Updates
May 6, 2012: at the end of the original post I said: "My hunch is that the average Williston wage earner also pays at the highest federal tax rate."
At least one reader took issue with that comment and that reader was correct. I did not correctly articulate what I was trying to say. Fortunately today's Boston Globe said what I was trying to say:
The Buffett Rule - named for billionaire Warren Buffett, one of the measure’s most vocal proponents - would have generated additional revenue by requiring people who earn more than $1 million per year to pay effective federal tax rates of at least 30 percent. Because capital gains on investments, a major source of income for many affluent people, are taxed at just 15 percent, it is possible for high earners to pay lower effective rates than members of the middle class.What I should have said below is that it is my hunch that most blue collar workers in the Bakken are paying the highest effective rates for their income level. And if I'm still saying it incorrectly, I assume most folks know what I'm trying to say.
Original Post
"Anonymous" was curious what the pre-boom wage number was.
I said I was curious how the Williston wage compares with cities nationwide.
CarpeDiem provides the answer. A quick search suggests Williston may lead the nation in average wages for workers. This is the link to the original Williston Herald story.
Go to the link to see the full list, but at $70,000, Williston leads San Francisco (#2) at $65K; and Washington, DC (#3) at $63K.
There will be a lot of comments about the high cost of housing in Williston. Before we go down that rabbit trail, it ain't exactly cheap to live in San Francisco or Washington, DC, where property taxes and local taxes are additional factors to consider.
My hunch is that the average Williston wage earner also pays at the highest federal tax rate.
Bruce , the tax rate for Residents of ND is approx 55 % of the MN tax rate..( i used to live in MN.)
ReplyDeleteNon- residents can be liable for income tax in both state. the state tax is basically calculated from federal adjusted taxable income level.. there is a deduction for long term capital gains.. here is a link to 2011 income tax schedule.. compare it to other states..
http://www.nd.gov/tax/indincome/forms/2011/taxtables.pdf
I assume the average wage earner in Williston is not earning a lot in dividends that are taxed at a lower rate than wages in many cases.
DeleteI assume that the average wage earner in Williston does not have the same tax breaks as the Warren Buffett's of the country.
This number definitely seems overstated to me since a very, very large portion of the oilfield workers aren't claiming Williston as a place of residence. The wages paid for your standard professional jobs such as bankers, engineers, accountants, etc isn't any higher than elsewhere in the state (which is why a lot of these people are leaving town). The lower end jobs do pay more that other places but people aren't making 71k working at Arby's. Not to mention I know far more people that don't make that than do, even in oil field related jobs. Those that are earning really high wages are really skewing the numbers. I am a lifelong resident of Williston and wanted to let people know the reality of the situation.
ReplyDeleteYou are correct: those earning really high wages are really skewing the numbers.
DeleteAnd the folks at Arby's are moving (up) toward the average. Some months ago, someone calculated what an entry level employee could make at Arby's working 20 hours overtime each week at time and a half. Whether that's happening or not, I don't know, but the really industrious entry level employee at Arby's working a second job could certainly be helping the average.
But much, much more important is the unemployment rate. For all practical purposes no one is unemployed in Williams County; that is not true in San Francisco. It doesn't take a whole of unemployed to really bring down the average. In fact, when you factor in the unemployment rate, it just reminds one how wide the gap is between the "haves" and the "have-nots" in such places as San Francisco and Washington, DC.
Single filer using STD deduction with 71000 income from wages owes the IRS 11500. The marginal rate (rate on the last $ earned is 25%. Effective rate (tax due/total income ) is 16.2%.
DeleteSingle filer using STD deduction starts paying the 35% rate (highest) on income above 390,000. The effective rate for this filer is about 28% since his/her income below 390000 is taxed at progressive rates down to 10% scaling up to 33%.
I seriously doubt you could find an average Williston filer with 71000 income using any definition of average who is anywhere near the top bracket.
That's good news.
DeleteGive credit to the unions. Especially the Arby's entry level union.
DeleteFor those who are interested in keeping up with Arby's "behind the counter" and "in front of the counter," this is a great place to start:
Deletehttp://arbys.livejournal.com/
I might link it on the blog. Arby's has been in Williston for a long, long timer. I love it. Didn't go often enough. Sad face.