For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT), Wednesday, September 6, 2017 USDL-17-1220 

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

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

COUNTY EMPLOYMENT AND WAGES

First Quarter 2017 

From March 2016 to March 2017, employment increased in 299 of the 346 largest U.S. counties, the 

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. York, S.C., had the largest percentage increase with a 

gain of 6.8 percent over the year, above the national job growth rate of 1.6 percent. Within York, the 

largest employment increase occurred in professional and business services, which gained 3,539 jobs 

over the year (40.3 percent). Kanawha, W.Va., had the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in 

employment among the largest counties in the U.S., with a loss of 2.7 percent. Within Kanawha, trade, 

transportation, and utilities had the largest decrease in employment, with a loss of 692 jobs (-3.9 

percent). 

The U.S. average weekly wage increased 6.6 percent over the year, growing to $1,111 in the first 

quarter of 2017. McLean, Ill., had the largest over-the-year percentage increase in average weekly wages 

with a gain of 27.8 percent. Within McLean, an average weekly wage gain of $1,006 (69.9 percent) in 

financial activities made the largest contribution to the county’s increase in average weekly wages.

Peoria, Ill., experienced the only percentage decrease in average weekly wages with a loss of 1.1 percent 

over the year. Within Peoria, manufacturing had the largest impact on the county’s average weekly wage 

change with a decrease of $605 (-31.3 percent) over the year. 

Chart 1. Large counties ranked by percent increase in 

employment, March 2016-17 

(U.S. average = 1.6 percent)

Chart 2. Large counties ranked by percent increase in 

average weekly wages, first quarter 2016-17 

(U.S. average = 6.6 percent)

3

4

5

6

7

York,

S.C.

Davis,

 Utah

Williamson,

Texas

Merced,

 Calif.

Deschutes,

 Ore.

Utah,

Utah

Percent

10

15

20

25

30

McLean,

Ill.

Elkhart,

Ind.

Midland,

Texas

Benton,

Ark.

Williamson,

Texas

Percent
- 2 -

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, metropolitan statistical area, state, and national levels by detailed 

industry. These data are published within 6 months following the end of each quarter. 

Large County Employment 

In March 2017, national employment was 142.3 million (as measured by the QCEW program). Over the 

year, employment increased 1.6 percent, or 2.2 million. In March 2017, the 346 U.S. counties with 

75,000 or more jobs accounted for 72.8 percent of total U.S. employment and 79.0 percent of total 

wages. These 346 counties had a net job growth of 1.7 million over the year, accounting for 76.1 percent 

of the overall U.S. employment increase. (See chart 3.) The 5 counties with the largest increases in 

employment levels had a combined over-the-year employment gain of 219,100 jobs, which was 10.0 

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

Employment declined in 39 of the largest counties from March 2016 to March 2017. Kanawha, W.Va., 

had the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment (-2.7 percent), followed by Lafayette, 

La.; Anchorage, Alaska; Oklahoma, Okla.; Peoria, Ill.; and Atlantic, N.J. (See table 1.)

Table A. Large counties ranked by March 2017 employment, March 2016-17 employment increase, and 

March 2016-17 percent increase in employment 

Employment in large counties

March 2017 employment Increase in employment, Percent increase in employment, 

(thousands) March 2016-17 March 2016-17

(thousands)

United States 142,309.2 United States 2,180.3 United States 1.6

Los Angeles, Calif. 4,359.4 Los Angeles, Calif. 54.8 York, S.C. 6.8

Cook, Ill. 2,531.8 Maricopa, Ariz. 48.5 Davis, Utah 4.9

New York, N.Y. 2,436.8 Dallas, Texas 41.5 Williamson, Tenn. 4.6

Harris, Texas 2,265.1 King, Wash. 41.5 Merced, Calif. 4.5

Maricopa, Ariz. 1,914.1 Clark, Nev. 32.8 Deschutes, Ore. 4.5

Dallas, Texas 1,662.0 Orange, Calif. 32.3 Utah, Utah 4.5

Orange, Calif. 1,580.2 New York, N.Y. 30.5 Clark, Wash. 4.2

San Diego, Calif. 1,421.4 San Diego, Calif. 29.1 Collier, Fla. 3.8

King, Wash. 1,335.4 Fulton, Ga. 28.2 Denton, Texas 3.8

Miami-Dade, Fla. 1,130.2 Santa Clara, Calif. 26.2 Brevard, Fla. 3.7

Rutherford, Tenn. 3.7

Collin, Texas 3.7

Galveston, Texas 3.7

Thurston, Wash. 3.7

Large County Average Weekly Wages 

Average weekly wages for the nation increased to $1,111, a 6.6 percent increase, during the year ending 

in the first quarter of 2017. Among the 346 largest counties, 345 had over-the-year increases in average 

weekly wages. (See chart 4.) McLean, Ill., had the largest percentage wage increase among the largest 

