Workers who move to Seattle get the biggest pay increases

• Fewer people are relocating for work, but those who do see bigger pay increases.
• Seattle, New York, and San Francisco have the highest salary boosts for newcomers.
• New Seattle workers got an average 15% pay jump, compared to 1% for people who already lived there.

If you want a substantial increase in earnings, you're better off relocating for a new job, and Seattle is the best example.

A November report from Bank of America based on internal customer data from the third quarter of 2023 echoed a previous report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta that the biggest jumps in pay go to those who switch jobs. However, Bank of America's data revealed that relocating to some cities provides a bigger increase than others.

While Bank of America found that people are more likely to move to sunny cities like Austin, San Antonio, Las Vegas, and Tampa, the biggest pay increases go to those who move up north.

In the third quarter of 2023, workers relocating to Seattle enjoyed an impressive 15% increase in their median paycheck year-over-year, the highest among the 26 major metropolitan cities tracked. This is more than double the 6.2% increase seen by job switchers nationwide in November.

In contrast, non-movers in Seattle saw a 1% increase in salaries. According to the Atlanta Fed, the national average was 5.3% for those who stayed in their job.

Only Boston had a lower pay change for people staying in the city. It was below 0%, as non-movers saw a pay decrease on average.

San Francisco, at 12%, and New York, at 11%, were next on the list for cities that provide the largest increase in pay to people moving. Bank of America noted this could be due to the high cost of living in both cities and the need to provide higher salaries.

Seattle is not as expensive, but one commonality with San Francisco and New York is the large concentration of tech and financial services sectors.

Another reason for the bigger pay raises for movers may be that getting people to move for a new job is harder. From 1986 through 2022, the share of workers relocating for a job fell from more than 40% to under 5%, according to data from the outplacement firm Challenger, Gray, and Christmas.

According to workplace experts previously interviewed by Business Insider, this is being driven by higher costs of living, companies moving to bigger talent pools, remote work, and an aging population.

Meanwhile, Florida is not having a problem attracting new residents as more working-age Americans are moving to the state for the weather and lack of state income tax. The cost is that its major cities have the lowest jump in pay for new residents.

Tampa's and Miami's increases were both just under 4%. That rate was only slightly better than the 3% increase seen for Tampa residents who didn't move and 2% for people in Miami who stayed.

In today's economy, mobility can be financially rewarding, especially in urban areas like Seattle.