^[2]Does where you live have an effect on your salary? According to CareerBuilder ^[3] it does. Their research into salary changes from 2007 show that while inflation was around 4.1 percent (according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics), the average raise was only 3.4 percent. My raise last year was 3.9 percent and since inflation is running in the 5 to 6 percent range this year, I’m personally hoping to get a little better one this year.

How about you? What kind of raise are you anticipating this year? What do you base that on? Do you have any control (through performance bonuses) over how much you make?

In case you’re interested, here are the US cities with the fasted wage growth from 2007 going into 2008:

• College Station-Bryan, Texas had 9.5 percent growth in salary
• Gulfport-Biloxi, Mississippi had 7.2 percent growth in salary
• New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, Louisiana had 6.8 percent growth in salary
• Redding, California had 5.9 percent growth in salary
• Merced, California had 5.7 percent growth in salary
• Boise City-Nampa, Idaho had 5.5 percent growth in salary
• Dover, Delaware. had 5.4 percent growth in salary
• Pocatello, Idaho had 5.3 percent growth in salary
• Baltimore-Towson, Maryland. had 5.3 percent growth in salary
• Wilmington, Delaware-Maryland.-New Jersey had 5.2 percent growth in salary

And here are the slowest wage growth cities:

• Florence-Muscle Shoals, Alaabama had 0.1 percent growth in salary
• Ocala, Florida had 0.9 percent growth in salary
• Alexandria, Louisiana had 0.9 percent growth in salary
• Kalamazoo-Portage, Michigan had 0.9 percent growth in salary
• Saginaw-Saginaw Township North, Michigan had 1 percent growth in salary
• Springfield, Illinois. had 1.1 percent growth in salary
• Visalia-Porterville, California had 1.1 percent growth in salary
• Brockton-Bridgewater-Easton, Massachusetts. had 1.2 percent growth in salary
• Waterloo-Cedar Falls, Iowa had 1.2 percent growth in salary
• Decatur, Alabama. had 1.4 percent growth in salary

The big question is: Are you willing to move in order to get a larger raise? I’ve moved to accept positions with more responsibility and pay before, but like I said in , I put myself in the position of having to take those positions because of crushing consumer debt.