Are IE workers getting paid more?

And how we stack up to nearby areas

Short takeaway: I was on a podcast recently discussing regional economic statistics. One thing we didn’t talk about is worker pay, which has increased in the IE more than neighboring metros. Two caveats are hours, which have mostly remained steady since 2020, and inflation, which eats into the purchasing power of our wage gains.

Last week I was on the Mike and Phebe Show, a podcast out of Perris. I had my student assistant from CSUSB, Daniel Rodriguez, on as well. You should check it out! Link is here: https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-f9e78-187ea99

We talked about whether we're currently in a recession, if inflation will cool anytime soon, and much more.

One other thing we talked about was whether Riverside County is a good place to live, work, AND play. It definitely is! As mentioned here and elsewhere, the region is leading job growth statewide.

One thing we didn't talk about on the podcast is wages. How are people paid? Is this another reason why people are moving out here?

Since January 2020, average earnings of IE workers in the private sector have increased from $25.24 to $33.18 (as of March, 2025), or about 31.5%. In LA, the increase was similar - from $31.71 to $39.49 - but percentage-wise, that's just a 24.5% gain. Thus, IE workers have gained a 6% higher raise since 2020 than LA workers. See the chart below.

San Diego workers also saw a gain of about $8, from $31.59 to $39.91, which translates to a 26.3% increase.

There are two caveats to these statistics.

First, hours. Take home pay is a function of wages AND hours. But hours were down in the Inland Empire from 34.8 in January 2020 to 34.4 in March 2025. That's not a big drop, but it does reduce the benefit of the wage gain slightly.

Second, inflation. Adjusting for changes in the purchasing power of the dollar, these gains are much more modest. Since January 2020, average prices have increased 27.4% (according to the all items index of the region's CPI). Thus, real- or inflation-adjusted earnings increased about 5%.