For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT), Wednesday, June 8, 2016 USDL-16-1148 

Technical Information: (202) 691-6567 • QCEWInfo@bls.gov • www.bls.gov/cew 

Media Contact: (202) 691-5902 • PressOffice@bls.gov

COUNTY EMPLOYMENT AND WAGES

Fourth Quarter 2015 

From December 2014 to December 2015, employment increased in 308 of the 342 largest U.S. 

counties, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Williamson, Tenn., had the largest

percentage increase with a gain of 6.8 percent over the year, above the national job growth rate of 1.9 

percent. Within Williamson, the largest employment increase occurred in professional and business 

services, which gained 3,185 jobs over the year (10.9 percent). Ector, Texas, had the largest over-theyear percentage decrease in employment among the largest counties in the U.S., with a loss of 11.8 

percent. Within Ector, natural resources and mining had the largest decrease in employment, with a loss 

of 4,509 jobs (-34.1 percent). County employment and wage data are from the Quarterly Census of 

Employment and Wages (QCEW) program, which provides the only detailed quarterly and annual 

universe count of establishments, employment, and wages at the county, MSA, state, and national levels 

by detailed industry. These detailed data are published within six months following the end of each 

calendar quarter.

The U.S. average weekly wage increased 4.4 percent over the year, growing to $1,082 in the fourth

quarter of 2015. Wyandotte, Kan., had the largest over-the-year percentage increase in average weekly 

wages with a gain of 10.4 percent. Within Wyandotte, an average weekly wage gain of $250, or 21.2 

percent, in manufacturing made the largest contribution to the county’s increase in average weekly 

wages. Midland, Texas, experienced the largest percentage decrease in average weekly wages with a 

loss of 11.5 percent over the year. Within Midland, natural resources and mining had the largest impact 

on the county’s average weekly wage decline with a decrease of $257 (-11.6 percent) over the year. 

Chart 1. Large counties ranked by percent increase in 

employment, December 2014-15 

(U.S. average = 1.9 percent)

Chart 2. Large counties ranked by percent increase in 

average weekly wages, fourth quarter 2014-15 

(U.S. average = 4.4 percent) 

5

6

7

Williamson,

Tenn.

Utah,

Utah

Loudoun,

Va.

Chesterfield,

Va.

Lee,

Fla.

Percent

9

10

11

Wyandotte,

Kan.

Sonoma,

Calif.

Lake,

Ill.

Passaic,

N.J.

Santa

Clara,

Calif.

Anoka,

Minn.

Percent
- 2 - 

Large County Employment 

In December 2015, national employment was 141.9 million (as measured by the QCEW program). Over 

the year, employment increased 1.9 percent, or 2.7 million. In December 2015, the 342 U.S. counties 

with 75,000 or more jobs accounted for 72.5 percent of total U.S. employment and 77.8 percent of total 

wages. These 342 counties had a net job growth of 2.2 million over the year, accounting for 81.4 percent 

of the overall U.S. employment increase. (See chart 3.) The five counties with the largest increases in 

employment levels had a combined over-the-year employment gain of 319,200 jobs, which was 12.0 

percent of the overall job increase for the U.S. (See table A.) 

Employment declined in 26 of the largest counties from December 2014 to December 2015. Ector, 

Texas, had the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment (-11.8 percent), followed by 

Midland, Texas; Lafayette, La.; Gregg, Texas; and Weld, Colo. (See table 1.)

Table A. Large counties ranked by December 2015 employment, December 2014-15 employment increase, and 

December 2014-15 percent increase in employment 

Employment in large counties

December 2015 employment Increase in employment, Percent increase in employment, 

(thousands) December 2014-15 December 2014-15

(thousands)

United States 141,924.5 United States 2,658.0 United States 1.9

Los Angeles, Calif. 4,341.0 Los Angeles, Calif. 99.3 Williamson, Tenn. 6.8

Cook, Ill. 2,575.7 Dallas, Texas 62.4 Utah, Utah 6.6

New York, N.Y. 2,442.2 Maricopa, Ariz. 58.6 Loudoun, Va. 6.3

Harris, Texas 2,302.8 New York, N.Y. 50.7 Chesterfield, Va. 6.0

Maricopa, Ariz. 1,883.2 Cook, Ill. 48.2 Lee, Fla. 5.9

Dallas, Texas 1,651.6 Santa Clara, Calif. 38.5 Osceola, Fla. 5.8

Orange, Calif. 1,550.6 King, Wash. 36.3 Bell, Texas 5.4

San Diego, Calif. 1,399.7 San Diego, Calif. 35.4 Boone, Ky. 5.1

King, Wash. 1,297.2 Orange, Calif. 34.7 Clay, Mo. 5.1

Miami-Dade, Fla. 1,115.9 Clark, Nev. 33.0 Hall, Ga. 5.0

Large County Average Weekly Wages 

Average weekly wages for the nation increased to $1,082, a 4.4 percent increase, during the year ending 

in the fourth quarter of 2015. Among the 342 largest counties, 325 had over-the-year increases in 

average weekly wages. (See chart 4.) Wyandotte, Kan., had the largest percentage wage increase among 

the largest U.S. counties (10.4 percent). 

Of the 342 largest counties, 10 experienced over-the-year decreases in average weekly wages. Midland, 

Texas, had the largest percentage decrease in average weekly wages (-11.5 percent), followed by Ector, 

Texas; Lafayette, La.; Gregg, Texas; and San Mateo, Calif. (See table 1.) 
- 3 - 

Table B. Large counties ranked by fourth quarter 2015 average weekly wages, fourth quarter 2014-15

increase in average weekly wages, and fourth quarter 2014-15 percent increase in average weekly wages 

Average weekly wage in large counties

Average weekly wage, Increase in average weekly Percent increase in average 

fourth quarter 2015 wage, fourth quarter 2014-15 weekly wage, fourth

quarter 2014-15

United States $1,082 United States $46 United States 4.4

Santa Clara, Calif. $2,335 Santa Clara, Calif. $198 Wyandotte, Kan. 10.4

New York, N.Y. 2,235 Lake, Ill. 129 Sonoma, Calif. 10.0

San Mateo, Calif. 2,095 San Francisco, Calif. 118 Lake, Ill. 9.8

San Francisco, Calif. 1,961 Wyandotte, Kan. 98 Passaic, N.J. 9.4

Suffolk, Mass. 1,943 Sonoma, Calif. 95 Santa Clara, Calif. 9.3

Washington, D.C. 1,756 Passaic, N.J. 95 Anoka, Minn. 9.3

Fairfield, Conn. 1,735 Suffolk, Mass. 92 Clay, Mo. 9.2

Arlington, Va. 1,686 Wayne, Mich. 91 Collier, Fla. 9.1

Fairfax, Va. 1,618 Anoka, Minn. 88 Catawba, N.C. 8.9

Morris, N.J. 1,601 Alameda, Calif. 86 Bell, Texas 8.9

Ten Largest U.S. Counties 

Among the 10 largest counties, 9 had over-the-year percentage increases in employment in December

2015. Dallas, Texas, had the largest gain (3.9 percent). Within Dallas, trade, transportation, and utilities

had the largest over-the-year employment level increase, with a gain of 20,999 jobs, or 6.3 percent. 

Harris, Texas, had the only percentage decrease in employment among the 10 largest counties (-0.5 

percent). (See table 2.)

Average weekly wages increased over the year in all of the 10 largest U.S. counties. Los Angeles, 

Calif., experienced the largest percentage gain in average weekly wages (5.5 percent). Within Los 

Angeles, information tied with professional and business services for the largest impact on the county’s 

average weekly wage growth. Within information, average weekly wages increased by $259, or 11.3 

percent, over the year. Within professional and business services, average weekly wages increased by 

$106, or 6.9 percent, over the year. Harris, Texas, had the smallest percentage gain in average weekly 

wages among the 10 largest counties (0.4 percent). 
- 4 - 

For More Information

The tables and charts included in this release contain data for the nation and for the 342 U.S. counties 

with annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more in 2014. December 2015 employment and 

2015 fourth quarter average weekly wages for all states are provided in table 3 of this release.

The data are derived from reports submitted by every employer subject to unemployment insurance (UI) 

laws. The 9.7 million employer reports cover 141.9 million full- and part-time workers. Data for the 

fourth quarter of 2015 will be available electronically later at www.bls.gov/cew/. For additional 

information about the quarterly employment and wages data, please read the Technical Note. Additional 

information about the QCEW data may be obtained by calling (202) 691-6567. 

Several BLS regional offices are issuing QCEW news releases targeted to local data users. For links to 

these releases, see www.bls.gov/cew/cewregional.htm.

The County Employment and Wages release for first quarter 2016 is scheduled to be released on

Wednesday, September 7, 2016. 
Technical Note

These data are the product of a federal-state cooperative program, 

the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program, 

also known as the ES-202 program. The data are derived from summaries of employment and total pay of workers covered by state and 

federal unemployment insurance (UI) legislation and provided by 

State Workforce Agencies (SWAs). The summaries are a result of 

the administration of state unemployment insurance programs that 

require most employers to pay quarterly taxes based on the employment and wages of workers covered by UI. QCEW data in this release are based on the 2012 North American Industry Classification 

System. Data for 2015 are preliminary and subject to revision.

