Technology professionals saw their biggest pay raises last year and those living the Baltimore/Washington area saw the second highest wages in the nation.
The data comes from
Dice’s 2012 salary survey, which culled information from more than 18,000 IT professionals throughout the U.S. After two straight years of flat wages, tech workers’ salaries grew, on average, more than 2 percent, to $81,327 last year.
Average salaries in the Baltimore/Washington market were considerably higher, at $94,317, and salaries grew 6 percent. IT professionals in Silicon Valley pulled in top pay, at $104,195. Austin saw the biggest wage growth, with a 13 percent jump in pay.
Wages are higher in the Baltimore/Washington area, in part, because the high education levels, says Jason Hayman, market research manager for Hanover IT staffing firm
TEKsystems Inc. Nearly half of all Washingtonians hold a bachelor’s degree or higher while more than one-third of Baltimore residents hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. That puts Baltimore No. 8 in terms of education and Washington No. 1 in the nation.
Jobs in the federal government, which is adding IT positions, also is a factor in the region’s salary standing, Hayman says.
Writer: Julekha Dash
Sources: Dice; Jason Hayman and Brendan Foerster, TEKsystems