Small Business Breakdown: Where are the Highest Salaries?
Small businesses are the backbone of the nation’s economy — about half of all American employees work at a small business. By one estimate, small businesses created 63% of all new jobs from mid-2009 to 2012, according to Score, a nonprofit that supports entrepreneurs.
What these numbers make clear is that when you’re hunting for a new job, small businesses should be at the top of your list. To lend some transparency to employment and pay in small businesses, NerdWallet crunched U.S. Census Bureau data to find the states, industries and size of businesses with the highest salaries.
To do this, we analyzed salaries at small businesses across the U.S. and focused on three main categories:
1. State: We looked at all 50 states as well as Washington, D.C.
2. Industry: Businesses were broken down into different industries based on the North American Industry Classification System.
3. Business size: We examined businesses with fewer than 100 employees and broke them down into four categories — 0 to 4, 5 to 19, 20 to 49 and 50 to 99 employees.
Key findings
- There are only 17 state-industry-business size categories (out of over 3,000) with an average employee salary of at least $100,000.
- There are only six states among those 17 categories: Washington, D.C., leads the way with five categories, New York with four and Connecticut with three.
- The three highest-paying industries for small business employees nationwide are management; mining, quarrying and oil extraction; and finance and insurance.
- Of the four business-size categories, the largest one — 50 to 99 employees — has the nation’s highest average salary at $41,782.
- Washington, D.C., led all U.S. regions in terms of employee pay at small businesses, with an average salary of $63,242. New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts and California make up the rest of the top five states where you’ll find the highest average small business salaries.
The chart below lists the top 50 (out of over 3,000) state, industry and business-size categories with an average employee salary of at least $100,000 — from highest to lowest.
Under the chart, we list the top five state and business size categories in the three highest-paying industries — management; mining, quarrying and gas extraction; and finance and insurance.
Small business breakdown: Average salaries over $100,000
| Rank | State | Industry | Employment size | Average employee salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | Arts, entertainment, and recreation | 0-4 | $277,597.48 |
| 2 | New York | Finance and insurance | 50-99 | $195,194.91 |
| 3 | New York | Finance and insurance | 20-49 | $160,794.78 |
| 4 | California | Information | 0-4 | $148,851.35 |
| 5 | Connecticut | Finance and insurance | 5-19 | $145,210.40 |
| 6 | Connecticut | Finance and insurance | 50-99 | $130,323.63 |
| 7 | New York | Finance and insurance | 5-19 | $130,171.78 |
| 8 | Washington, D.C. | Professional, scientific, and technical services | 0-4 | $128,272.50 |
| 9 | Washington, D.C. | Professional, scientific, and technical services | 50-99 | $123,145.95 |
| 10 | Connecticut | Finance and insurance | 20-49 | $119,862.13 |
| 11 | Illinois | Information | 0-4 | $119,264.12 |
| 12 | New York | Arts, entertainment, and recreation | 0-4 | $118,141.69 |
| 13 | Washington, D.C. | Professional, scientific, and technical services | 20-49 | $112,729.39 |
| 14 | Massachusetts | Finance and insurance | 20-49 | $111,224.51 |
| 15 | Washington, D.C. | Finance and insurance | 20-49 | $108,913.39 |
| 16 | Massachusetts | Professional, scientific, and technical services | 50-99 | $107,317.98 |
| 17 | Washington, D.C. | Professional, scientific, and technical services | 5-19 | $106,804.24 |
| 18 | Colorado | Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction | 20-49 | $98,529.99 |
| 19 | Massachusetts | Information | 50-99 | $97,335.80 |
| 20 | New York | Management of companies and enterprises | 50-99 | $97,196.43 |
| 21 | California | Finance and insurance | 20-49 | $94,464.01 |
| 22 | New Jersey | Finance and insurance | 20-49 | $93,631.53 |
| 23 | Connecticut | Professional, scientific, and technical services | 50-99 | $93,556.39 |
| 24 | Massachusetts | Finance and insurance | 50-99 | $92,375.66 |
| 25 | Massachusetts | Finance and insurance | 5-19 | $92,201.87 |
| 26 | New Jersey | Management of companies and enterprises | 50-99 | $91,458.65 |
| 27 | Texas | Management of companies and enterprises | 20-49 | $89,792.38 |
| 28 | California | Finance and insurance | 50-99 | $87,966.44 |
| 29 | California | Professional, scientific, and technical services | 50-99 | $86,694.64 |
| 30 | Washington | Professional, scientific, and technical services | 50-99 | $86,026.80 |
| 31 | California | Information | 50-99 | $85,810.12 |
| 32 | Texas | Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction | 0-4 | $85,111.92 |
| 33 | Massachusetts | Professional, scientific, and technical services | 20-49 | $84,971.02 |
| 34 | Washington, D.C. | Information | 20-49 | $83,713.35 |
| 35 | Tennessee | Finance and insurance | 50-99 | $83,658.84 |
| 36 | Delaware | Health care and social assistance | 0-4 | $83,360.82 |
| 37 | Maryland | Professional, scientific, and technical services | 50-99 | $82,976.00 |
| 38 | New Jersey | Professional, scientific, and technical services | 50-99 | $82,874.03 |
| 39 | California | Management of companies and enterprises | 20-49 | $82,811.65 |
| 40 | Virginia | Professional, scientific, and technical services | 50-99 | $82,338.66 |
| 41 | New York | Finance and insurance | 0-4 | $82,086.25 |
| 42 | Colorado | Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction | 50-99 | $81,886.86 |
| 43 | New Jersey | Finance and insurance | 5-19 | $81,318.84 |
| 44 | Illinois | Professional, scientific, and technical services | 50-99 | $80,853.52 |
| 45 | California | Information | 20-49 | $80,531.24 |
| 46 | Maryland | Finance and insurance | 20-49 | $80,367.72 |
| 47 | New Jersey | Finance and insurance | 50-99 | $79,786.22 |
| 48 | Texas | Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction | 50-99 | $79,441.63 |
| 49 | New York | Information | 0-4 | $79,415.17 |
| 50 | New York | Professional, scientific, and technical services | 50-99 | $79,225.82 |
Top three highest-paying industries for small business employees
1. Management of companies and enterprises
Average salary: $74,403.11
| Rank | State | Employment size | Average employee salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York | 50-99 | $97,196.42 |
| 2 | New Jersey | 50-99 | $91,458.65 |
| 3 | Texas | 20-49 | $89,792.38 |
| 4 | California | 20-49 | $82,811.65 |
| 5 | Texas | 50-99 | $76,728.31 |
2. Mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction
Average salary: $66,494.92
| Rank | State | Employment size | Average employee salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colorado | 20-49 | $98,529.99 |
| 2 | Texas | 0-4 | $85,111.92 |
| 3 | Colorado | 50-99 | $81,886.87 |
| 4 | Texas | 50-99 | $79,441.63 |
| 5 | Louisiana | 50-99 | $77,183.57 |
3. Finance and insurance
Average salary: $62,574.33
| Rank | State | Employment size | Average employee salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York | 50-99 | $195,194.91 |
| 2 | New York | 20-49 | $160,794.78 |
| 3 | Connecticut | 5-19 | $145,210.40 |
| 4 | Connecticut | 50-99 | $130,323.63 |
| 5 | New York | 5-19 | $130,171.78 |
by on October 28, 2014 | posted in Cities, Economics – http://www.builderonline.com/newsletter/small-business-breakdown-where-are-the-highest-salaries_t?utm_source=newsletter&utm_content=jump&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=BP_102914&day=2014-10-29&he=498224ece0da126f5bd427ff2cc3dce0f6c2a5ea
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