For purposes of this release, large counties are defined as having 

employment levels of 75,000 or greater. In addition, data for San 

Juan, Puerto Rico, are provided, but not used in calculating U.S. averages, rankings, or in the analysis in the text. Each year, these large 

counties are selected on the basis of the preliminary annual average 

of employment for the previous year. The 343 counties presented in 

this release were derived using 2014 preliminary annual averages of 

employment. For 2015 data, three counties have been added to the 

publication tables: Butte, Calif.; Hall, Ga.; and Ector, Texas. These 

counties will be included in all 2015 quarterly releases. The counties 

in table 2 are selected and sorted each year based on the annual average employment from the preceding year.

Summary of Major Differences between QCEW, BED, and CES Employment Measures

QCEW BED CES

Source Count of UI administrative records 

submitted by 9.5 million establishments in first quarter of 2015 

Count of longitudinally-linked UI administrative records submitted by 

7.6 million private-sector employers

Sample survey: 623,000 establishments

Coverage UI and UCFE coverage, including 

all employers subject to state and 

federal UI laws

UI coverage, excluding government, 

private households, and establishments with zero employment

Nonfarm wage and salary jobs:

UI coverage, excluding agriculture, private 

households, and self-employed workers

Other employment, including railroads, 

religious organizations, and other nonUI-covered jobs

Publication frequency

Quarterly

— 6 months after the end of each 

quarter

Quarterly

— 7 months after the end of each 

quarter

Monthly

— Usually first Friday of following 

month

Use of UI file Directly summarizes and publishes 

each new quarter of UI data

Links each new UI quarter to longitudinal database and directly summarizes gross job gains and lossesUses UI file as a sampling frame and to 

annually realign sample-based estimates 

to population counts (benchmarking)

Principal

products

Provides a quarterly and annual universe count of establishments, employment, and wages at the county, 

MSA, state, and national levels by 

detailed industry

Provides quarterly employer dynamics data on establishment openings, 

closings, expansions, and contractions 

at the national level by NAICS supersectors and by size of firm, and at the 

state private-sector total level 

Future expansions will include data 

with greater industry detail and data 

at the county and MSA level 

Provides current monthly estimates of 

employment, hours, and earnings at the 

MSA, state, and national level by industry

Principal uses Major uses include:

— Detailed locality data

— Periodic universe counts for 

benchmarking sample survey estimates

— Sample frame for BLS establishment surveys

Major uses include:

— Business cycle analysis

— Analysis of employer dynamics 

underlying economic expansions 

and contractions

— Analysis of employment expansion and contraction by size of 

firm

Major uses include:

— Principal national economic indicator

— Official time series for employment 

change measures

— Input into other major economic indicators

Program Web 

sites

www.bls.gov/cew/ www.bls.gov/bdm/ www.bls.gov/ces/
The preliminary QCEW data presented in this release may differ 

from data released by the individual states. These potential differences 

result from the states' continuing receipt of UI data over time and ongoing review and editing. The individual states determine their data 

release timetables.

Differences between QCEW, BED, and CES employment 

measures

The Bureau publishes three different establishment-based employment measures for any given quarter. Each of these measures—

QCEW, Business Employment Dynamics (BED), and Current Employment Statistics (CES)—makes use of the quarterly UI employment reports in producing data; however, each measure has a somewhat different universe coverage, estimation procedure, and publication product.

Differences in coverage and estimation methods can result in somewhat different measures of employment change over time. It is important to understand program differences and the intended uses of the 

program products. (See table.) Additional information on each program can be obtained from the program Web sites shown in the table.

Coverage

Employment and wage data for workers covered by state UI laws 

are compiled from quarterly contribution reports submitted to the 

SWAs by employers. For federal civilian workers covered by the Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) program, 

employment and wage data are compiled from quarterly reports submitted by four major federal payroll processing centers on behalf of 

all federal agencies, with the exception of a few agencies which still 

report directly to the individual SWA. In addition to the quarterly contribution reports, employers who operate multiple establishments 

within a state complete a questionnaire, called the "Multiple Worksite 

Report," which provides detailed information on the location and industry of each of their establishments. QCEW employment and wage 

data are derived from microdata summaries of 9.4 million employer 

reports of employment and wages submitted by states to the BLS in 

2014. These reports are based on place of employment rather than 

place of residence.

UI and UCFE coverage is broad and has been basically comparable 

from state to state since 1978, when the 1976 amendments to the Federal Unemployment Tax Act became effective, expanding coverage to 

include most state and local government employees. In 2014, UI and 

UCFE programs covered workers in 136.6 million jobs. The estimated 

131.8 million workers in these jobs (after adjustment for multiple jobholders) represented 96.3 percent of civilian wage and salary employment. Covered workers received $7.017 trillion in pay, representing 

93.8 percent of the wage and salary component of personal income 

and 40.5 percent of the gross domestic product.

Major exclusions from UI coverage include self-employed workers, most agricultural workers on small farms, all members of the 

Armed Forces, elected officials in most states, most employees of railroads, some domestic workers, most student workers at schools, and 

employees of certain small nonprofit organizations.

State and federal UI laws change periodically. These changes may 

have an impact on the employment and wages reported by employers 

covered under the UI program. Coverage changes may affect the overthe-year comparisons presented in this news release.

Concepts and methodology

Monthly employment is based on the number of workers who 

worked during or received pay for the pay period including the 12th 

of the month. With few exceptions, all employees of covered firms are 

reported, including production and sales workers, corporation officials, executives, supervisory personnel, and clerical workers. Workers on paid vacations and part-time workers also are included.

Average weekly wage values are calculated by dividing quarterly 

total wages by the average of the three monthly employment levels 

(all employees, as described above) and dividing the result by 13, for 

the 13 weeks in the quarter. These calculations are made using unrounded employment and wage values. The average wage values that 

can be calculated using rounded data from the BLS database may differ from the averages reported. Included in the quarterly wage data are 

non-wage cash payments such as bonuses, the cash value of meals and

lodging when supplied, tips and other gratuities, and, in some states, 

employer contributions to certain deferred compensation plans such 

as 401(k) plans and stock options. Over-the-year comparisons of average weekly wages may reflect fluctuations in average monthly employment and/or total quarterly wages between the current quarter and 

prior year levels.

Average weekly wages are affected by the ratio of full-time to parttime workers as well as the number of individuals in high-paying and 

low-paying occupations and the incidence of pay periods within a 

quarter. For instance, the average weekly wage of the workforce could 

increase significantly when there is a large decline in the number of 

employees that had been receiving below-average wages. Wages may 

include payments to workers not present in the employment counts 

because they did not work during the pay period including the 12th of 

the month. When comparing average weekly wage levels between industries, states, or quarters, these factors should be taken into consideration.

Wages measured by QCEW may be subject to periodic and sometimes large fluctuations. This variability may be due to calendar effects resulting from some quarters having more pay dates than others. 

The effect is most visible in counties with a dominant employer. In 

particular, this effect has been observed in counties where government 

employers represent a large fraction of overall employment. Similar 

calendar effects can result from private sector pay practices. However, 

these effects are typically less pronounced for two reasons: employment is less concentrated in a single private employer, and private employers use a variety of pay period types (weekly, biweekly, semimonthly, monthly). 

For example, the effect on over-the-year pay comparisons can be 

pronounced in federal government due to the uniform nature of federal 

payroll processing. Most federal employees are paid on a biweekly 

pay schedule. As a result, in some quarters federal wages include six 

pay dates, while in other quarters there are seven pay dates. Over-theyear comparisons of average weekly wages may also reflect this calendar effect. Growth in average weekly wages may be attributed, in 

part, to a comparison of quarterly wages for the current year, which 

include seven pay dates, with year-ago wages that reflect only six pay 

dates. An opposite effect will occur when wages in the current quarter 

reflecting six pay dates are compared with year-ago wages for a quarter including seven pay dates. 

In order to ensure the highest possible quality of data, states verify 

with employers and update, if necessary, the industry, location, and 

ownership classification of all establishments on a 3-year cycle. 

Changes in establishment classification codes resulting from this process are introduced with the data reported for the first quarter of the 
year. Changes resulting from improved employer reporting also are 

introduced in the first quarter.

QCEW data are not designed as a time series. QCEW data are 

simply the sums of individual establishment records and reflect the 

number of establishments that exist in a county or industry at a point 

in time. Establishments can move in or out of a county or industry for 

a number of reasons—some reflecting economic events, others reflecting administrative changes. For example, economic change 

would come from a firm relocating into the county; administrative 

change would come from a company correcting its county designation.

