Owners of Mid-Size O.C. Firms Well Paid

Owners of private, mid-size businesses in Orange County are the best paid in the state and rank among the best paid in the nation, according to a study by the Geneva Cos. in Irvine.

In a nationwide study of 2,500 private companies with sales of $1 million to $100 million, Geneva found that the median compensation for business owners in Orange County was $224,000 a year over the past 2 years. Nationwide, that pay was $151,000 a year.

The Orange County median compensation ranked eighth on a list of 80 metropolitan areas nationwide. It was the highest in California, far surpassing Stockton, the next highest metropolitan area in the state listed. Stockton ranked 21st with a median pay of $193,000.

“On average, the business owners are paying themselves 78% in direct salary and the remaining 22% in such indirect compensation as club memberships and personal financial planning expenses,” said Charles B. Tillson, president of Geneva’s international financial services division.

Geneva, one of the nation’s most active mergers and acquisitions firms, said the national median increased about 13% from the median $131,000 recorded in Geneva’s 1986 survey.

The median is the point at which half the salaries are higher and half are lower.

Other California metropolitan areas on the list were Los Angeles (22nd), San Francisco (32nd), San Diego (39th), Bakersfield (58th), Sacramento (64th), Palm Springs (69th), San Bernardino (76th) and Santa Barbara (80th).

OWNERS’ PAY BY REGION The top 10 metropolitan areas with the highest pay for owners of private mid-size firms and the total median compensation are:

Area Amount Stamford, Conn. $273,000 Hartford, Conn. 247,000 Kalamazoo, Mich. 242,000 New York 237,000 Arlington, Va. 235,000 Philadelphia 233,000 Jacksonville, Fla. 232,000 Orange County 224,000 Akron, Ohio 221,000 Toledo, Ohio 218,000

The bottom 10 metropolitan areas are:

Area Amount Portland, Me. $113,000 Washington, D.C. 111,000 New Haven, Conn. 109,000 Wilmington, Del. 108,000 Omaha, Neb. 100,000 San Bernardino 99,000 Reno, Nev. 86,000 Gainesville, Fla. 84,000 Cleveland 74,000 Santa Barbara 65,000

Source: Geneva Cos.