Cities with the biggest pay hikes

One-year pay increase: 2.5%

Located between the Permian Basin, the Gulf of Mexico and the oil fields of Oklahoma, Dallas is at the heart of the oil and gas boom.

"If there's a lot of oil near you, it generates a lot of money," said Bardaro.

Dallas is also a major transportation and storage hub, with wages in those industries up 2.5% year-over-year, said Bardaro. The metro area has two main interstates running through it, as well as the two biggest rail freight carriers in the nation, and its airport, Dallas/Ft. Worth International, is the third busiest in the world.

All of this has helped to keep Dallas' economy growing. The unemployment rate in July was 6.4%, down from 7.2% a year ago.

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).

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