The over-the-year changes of employment and wages presented in 

this release have been adjusted to account for most of the administrative corrections made to the underlying establishment reports. This is 

done by modifying the prior-year levels used to calculate the over-theyear changes. Percent changes are calculated using an adjusted version of the final 2014 quarterly data as the base data. The adjusted 

prior-year levels used to calculate the over-the-year percent change in 

employment and wages are not published. These adjusted prior-year 

levels do not match the unadjusted data maintained on the BLS Web 

site. Over-the-year change calculations based on data from the Web 

site, or from data published in prior BLS news releases, may differ 

substantially from the over-the-year changes presented in this news 

release.

The adjusted data used to calculate the over-the-year change 

measures presented in this release account for most of the administrative changes—those occurring when employers update the industry, 

location, and ownership information of their establishments. The most 

common adjustments for administrative change are the result of updated information about the county location of individual establishments. Included in these adjustments are administrative changes involving the classification of establishments that were previously reported in the unknown or statewide county or unknown industry categories. Adjusted data account for improvements in reporting employment and wages for individual and multi-unit establishments. To accomplish this, adjustments were implemented to account for: administrative changes caused by multi-unit employers who start reporting 

for each individual establishment rather than as a single entity (first 

quarter of 2008); selected large administrative changes in employment 

and wages (second quarter of 2011); and state verified improvements 

in reporting of employment and wages (third quarter of 2014). These 

adjustments allow QCEW to include county employment and wage 

growth rates in this news release that would otherwise not meet publication standards.

The adjusted data used to calculate the over-the-year change 

measures presented in any County Employment and Wages news release are valid for comparisons between the starting and ending points 

(a 12-month period) used in that particular release. Comparisons may 

not be valid for any time period other than the one featured in a release 

even if the changes were calculated using adjusted data.

County definitions are assigned according to Federal Information 

Processing Standards Publications (FIPS PUBS) as issued by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, after approval by the 

Secretary of Commerce pursuant to Section 5131 of the Information 

Technology Management Reform Act of 1996 and the Computer Security Act of 1987, Public Law 104-106. Areas shown as counties include those designated as independent cities in some jurisdictions and, 

in Alaska, those designated as census areas where counties have not 

been created. County data also are presented for the New England 

states for comparative purposes even though townships are the more 

common designation used in New England (and New Jersey). The regions referred to in this release are defined as census regions.

Additional statistics and other information

Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online features comprehensive information by detailed industry on establishments, employment, and wages for the nation and all states. The 2014 edition of this 

publication, which was published in September 2015, contains selected data produced by Business Employment Dynamics (BED) on 

job gains and losses, as well as selected data from the first quarter 

2015 version of this news release. Tables and additional content from

the 2014 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online 

are now available at http://www.bls.gov/cew/cewbultn14.htm. The 

2015 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online will 

be available in September 2016. 

News releases on quarterly measures of gross job flows also are 

available upon request from the Division of Administrative Statistics 

and Labor Turnover (Business Employment Dynamics), telephone 

(202) 691-6467; (http://www.bls.gov/bdm/); (e-mail: 

BDMInfo@bls.gov).

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; TDD 

message referral phone number: 1-800-877-8339.
Table 1. Covered establishments, employment, and wages in the 343 largest counties,

fourth quarter 2015

Employment Average weekly wage 2

County1

Establishments,

fourth quarter

2015

(thousands)

December

2015

(thousands)

Percent

change,

December

2014-153

Ranking by

percent

change

Fourth

quarter

2015

Percent

change,

fourth quarter

2014-153

Ranking by

percent

change

United States4.............................. 9,685.3 141,924.5 1.9 - $1,082 4.4 -

Jefferson, AL................................ 17.9 341.9 0.8 264 1,049 2.4 300

Madison, AL................................. 9.3 191.1 2.3 138 1,143 3.3 276

Mobile, AL.................................... 9.8 169.5 1.1 235 941 4.8 172

Montgomery, AL........................... 6.4 130.5 1.0 246 935 3.4 266

Shelby, AL.................................... 5.6 84.6 1.3 213 1,026 3.8 246

Tuscaloosa, AL............................. 4.4 92.6 0.6 281 883 1.6 313

Anchorage Borough, AK............... 8.4 152.7 -0.2 316 1,136 3.9 237

Maricopa, AZ................................ 97.2 1,883.2 3.2 77 1,016 4.1 225

Pima, AZ....................................... 19.1 361.7 0.7 273 891 4.0 230

Benton, AR................................... 6.0 112.7 3.6 51 1,042 3.5 262

Pulaski, AR................................... 14.6 250.2 1.9 171 972 3.7 254

Washington, AR........................... 5.9 102.7 4.3 25 952 6.7 39

Alameda, CA................................ 60.2 741.1 3.3 69 1,407 6.5 53

Butte, CA..................................... 8.1 79.3 2.7 119 800 5.5 114

Contra Costa, CA......................... 31.2 354.7 3.2 77 1,286 6.5 53

Fresno, CA................................... 32.8 363.6 3.5 58 849 5.2 137

Kern, CA....................................... 17.7 305.9 -0.8 325 884 0.6 323

Los Angeles, CA........................... 463.6 4,341.0 2.3 138 1,266 5.5 114

Marin, CA..................................... 12.4 114.0 2.8 108 1,334 4.7 175

Monterey, CA............................... 13.3 165.6 3.8 37 914 6.8 36

Orange, CA.................................. 113.6 1,550.6 2.3 138 1,205 4.1 225

Placer, CA.................................... 12.1 151.7 4.4 21 1,071 3.4 266

Riverside, CA............................... 58.0 679.7 4.9 11 840 4.7 175

Sacramento, CA........................... 54.7 637.1 3.7 46 1,153 5.2 137

San Bernardino, CA..................... 54.3 719.8 3.6 51 888 4.7 175

San Diego, CA.............................. 105.7 1,399.7 2.6 125 1,184 4.3 212

San Francisco, CA....................... 59.5 691.6 4.6 17 1,961 6.4 61

San Joaquin, CA.......................... 17.2 233.2 4.2 27 894 7.1 28

San Luis Obispo, CA.................... 10.1 113.5 3.2 77 900 8.2 15

San Mateo, CA............................. 27.4 393.3 3.8 37 2,095 -2.3 332

Santa Barbara, CA....................... 15.1 191.9 3.0 93 1,038 5.8 94

Santa Clara, CA........................... 69.3 1,040.8 3.8 37 2,335 9.3 5

Santa Cruz, CA............................ 9.5 97.5 3.2 77 952 3.1 284

Solano, CA................................... 10.7 134.0 3.4 63 1,080 5.3 127

Sonoma, CA................................. 19.4 199.5 3.7 46 1,049 10.0 2

Stanislaus, CA.............................. 14.9 179.0 4.2 27 888 6.2 68

Tulare, CA.................................... 9.7 153.0 3.3 69 761 3.8 246

Ventura, CA.................................. 25.8 320.6 1.1 235 1,065 3.9 237

Yolo, CA....................................... 6.4 96.4 3.2 77 1,151 5.4 120

Adams, CO................................... 10.1 195.0 2.8 108 1,036 5.1 148

Arapahoe, CO.............................. 20.9 321.8 2.8 108 1,242 2.1 309

Boulder, CO.................................. 14.3 175.1 2.5 130 1,265 5.0 154

Denver, CO.................................. 29.7 485.3 3.2 77 1,292 2.9 291

Douglas, CO................................. 11.1 115.3 3.2 77 1,291 3.0 289

El Paso, CO.................................. 18.2 261.5 3.2 77 952 3.9 237

Jefferson, CO............................... 19.1 232.8 3.0 93 1,082 3.9 237

Larimer, CO.................................. 11.3 149.9 3.7 46 986 2.3 306

Weld, CO...................................... 6.7 100.2 -3.1 333 928 0.3 325

Fairfield, CT................................. 34.8 429.7 0.5 286 1,735 3.5 262

Hartford, CT.................................. 27.2 511.0 0.3 299 1,306 4.6 189

 See footnotes at end of table.
Table 1. Covered establishments, employment, and wages in the 343 largest counties,

fourth quarter 2015 - Continued

Employment Average weekly wage 2

County1

Establishments,

fourth quarter

2015

(thousands)

December

2015

(thousands)

