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.

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 $25,556 for males and $17,381 for females.

These income figures highlight a substantial gender-based income gap in Boston. Women, regardless of work hours, earn 68 cents for each dollar earned by men. This significant gender pay gap, approximately 32%, underscores concerning gender-based income inequality in the city 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 $30,982, while females earned $35,563

Surprisingly, within the subset of full-time workers, women earn a higher income than men, earning 1.15 dollars for every dollar earned by men. This suggests that within full-time roles, womens median incomes significantly surpass mens, contrary to broader workforce trends.

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

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 2025, Quarter 3.

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

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.

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 New 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 New Boston, the median income for all workers aged 15 years and older, regardless of work hours, was $49,473 for males and $29,313 for females.

These income figures highlight a substantial gender-based income gap in New Boston. Women, regardless of work hours, earn 59 cents for each dollar earned by men. This significant gender pay gap, approximately 41%, underscores concerning gender-based income inequality in the city of New Boston.

- Full-time workers, aged 15 years and older: In New Boston, among full-time, year-round workers aged 15 years and older, males earned a median income of $53,830, while females earned $39,744, leading to a 26% gender pay gap among full-time workers. This illustrates that women earn 74 cents for each dollar earned by men in full-time roles. This analysis indicates a widening gender pay gap, showing a substantial income disparity where women, despite working full-time, face a more significant wage discrepancy compared to men in the same roles.

Surprisingly, the gender pay gap percentage was higher across all roles, including non-full-time employment, for women compared to men. This suggests that full-time employment offers a more equitable income scenario for women compared to other employment patterns in New 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 New Boston median household income by race. You can refer the same here

The Health Division of the Department of Inspectional Services (ISD) creates and enforces food safety codes to protect public health. All businesses which prepare and sell food to the public must possess a food service permit. In order to qualify for a permit, at least one full time employee must be must be certified through an accredited food manager program, which provides guidance on handling and serving food to the public.

This dataset contains a list of restaurants that met the City's standards to become licensed food service establishments.