Americans want $79,000 to start a new job

Hey there! Thank you to all of you who came to our Boston community meetup. 💚 It was awesome to meet you all and discuss everything from salary transparency to fair pay to Boston’s top bites (hey, food is always a priority). We have another meetup this Saturday, September 2nd, in Detroit—we’d love to see you there if you’re around!

 1   U.S. salary expectations are going one way: up 📈

What’s the lowest wage you’d accept to start a new job? For most Americans, it’s around $78,645, according to the New York Fed. That’s a 7.5% increase from last year, primarily driven by inflation and increased costs of living.

Going a level deeper: Women’s pay expectations rose 11% over the past year. The bad news? Women are still willing to accept almost $25,000 less than men, who wanted an average of $91,048 to start a new job.

So…what jobs pay enough to satisfy most of us? 💰 A bunch! Physical therapist, dentist, mathematician, and veterinarian, just to name a few. Here’s the full list!

 2   Illinois is joining the pay transparency club 👏

We love to see it. 🎊 Last week, Illinois passed a law that’ll require employers to display pay ranges in job postings starting in January 2025.

The law will also require employers to give current employees a heads-up about promotion opportunities 14 days before they post externally for the position.

We now have nine states with salary transparency laws: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, New York, Nevada, Rhode Island, and Washington. Nine down, 41 to go!

 3   Update on the writers’ strike ✍️

Last week, Hollywood studios publicly released their recent proposal to the Writers Guild of America (WGA). Why? To appeal to grassroots members in hopes they’ll urge leadership to settle. In other words: get WGA members to turn on each other.

Unfortunately for Hollywood, that plan was a no-go. As of today, the strike is still in full swing and has cost California’s economy an estimated $3 billion.

It’s unclear how much longer the strike will last. Nicole Conlan, who previously wrote for The Daily Show, perfectly summarizes the general attitude: “None of us want to be out there, but none of us want to give up either.”

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Have you heard of Loudoun County, Virginia? 🤨

It’s the wealthiest county in America, with a median household income of $142,299. Incomes are so high that, even with a cost of living 12.3% above the national average, it’s still the richest county in the U.S. by a wide margin.

So what do Loudoun-ites (we just made that up) do for a living? Are they all working high-paying jobs? Or is there more than meets the eye?

We’re throwing it back to our video in Loudoun County, where we chatted with people from all walks of life: a Trader Joe's employee, a septic worker, a chief of staff, and many more.

• The federal minimum wage is $7.25. Here’s why it’s becoming increasingly irrelevant.

• The complete guide to digital nomad visas. 🌴 FYI: The most expensive option is the Bahamas, where the application fee will run you $1,025.

• This woman doubled her salary to $130,000 after leaving nonprofits. 🤯

• A detailed list of Big Tech salaries. BTW, it’s not uncommon for jobs to pay well over $300,000.

• Reason 3,789 we do what we do here at STS: Working moms (with a college degree) earn $31,000 less than working fathers.

Thanks for reading! ICYMI: Last Saturday was Women’s Equality Day, which marks the inclusion of women’s right to vote in the U.S. Constitution. Although it’s been 103 years since then, the fight to ensure elections remain fair and accessible continues. See you next Tuesday!