Percent

change,

December

2014-153

Ranking by

percent

change

Fourth

quarter

2015

Percent

change,

fourth quarter

2014-153

Ranking by

percent

change

New Haven, CT............................ 23.5 366.3 0.5 286 $1,128 3.7 254

New London, CT.......................... 7.3 122.3 0.8 264 1,053 4.2 218

New Castle, DE............................ 18.9 293.2 1.9 171 1,198 2.9 291

Washington, DC........................... 39.0 754.2 2.2 144 1,756 3.4 266

Alachua, FL.................................. 6.8 126.3 3.0 93 911 3.1 284

Brevard, FL................................... 15.0 197.7 2.1 156 939 6.0 80

Broward, FL.................................. 67.3 785.7 2.8 108 1,018 6.0 80

Collier, FL..................................... 13.1 143.1 3.4 63 969 9.1 8

Duval, FL..................................... 27.9 485.6 3.2 77 1,008 2.0 310

Escambia, FL............................... 8.0 127.8 2.0 165 857 5.2 137

Hillsborough, FL........................... 39.9 671.9 4.4 21 1,029 4.7 175

Lake, FL....................................... 7.7 93.2 4.9 11 738 6.6 43

Lee, FL......................................... 20.6 253.1 5.9 5 842 4.7 175

Leon, FL....................................... 8.3 145.2 1.2 221 881 4.5 196

Manatee, FL................................. 10.1 120.7 2.6 125 818 6.5 53

Marion, FL.................................... 8.1 98.9 2.1 156 749 5.9 88

Miami-Dade, FL............................ 94.8 1,115.9 3.0 93 1,051 4.4 208

Okaloosa, FL................................ 6.2 80.4 3.8 37 859 4.9 161

Orange, FL................................... 39.3 786.0 4.4 21 945 5.7 100

Osceola, FL.................................. 6.3 87.6 5.8 6 730 6.6 43

Palm Beach, FL............................ 53.6 588.9 4.0 33 1,081 7.2 26

Pasco, FL..................................... 10.3 113.2 4.4 21 749 5.8 94

Pinellas, FL................................... 31.9 418.7 3.6 51 979 5.6 105

Polk, FL........................................ 12.6 209.9 2.7 119 816 5.2 137

Sarasota, FL................................ 15.3 164.4 3.8 37 914 5.9 88

Seminole, FL................................ 14.4 180.3 3.9 35 897 6.0 80

Volusia, FL................................... 13.8 164.0 3.3 69 759 4.5 196

Bibb, GA....................................... 4.6 84.8 1.1 235 838 4.5 196

Chatham, GA................................ 8.5 147.9 3.3 69 921 5.9 88

Clayton, GA.................................. 4.4 121.9 4.8 13 957 -1.8 330

Cobb, GA...................................... 23.5 340.6 3.0 93 1,118 3.4 266

DeKalb, GA................................. 19.4 301.0 3.8 37 1,048 3.4 266

Fulton, GA.................................... 46.3 811.4 2.8 108 1,402 4.5 196

Gwinnett, GA................................ 26.5 341.9 2.9 102 1,041 4.0 230

Hall, GA....................................... 4.6 82.2 5.0 10 930 7.4 20

Muscogee, GA.............................. 4.9 94.9 0.1 306 860 6.6 43

Richmond, GA.............................. 4.8 105.3 1.2 221 875 4.8 172

Honolulu, HI.................................. 25.5 476.5 1.9 171 997 5.6 105

Ada, ID......................................... 14.3 221.3 3.8 37 938 -1.5 329

Champaign, IL.............................. 4.4 90.0 -0.1 312 901 4.0 230

Cook, IL........................................ 158.4 2,575.7 1.9 171 1,267 4.4 208

DuPage, IL................................. 38.8 612.2 0.4 294 1,257 6.6 43

Kane, IL........................................ 14.0 209.5 0.8 264 968 6.4 61

Lake, IL........................................ 22.9 333.5 0.9 254 1,450 9.8 3

McHenry, IL.................................. 8.9 97.0 1.2 221 904 6.5 53

McLean, IL.................................... 3.9 84.6 0.0 309 1,010 4.1 225

Madison, IL................................... 6.1 98.4 0.0 309 876 3.4 266

Peoria, IL...................................... 4.7 102.2 1.1 235 1,012 5.9 88

St. Clair, IL.................................... 5.6 94.1 0.4 294 838 5.1 148

Sangamon, IL............................... 5.3 128.6 -1.6 331 1,063 4.3 212

 See footnotes at end of table.
Table 1. Covered establishments, employment, and wages in the 343 largest counties,

fourth quarter 2015 - Continued

Employment Average weekly wage 2

County1

Establishments,

fourth quarter

2015

(thousands)

December

2015

(thousands)

Percent

change,

December

2014-153

Ranking by

percent

change

Fourth

quarter

2015

Percent

change,

fourth quarter

2014-153

Ranking by

percent

change

Will, IL.......................................... 16.5 225.8 2.2 144 $943 5.1 148

Winnebago, IL.............................. 6.9 129.3 0.9 254 898 3.1 284

Allen, IN........................................ 8.8 185.0 2.0 165 868 7.3 23

Elkhart, IN..................................... 4.7 126.2 2.9 102 886 5.6 105

Hamilton, IN.................................. 9.0 134.8 3.6 51 1,020 4.9 161

Lake, IN........................................ 10.3 187.9 0.1 306 909 1.6 313

Marion, IN..................................... 23.9 594.7 1.8 183 1,056 4.9 161

St. Joseph, IN............................... 5.8 123.0 2.6 125 855 5.9 88

Tippecanoe, IN............................. 3.4 82.8 0.9 254 904 6.0 80

Vanderburgh, IN........................... 4.8 108.0 0.5 286 886 4.1 225

Black Hawk, IA............................ 3.8 74.6 -1.0 327 984 5.8 94

Johnson, IA.................................. 4.1 82.0 1.2 221 951 3.7 254

Linn, IA......................................... 6.6 130.5 0.5 286 1,069 4.7 175

Polk, IA........................................ 16.7 291.7 1.6 197 1,096 6.5 53

Scott, IA........................................ 5.6 91.4 0.3 299 903 5.5 114

Johnson, KS................................. 22.6 339.8 1.4 208 1,097 5.3 127

Sedgwick, KS............................... 12.8 250.6 0.9 254 960 4.2 218

Shawnee, KS................................ 5.0 97.9 1.3 213 856 4.4 208

Wyandotte, KS............................. 3.5 90.3 1.9 171 1,037 10.4 1

Boone, KY................................... 4.3 85.2 5.1 8 921 3.4 266

Fayette, KY................................... 10.6 198.1 2.8 108 935 6.9 33

Jefferson, KY................................ 25.0 461.4 2.2 144 1,049 8.6 11

Caddo, LA.................................... 7.3 116.3 -0.6 320 877 1.7 312

Calcasieu, LA............................... 5.0 92.6 1.3 213 963 5.5 114

East Baton Rouge, LA.................. 15.0 272.0 0.5 286 1,014 4.2 218

Jefferson, LA................................ 13.4 195.9 -0.7 323 980 5.0 154

Lafayette, LA................................ 9.3 136.1 -5.6 335 990 -4.3 334

Orleans, LA.................................. 12.0 195.9 3.0 93 1,021 3.2 280

St. Tammany, LA.......................... 7.8 87.9 2.3 138 916 2.9 291

Cumberland, ME.......................... 13.3 177.1 0.9 254 1,004 5.7 100

Anne Arundel, MD........................ 15.0 265.6 2.9 102 1,145 5.4 120

Baltimore, MD............................... 21.2 380.9 1.2 221 1,094 5.1 148

Frederick, MD............................... 6.4 100.4 2.5 130 1,005 4.3 212

Harford, MD.................................. 5.8 93.3 2.3 138 1,033 5.4 120

Howard, MD................................. 9.9 166.5 2.0 165 1,323 5.3 127

Montgomery, MD.......................... 32.8 466.0 0.7 273 1,419 5.7 100

Prince George's, MD.................... 15.8 312.2 0.9 254 1,102 5.2 137

Baltimore City, MD....................... 13.6 338.6 1.3 213 1,296 6.1 73

Barnstable, MA............................. 9.3 90.0 1.1 235 955 7.7 17

Bristol, MA.................................... 17.0 224.7 0.7 273 984 2.3 306

Essex, MA.................................... 23.8 323.8 1.2 221 1,149 4.9 161

Hampden, MA.............................. 17.3 206.6 1.0 246 993 4.9 161

Middlesex, MA.............................. 53.1 889.2 1.6 197 1,563 5.3 127

Norfolk, MA................................... 24.6 349.7 1.1 235 1,338 6.2 68

Plymouth, MA............................... 15.1 188.2 0.7 273 1,035 5.6 105

Suffolk, MA................................... 27.5 652.1 2.7 119 1,943 5.0 154

Worcester, MA.............................. 23.9 341.5 1.8 183 1,086 6.1 73

Genesee, MI................................. 6.9 134.6 -0.1 312 918 8.4 13

Ingham, MI................................... 6.0 149.0 1.0 246 1,028 6.6 43

Kalamazoo, MI............................. 5.0 116.2 0.6 281 1,000 7.0 30

 See footnotes at end of table.
Table 1. Covered establishments, employment, and wages in the 343 largest counties,

fourth quarter 2015 - Continued

Employment Average weekly wage 2

County1

Establishments,

fourth quarter

2015

(thousands)

December

2015

(thousands)

