Public Employees Are Compensated Better Than Private-Sector Workers

Posted by Hans Bader

USA Today has a story today about how public employees are much better compensated than people in the private sector, with an average compensation of $40 per hour compared to $26 per hour.

It’s not so much their salaries that account for this, as their generous pensions and other benefits. As Americans live longer, their pension benefits can approach their salaries in value.

Some uninformed people claim that public employees are underpaid because they don’t benefit from “corporate profit and private wealth,” like this letter writer who believes that teachers can’t live on less than $100,000 per year.

But the reality is that even in wealthy, high-living cost areas, public employees’ overall compensation packages are better than most of their private-sector counterparts.

In wealthy Arlington County, Virginia, for example, the average person employed in the County makes about $75,000 per year, a little higher than the $71,148 received by the average teacher. But the teachers have much better benefits, valued at $27,636 for a teacher making $60,000 per year in salary. So even in wealthy areas, public employees are compensated better than the average private sector employee.

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02/03/2008 @ 1:13 am | Economic Liberty, Politics as Usual | Comments

7 Responses to “Public Employees Are Compensated Better Than Private-Sector Workers”

  1. Posted by: Virginia Tax Increase Scam | OpenMarket.org - 02/27/2008

    [...] taxes to fund the unusually generous pensions and health benefits of county employees, who are already paid better than private sector employees. (Private sector employees in the County typically have no employer-financed pension at all.) The [...]

  2. Posted by: Virginia Courts Strike Down Taxation Without Representation | OpenMarket.org - 02/29/2008

    [...] Arlington, Virginia teachers typically have compensation packages that exceed $100,000 per year, reflecting salaries of over $70,000 and generous benefits worth nearly $30,000 — and they’re not even the best paid public [...]

  3. Posted by: Barney Frank’s Lame Excuse for Bailing Out Irresponsible Borrowers | OpenMarket.org - 03/10/2008

    [...] — now have generous compensation packages that average over $100,000 annually, including salaries of over $70,000, and pension and other benefits worth around $30,000 annually, far more than most private-sector [...]

  4. Posted by: Congressman Frank’s Mortgage Bailout Pays A Disastrous “Ransom” | OpenMarket.org - 04/23/2008

    [...] — now often have generous compensation packages that average over $100,000 annually, including salaries of over $70,000, and pension and other benefits worth around $30,000 annually, far more than most private-sector [...]

  5. Posted by: Washington, D.C. Government Attacks Cheap Buses, Environment | OpenMarket.org - 07/07/2008

    [...] train operators sometimes make well over $100,000 per year.  (Public sector employees tend to be better paid than private sector employees, and to receive much better retirement benefits). addthis_url = [...]

  6. Posted by: Washington, D.C. Government Attacks Cheap Buses, Environment | OpenMarket.org - 07/07/2008

    [...] train operators sometimes make well over $100,000 per year.  (Public sector employees tend to be better paid than private sector employees, and to receive much better retirement benefits). addthis_url = [...]

  7. Posted by: Tax Increases Rejected as Virginia Transportation Standoff Continues | OpenMarket.org - 07/10/2008

    [...] already receive substantial salaries.  For example, Arlington, Virginia teachers have average base pay that exceeds $70,000 per year, and fringe benefits of around $30,000 per year.  In many northeastern states, compensation is [...]

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