Each year, the City of Boston publishes payroll data for employees. This dataset contains employee names, job details, and earnings information including base salary, overtime, and total compensation for employees of the City.

See the "Payroll Categories" document below for an explanation of what types of earnings are included in each category.

The Checkbook Explorer web application provides current financial information about the City of Boston's expenditures, allowing users to explore how City funds are spent.

Data is updated regularly, though the timing may vary based on internal review and approval processes. This data is published, and certain information is withheld from publishing, in accordance with the 2014 Executive Order of Mayor Martin J. Walsh, "_An Order Relative to Open Data and Protected Data Sharing_." Personal information is excluded to protect individual privacy. The Checkbook Explorer does not contain payroll information, which is available in the Employee Earnings Report (https://data.boston.gov/dataset/employee-earnings-report), or data from independent city agencies. Data from July 2011 (FY 2012) to present is available.

Graph and download economic data for All Employees: Information: Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers in Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA (NECTA Division) (DISCONTINUED) (SMU25716545051110001SA) from Jan 1990 to Dec 2022 about periodicals, book, Boston, information, MA, employment, and USA.

Since 1983, the Boston Residents Jobs Policy sets employment standards for City sponsored, privately funded, and federally mandated development projects taking place in the City. This compliance report dataset provides information on how project managers and specific development projects are meeting the requirements of the policy based on the workers they employ. By collecting and publishing data on the Residents Jobs Policy, the City seeks to reduce racial and gender inequality within construction projects, and also provide greater employment opportunities for residents of Boston.

Update 10/7/22: Work was recently completed to incorporate data from multiple methods of collecting compliance data currently in use, correcting the previously noted issue that the dataset did not contain all compliance projects, specifically those from 2019 to present.

This dataset is about companies in New Boston. It has 18 rows. It features 3 columns: city, and employees.

Graph and download economic data for All Employees: Federal Government in Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA (NECTA Division) (DISCONTINUED) (SMU25716549091000001A) from 1990 to 2023 about Boston, MA, federal, government, employment, and USA.

This horizontal bar chart displays employees (people) by city using the aggregation sum in New Boston. The data is about companies.

Graph and download economic data for All Employees: Professional and Business Services: Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services in Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA (NECTA Division) (SMU25716546054000001SA) from Jan 1990 to Dec 2024 about science, Boston, professional, MA, services, employment, and USA.

The City of Boston reports on our discretionary spending as part of our commitment to transparency and to growing pathways to equitable procurement for diverse suppliers. This dataset contains all discretionary spending data from Fiscal Year 2019 - Fiscal Year 2026, Quarter 1.

Discretionary spending refers to the total value of payments made by the City to a supplier through a contract ($10,000 or over) or a purchase order (under $10,000). This includes procurements where there is competition and discretion over choosing a supplier. Discretionary spending does not include mandatory or fixed obligations, such as payments of employee benefits.

You can view an interactive dashboard of our discretionary spending at https://www.boston.gov/equitable-procurement.

To learn more about the City’s procurement and supplier diversity efforts, visit:

• https://www.boston.gov/procurement
• https://www.boston.gov/supplier-diversity

** Notes on the Data **

The Discretionary Spending dataset differs from our Checkbook Explorer (https://data.boston.gov/dataset/checkbook-explorer) dataset in two key ways.

• First, we report on some types of spending in the Checkbook Explorer dataset, such as utility, telecommunications, and benefits payments, that we don’t report in the Discretionary Spending dataset.
• Second, the Checkbook Explorer dataset is updated monthly; the Discretionary Spending dataset is updated quarterly. We are working to synchronize these datasets in the future.

If you have questions about this data or would like to provide feedback, please use this form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/10_VGn3OEaa-JA5VJynZ9JKw-I3t0BAzw3ckv8rxVMLc/viewform?edit_requested=true

Graph and download economic data for All Employees: Government: Federal Government in Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH (NECTA) (SMU25716509091000001) from Jan 1990 to Dec 2024 about Boston, NH, MA, federal, government, employment, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for All Employees: Government: U.S. Postal Service in Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA (NECTA Division) (SMU25716549091912001) from Jan 1990 to Dec 2024 about postal, Boston, MA, services, employment, and USA.

About this dataset

Context

The dataset presents median income data over a decade or more for males and females categorized by Total, Full-Time Year-Round (FT), and Part-Time (PT) employment in Boston. It showcases annual income, providing insights into gender-specific income distributions and the disparities between full-time and part-time work. The dataset can be utilized to gain insights into gender-based pay disparity trends and explore the variations in income for male and female individuals.