Percent

change,

December

2014-153

Ranking by

percent

change

Fourth

quarter

2015

Percent

change,

fourth quarter

2014-153

Ranking by

percent

change

Kent, MI....................................... 14.0 382.1 3.4 63 $963 4.9 161

Macomb, MI.................................. 17.3 319.5 1.4 208 1,097 8.4 13

Oakland, MI.................................. 38.5 719.3 1.8 183 1,222 4.8 172

Ottawa, MI.................................... 5.5 120.3 3.1 87 950 3.7 254

Saginaw, MI.................................. 4.0 85.8 1.0 246 877 7.5 18

Washtenaw, MI............................. 8.0 208.5 1.9 171 1,116 4.6 189

Wayne, MI.................................... 30.2 709.0 0.4 294 1,209 8.1 16

Anoka, MN.................................... 6.7 120.0 1.4 208 1,035 9.3 5

Dakota, MN.................................. 9.4 185.8 0.6 281 1,051 6.7 39

Hennepin, MN.............................. 37.0 897.3 1.7 191 1,301 3.2 280

Olmsted, MN................................ 3.3 94.8 2.5 130 1,058 3.8 246

Ramsey, MN................................. 12.8 330.9 1.3 213 1,189 4.7 175

St. Louis, MN................................ 5.1 96.6 -0.1 312 869 5.5 114

Stearns, MN................................. 4.1 85.7 0.8 264 884 6.6 43

Washington, MN........................... 5.2 80.3 2.9 102 889 6.6 43

Harrison, MS................................ 4.5 84.3 2.1 156 729 2.4 300

Hinds, MS..................................... 5.9 121.6 1.0 246 896 3.2 280

Boone, MO................................... 4.9 93.4 1.8 183 823 4.0 230

Clay, MO...................................... 5.5 99.6 5.1 8 1,006 9.2 7

Greene, MO.................................. 8.5 164.1 1.1 235 810 4.9 161

Jackson, MO................................ 21.2 362.7 2.0 165 1,091 5.4 120

St. Charles, MO............................ 9.0 142.9 4.1 31 870 7.1 28

St. Louis, MO................................ 36.2 602.5 1.8 183 1,148 2.2 308

St. Louis City, MO........................ 13.0 227.3 1.2 221 1,144 7.4 20

Yellowstone, MT........................... 6.4 81.4 2.1 156 922 2.7 296

Douglas, NE................................. 18.6 338.6 2.2 144 994 6.5 53

Lancaster, NE............................... 10.0 168.8 2.2 144 853 4.2 218

Clark, NV..................................... 54.6 928.6 3.7 46 920 3.8 246

Washoe, NV................................. 14.5 208.0 4.5 18 955 3.8 246

Hillsborough, NH.......................... 12.3 202.1 1.6 197 1,264 4.5 196

Rockingham, NH.......................... 10.9 146.8 2.7 119 1,119 5.6 105

Atlantic, NJ................................... 6.6 124.5 0.2 304 896 2.4 300

Bergen, NJ................................... 33.3 454.1 0.7 273 1,324 2.5 298

Burlington, NJ............................... 11.1 201.2 0.9 254 1,124 5.8 94

Camden, NJ................................. 12.2 201.4 2.6 125 1,090 5.3 127

Essex, NJ.................................... 20.6 343.4 0.3 299 1,295 5.7 100

Gloucester, NJ.............................. 6.3 105.5 2.2 144 946 3.7 254

Hudson, NJ................................... 14.8 250.3 3.1 87 1,375 3.9 237

Mercer, NJ.................................... 11.3 248.5 3.6 51 1,327 1.1 320

Middlesex, NJ.............................. 22.2 415.6 1.5 205 1,274 5.1 148

Monmouth, NJ.............................. 20.1 257.1 2.2 144 1,091 3.2 280

Morris, NJ..................................... 17.0 291.5 2.3 138 1,601 5.2 137

Ocean, NJ.................................... 12.9 160.5 2.8 108 890 4.3 212

Passaic, NJ.................................. 12.5 169.0 -1.1 329 1,111 9.4 4

Somerset, NJ............................... 10.1 186.2 1.9 171 1,576 1.0 321

Union, NJ..................................... 14.4 219.3 (5) - 1,373 (5) -

Bernalillo, NM............................... 18.1 322.8 1.2 221 904 3.6 260

Albany, NY................................... 10.4 233.5 0.8 264 1,113 5.0 154

Bronx, NY..................................... 18.7 304.4 1.1 235 996 3.1 284

Broome, NY.................................. 4.6 87.9 -0.7 323 833 6.1 73

 See footnotes at end of table.
Table 1. Covered establishments, employment, and wages in the 343 largest counties,

fourth quarter 2015 - Continued

Employment Average weekly wage 2

County1

Establishments,

fourth quarter

2015

(thousands)

December

2015

(thousands)

Percent

change,

December

2014-153

Ranking by

percent

change

Fourth

quarter

2015

Percent

change,

fourth quarter

2014-153

Ranking by

percent

change

Dutchess, NY............................... 8.5 113.1 1.2 221 $1,031 3.4 266

Erie, NY........................................ 24.8 472.4 1.0 246 958 6.7 39

Kings, NY..................................... 60.8 681.7 3.4 63 922 5.4 120

Monroe, NY.................................. 18.8 386.3 0.8 264 1,005 7.5 18

Nassau, NY.................................. 54.4 631.6 1.1 235 1,238 6.4 61

New York, NY............................... 129.9 2,442.2 2.1 156 2,235 0.8 322

Oneida, NY................................... 5.4 104.2 -0.6 320 832 4.7 175

Onondaga, NY.............................. 13.1 246.9 0.3 299 995 6.2 68

Orange, NY.................................. 10.3 142.5 0.8 264 903 6.4 61

Queens, NY.................................. 51.8 648.2 3.3 69 1,022 4.2 218

Richmond, NY.............................. 9.8 117.0 3.3 69 959 4.6 189

Rockland, NY............................... 10.6 120.3 0.6 281 1,072 4.0 230

Saratoga, NY................................ 5.9 84.4 1.7 191 974 6.6 43

Suffolk, NY................................... 52.6 653.0 0.9 254 1,187 5.5 114

Westchester, NY.......................... 36.7 427.4 1.2 221 1,449 2.0 310

Buncombe, NC............................. 8.8 127.7 3.4 63 841 5.3 127

Catawba, NC................................ 4.3 85.3 2.2 144 836 8.9 9

Cumberland, NC........................... 6.3 119.7 0.7 273 814 6.1 73

Durham, NC................................. 8.1 194.8 3.8 37 1,278 4.2 218

Forsyth, NC.................................. 9.3 183.4 1.1 235 976 4.7 175

Guilford, NC.................................. 14.3 281.1 1.9 171 930 4.7 175

Mecklenburg, NC.......................... 36.1 658.4 4.0 33 1,204 6.8 36

New Hanover, NC........................ 7.7 107.3 2.8 108 866 4.7 175

Wake, NC..................................... 32.5 525.1 3.6 51 1,071 4.2 218

Cass, ND...................................... 6.9 117.1 1.3 213 977 4.6 189

Butler, OH..................................... 7.6 150.6 2.8 108 949 7.4 20

Cuyahoga, OH.............................. 35.6 721.6 0.4 294 1,097 4.5 196

Delaware, OH............................... 4.9 86.2 2.4 134 1,005 4.0 230

Franklin, OH................................. 31.0 739.7 1.8 183 1,068 7.0 30

Hamilton, OH................................ 23.5 511.5 1.5 205 1,148 4.0 230

Lake, OH...................................... 6.2 95.1 0.2 304 886 3.0 289

Lorain, OH.................................... 6.1 97.7 0.3 299 848 4.6 189

Lucas, OH.................................... 10.1 212.1 1.9 171 937 4.5 196

Mahoning, OH.............................. 5.9 99.1 -0.6 320 762 4.1 225

Montgomery, OH.......................... 12.0 254.7 2.1 156 924 5.0 154

Stark, OH..................................... 8.6 159.1 -0.1 312 818 3.8 246

Summit, OH................................. 14.1 267.9 0.7 273 959 5.3 127

Warren, OH................................. 4.7 87.0 3.1 87 932 6.2 68

Cleveland, OK.............................. 5.5 82.6 1.0 246 791 3.3 276

Oklahoma, OK.............................. 27.3 454.4 0.1 306 1,017 3.9 237

Tulsa, OK..................................... 22.0 353.6 0.6 281 978 2.8 294

Clackamas, OR............................ 14.2 153.9 3.1 87 998 5.2 137

Jackson, OR................................ 7.1 84.4 2.2 144 793 6.9 33

Lane, OR...................................... 11.8 150.7 3.4 63 837 5.0 154

Marion, OR................................... 10.2 145.5 3.5 58 853 5.2 137

Multnomah, OR............................ 33.1 490.9 3.5 58 1,099 6.6 43

Washington, OR........................... 18.5 280.3 3.0 93 1,285 4.9 161

Allegheny, PA............................... 35.8 692.4 0.5 286 1,152 5.2 137

Berks, PA..................................... 9.0 171.6 0.9 254 972 6.5 53

Bucks, PA..................................... 19.9 258.3 0.8 264 1,037 3.4 266

 See footnotes at end of table.
Table 1. Covered establishments, employment, and wages in the 343 largest counties,

fourth quarter 2015 - Continued

Employment Average weekly wage 2

County1

Establishments,

fourth quarter

2015

(thousands)

December

2015

(thousands)

