Least relationship between postdoc starting salaries and cost of living.

Annual salaries relate to cost of living indexes more for Assistant Professors and Graduate Students than for Postdocs. A) Cost of living indexes for urban areas of displayed universities.¹ Cost of Living indexes are displayed as percent of national average (100%). B) Average annual salaries for assistant professors for displayed universities.² C) Average annual starting compensation for postdoctoral researchers at displayed universities.³ D) Average annual compensation for graduate students at displayed universities.⁴

For a substantial correlation analysis more data points may be needed.

However, the preliminary Pearson correlation analysis between local cost of living indexes and corresponding salaries of assistant professors, graduate students and postdoctoral researchers reveals following:

Cost of Living vs. Salary of Graduate Students:

Pearson Correlation Coefficient, r = 0.73

R squared = 0.53

P value (two-tailed) = 0.02

Cost of Living vs. Salary of Assistant Professors:

Pearson Correlation Coefficient, r = 0.37

R squared = 0.14

P value (two-tailed) = 0.29

Cost of Living vs. Salary of Postdocs:

Pearson Correlation Coefficient, r = 0.22

R squared = 0.05

P value (two-tailed) = 0.53

(Statistical analysis in a nutshell: the best correlation between two trends (data sets) exist if the Pearson correlation coefficient

is close to "1". There is no correlation if the correlation coefficient is "0".)

Note: the assistant professor salaries are derived from a survey and cover a wide array of fields.)

References:

1Cost of Living Index (2010) Retrieved from the following webpage:

http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s0728.pdf

2Assistant Professor Salaries (FY2012) retrieved from chronicle of higher education annual salary survey, which is available from the following webpage:

http://chronicle.com/article/2013-AAUP-Faculty-Salary/138291?cid=megamenu

3http://www.upenn.edu/almanac/volumes/v60/n01/record.html

http://intranet.med.wisc.edu/files/smphintranet/docs/hr/2012-2013-smph-stipend-levels.pdf

http://postdoc.case.edu/admin/salaries.html

http://research.unc.edu/offices/postdoctoral-affairs/policies/#vii

http://www.bsdpostdoc.uchicago.edu/being-rightsbenefits.shtml

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/faculty-affairs/postdoctoral-research-fellows/postdoc-salary-guidelines/

http://www.bumc.bu.edu/gms/files/2013/07/Guidebook.pdf

http://www.columbia.edu/cu/vpaa/docs/MS_CUMC_ressal13.html

http://postdoc.ucsd.edu/appointment-guidelines/

http://postdocs.ucsf.edu/postdoctoral/compensation

4http://www.med.upenn.edu/bmbgrad/Students/FrequentlyAskedQuestions.shtml

http://www.cancerbiology.wisc.edu/app/support.html

http://casemed.case.edu/gradprog/resources/FAQ.pdf

http://bbsp.unc.edu/prospective-students/program-description/

http://gradprograms.bsd.uchicago.edu/prospective_students/financial_info.html

http://mco.mcb.harvard.edu/financial-support/

http://www.bumc.bu.edu/gms/gateway/prospective/phd-programs/phd-funding/

http://sklad.cumc.columbia.edu/gsas/interior.php?sub=2_1

http://biomedsci.ucsd.edu/about/

http://bms.ucsf.edu/new-prospective-students/frequently-asked-questions