Money 2010

In this era of economic anxiety, the question of how your paycheck stacks up looms larger than ever. A shameless accounting of who’s making what — and how they’re spending it.

By Geoffrey Gagnon and Jason Schwartz | Boston Magazine |

Being the Proper New Englander that you are, you have no interest in talking about money. None. But admit it: You’re still awfully curious about your neighbor’s paycheck. With that in mind, we scoured IRS and SEC filings, plundered public databases, checked job listings, searched news archives, and made plenty of uncomfortable phone calls, all to bring you an unabashed look at what Bostonians are earning these days — from titans of industry to the guy at Dunkin’ Donuts.*

* We included bonus pay and stock rewards in the salary total when they contributed heavily to an individual’s annual compensation. Otherwise, only the annual salary is listed.

THE SALARY SURVEY

What It Costs to Live in Boston

A Brief History of Money in Boston

So…Is It Cool to Complain Yet?
The case for acrimony as an economic indicator.
By Joe Keohane

Can We Keep This Recession from Killing Our Lives?
In this age of anxiety, the financial therapist has never been busier.
By Alyssa Giacobbe

Could I Be Suffering from a Case of Layoff Envy?
Maybe those who got the ax were the lucky ones. How to stay sane in a workplace gone mad.
By Alyssa Giacobbe

Nice Work if You Can Get It
Boston’s most overpaid workers.

The Richest Bostonians
And how they’ve fared in the downturn.

Where It All Goes
A week in the spending lives of three Bostonians.

  • Joseph

    I’m trying to figure out where the $150,000 figure for ‘Boston Police Officer’ came from in your recent Salary Survey. I’ve been with the BPD for over 4 years now and haven’t even come close to that figure. Sure, a Boston Police Officer does have an opportunity to work details or overtime shifts but there are times when those shifts are ordered on Officers’ days off (e.g. Holidays, festivals, sports championship parades, etc.) when the Officer would much rather be spending time with their family. Nonetheless, the starting base salary for an Officer is in the mid-fifties and an Officer with three years will earn just under 70K a year… For that same officer to earn the 150K you report, he/she would have to work the equivalent of over 300 eight-hour road details over the course of a year which would further equate to over 40 additional hours per week. Our salary is public knowledge, so don’t get me wrong, there are Officers who have earned additional income to provide for their famili

  • Joseph

    Our salary is public
    knowledge, so don’t get me wrong, there are Officers who have earned additional income to provide for their families, but to report it as if its
    commonplace perpetuates the animosity the media and public have for the
    hard working men and women of our fine city.