Jacksonville doctors earn less than national average

[mtraininjax]

From the JBJ:

http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/news/2012/05/23/jacksonville-doctors-earn-less-than.html?surround=etf&ana=e_article

We also appear to have a shortage of General Practitioner/Family doctors in our area.

[tufsu1]

me thinks that most jobs in Jacksonville earn less than the national average....of course our cost of living is under the national average too (and that doesn't even take into account the lack of income taxes)

[fsquid]

not surprising.

[cityimrov]

http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/news/2012/05/22/jacksonville-ceos-earn-less-than-the.html

Jacksonville is just a poor city compared to the national average. 

me thinks that most jobs in Jacksonville earn less than the national average....of course our cost of living is under the national average too (and that doesn't even take into account the lack of income taxes)

Cost of living should not matter to salary.  State income taxes should not matter either.  I think these are just excuses. 

I know someone who lives in area with a high cost of living who lives in a tiny house and earns quite a lot of money but can't buy much of anything.  He pays high taxes but at the same time he can get a train to work, eat different foods you just can't find in Jacksonville, have a state mandated safety net to protect his family should he manage to loose health insurance, and lots of other things.  Sure, his taxes are higher but he get's more then his money worth back.

You know what?  Should he happen to sell his modest million dollar house and move here - he won't have any money problems for a long time!  I can't say the same the other way around. 

[fsquid]

I work for a F500 company and we do put a percentage increase on salaries if you work in NY, SF, LA, etc. of about 15%.  However, we don't for other places regardless of taxes, etc.  It was nice moving from Charlotte to here and getting rid of that 7% state income tax and personal property tax (which was highway robbery to me).

[cityimrov]

I work for a F500 company and we do put a percentage increase on salaries if you work in NY, SF, LA, etc. of about 15%.  However, we don't for other places regardless of taxes, etc.

Interesting.  Why is the company willing to pay an extra 15% for NY, SF, and LA but not others?  What happens if it didn't pay that extra 15%?

It was nice moving from Charlotte to here and getting rid of that 7% state income tax and personal property tax (which was highway robbery to me).

Really?  Wow, that's a new idea around here.  If you read the rest of this forum, you'll know there's a strong bias towards Charlotte and how they are doing everything right while Jacksonville is doing everything wrong.  Do you think the services provided in Charlotte and North Carolina are worth the extra taxes?  If not, what do you think they should have charged or provided for those extra taxes?

[simms3]

Jacksonville COL is about 10% below the national average.  NYC, SF, DC and Boston COL are all at least 40% above the national average.  15% salary bump seems standard, but ask anyone who works for a higher salary in the larger gateway cities if it's really enough to cover COL and you'll get a unanimous NO!  My pay premium in Atlanta is probably at least 15% above what I could make in Jax, yet for the rent I'm about to pay for a 5th floor studio not updated since 1990 I could practically get a 2 BR in the Strand with a view.  Granted 15% less salary may actually only get me a 1 BR in the Strand (boo hoo).

The beauty of some southern cities like Charlotte, Atlanta, and now Nashville are that certain jobs do pay more than in other southern cities (like a gateway city premium), and yet the bump is actually more than enough to cover COL.  It ends up being a large draw.  Charlotte even with taxes is supposedly on par with Jax in terms of COL because property taxes are "supposedly" really low (I don't know, I don't live there).

Lots of cities charge a personal property tax, and it can be a hastle, but usually that only happens in cities with super low housing costs and low property taxes (and so the aggregate tax bill is actually still lower than average).

Your average doctor in Jax can still afford a mega mansion on the water, so some of the nicest homes in the city are those occupied by doctors.  Most cities may pay doctors more, but it would only be in the burbs that a doctor could have a 4+ bedroom home with 3 car garage due to increased housing prices.  (like literally the nicest waterfront homes in Ortega are now "only" $2M, which might give you your average off the water Avondale home with minimal yard in other cities)

[tufsu1]

Cost of living should not matter to salary.  State income taxes should not matter either.  I think these are just excuses. 

are you kidding? 

many companies have salary ranges that are based on location (in essence, adjusting for cost of living)....as an example, my company has 4 levels...all of Florida (except southeast) is in the the second lowest tier.

