By Jim Cline and Kate Kremer
In last three parts of the wage series, we have discussed State wage rankings for the various public safety classifications. In the next part of the wage series, we run articles on factors that might influence or explain, at least in part, those wage rankings, using the updated 2023 wage rankings.
In this article we discuss wage as it relates to population but for the detailed data, you’ll want to explore our Premium Website. If you’re not currently a Premium Website subscriber you can review our services Cline and Associates Premium Information Services and contact Carly Alcombrack at Cline and Associates and she’ll explain how you can become one: CAlcombrack@clinelawfirm.com.
In this article we discuss whether size — as measured by population — matters as to wage rankings and to what extent. In the next two articles we will discuss the influence of the two other variables most commonly used to predict comparability — assessed valuation and geographic location.
Along with the wage ranking data that we discussed previously in this series, our premium website has detailed charts which show the relative wage rank for some of the surveyed public safety classifications in each of the various cities and counties up against their wage rank in population and assessed valuation. In this article we post a scaled-down version of those charts for two of the classifications — City Police and County Deputy Sheriffs. In these charts we show the relative current wage rank for these bargaining units (the actual wage is posted on the premium website).
A review of this data indicates that size does, in fact, matter. The top 20 wages in the State are found in the top 42 cities as ranked by population. The smallest city of the 132 reported municipalities with police departments — Tieton — ranks 126th on its 25-year BA wage. A review of the city wage charts — measuring the wage at the 25-year BA level — shows a correlation between population and wage ranking. Tacoma, Kent, Renton and Everett, for example show a wage rank that correlates closely with their population.
What is actually perhaps more noteworthy about the chart, is the extent to which population does not always predict wage ranking. The chart reveals a number of police departments that are paid either high or low relative to their population.
Two of the factors besides population, that also substantially explain one’s wage, are assessed valuation and location. If size explained all of the wage rankings, then you would not expect to see Spokane — the 2nd largest city in the state — with a wage ranked 57th. And Vancouver — the 4th largest city — is now ranked 17th, lagging despite their proximity to a major metropolitan area.
Also, geographic location has a powerful relationship to wage position. Jurisdictions more proximate to Seattle and the Central Puget Sound labor market are often paid a significantly higher rate due to that location within the labor market. Typically, Eastern Washington jurisdictions are paid measurably less than Western Washington jurisdictions of similar size. And wages in King County are typically higher than wages in the rest of the State, as are wages in Pierce and Snohomish County. Some examples of this geographic impact are found in the Central Puget Sound cities of Olympia, 21st in population and 12th in wage rank, and small but affluent Mercer Island, 38th in population with the 10th highest Police Officer wage in the state. And yet, this population-based wage chart reveals that this is not uniformly the case. For example, in Central Puget Sound, Lakewood is the 18th largest city and is ranked 37th. Clearly, more than population and geography are at play in determining wages. The top 10 Washington cities ranked by 2023 population are listed in the table below:
25-year BA Patrol Officer Wage
Washington Cities 2023 Ranked by Population
| Rank | Population | Cities | Wage Rank | |||
| 1 | 779200 | Seattle | 15 | |||
| 2 | 232700 | Spokane | 57 | |||
| 3 | 222400 | Tacoma | 6 | |||
| 4 | 199600 | Vancouver | 17 | |||
| 5 | 154600 | Bellevue | 28 | |||
| 6 | 139100 | Kent | 2 | |||
| 7 | 114200 | Everett | 4 | |||
| 8 | 107900 | Renton | 11 | |||
| 9 | 102000 | Federal Way | 34 |
These charts only provide one snapshot view of the labor contract – the 25-year wage inclusive of longevity and education premiums. It does not account for other wage-related premiums that might be contained in the contract. This number also does not take into account that there may be other important elements of the contract that bargaining units gave up wages to retain — for example a good health insurance plan or reduced health insurance premium contributions. There may also be current economic and fiscal conditions in each of the cities that explain their wage status. So, this chart, while interesting, certainly does not tell the whole story.
A similar review of Deputy Sheriff wage data shows an even stronger correlation between size and wages. King, Pierce and Snohomish County rank 1, 2 and 3, corresponding exactly to their population rank. 4th largest Spokane drops to 9th in wage. 5th largest Clark also corresponds exactly to its fifth-place wage rank. And smallest in size, Garfield County, also has the 39th ranked wage.
Here’s the Deputy Sheriff population/wage ranking chart for the top 10 Counties:
25-year BA Sheriff Deputy Wage
Washington Counties 2023 Ranked by Population
| Rank | Population | Counties | Wage Rank | |||
| 1 | 2347800 | King County | 1 | |||
| 2 | 946300 | Pierce County | 2 | |||
| 3 | 859800 | Snohomish County | 3 | |||
| 4 | 554600 | Spokane County | 9 | |||
| 5 | 527400 | Clark County | 5 | |||
| 6 | 303400 | Thurston County | 10 | |||
| 7 | 283200 | Kitsap County | 4 | |||
| 8 | 261200 | Yakima County | 12 | |||
| 9 | 235800 | Whatcom County | 7 | |||
| 10 | 215500 | Benton County | 6 |
San Juan County stands out as without a strong correlation between size and wage as it is 32nd in size but 8th in its wage rank. So like Cities, Counties may “underperform” or “over perform” relative to their size.
Other variables like tax base and location often explain those results. And, as we indicated above, this wage ranking reports only one piece of the total compensation covered by the CBA (albeit an important one.) The purpose of this analysis is to show that size matters as to wages, but we recognize that the base wage is bargained alongside many other elements of compensation.
Fire districts and city fire departments often provide service to other departments and so the standard population statistics are not informative. Our office reviews the population statistics, the Fire District Tax Code Area Statements and Fire Service Directory to compile population and assessed valuation service area demographics. These are used to select comparables for Firefighter Guilds. Using the Service Population below are the ten largest fire agencies and their associated net hourly wage rank. The list includes 5 cities, two regional fire authorities and three fire districts:
25-year BA Firefighter Net Hourly Wage Ranked by Population
Washington Cities and Fire Districts 2023
| Rank | Service Population | Agencies | Wage Rank | |||
| 1 | 779200 | Seattle | 33 | |||
| 2 | 303294 | Snohomish South County RFA | 5 | |||
| 3 | 297232 | Vancouver | 13 | |||
| 4 | 242536 | Pierce FD 6 | 10 | |||
| 5 | 232700 | Spokane | 29 | |||
| 6 | 231556 | Tacoma | 12 | |||
| 7 | 182395 | Kent Puget Sound RFA | 61 | |||
| 8 | 176160 | Bellevue | 6 | |||
| 9 | 162818 | King FD 39 | 31 | |||
| 10 | 150116 | King FD 10 Eastside | 7 |
In the next issue we’ll discuss how assessed valuation correlates to wages and after that we’ll discuss geographic location. We’ll learn that those factors do also strongly influence wage rankings. But you’ll eventually conclude that size, tax base and geography alone don’t explain those rankings in full and that other factors, perhaps local political and fiscal conditions or perhaps the relative success of bargaining units to negotiate for wages, also influence their rank.
