A rural-urban comparison of allied health professionals' average hourly wage

Nationwide, demand for allied health services is projected to grow significantly in the next several decades, and there is evidence that allied health shortages already exist in many states. Given the longstanding history of health professional shortages in rural areas, the existing and impending shortages in allied health professions may be particularly acute in these areas. To assess whether rural areas are potentially at a recruiting disadvantage because of relative wages, this report uses data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to describe the extent to which rural-urban differentials exist in wages for eight allied health professions, focusing on professions that are both likely to be found in rural communities and have adequate data to support hourly wage estimates. Overall the data show that the national average wage of each of the eight allied health professions is higher in metropolitan than nonmetropolitan areas. On average, the unadjusted rural hourly wage is 10.3% less than the urban wage, although the extent of the difference varies by profession and by geographic area. Adjustment for the cost of living narrows the discrepancy, but does not eliminate it. It is likely that rural providers in areas with the greatest wage discrepancies find it more difficult to recruit allied health professionals, but the extent to which this is the case needs to be assessed through further research with data on workforce vacancy rates.