Key observations: Insights from 2023

Based on our analysis ACS 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates, we present the following observations: - All workers, aged 15 years and older: In Boston, the median income for all workers aged 15 years and older, regardless of work hours, was $55,048 for males and $42,450 for females.

These income figures indicate a substantial gender-based pay disparity, showcasing a gap of approximately 23% between the median incomes of males and females in Boston. With women, regardless of work hours, earning 77 cents to each dollar earned by men, this income disparity reveals a concerning trend toward wage inequality that demands attention in thecity of Boston.

- Full-time workers, aged 15 years and older: In Boston, among full-time, year-round workers aged 15 years and older, males earned a median income of $86,749, while females earned $77,084, resulting in a 11% gender pay gap among full-time workers. This illustrates that women earn 89 cents for each dollar earned by men in full-time positions. While this gap shows a trend where women are inching closer to wage parity with men, it also exhibits a noticeable income difference for women working full-time in the city of Boston.

Interestingly, when analyzing income across all roles, including non-full-time employment, the gender pay gap percentage was higher for women compared to men. It appears that full-time employment presents a more favorable income scenario for women compared to other employment patterns in Boston.

Content

When available, the data consists of estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates. All incomes have been adjusting for inflation and are presented in 2023-inflation-adjusted dollars.

Gender classifications include:

• Male
• Female

Employment type classifications include:

• Full-time, year-round: A full-time, year-round worker is a person who worked full time (35 or more hours per week) and 50 or more weeks during the previous calendar year.
• Part-time: A part-time worker is a person who worked less than 35 hours per week during the previous calendar year.

Variables / Data Columns

• Year: This column presents the data year. Expected values are 2010 to 2023
• Male Total Income: Annual median income, for males regardless of work hours
• Male FT Income: Annual median income, for males working full time, year-round
• Male PT Income: Annual median income, for males working part time
• Female Total Income: Annual median income, for females regardless of work hours
• Female FT Income: Annual median income, for females working full time, year-round
• Female PT Income: Annual median income, for females working part time

Good to know

Margin of Error

Data in the dataset are based on the estimates and are subject to sampling variability and thus a margin of error. Neilsberg Research recommends using caution when presening these estimates in your research.

Custom data

If you do need custom data for any of your research project, report or presentation, you can contact our research staff at research@neilsberg.com for a feasibility of a custom tabulation on a fee-for-service basis.

Inspiration

Neilsberg Research Team curates, analyze and publishes demographics and economic data from a variety of public and proprietary sources, each of which often includes multiple surveys and programs. The large majority of Neilsberg Research aggregated datasets and insights is made available for free download at https://www.neilsberg.com/research/.

Recommended for further research

This dataset is a part of the main dataset for Boston median household income by race. You can refer the same here

Graph and download economic data for Average Weekly Earnings of All Employees: Total Private in Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA (NECTA Division) (DISCONTINUED) (SMU25716540500000011A) from 2007 to 2023 about Boston, MA, earnings, private, employment, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for All Employees: Mining, Logging, and Construction in Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH (NECTA) (SMU25716501500000001) from Jan 1990 to Dec 2024 about logging, Boston, NH, MA, mining, earnings, hours, construction, employment, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for All Employees: Financial Activities in Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH (NECTA) (BOST625FIREN) from Jan 1990 to Dec 2024 about Boston, NH, MA, financial, employment, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for All Employees: Professional and Business Services in Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH (NECTA) (BOST625PBSVN) from Jan 1990 to Dec 2024 about Boston, NH, professional, MA, business, services, employment, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for All Employees: Total Nonfarm in Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA (NECTA Division) (SMS25716540000000001) from Jan 1990 to Dec 2024 about Boston, MA, nonfarm, employment, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for All Employees: Private Service Providing in Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA (NECTA Division) (SMU25716540800000001SA) from Jan 1990 to Dec 2024 about Boston, MA, services, private, employment, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Average Hourly Earnings of All Employees: Total Private in Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA (NECTA Division) (SMU25716540500000003) from Jan 2007 to Dec 2024 about Boston, MA, earnings, hours, private, employment, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for All Employees: Health Care: Hospitals in Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA (NECTA Division) (DISCONTINUED) (SMU25716546562200001A) from 1990 to 2023 about hospitals, Boston, MA, health, employment, and USA.