Percent

change,

December

2014-153

Ranking by

percent

change

Fourth

quarter

2015

Percent

change,

fourth quarter

2014-153

Ranking by

percent

change

Butler, PA..................................... 5.0 85.9 0.5 286 $1,000 5.6 105

Chester, PA.................................. 15.5 247.7 1.0 246 1,364 2.4 300

Cumberland, PA........................... 6.4 133.6 2.9 102 951 3.3 276

Dauphin, PA................................ 7.5 178.7 0.5 286 1,078 8.6 11

Delaware, PA............................... 14.0 222.2 0.7 273 1,144 5.8 94

Erie, PA........................................ 7.1 124.6 -0.3 317 842 4.9 161

Lackawanna, PA.......................... 5.8 98.1 0.0 309 810 5.7 100

Lancaster, PA............................... 13.2 233.6 1.7 191 905 6.0 80

Lehigh, PA.................................... 8.6 189.0 2.0 165 1,076 4.9 161

Luzerne, PA.................................. 7.6 147.5 1.3 213 818 4.7 175

Montgomery, PA........................... 27.6 488.6 1.9 171 1,327 4.7 175

Northampton, PA.......................... 6.7 110.1 1.7 191 936 6.7 39

Philadelphia, PA........................... 35.1 662.5 1.6 197 1,283 5.9 88

Washington, PA............................ 5.5 86.5 -2.1 332 1,064 -2.1 331

Westmoreland, PA....................... 9.3 135.3 1.3 213 863 3.9 237

York, PA....................................... 9.0 176.4 1.2 221 923 6.0 80

Providence, RI.............................. 17.6 286.8 1.1 235 1,102 3.7 254

Charleston, SC............................. 14.2 239.9 3.6 51 927 5.1 148

Greenville, SC.............................. 13.9 262.9 3.0 93 935 6.3 66

Horry, SC..................................... 8.7 114.4 3.5 58 653 6.9 33

Lexington, SC............................... 6.5 119.5 4.2 27 794 3.9 237

Richland, SC................................ 9.9 217.4 2.2 144 903 5.4 120

Spartanburg, SC........................... 6.1 130.9 3.2 77 899 4.5 196

York, SC....................................... 5.2 88.6 4.5 18 842 4.7 175

Minnehaha, SD............................. 7.0 124.4 1.7 191 932 6.3 66

Davidson, TN................................ 20.9 466.8 3.1 87 1,169 7.2 26

Hamilton, TN................................ 9.2 196.8 3.3 69 1,031 6.0 80

Knox, TN...................................... 11.7 236.1 1.6 197 977 6.1 73

Rutherford, TN.............................. 5.1 120.0 4.2 27 952 4.4 208

Shelby, TN.................................... 19.9 497.6 1.8 183 1,096 5.2 137

Williamson, TN............................. 7.9 120.3 6.8 1 1,234 0.0 326

Bell, TX......................................... 5.1 119.6 5.4 7 881 8.9 9

Bexar, TX..................................... 38.8 834.2 2.6 125 965 6.0 80

Brazoria, TX................................. 5.4 104.7 2.8 108 1,106 6.1 73

Brazos, TX.................................... 4.3 100.5 2.4 134 785 1.4 316

Cameron, TX................................ 6.5 138.4 1.9 171 649 4.5 196

Collin, TX...................................... 22.7 375.2 4.8 13 1,228 3.4 266

Dallas, TX..................................... 73.9 1,651.6 3.9 35 1,287 4.5 196

Denton, TX.................................. 13.6 224.4 4.8 13 973 4.5 196

Ector, TX..................................... 4.0 70.6 -11.8 337 1,094 -8.0 335

El Paso, TX.................................. 14.7 297.3 3.0 93 743 5.4 120

Fort Bend, TX............................... 12.0 174.3 2.2 144 1,028 -1.1 328

Galveston, TX............................... 5.9 105.4 4.7 16 933 1.5 315

Gregg, TX..................................... 4.3 76.2 -5.1 334 910 -3.2 333

Harris, TX..................................... 112.2 2,302.8 -0.5 319 1,382 0.4 324

Hidalgo, TX................................... 12.0 251.8 1.9 171 661 3.1 284

Jefferson, TX................................ 5.9 124.3 -0.8 325 1,119 2.8 294

Lubbock, TX................................. 7.4 136.9 2.4 134 838 4.6 189

McLennan, TX.............................. 5.1 109.8 1.6 197 875 5.3 127

Midland, TX.................................. 5.4 86.6 -9.3 336 1,263 -11.5 336

 See footnotes at end of table.
Table 1. Covered establishments, employment, and wages in the 343 largest counties,

fourth quarter 2015 - Continued

Employment Average weekly wage 2

County1

Establishments,

fourth quarter

2015

(thousands)

December

2015

(thousands)

Percent

change,

December

2014-153

Ranking by

percent

change

Fourth

quarter

2015

Percent

change,

fourth quarter

2014-153

Ranking by

percent

change

Montgomery, TX........................... 10.6 168.3 1.6 197 $1,043 -0.9 327

Nueces, TX.................................. 8.3 162.7 -1.5 330 932 1.3 319

Potter, TX..................................... 4.0 80.2 0.8 264 871 4.9 161

Smith, TX..................................... 6.0 102.8 2.5 130 900 3.6 260

Tarrant, TX................................... 41.3 858.7 2.2 144 1,093 7.3 23

Travis, TX..................................... 37.9 703.1 4.3 25 1,234 5.0 154

Webb, TX..................................... 5.2 99.1 1.2 221 706 1.4 316

Williamson, TX............................. 9.6 154.9 4.5 18 1,010 5.2 137

Davis, UT..................................... 8.1 120.1 3.7 46 839 4.5 196

Salt Lake, UT................................ 43.1 663.8 3.8 37 1,035 5.3 127

Utah, UT....................................... 14.9 215.7 6.6 2 869 7.3 23

Weber, UT.................................... 5.8 100.5 3.1 87 790 5.3 127

Chittenden, VT............................. 6.6 102.5 0.9 254 1,071 3.8 246

Arlington, VA................................ 9.4 173.6 3.3 69 1,686 2.4 300

Chesterfield, VA........................... 8.7 140.1 6.0 4 890 2.4 300

Fairfax, VA.................................... 37.5 598.9 2.8 108 1,618 2.5 298

Henrico, VA.................................. 11.3 191.5 3.5 58 1,020 4.3 212

Loudoun, VA................................ 11.8 159.8 6.3 3 1,236 2.7 296

Prince William, VA........................ 9.1 125.8 4.1 31 923 4.3 212

Alexandria City, VA...................... 6.7 97.7 2.1 156 1,487 1.4 316

Chesapeake City, VA................... 6.0 98.9 1.2 221 825 3.8 246

Newport News City, VA................ 3.8 98.4 -0.4 318 1,017 6.2 68

Norfolk City, VA........................... 5.9 142.5 1.2 221 1,066 3.5 262

Richmond City, VA....................... 7.6 151.1 2.1 156 1,153 4.6 189

Virginia Beach City, VA................ 12.1 174.2 2.1 156 851 5.6 105

Benton, WA.................................. 5.6 80.8 1.5 205 1,063 (5) -

Clark, WA..................................... 14.0 147.6 (5) - 975 (5) -

King, WA...................................... 85.3 1,297.2 2.9 102 1,429 3.3 276

Kitsap, WA.................................... 6.7 86.0 2.7 119 935 7.0 30

Pierce, WA................................... 21.7 291.4 (5) - 940 (5) -

Snohomish, WA............................ 20.4 280.1 2.7 119 1,136 6.6 43

Spokane, WA............................... 15.6 212.4 (5) - 884 (5) -

Thurston, WA............................... 8.0 107.4 2.0 165 923 5.6 105

Whatcom, WA.............................. 7.1 85.8 1.4 208 848 5.6 105

Yakima, WA................................. 7.8 99.7 (5) - 740 (5) -

Kanawha, WV............................... 5.9 103.8 -1.0 327 897 3.9 237

Brown, WI..................................... 6.8 154.1 1.7 191 986 6.4 61

Dane, WI...................................... 15.1 329.9 2.4 134 1,081 6.1 73

Milwaukee, WI.............................. 26.2 489.1 0.4 294 1,043 3.5 262

Outagamie, WI............................. 5.2 106.9 1.8 183 926 6.8 36

Waukesha, WI.............................. 12.9 239.1 1.6 197 1,084 5.8 94

Winnebago, WI............................. 3.7 91.8 1.4 208 1,033 6.5 53

San Juan, PR............................... 10.6 257.3 -1.9 (6) 675 2.1 (6)

1 Includes areas not officially designated as counties. See Technical Note.

2 Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data.

3 Percent changes were computed from quarterly employment and pay data adjusted for noneconomic county reclassifications. See Technical

Note.

4 Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.

5 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.

