Orlando/Orange County ranks last for average salary (Davie, Lake Mary: sales, 2013)

[kyle19125]

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics the Orlando area ranks last of the big cities in Florida with a highest average weekly wage of $860. Palm Beach County was number one at $1003 and had a 7.2% gain in average salary since last year. Dade County gained 4.1% with Broward County and Hillsborough County both gaining around 3.5%. Orange County was last at 2.2%.


Palm Beach County enjoys state's top wage after pay jumps 7.6 percent in 2012 - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

[DavieJ89]

Palm Beach County's average wage is only so high because of the huge concentration of wealth there, the same could be said about Dade County. Also this list only ranks the urban counties of Florida. There are plenty of suburban, subrural, and rural counties that earn significantly less than Orange County does. Osceola County comes to mind on that one.

So it isn't fair to say Orange County ranks dead last

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by DavieJ89

Palm Beach County's average wage is only so high because of the huge concentration of wealth there, the same could be said about Dade County. Also this list only ranks the urban counties of Florida. There are plenty of suburban, subrural, and rural counties that earn significantly less than Orange County does. Osceola County comes to mind on that one.

So it isn't fair to say Orange County ranks dead last

The point is among the major population areas of the state Orlando ranks last, so yes it is fair to say that.
If you read the article it states Palm Beach County's average salary is up 7% due to recent employer relocation to the area and it did not have the highest average salary until 2012. It ranked below Hillsborough County and Dade County prior which kind of shoots down the pre-existing wealth theory.

[OrlFlaUsa]

Did we really need another thread pointing out that due to such an abundance of service industry jobs, the statistics on average wages will be lower in Orlando than peer cities? Does this mean we don't have professional sector jobs, of course not. What it means is we have some of the largest single site service industry employers in the world so in addition to a reasonable ratio of "real jobs" in the region, we're going to drop that average wage number due to the large contingent of service jobs. Oh well, even the low wage types need work so thank god Orlando provides that in spades. I'm really sick of people snubbing their nose at news of those jobs coming to Orlando. It's not like the would be advertising executive says, "Oh wow, new Transformer ride opened at USF, maybe I need to forget my profession and become a ride attendant." Let's face it, service jobs are good for some people and are ultimately good for the area, even if their presence drops the statistics some live behind a bit.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by OrlFlaUsa

Did we really need another thread pointing out that due to such an abundance of service industry jobs, the statistics on average wages will be lower in Orlando than peer cities? Does this mean we don't have professional sector jobs, of course not. What it means is we have some of the largest single site service industry employers in the world so in addition to a reasonable ratio of "real jobs" in the region, we're going to drop that average wage number due to the large contingent of service jobs. Oh well, even the low wage types need work so thank god Orlando provides that in spades. I'm really sick of people snubbing their nose at news of those jobs coming to Orlando. It's not like the would be advertising executive says, "Oh wow, new Transformer ride opened at USF, maybe I need to forget my profession and become a ride attendant." Let's face it, service jobs are good for some people and are ultimately good for the area, even if their presence drops the statistics some live behind a bit.

How is it ultimately good for the area with a disproportionate higher cost of living, particularly in the rental housing market? A healthy local economy requires disposable income from residents, not just tourists as evidenced by continued sales tax shortfalls which has required consistent re-budgeting and shortfalls in funding. This area desperately needs to attract more higher wage jobs versus being satisfied with those provided each time a new convenience store/gas station or strip retail center opens....which oh by the way isn't self-sustaining for UCF and other local schools that are graduating tens of thousands of students every year. Oh goodie, Wawa is hiring!

[TXRyan23]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

How is it ultimately good for the area with a disproportionate higher cost of living, particularly in the rental housing market? A healthy local economy requires disposable income from residents, not just tourists as evidenced by continued sales tax shortfalls which has required consistent re-budgeting and shortfalls in funding. This area desperately needs to attract more higher wage jobs versus being satisfied with those provided each time a new convenience store/gas station or strip retail center opens....which oh by the way isn't self-sustaining for UCF and other local schools that are graduating tens of thousands of students every year. Oh goodie, Wawa is hiring!

[sean1the1]

Here we go again... Orlando is the least mature of all of the Florida metros, so it is only common sense that wed be ranked after the other big Florida metros. Also as a whole the metro is a lot younger... Eventually we will start to grow more mature, and professional. After all Our history starts in the 70s.

[Yandielprfloridian]

I totally agree. But it's not only orange county, where I live in volusia county it's worse, but the cost of living in volusia is lower than orange county. I personally have no idea what the government would have to come up with when it comes to job growth, maybe an innovative way to reinvent the metro area with a new project to give people work which is completely unrelated to Disney /universal /seaworld ,the medical field or criminal justice .I really don't know ,but soon the rapid over population of Florida is going to continue to cause issues, it's a never ending domino affect and I really love my state of Florida but I'm almost ashamed of it because I notice things that are obvious issues and nothing is being done about it .the other states just shake their heads, look at the election for two presedential terms and no unified electoral election ,Casey Anthony and the Zimmerman cases (rather crime),low unemployment ,low wages ,poverty and a rise in people applying for social security .

[NowInGreenville]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics the Orlando area ranks last of the big cities in Florida with a highest average weekly wage of $860. Palm Beach County was number one at $1003 and had a 7.2% gain in average salary since last year. Dade County gained 4.1% with Broward County and Hillsborough County both gaining around 3.5%. Orange County was last at 2.2%.


Palm Beach County enjoys state's top wage after pay jumps 7.6 percent in 2012 - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

Shocker!! Kyle is posting another anti-Orlando article on CD. And it's actually one he has already posted before. But really, was anyone surprised that Kyle would be the one to post this article, or that TX Ryan would thumbs up him? Texas is so great that I guess hanging on CD all day is the top thing to do on the list there.

Also, in the Florida forum, Kyle started another post about how horrible the economy is in his back yard of Lake Mary, when meanwhile it is one of the fastest growing areas of Central Florid, with new home and apartment construction, restaurant construction, and high end Verizon jobs coming in as we speak. Kyle, are you going to try and claim you have no agenda again? What puzzles me is why you would open up any business in an area you clearly hate so much.

[kyle19125]

I have an agenda alright, hoping that everyone who lives here that thinks that things are so ducky will come to the realization that "all of the growth" is just that and nothing more. All of the commercial new construction in this area besides Verizon (750 jobs over two years, half of whom will be moved in from elsewhere) is for new restaurants and retail which while employing more residents and artificially lowering our unemployment rate will provide us with yet more service sector wages, minus health insurance options for most. If anyone thinks that this kind of growth is sustainable they clearly are lacking in any knowledge of economics. Growth alone does not strengthen an economy, a healthy dose of disposable income sustains it. Does anyone really expect this area to thrive primarily on part-time $10-$12 an hour jobs over the long haul? And for the record I don't live in an area I "hate so much", I just see things differently than the pom-pom shaking, rainbows/kittens/unicorns/sunshine types who try to dominate conversation on this forum and paint an inaccurate picture to some of what the area is really like. The Orlando metro area is not a one-size fits all place to live (more so than most places I believe) and a balance of realism is definitely needed on this particular forum for that very reason. I like the weather here generally, have a nice home, good friends and feel pretty settled at the moment..... which is pretty common for many Americans who many not be in love with where they live currently.