What people earn is no secret to the editors at Parade Magazine.
From a 37-year-old chimney sweep dancing on rooftops in Brattleboro, Vt., for $15,000 a year to a 40-year-old copy editor pulling in $56,000 reading type in the balmy climes of Kailua, Hawaii — chances are Parade knows.
This Sunday the New York City-based publication will unveil its 19th annual "What People Earn" salary survey, distributed in 336 newspapers across the United States — including the Deseret News — with a circulation of 36 million copies.
Taken from a random cross section of professionals, celebrities and everyday men and women in all 50 states, the unscientific survey tracks the wages of 150 people and is the magazine's most popular issue.
"Part of it has to do with the fact that we include some of the celebrity salaries. There are multimillionaire athletes in the mix next to somebody who is squeaking by. That inspires a lot of discussion among our readers," said Dakila Divina, deputy managing editor of Parade, from his New York office.
Blaring from the issue's front cover are salary differences like 37-year-old actor Brad Pitt's earnings of $24 million towering over those of Bill Grant, a 37-year-old tombstonemaker in Minneapolis who made $18,000.
Other celebrities include Mike Tyson, 35, professional boxer, topping this year's issue of the highest paid at $48 million. Tyson is flanked by Britney Spears, 20, who made $38.5 million, and author John Grisham, 47, of Charlottesville, Va., who drew $28 million.
Jeremy Sparling, 25, a baseball umpire from Palos Verdes, Calif., ranked at the bottom of those listed, taking in only $6,000 last year.
This year's list includes two Utahns: Linda Cook, 38, an Olympics event planner from Sugar House who made $52,000 last year; and Jeff Munger, 43, a personal trainer from Park City who earned $85,000.
Munger said he doesn't know how Parade found his name, but it may have been from an article about him that appeared in Shape Magazine last year.
"They told me they wanted someone from the West and a fitness person," he said, adding that he had no problems revealing his salary.
"Whoever is willing to reveal their earnings is included. We try to be as geographically and ethnically diverse as possible," said Christie Emden, a spokeswoman for Parade.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median weekly salary for all workers in the country in 2001 was $597, or $31,044 a year.
Several months of work go in to preparing the issue, Divina said, adding that a group of reporters scour the country searching for a handful of people from each state with diverse backgrounds, occupations and age groups.
Also included in this year's issue is controversial congressman Gary Condit, 53, from Ceres, Calif., who made $150,000 last year. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, 47, made $140,000. And Arnold Palmer, 72, a pro golfer and businessman, took in $18 million.
What about the guy responsible for those 11 interest rate cuts last year? That's Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan, 75. He made $161,200.
But the majority of those featured are regular people, like Frank Kopp, 56, a helicopter pilot from Whitefield, Maine, who earned $42,000. And Janet Nelson, 58, a travel agent from Topeka, Kan., who reported making $27,000.
"We are very thrilled with the selection this year. It's always amazing how many people we get to actually divulge their salary information. That's something that I don't give to my own close friends, but I think that is one of the reasons why this again is so interesting to many readers," Divina said.
The salary survey also will appear on Parade's new Web site, www.parade.com, which launches Sunday.
"Yes, life is unfair," writes Andrew Tobias, Parade's personal finance editor, in an article examining the exorbitant salaries of celebrities. "But for most of us, it could be a lot worse. And in America there's at least a fighting chance that, if you work at it, you — or your kids, anyway — can close the gap."
E-MAIL: danderton@desnews.com