6 This county was not included in the U.S. rankings.

Note: Data are preliminary. Includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees

(UCFE) programs. These 342 U.S. counties comprise 72.5 percent of the total covered workers in the U.S.
Table 2. Covered establishments, employment, and wages in the 10 largest counties,

fourth quarter 2015

Employment Average weekly wage 1

County by NAICS supersector

Establishments,

fourth quarter

2015

(thousands)

December

2015

(thousands)

Percent

change,

December

2014-152

Fourth

quarter

2015

Percent

change,

fourth quarter

2014-152

United States3................................................................. 9,685.3 141,924.5 1.9 $1,082 4.4

 Private industry............................................................. 9,386.7 120,234.9 2.1 1,089 4.5

 Natural resources and mining.................................... 138.6 1,819.6 -8.9 1,157 -5.0

 Construction............................................................... 770.9 6,521.4 4.9 1,233 5.1

 Manufacturing............................................................ 342.8 12,291.3 0.0 1,322 4.5

 Trade, transportation, and utilities.............................. 1,925.8 27,688.6 1.6 904 4.9

 Information................................................................. 155.5 2,793.9 1.6 1,907 8.0

 Financial activities...................................................... 854.5 7,920.5 1.9 1,710 2.7

 Professional and business services........................... 1,754.0 19,995.4 2.2 1,438 4.3

 Education and health services................................... 1,557.4 21,495.3 2.5 994 5.7

 Leisure and hospitality............................................... 814.2 15,025.8 3.3 462 5.5

 Other services............................................................ 832.4 4,331.1 1.7 724 5.4

 Government.................................................................. 298.5 21,689.5 0.7 1,047 4.9

Los Angeles, CA.............................................................. 463.6 4,341.0 2.3 1,266 5.5

 Private industry............................................................. 457.8 3,775.7 2.4 1,260 6.1

 Natural resources and mining.................................... 0.5 8.3 -8.3 1,573 13.6

 Construction............................................................... 13.6 129.6 8.1 1,267 5.3

 Manufacturing............................................................ 12.3 352.9 -2.2 1,330 8.5

 Trade, transportation, and utilities.............................. 53.4 830.3 0.7 986 5.6

 Information................................................................. 9.8 213.4 4.7 2,556 11.3

 Financial activities...................................................... 25.0 214.6 0.5 1,916 3.7

 Professional and business services........................... 48.0 606.0 0.7 1,652 6.9

 Education and health services................................... 213.6 740.6 3.1 930 3.8

 Leisure and hospitality............................................... 31.8 490.8 2.9 974 1.9

 Other services............................................................ 27.8 146.7 0.3 746 8.0

 Government.................................................................. 5.8 565.3 1.9 1,309 2.3

New York, NY.................................................................. 129.9 2,442.2 2.1 2,235 0.8

 Private industry............................................................. 129.1 2,174.2 2.2 2,350 0.5

 Natural resources and mining.................................... 0.0 0.2 -4.2 2,033 -3.4

 Construction............................................................... 2.2 38.8 9.0 2,311 4.1

 Manufacturing............................................................ 2.2 27.4 0.8 1,636 0.9

 Trade, transportation, and utilities.............................. 20.0 268.9 -2.4 1,493 3.9

 Information................................................................. 4.9 155.6 1.0 2,804 2.9

 Financial activities...................................................... 19.1 372.4 1.9 4,593 -7.8

 Professional and business services........................... 27.6 556.2 3.3 2,687 6.1

 Education and health services................................... 9.8 342.2 2.5 1,384 6.7

 Leisure and hospitality............................................... 13.8 297.5 2.4 1,027 4.3

 Other services............................................................ 20.3 102.2 0.5 1,210 5.6

 Government.................................................................. 0.8 268.0 1.2 1,301 3.7

Cook, IL........................................................................... 158.4 2,575.7 1.9 1,267 4.4

 Private industry............................................................. 157.1 2,276.8 2.0 1,274 4.9

 Natural resources and mining.................................... 0.1 1.1 29.7 1,342 4.0

 Construction............................................................... 12.8 70.8 2.3 1,635 1.8

 Manufacturing............................................................ 6.5 186.6 -0.6 1,405 7.0

 Trade, transportation, and utilities.............................. 31.1 486.2 1.5 971 3.2

 Information................................................................. 2.7 55.0 1.6 1,802 7.9

 Financial activities...................................................... 15.7 190.0 0.7 2,298 4.1

 Professional and business services........................... 33.7 474.5 1.8 1,690 5.8

 Education and health services................................... 16.7 442.8 2.5 1,048 4.3

 Leisure and hospitality............................................... 14.5 267.9 5.2 543 9.7

 Other services............................................................ 17.7 95.9 -0.1 967 6.9

 Government.................................................................. 1.3 298.9 0.9 1,221 1.7

 See footnotes at end of table.
Table 2. Covered establishments, employment, and wages in the 10 largest counties,

fourth quarter 2015 - Continued

Employment Average weekly wage 1

County by NAICS supersector

Establishments,

fourth quarter

2015

(thousands)

December

2015

(thousands)

Percent

change,

December

2014-152

Fourth

quarter

2015

Percent

change,

fourth quarter

2014-152

Harris, TX........................................................................ 112.2 2,302.8 -0.5 $1,382 0.4

 Private industry............................................................. 111.6 2,031.1 -0.8 1,414 -0.1

 Natural resources and mining.................................... 1.8 81.2 -15.7 3,380 0.8

 Construction............................................................... 7.1 163.5 2.3 1,530 4.7

 Manufacturing............................................................ 4.8 179.8 -11.9 1,681 0.2

 Trade, transportation, and utilities.............................. 25.0 486.1 0.2 1,234 1.7

 Information................................................................. 1.2 27.6 0.6 1,497 -2.5

 Financial activities...................................................... 11.6 122.4 1.3 1,824 3.5

 Professional and business services........................... 23.0 395.7 -1.1 1,768 -0.7

 Education and health services................................... 15.5 286.3 3.8 1,103 4.5

 Leisure and hospitality............................................... 9.5 222.8 5.2 474 4.2

 Other services............................................................ 11.7 65.0 0.5 843 3.8

 Government.................................................................. 0.6 271.7 1.9 1,147 6.5

Maricopa, AZ.................................................................... 97.2 1,883.2 3.2 1,016 4.1

 Private industry............................................................. 96.5 1,670.6 3.6 1,015 4.2

 Natural resources and mining.................................... 0.4 8.3 -1.2 953 3.5

 Construction............................................................... 7.1 98.4 4.5 1,124 4.2

 Manufacturing............................................................ 3.2 116.6 0.6 1,451 5.8

 Trade, transportation, and utilities.............................. 19.7 378.4 2.6 913 4.5

 Information................................................................. 1.6 35.1 2.1 1,358 6.2

 Financial activities...................................................... 11.1 164.9 5.1 1,305 6.2

 Professional and business services........................... 21.9 322.9 2.6 1,127 2.9

 Education and health services................................... 10.9 279.9 3.6 1,041 3.5

 Leisure and hospitality............................................... 7.6 205.3 3.6 488 5.4

 Other services............................................................ 6.2 49.8 1.4 718 5.4

 Government.................................................................. 0.7 212.6 0.0 1,024 3.9

Dallas, TX........................................................................ 73.9 1,651.6 3.9 1,287 4.5

 Private industry............................................................. 73.4 1,478.2 4.1 1,303 4.3

 Natural resources and mining.................................... 0.6 9.0 -5.0 3,562 -6.1

 Construction............................................................... 4.3 82.0 5.3 1,344 7.3

 Manufacturing............................................................ 2.7 105.8 -1.0 1,487 3.3

 Trade, transportation, and utilities.............................. 15.9 352.4 6.3 1,099 3.6

 Information................................................................. 1.4 49.1 1.7 1,813 2.3

 Financial activities...................................................... 9.1 159.2 2.4 1,764 4.1

 Professional and business services........................... 16.7 333.6 4.1 1,577 5.3

 Education and health services................................... 9.1 191.6 4.4 1,159 8.2

 Leisure and hospitality............................................... 6.4 153.9 6.2 554 8.8

 Other services............................................................ 6.9 40.9 0.4 821 2.1

 Government.................................................................. 0.5 173.5 2.1 1,152 5.7

Orange, CA...................................................................... 113.6 1,550.6 2.3 1,205 4.1

 Private industry............................................................. 112.3 1,406.3 2.5 1,209 3.8

 Natural resources and mining.................................... 0.2 2.7 -11.7 919 6.1

 Construction............................................................... 6.6 92.5 9.5 1,376 6.7

 Manufacturing............................................................ 4.8 156.3 -0.3 1,498 4.5

 Trade, transportation, and utilities.............................. 16.7 264.5 -0.3 1,067 4.9

 Information................................................................. 1.3 25.1 0.4 1,952 7.4

 Financial activities...................................................... 10.9 117.5 2.1 1,988 1.2

 Professional and business services........................... 20.5 289.1 0.3 1,450 2.9

 Education and health services................................... 29.4 196.8 3.7 1,047 5.9

 Leisure and hospitality............................................... 8.1 203.5 3.3 495 6.0

 Other services............................................................ 7.0 44.0 1.2 730 4.9

