Wage relief

A sticking point that often comes up when selling the Tampa area to potential major corporate relocation targets is the region's low wages.

But a new report, compiled by the Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corp., punctures some holes in that theory. The study shows that over the past decade, from 2007 to 2016, Hillsborough and Pinellas counties posted the highest gains in average annual wages among seven of Florida's large counties. That goes for highest dollar increase and highest percentage gains.

On highest dollar increase, Hillsborough is No. 1, up $9,552 from 2007 - 2016, the report states, while No. 2, Pinellas, rose $9,914 over the same time frame. No other county on the list (Broward, Duval, Orange, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach) surpassed $8,000 in gains over the decade. For highest percentage wage gain increase, Pinellas is No. 1, at 24.6%. Hillsborough, with 23.2%, is next.