See the U.S. cities where worker pay is rising fastest

By Megan Cerullo Reporter, MoneyWatch Megan Cerullo is a New York-based reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering small business, workplace, health care, consumer spending and personal finance topics. She regularly appears on CBS News 24/7 to discuss her reporting. Read Full Bio Updated on: September 4, 2026 / 3:22 PM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google The U.S. has many economies, not just one. Consider how much the gains in worker pay can vary from city to city. Nationwide, workers in August got a 4.7% bump in gross pay compared to a year ago, while their base pay rose by an average of 3.2%, according to ADP Pay Insights. Yet wages grew much faster in some urban areas around the country, even far outstripping inflation. In general, those metros had several things in common: healthy job growth, a shortage of workers and higher employee turnover, data from the payroll processor shows. Wage growth is also often stronger in cities with a higher concentration of manufacturing and financial services firms."Sometimes a labor supply shortage, caused by an aging workforce or skills mismatch, can drive up wages," ADP lead data scientist Liv Wang told CBS News. Nationwide, wages in August rose at an annual rate of 3.1%, the lowest since May 2021, even as strong payroll gains blew by economists' forecasts, the Department of Labor said on Friday. ADP collects data on private-sector employment, while the government's non-farm payroll figures offer a broader snapshot of the job market, including government jobs. Here are the top 10 metro areas with the fastest wage growth in August, along with the top 10 industries with the fastest wage growth, according to ADP. Edited by Alain Sherter