Scott A. Wilburn
PHP/MySQL programmer in the Pacific Northwest
Spokane Salaries: Why so low?
I recently came across a problem. I was really in need of consulting with a qualified PHP/MySQL developer close to home to discuss a problem that I needed to solve. I only know of one in the area and it got me thinking about where these mid-career professionals might be. Did these qualified developers leave the area?
So I started thinking about salaries. The bulk of my work comes from Seattle, so for me personally this is not a concern, but what about the people here who work for a Spokane-based employer? I went to payscale.com to get some salary comparisons, not just between Seattle and Spokane, but also from cities closer in population to Spokane.
When I did a search on software developer salaries between Spokane, Boise and Seattle, I found that salaries are significantly lower for software developers in Spokane. This could be why there’s few qualified software developers in the area.
The big question is, WHY?
Median Salary by Job – City: Spokane (United States)
CAREER TOOLS: Salary Calculator, Career Path Tool, Cost of Living Calculator, Meeting Miser
Median Salary by Job – City: Boise (United States)
CAREER TOOLS: Salary Calculator, Career Path Tool, Cost of Living Calculator, Meeting Miser
Median Salary by Job – City: Seattle (United States)
CAREER TOOLS: Salary Calculator, Career Path Tool, Cost of Living Calculator, Meeting Miser
Too much damn snow: Season 2
December 27, 2008 - 11:44 pm
Tags: Spokane
Posted in Spokane | No comments
Last year I posted a blog entry about how much snow fell in Spokane in January. Well, this is December and it snowed a lot more than last year (over 36 inches in a week). That’s just too much damn snow to fall in just one week. This year I thought I would be more [...]
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July 17, 2008 - 9:27 am
I see that many professions earn lower salaries in Spokane. One reason employers feel OK paying lower salaries is one of the main attractions that Spokane possesses: lower cost of housing. According to the Washington Center for Real Estate research, Spokane has a current Housing Affordabilty Index (HAI) of 129.3, King County’s HAI is only 76.6. This is a difference of over 50 points. Many people feel that when housing costs are factored in they keep much more of the pay for themselves. Here is a link to a chart of all Washington State county HAI’s. Sorry, I don’t have data for other states.
July 17, 2008 - 9:46 pm
You could have a chicken and the egg problem.
I’m a Sr Web Developer who is originally from Spokane but now resides in Seattle. Last time I was in Spokaloo visiting family I decided to check out the local job boards and was very saddened by the lack of decent jobs. So perhaps the web devs in Spokane are willing to work for peanuts because it’s so hard to find a gig. Until their are more jobs, you might not get better salaries.
I pretty much came to the conclusion that if life ever forced me back to Spokane I would have to find a remote job working for a company outside of Spokane or change careers.
Its kinda funny, on the team of 4 that I work on currently, 2 of us are Spokane transplants who left for the big city so we could find rewarding jobs that paid a living wage.