Pay Relatives for U.S. Census Regions and Divisions, 2006
"Results from the 2006 National Compensation Survey show that average pay levels in the Northeast and West are higher than in the South and Midwest.

The National Compensation Survey (NCS) provides national, regional, and locality estimates of occupational wage rates in the civilian sector of the United States.1 To simplify comparisons of pay levels among localities and regions, the NCS publishes pay relatives. A pay relative is a calculation of earnings--wages, salaries, commissions, and production bonuses--for a given geographic area relative to the Nation as a whole.2 The calculation of pay relatives among localities controls for differences in occupational composition, establishment and job characteristics, and the fact that locality data are collected at different times throughout the year..."