Stock image Santa only accepts American bucks. Source: Getty Images

He works hard, but just what does he get in return? Some argue he does it for the love of the job, but one company has worked out what St. Nick’s actual salary should be.

US-based website Insure.com’s annual Santa Index matches all of Santa’s various jobs and the estimated time spent doing them with actual wage rates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The good news is, he’s pretty well paid: Santa’s 2014 salary should be $A168,512, up nearly $2500 from last year. “Most of Santa’s pay comes from his duties as industrial engineer managing the North Pole toy factory,” says Insure.com’s Barbara Marquand.

With a mean hourly wage of $48.28, at eight hours a day, 364 days a year, that amounts to $140,594.

The other two big sources of Santa’s income are his role as a labour relations specialist (negotiating with elves), and taking care of the reindeer.

A recent survey of 1000 adults found that only about 16 per cent feel Santa’s current salary ($US140,000) is about right.

But how much do the elves get paid? Source: Getty Images

“Most respondents fell into two groups with wide disagreement — 29 per cent said Santa should earn $US1.8 billion a year (roughly $US1 for every child under age 15 in the world) and 29 per cent said he shouldn’t earn anything at all,” says Ms Marquand.

Bob Callahan, president of the Fraternal Order of Real Bearded Santas and a real-life Santa, agreed. “My needs are all met, and I have the best job in the world. A salary would not add to the joys in my life,” he said.

THE SANTA INDEX 2014*

• Running the Workshop

Occupation: Industrial Engineers

Mean Hourly Wage: $48.28

Hours/Year: 2912

Annual Earnings: $140,593.73

• Professional Shopper

Occupation: Sales and Related Workers, All Other

Mean Hourly Wage: $19.87

Hours/Year: 120

Annual Earnings: $2384.54

• Wrapper of Gifts

Occupation: Packers and Packagers, Hand

Mean Hourly Wage: $13.13

Hours/Year: 168

Annual Earnings: $2207.89

• Labour Negotiator (With the Elves)

Occupation: Labour Relations Specialists

Mean Hourly Wage: $32.80

Hours/Year: 182.5

Annual Earnings: $5985.77

• Letter Reader

Occupation: Correspondence Clerks

Mean Hourly Wage: $20.76

Hours/Year: 100

Annual Earnings: $2076.45

• Talking to Kids in the Mall

Occupation: Customer Service Representatives

Mean Hourly Wage: $19.34

Hours/Year: 168

Annual Earnings: $3249.73

• Investigator (Knows if You’ve Been Good or Bad)

Occupation: Private Detectives and Investigators

Mean Hourly Wage: $31.24

Hours/Year: 30

Annual Earnings: $936.93

• List Checker (Checking it Twice)

Occupation: Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks

Mean Hourly Wage: $21.60

Hours/Year: 30

Annual Earnings: $647.53

• Taking Care of Reindeer

Occupation: Farm Workers, Farm, Ranch, and Aquacultural Animals

Mean Hourly Wage: $14.36

Hours/Year: 365

Annual Earnings: $5241.77

• Snow Plow Driver

Occupation: Highway Maintenance Workers

Mean Hourly Wage: $21.44

Hours/Year: 180

Annual Earnings: $3858.68

• Sleigh Pilot

Occupation: Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers

Mean Hourly Wage: $75.14

Hours/Year: 10

Annual Earnings: $751.24

• Chimney Sweep

Occupation: Building Cleaning Workers, All Other

Mean Hourly Wage: $17.57

Hours/Year: 10

Annual Earnings: $176.05

• Cookie Taster

Occupation: Agricultural Inspectors

Mean Hourly Wage: $25.27

Hours/Year: 10

Annual Earnings: $253.23

• Gift Distributor

Occupation: Shipping, Receiving, and Traffic Clerks

Mean Hourly Wage: $18

Hours/Year: 10

Annual Earnings: $179.67

• Announcer (“Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”)

Occupation: Public Address System and Other Announcers

Mean Hourly Wage: $22.43

Hours/Year: 0.01

Annual Earnings: $0

*Converted to AUD

frank.chung@news.com.au