 Government.................................................................. 1.4 144.3 0.3 1,168 6.6

 See footnotes at end of table.
Table 2. Covered establishments, employment, and wages in the 10 largest counties,

fourth quarter 2015 - Continued

Employment Average weekly wage 1

County by NAICS supersector

Establishments,

fourth quarter

2015

(thousands)

December

2015

(thousands)

Percent

change,

December

2014-152

Fourth

quarter

2015

Percent

change,

fourth quarter

2014-152

San Diego, CA................................................................ 105.7 1,399.7 2.6 $1,184 4.3

 Private industry............................................................. 103.9 1,169.6 2.7 1,172 4.3

 Natural resources and mining.................................... 0.7 9.0 1.4 730 4.3

 Construction............................................................... 6.5 71.7 9.0 1,260 6.6

 Manufacturing............................................................ 3.1 104.3 0.9 1,755 11.6

 Trade, transportation, and utilities.............................. 14.2 224.7 0.1 887 5.2

 Information................................................................. 1.2 23.7 -3.3 1,742 4.7

 Financial activities...................................................... 9.6 71.8 3.3 1,533 9.0

 Professional and business services........................... 18.2 232.7 1.9 1,768 -1.9

 Education and health services................................... 29.3 190.1 3.1 1,036 6.1

 Leisure and hospitality............................................... 7.8 181.1 1.6 497 8.3

 Other services............................................................ 7.5 49.3 0.6 636 5.8

 Government.................................................................. 1.8 230.1 2.1 1,247 4.6

King, WA......................................................................... 85.3 1,297.2 2.9 1,429 3.3

 Private industry............................................................. 84.8 1,131.8 3.0 1,446 3.2

 Natural resources and mining.................................... 0.4 3.0 23.3 1,336 -5.1

 Construction............................................................... 6.3 64.2 5.4 1,383 5.6

 Manufacturing............................................................ 2.4 105.3 -1.0 1,663 1.5

 Trade, transportation, and utilities.............................. 14.6 250.3 3.8 1,236 5.7

 Information................................................................. 2.1 91.6 6.4 2,912 -2.7

 Financial activities...................................................... 6.5 67.2 1.9 1,728 -3.2

 Professional and business services........................... 16.8 216.9 4.0 1,822 4.2

 Education and health services................................... 19.7 162.3 (4) 1,060 (4)

 Leisure and hospitality............................................... 7.0 128.1 4.0 568 4.4

 Other services............................................................ 8.9 42.8 1.9 849 5.3

 Government.................................................................. 0.5 165.4 2.1 1,314 3.8

Miami-Dade, FL............................................................... 94.8 1,115.9 3.0 1,051 4.4

 Private industry............................................................. 94.4 978.5 3.3 1,029 4.6

 Natural resources and mining.................................... 0.5 9.7 5.5 661 11.7

 Construction............................................................... 5.8 41.7 10.7 1,015 2.7

 Manufacturing............................................................ 2.8 39.8 4.0 991 0.5

 Trade, transportation, and utilities.............................. 26.4 288.6 1.5 927 5.6

 Information................................................................. 1.5 17.8 -2.4 1,648 7.2

 Financial activities...................................................... 10.2 75.2 2.5 1,645 3.1

 Professional and business services........................... 20.7 154.2 4.5 1,328 1.0

 Education and health services................................... 10.1 171.1 2.9 1,050 7.3

 Leisure and hospitality............................................... 7.1 138.5 4.6 615 9.0

 Other services............................................................ 8.1 41.3 3.4 644 4.9

 Government.................................................................. 0.3 137.3 0.8 1,206 3.7

1 Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data.

2 Percent changes were computed from quarterly employment and pay data adjusted for noneconomic county reclassifications. See Technical Note.

3 Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.

4 Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.

Note: Data are preliminary. Counties selected are based on 2014 annual average employment. Includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance

(UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.
Table 3. Covered establishments, employment, and wages by state,

fourth quarter 2015

Employment Average weekly wage 1

State

Establishments,

fourth quarter

2015

(thousands)

December

2015

(thousands)

Percent

change,

December

2014-15

Fourth

quarter

2015

Percent

change,

fourth quarter

2014-15

United States2.......................................... 9,685.3 141,924.5 1.9 $1,082 4.4

Alabama.................................................... 120.6 1,916.2 1.4 912 3.4

Alaska........................................................ 22.4 315.9 -0.5 1,095 2.9

Arizona...................................................... 155.1 2,701.8 2.6 967 4.4

Arkansas................................................... 89.2 1,201.4 1.7 838 3.8

California................................................... 1,454.6 16,593.8 3.1 1,274 5.4

Colorado.................................................... 187.6 2,537.5 2.5 1,103 3.3

Connecticut............................................... 116.4 1,685.1 0.3 1,334 4.3

Delaware................................................... 30.7 441.2 1.8 1,086 3.4

District of Columbia................................... 39.0 754.2 2.2 1,756 3.4

Florida....................................................... 652.3 8,308.1 3.7 958 5.2

Georgia...................................................... 296.0 4,249.4 2.9 1,001 4.5

Hawaii........................................................ 40.0 653.0 2.2 957 5.4

Idaho......................................................... 57.0 670.1 3.4 803 2.6

Illinois........................................................ 414.9 5,931.2 1.4 1,146 5.1

Indiana....................................................... 161.3 2,996.3 1.7 891 5.3

Iowa........................................................... 101.0 1,539.0 0.7 920 5.7

Kansas...................................................... 88.1 1,382.1 0.4 898 5.0

Kentucky.................................................... 122.5 1,881.3 1.6 885 5.9

Louisiana................................................... 127.4 1,937.4 -1.0 940 1.8

Maine......................................................... 52.1 596.9 0.7 873 5.7

Maryland.................................................... 168.7 2,636.7 1.7 1,175 5.6

Massachusetts.......................................... 241.5 3,479.1 1.6 1,385 5.4

Michigan.................................................... 240.1 4,218.9 1.5 1,043 5.9

Minnesota.................................................. 160.3 2,805.8 1.5 1,073 4.8

Mississippi................................................. 72.8 1,133.8 1.3 770 3.1

Missouri..................................................... 195.0 2,759.6 1.8 933 4.6

Montana.................................................... 45.8 453.2 2.5 818 3.0

Nebraska................................................... 70.9 971.8 1.4 880 5.1

Nevada...................................................... 79.8 1,272.2 3.5 935 4.0

New Hampshire......................................... 51.6 648.6 1.7 1,139 5.4

New Jersey............................................... 269.9 3,988.4 1.7 1,262 4.0

New Mexico............................................... 57.4 808.9 -0.1 865 1.8

New York.................................................. 640.6 9,227.6 1.7 1,372 3.9

North Carolina........................................... 270.1 4,247.1 2.5 939 5.5

North Dakota............................................. 32.2 428.1 -5.9 1,021 -2.8

Ohio........................................................... 292.4 5,328.8 1.2 964 4.6

Oklahoma.................................................. 109.0 1,605.0 -0.7 896 2.3

Oregon...................................................... 146.0 1,814.8 3.3 979 5.5

Pennsylvania............................................. 355.2 5,759.7 0.7 1,063 4.9

Rhode Island............................................. 36.7 478.1 1.5 1,043 4.0

South Carolina.......................................... 125.7 1,987.1 2.8 860 5.3

South Dakota............................................ 32.8 417.7 1.2 832 5.2

Tennessee................................................. 151.5 2,898.1 2.8 980 5.6

Texas......................................................... 645.6 11,832.1 1.4 1,099 2.7

Utah........................................................... 95.5 1,375.6 3.8 913 4.7

Vermont..................................................... 24.8 312.1 0.3 919 4.1

Virginia...................................................... 261.3 3,806.2 3.0 1,094 3.5

Washington............................................... 237.7 3,137.2 2.3 1,132 4.7

West Virginia............................................. 50.3 703.7 -1.3 829 1.3

Wisconsin.................................................. 170.0 2,820.5 1.1 944 5.6

 See footnotes at end of table.
Table 3. Covered establishments, employment, and wages by state,

fourth quarter 2015 - Continued

Employment Average weekly wage 1

State

Establishments,

fourth quarter

2015

(thousands)

December

2015

(thousands)

Percent

change,

December

2014-15

Fourth

quarter

2015

Percent

change,

fourth quarter

2014-15

Wyoming................................................... 26.0 276.0 -2.9 $937 -1.7

Puerto Rico............................................... 45.4 929.9 -1.6 565 1.6

Virgin Islands............................................ 3.3 38.4 -0.3 787 4.7

1 Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data.

2 Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.

Note: Data are preliminary. Includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for

Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.
Chart 3. Percent change in employment in counties with 75,000 or more employees,

December 2014-15 (U.S. average = 1.9 percent)

Higher than U.S. average

U.S. average or lower

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Chart 4. Percent change in average weekly wage in counties with 75,000 or more

employees, fourth quarter 2014-15 (U.S. average = 4.4 percent)

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

Higher than U.S. average

U.S. average or lower