NEW YORK, Jan. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- A survey of more than 19,000 technology professionals found that IT salaries in the U.S. increased 5.2 percent to $73,308 in 2006 from $69,700 in 2005.

The overall increase in technology salaries can be traced back to the continued improvement in the technology job market. Strong demand for technology professionals to fulfill available jobs is driving many companies to use higher salaries to attract and retain technology professionals.

The survey found that starting salaries outpaced the overall national average, with an increase of 13.1 percent to $42,414 in 2006. Those with one to two years of technology experience also saw strong gains, with a 13.8 percent increase to $46,935.

The gender gap narrowed slightly in 2006, as women in technology earned an average of $67,542 or 9.7 percent less than their male counterparts. Comparatively, women earned 10.9 percent less than men in 2005.

The gender gap was evident across all industries included in the survey, with medical/pharmaceutical and telecommunications showing the largest differences in pay (11.5 percent less and 10 percent less respectively). Women holding database administrator positions showed the greatest salary gap with more than a 15 percent difference from male database administrators.

However, women did show significant gains in salary for specific job titles and as a result they actually earned more than their male counterparts in certain jobs. In 2006, female help desk professionals earned $40,937 (4.8 percent more than men), technical writers earned $73,816 (2.5 percent more than men), and IT executives (CEO, CIO, CTO, vice presidents and directors) earned $109,912 (1.4 percent more than men).

Younger female employees also posted smaller salary gaps than older female employees, as women age 18 to 24 earned nearly the same salary as men ($41,700 versus $41,722 respectively). Women age 25 to 29 earned 7.6 percent less than men ($55,480 versus $60,031 respectively), compared to gaps of at least 10 percent in all age groups over 30.

Salaries also increased across the majority of surveyed metro areas. In 2006, Silicon Valley once again ranked as the highest paying metro area for tech professionals with an average salary of $90,310, up 5.7 percent from 2005.

Other top paying cities include: Boston ($80,308), New York ($80,006), and Baltimore/Washington D.C. ($79,911). The survey also showed strong gains for West Coast metro areas, such as San Diego (up 10.1 percent to $79,416), Seattle (up 9.1 percent to $79,787) and Los Angeles (up 7.7 percent to $79,583).

Banking, financial and insurance was once again the highest paying industry for tech professionals with an average salary of $82,504 in 2006, while telecommunications and computer software followed behind with average salaries of $78,003 and $77,582 respectively. However, it was the retail and e-commerce industry that posted the strongest salary gains last year with a 14.2 percent increase to $63,830.