U.S. counties (27.8 percent). (See table B.) 
- 3 -

Of the 346 largest counties, 1 experienced an over-the-year decrease in average weekly wages. Peoria, 

Ill., had the only percentage decrease in average weekly wages (-1.1 percent). Somerset, N.J., had the 

smallest percentage wage increase, followed by Fairfield, Conn.; Lafayette, La.; and Winnebago, Wis. 

(See table 1.)

Table B. Large counties ranked by first quarter 2017 average weekly wages, first quarter 2016-17

increase in average weekly wages, and first quarter 2016-17 percent increase in average weekly wages 

Average weekly wage in large counties

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

first quarter 2017 wage, first quarter 2016-17 weekly wage, first

quarter 2016-17

United States $1,111 United States $69 United States 6.6

New York, N.Y. $2,954 McLean, Ill. $248 McLean, Ill. 27.8

Santa Clara, Calif. 2,450 Santa Clara, Calif. 232 Elkhart, Ind. 15.1

San Mateo, Calif. 2,385 San Francisco, Calif. 203 Midland, Texas 14.3

San Francisco, Calif. 2,264 San Mateo, Calif. 183 Benton, Ark. 14.2

Somerset, N.J. 2,026 Benton, Ark. 179 Williamson, Texas 12.4

Suffolk, Mass. 2,016 Midland, Texas 179 New Castle, Del. 12.0

Fairfield, Conn. 1,939 New York, N.Y. 174 Stearns, Minn. 11.4

Washington, D.C. 1,885 New Castle, Del. 147 Yolo, Calif. 11.3

Arlington, Va. 1,847 King, Wash. 146 Washington, Ark. 11.0

Morris, N.J. 1,766 Middlesex, Mass. 142 Ramsey, Minn. 11.0

Ten Largest U.S. Counties 

Among the 10 largest counties, 9 had over-the-year percentage increases in employment in March 2017. 

King, Wash., had the largest gain (3.2 percent). Within King, trade, transportation, and utilities had the 

largest over-the-year employment level increase, with a gain of 14,813 jobs, or 6.1 percent. Harris, 

Texas, had the only percentage decrease in employment among the 10 largest counties (-0.2 percent). 

Within Harris, manufacturing had the largest over-the-year employment level decrease, with a loss of 

8,503 jobs, or -4.8 percent. (See table 2.)

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

experienced the largest percentage gain in average weekly wages (10.0 percent). Within King, 

information had the largest impact on the county’s average weekly wage growth. Within information, 

average weekly wages increased by $496, or 14.4 percent, over the year. Harris, Texas, had the lowest 

percent gain in average weekly wages among the 10 largest counties (3.9 percent). Within Harris, trade, 

transportation, and utilities had the largest impact on the county’s average weekly wage growth with an 

increase of $77 (6.1 percent) over the year. 
- 4 -

For More Information

The tables and charts included in this release contain data for the nation and for the 346 U.S. counties 

with annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more in 2016. March 2017 employment and 2017 

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

The data are derived from reports submitted by employers who are subject to unemployment insurance 

(UI) laws. The 9.9 million employer reports cover 142.3 million full- and part-time workers. Data for the 

first quarter of 2017 will be available later at www.bls.gov/cew. Additional information about the 

quarterly employment and wages data is available in the Technical Note. More information about 

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

The most current news release on quarterly measures of gross job flows is available from QCEW 

Business Employment Dynamics at www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cewbd.pdf. 

Several BLS regional offices issue QCEW news releases targeted to local data users. Links to these 

releases are available at www.bls.gov/cew/cewregional.htm. 

The County Employment and Wages release for second quarter 2017 is scheduled to be released 

on Tuesday, December 5, 2017. 

