New York's state and local governments pay public employees 21 percent more than the national average, and the number of government workers compared to population is among the highest in the country, according to a Public Policy Institute analysis of new U.S. Census Bureau numbers.
The analysis found that the average annual salary of New York government workers was $54,503 in 2006, the fourth highest in the nation and 21 percent above the national average of $45,173.
New York had 62 full-time equivalent state and local government workers for every 1,000 residents in 2006, 14 percent above the national average and the eleventh highest ratio in the nation.
Public-employment levels in New York are significantly higher than those in states such as Massachusetts, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
In 2006, New York had 941,079 local government workers, or 49 per 1,000 residents. That number was 23 percent above the national average of 40. Local government employees include those who work for school districts, as well as municipalities and other local government entities.
A 2004 Institute report, How High is the Upstate Tax Burden and Why?, showed that Upstate New York taxpayers paid as much as $6 billion more in state and local taxes than they would in an average state, partly because of the state's far-above-average local government payrolls.
The Census Bureau data are available at www.census.gov/govs/www/apesloc06dl.html.
State and Local Government Employment, 2006
Rank, average salary State Average annual salary Full-time equivalent employees (FTE) FTE/1,000 residents Rank, FTE/1,000 residents 1 California $59,267 1,818,732 50 42 2 New Jersey $55,721 511,755 59 15 3 Connecticut $54,523 188,222 54 30 4 NEW YORK $54,503 1,190,287 62 11 5 Rhode Island $53,102 51,232 48 46 6 Maryland $50,982 291,140 52 39 7 Nevada $50,621 103,304 41 50 8 Washington $50,608 333,196 52 37 9 Massachusetts $50,406 332,072 52 40 10 Alaska $50,037 52,631 79 2 11 Minnesota $47,242 272,394 53 36 12 Illinois $46,846 634,990 49 43 13 Michigan $46,564 486,697 48 45 14 Delaware $46,423 49,488 58 16 15 Hawaii $46,322 69,594 54 27 16 Colorado $46,217 255,002 54 31 17 Pennsylvania $45,829 568,350 46 49 18 Wisconsin $45,689 288,073 52 38 19 Oregon $45,099 181,711 49 44 20 Arizona $44,132 285,084 46 48 21 Ohio $42,818 616,739 54 29 22 Virginia $42,221 430,621 56 23 23 Florida $41,822 867,259 48 47 24 Vermont $40,852 40,142 64 8 25 Iowa $40,552 185,921 62 10 26 New Hampshire $40,302 69,777 53 34 27 Nebraska $39,598 117,496 66 4 28 Indiana $39,422 332,849 53 35 29 Utah $38,901 128,785 51 41 30 North Dakota $38,845 41,173 65 7 31 North Carolina $38,715 511,263 58 19 32 Georgia $38,553 505,644 54 28 33 Wyoming $38,273 45,802 89 1 34 Texas $38,259 1,315,006 56 24 35 Maine $37,809 77,605 59 14 36 Tennessee $37,110 323,673 54 32 37 Alabama $36,945 272,535 59 13 38 Kansas $36,794 184,943 67 3 39 South Carolina $36,778 248,966 58 20 40 Montana $36,466 54,188 57 22 41 New Mexico $36,249 127,929 65 5 42 Missouri $36,054 320,083 55 25 43 South Dakota $35,770 45,186 58 18 44 Idaho $35,638 79,413 54 26 45 Kentucky $35,634 243,798 58 17 46 Louisiana $35,340 275,776 64 9 47 West Virginia $34,624 97,391 54 33 48 Oklahoma $34,027 214,343 60 12 49 Mississippi $33,972 188,905 65 6 50 Arkansas $33,729 161,923 58 21 U.S. Average $45,173 16,135,699 54 N.Y.S. % above avg. 21% 14%