economics at Penn State Behrend and director of Behrend's Economic Research Institute of Erie.

But that disadvantage might have more to do with perception than it does economic reality.

That's because Erie's lower cost of living effectively erases much of the difference in lower Erie wages.

In some cases, Louie said, "People need to understand that their job might have lower wages (in Erie) but they won't be that much worse off."

How much cheaper is it to live in Erie as compared to the rest of the nation?

"Erie is about 21% below the national average. That's pretty significant," Louie said.

The biggest difference is in housing, where costs in Erie are about 66% below the national average.

"That is major," Louie said.

How major depends on the areas being compared. Louie said that someone who earned $50,000 in Erie would need $58,000 to replace that same standard of living in Pittsburgh or $137,000 to duplicate that lifestyle in San Francisco.

But perceptions are important, even if a slightly lower Erie paycheck goes further here. Louie said.

"Even though there is an offset in the cost of living, many people will still compare their pay in Erie to other locales and feel they are falling behind or being harmed."

Contact Jim Martin at jmartin@timesnews.com.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: A Labor Day look at Erie PA paychecks and how they stack up