2004 Salary Survey Results

2004 Basic Annual Salaries: st1:country-region w:st="on">Canada and the United States

*All salaries in Canadian tables are reported in Canadian dollars. The exchange rate on April 1, 2004, was $1.31 Canadian = $1 U.S.

The 2004 SLA Salary Survey results show that the average salary increases for SLA members have outpaced inflation once again. Based on salaries as of April 1, the mean percentage increase in salaries for 2004 over 2003 was 4.3% for U.S. based respondents. For the same 12 month period, the Consumer Price Index rose only 2.3%. For Canadian members, salaries were 3.6% higher on April 1, 2004 than a year earlier, while the CPI had only increased by 1.6%

The average salary for US members who answered the survey was $63,151, compared with $61,522 in 2003, and for Canadian members Canadian $63,548 compared with Canadian $61,959.

Although we announced with pride in 1999 that gender equity had been achieved in US median salaries, when women’s salaries exceeded those of men for the first time, this trend has not continued. Since 1999 the differential moved slightly in favor of men, but this year’s results show a marked increase in the difference between male and women’s salaries. The median shows men’s 10% higher, but the mean is only 7% higher, which indicates that the differential is less marked at the top end of the scale.

The salaries of our Canadian colleagues have done the opposite. The results show women's mean salaries exceeding those of men for the first time - Canadian $63,985 compared to Canadian $60,996. The median figures show the same percentage differential. It will be interesting to see if this is a lasting trend or, like the US, just a temporary phenomenon.

The mean salary in the Pacific region moved into the second place this year ($67,083), just behind the Middle Atlantic region ($67,786). The responses of New England survey participants indicate a mean salary of $66,775, and the South Atlantic region closed the gap in fourth place with $65,522 compared with $60,960 in 2003. As I pointed out in last year’s review, don’t forget that the higher pay scales may look inviting, but one has to consider the cost of living in those areas.

The results show that 47% of the US members who responded supervise or manage 1-2 employees; these respondents earn, on average, $55,678. Just under 4% of the respondents supervise or manage 20 or more employees, and, on average, earn $104, 339, a differential, which is no great surprise.

The complete results of the 2004 survey will be published electronically in PDF by the end of September. Additionally, an exciting new feature will allow users to leverage survey results online. An online salary calculator will access the survey data, based on search criteria set by the user, to provide an instant result.

Due to the ease of delivery of an online survey, in 2004 we surveyed 100% of the US membership compared with the 50% surveyed over the last few years. Although the overall response rate fell slightly we received 2,320 useable survey responses compared with 1,366 in 2003.

Summary of Contents

Also available are Executive Summaries of SLA's annual salary surveys for earlier years included in the Salary Surveys Information Portal.