[ben says]

Jax lawyers are far below the national average, as well:

http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/news/2012/05/24/jacksonville-lawyers-salary-far-below.html

[fsquid]

I work for a F500 company and we do put a percentage increase on salaries if you work in NY, SF, LA, etc. of about 15%.  However, we don't for other places regardless of taxes, etc.

Interesting.  Why is the company willing to pay an extra 15% for NY, SF, and LA but not others?  What happens if it didn't pay that extra 15%?

It was nice moving from Charlotte to here and getting rid of that 7% state income tax and personal property tax (which was highway robbery to me).

Really?  Wow, that's a new idea around here.  If you read the rest of this forum, you'll know there's a strong bias towards Charlotte and how they are doing everything right while Jacksonville is doing everything wrong.  Do you think the services provided in Charlotte and North Carolina are worth the extra taxes?  If not, what do you think they should have charged or provided for those extra taxes?

For the 15%, I guess it is what HR thinks hey need to do to compete.  I just know it is in our compensation manual. 

As for Charlotte and the taxes, the state went from 37th in the union to 13th in the span of 10 years.  There were some good things from that like the light rail and greenway system.  But, there were some other things like roads noit cared for, a NASCAR HOF that no one wanted, an arena that the citizens voted against twice, overcrowded schools.    My wife's as born and raised there, so she wanted to get out, so that led us here when an opportunity arose to relocate with the company

[fsquid]

Simms, the property tax rate here is basically the same as Charlotte.  Sales tax is more in Charlotte too, but that is a NC thing.

[cityimrov]

Jacksonville COL is about 10% below the national average.  NYC, SF, DC and Boston COL are all at least 40% above the national average.  15% salary bump seems standard, but ask anyone who works for a higher salary in the larger gateway cities if it's really enough to cover COL and you'll get a unanimous NO!  My pay premium in Atlanta is probably at least 15% above what I could make in Jax, yet for the rent I'm about to pay for a 5th floor studio not updated since 1990 I could practically get a 2 BR in the Strand with a view.  Granted 15% less salary may actually only get me a 1 BR in the Strand (boo hoo).

The beauty of some southern cities like Charlotte, Atlanta, and now Nashville are that certain jobs do pay more than in other southern cities (like a gateway city premium), and yet the bump is actually more than enough to cover COL.  It ends up being a large draw.  Charlotte even with taxes is supposedly on par with Jax in terms of COL because property taxes are "supposedly" really low (I don't know, I don't live there).

Lots of cities charge a personal property tax, and it can be a hastle, but usually that only happens in cities with super low housing costs and low property taxes (and so the aggregate tax bill is actually still lower than average).

Your average doctor in Jax can still afford a mega mansion on the water, so some of the nicest homes in the city are those occupied by doctors.  Most cities may pay doctors more, but it would only be in the burbs that a doctor could have a 4+ bedroom home with 3 car garage due to increased housing prices.  (like literally the nicest waterfront homes in Ortega are now "only" $2M, which might give you your average off the water Avondale home with minimal yard in other cities)

Isn't there another side to this story as well?  Yes, you do get access to a nice single story bedroom in The Strand but you also loose a lot of stuff as well. 

It depends on the person but some of these things might be worth the extra cost.  You loose access to the MBL & NBA where Jacksonville has none of these.  You loose walk-up convince to Georgia Tech while Jacksonville has no major research university.  You loose access to Emory University and Emory Healthcare while Jacksonville may somewhat compete with Mayo depending on your situation.  You also loose walk-up access to investment capital that Atlanta is well known for in the South where as Jacksonville has much fewer of those opportunities.  Most of all, you also loose the insight gained from working in Atlanta about why Jacksonville has issues where as many people here think everything is fine. 

Of course, everything depends on a person's specific situation but some of these things may be worth the extra cost to some people.  There's more to life then just housing and in a way, if any of these are more important to a person - Jacksonville has to pay them way above average to make up the difference of what is lacking here. 

[tufsu1]

You loose access to the MBL & NBA where Jacksonville has none of these. 

some would argue that Atlanta and Charlotte don't have NBA teams either