Cities with the biggest pay hikes

One-year pay increase: 2.1%

Wages in the oil and gas industry grew much faster than the national average so cities like Houston, with major employers like ConocoPhillips (COP), Marathon Oil (MRO) and National Oilwell (NOV), have seen big pay hikes. In the third quarter alone, paychecks in the city swelled by 2% -- more than any other city.

Adding to that growth will be the huge new ExxonMobil (XOM)campus, which is now under construction in north Houston. By 2015, about 15,000 employees will be working there, many in highly paid managerial positions.

Healthcare is another prominent field in the area, with employers like the Memorial Hermann Health Care System, Methodist Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine and other medical facilities employing tens of thousands of workers.

First published October 16, 2013: 7:26 AM ET

Source: PayScale
The PayScale Index tracks changes in the earnings of full-time private industry employees on a quarterly basis. It takes into account total cash compensation, which is defined as all cash payments earned by an employee during a year of full-time employment. This report is based on the year-over-year percentage change in compensation for the 12 months ending September 30, 2013. (More on the methodology).

8 of 10