Transit workers in many cities get paid more than twice as much as private sector employees working in transportation, according to a new report from the Heritage Foundation. The report compared average pay by major transit agencies in Atlanta, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Washington with the average pay for all workers and the pay for transport workers in those regions.
Transit Premium Over Other Workers in Same Region
| City | All Workers | Transport Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Atlanta | 11.7% | 58.8% |
| Chicago | 31.4% | 77.1% |
| New York | 50.1% | 27.1% |
| Philadelphia | 39.7% | 109.7% |
| San Francisco | 61.0% | 147.8% |
| Washington | 31.5% | 121.1% |
As shown in the table, Heritage Foundation researcher David Ditch calculated that average transit pay is anywhere from 12 to 61 percent greater than average pay for all workers in these regions and 59 to 148 percent more than average pay for transport workers. There are a couple of caveats, however. Continue reading
