Experience • Gender • Location • Training • Management • Organization Size • Satisfaction • Contractors/Part-Timers • Canada and Others • Survey Home

The difference in the cost of living from one geographic location to another is a major factor in compensation for every type of employment. Development of user assistance appears to be no exception with average annual salaries varying significantly depending on where we choose to live and work.

Two areas that host large concentrations of high technology companies, Northern California and Massachusetts, continue to provide the highest salaries. The Silicon Valley residents earn 25% more than the overall national average salary of $67,286. We received a large number of responses from California that allowed us to split the state into north and south regions. (Southern California encompasses the three-digit ZIP Codes through 931, while Northern California ZIP codes start with 940.)

A useful resource for comparing average salaries between regional areas is the DataMasters Cost of Living Calculator. This calculator provides cost-of-living adjustments between most major American cities.

The states not displayed in the table did not receive enough representation to assemble reliable averages.