While trying hard not to, I recently overheard a conversation among law firm recruiters who were sitting next to me at a small cafe. I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop. I was soberly dining alone during a business trip and they were a few drinks into their conversation.
Their after-dinner topic was the high salaries being offered graduates of the nation’s most prestigious law schools. One of the recruiters was complaining that these gifted new attorneys weren’t familiar with the concept of “cost of living.”
“They want a Manhattan salary when the cost of living in (our city) is 50 percent of what it costs to live in Manhattan.”
Comparing the cost of living in different cities is important for many reasons — not just for determining the salary expected by a Harvard Law School grad. For example, in the debate over increasing the national minimum wage, it’s important to realize that $15-an-hour in Manhattan, Kansas (the Little Apple) goes a lot further than the same $15 in Manhattan, New York (the Big Apple).* (Note: This list provided by the U.S. State Department. However, do not view the appearance of an organization on this list as an endorsement by the State Department, or, for that matter, SmallBusiness.com.)
Resources Related to Cost of Living Information
Bankrate.com Comparison Calculator – Link
Cost of Living and Salary Comparison Wizard, Salary.com | Link
Occupational Outlook Handbook – Link
Realtor.com | Link
Offers a “salary” calculator which is really a cost of living calculator
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics | Link
Good source of information on salaries in many market sectors (Office of Compensation Levels & Trends) More good information in their Office of Employment & Unemployment Statistics
(via: U.S. Department of State)
*If you make $75,000 in Manhattan, Kansas, you’d need to make $165,961 in Manhattan, New York, to maintain your current standard of living.