In the last year, where did wages increase the most overall and where did they dip the deepest? PayScale looked at the top metro areas by population and then listed them from best to worst in terms of wage improvement for jobs. See who came out on top and who has a ways to go.
Wage Trends by Metro Area
| Rank | Metro Area | Q4 2018 Year-Over-Year One Year Wage Growth |
| 1 | San Francisco Metro Area | 4.9% |
| 2 | San Jose Metro Area | 3.3% |
| 3 | San Diego Metro Area | 3.0% |
| 4 | Portland Metro Area | 2.6% |
| 5 | Seattle Metro Area | 2.2% |
| 6 | Denver Metro Area | 2.1% |
| 7 (tie) | Los Angeles Metro Area | 2.0% |
| New York Metro Area | 2.0% | |
| Boston Metro Area | 2.0% | |
| 10 (tie) | Chicago Metro Area | 1.9% |
| Minneapolis Metro Area | 1.9% | |
| 12 (tie) | Atlanta Metro Area | 1.8% |
| Washington, DC Metro Area | 1.8% | |
| 14 | Baltimore Metro Area | 1.6% |
| 15 (tie) | Pittsburgh Metro Area | 1.3% |
| Phoenix Metro Area | 1.3% | |
| Orlando Metro Area | 1.3% | |
| 18 (tie) | Miami Metro Area | 1.2% |
| Milwaukee Metro Area | 1.2% | |
| 20 | Austin Metro Area | 1.1% |
| 21 (tie) | Charlotte Metro Area | 0.8% |
| Cincinnati Metro Area | 0.8% | |
| 23 | Philadelphia Metro Area | 0.7% |
| 24 (tie) | Houston Metro Area | 0.6% |
| Dallas Metro Area | 0.6% | |
| 26 (tie) | Raleigh Metro Area | 0.5% |
| Cleveland Metro Area | 0.5% | |
| St. Louis Metro Area | 0.5% | |
| 29 (tie) | Kansas City Metro Area | 0.1% |
| Tampa Metro Area | 0.1% | |
| 31 | Detroit Metro Area | -0.6% |
| 32 | Nashville Metro Area | -0.7% |
Methodology for The PayScale Index: Trends in Compensation
The PayScale Index tracks quarterly changes in total cash compensation for full-time, private industry employees and education professionals in the United States. In addition to a national index, it includes separate indices for specific industries, metropolitan areas, job categories, and company sizes. The PayScale Index uses 2006 average total cash compensation as a baseline.