Industry Changes

Beginning with this release, the QCEW program now uses the 2017 version of the North American 

Industry Classification System (NAICS) as the basis for the assignment and tabulation of economic data 

by industry. For more information on the change to NAICS, please see the Federal Register notice at 

www.census.gov/eos/www/naics/federal_register_notices/notices/fr08au16.pdf. For information on the use 

of the 2017 version of NAICS in QCEW, see www.bls.gov/cew/naics2017.htm. 

County Changes

Counties with annual average employment of 75,000 or more in 2016 are included in this release and will 

be included in future 2017 releases. Three counties have been added to these publication tables: Sussex, 

Del.; Maui + Kalawao, Hawaii; and Deschutes, Ore. One county, Gregg, Texas, which was published in 

the 2016 releases, is excluded from this and future 2017 releases because its 2016 annual average 

employment level was less than 75,000. 
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 2017 North American Industry 

Classification System (NAICS). Data for 2017 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 347 counties 

presented in this release were derived using 2016 preliminary annual averages of employment. For 2017 data, three counties have 

been added to the publication tables: Sussex, Del.; Maui + Kalawao, Hawaii; and Deschutes, Ore. These counties will be included 

in all 2017 quarterly releases. One county, Gregg, Texas, which 

was published in the 2016 releases, will be excluded from this and 

future 2017 releases because its 2016 annual average employment 

level was less than 75,000. 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 9.9 million establishments in first quarter of 2017 

Count of longitudinally-linked UI administrative records submitted by 

7.7 million private-sector employers

Sample survey: 634,000 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

— Within 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, 

metropolitan statistical area (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 9.7 million employer 

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

2016. 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 2016, UI and 

UCFE programs covered workers in 141.9 million jobs. The estimated 

136.6 million workers in these jobs (after adjustment for multiple jobholders) represented 96.4 percent of civilian wage and salary employment. Covered workers received $7.607 trillion in pay, representing 

94.1 percent of the wage and salary component of personal income 

and 40.9 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 2016 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 2015 edition of this 

publication, which was published in September 2016, contains selected data produced by Business Employment Dynamics (BED) on 

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

2016 version of this news release. Tables and additional content from

the 2015 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online 

are now available at www.bls.gov/cew/cewbultn15.htm. The 2016 

edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online will be 

available in September 2017. 

News releases on quarterly measures of gross job flows also are 

available from BED at www.bls.gov/bdm, (202) 691-6467, or 

data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/forms/bdm.

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

message referral phone number: (800) 877-8339.
Table 1. Covered establishments, employment, and wages in the 347 largest counties,

first quarter 2017

Employment Average weekly wage 2

County1

Establishments,

first quarter

2017

(thousands)

March

2017

(thousands)

Percent

change,

March

2016-173

Ranking by

percent

change

First

quarter

2017

Percent

change,

first quarter

2016-173

Ranking by

percent

change

United States4.............................. 9,864.2 142,309.2 1.6 - $1,111 6.6 -

Jefferson, AL................................ 18.4 341.7 1.3 190 1,099 7.1 118

Madison, AL................................. 9.5 193.9 2.3 98 1,126 5.6 233

Mobile, AL.................................... 10.1 170.0 0.7 248 871 6.3 183

Montgomery, AL........................... 6.4 132.0 1.6 168 862 6.6 158

Shelby, AL.................................... 5.8 83.8 0.2 287 1,058 7.0 126

Tuscaloosa, AL............................. 4.5 92.2 1.8 143 833 5.0 267

Anchorage, AK............................. 8.3 146.7 -1.7 344 1,103 3.5 330

Maricopa, AZ................................ 95.8 1,914.1 2.6 79 1,050 8.1 60

Pima, AZ....................................... 18.7 366.2 1.5 176 885 7.1 118

Benton, AR................................... 6.3 116.7 2.6 79 1,444 14.2 4

Pulaski, AR................................... 14.5 248.5 0.7 248 948 6.2 189

Washington, AR........................... 6.0 104.5 2.0 127 881 11.0 9

Alameda, CA................................ 61.7 763.6 2.8 65 1,462 8.3 50

Butte, CA..................................... 8.3 81.6 2.9 55 775 7.3 98

Contra Costa, CA......................... 31.7 364.4 2.0 127 1,352 5.8 215

Fresno, CA................................... 34.0 372.3 1.8 143 804 4.1 310

Kern, CA....................................... 18.2 301.0 2.4 95 890 5.5 239

Los Angeles, CA........................... 474.6 4,359.4 1.3 190 1,216 7.2 109

Marin, CA..................................... 12.4 114.6 2.1 114 1,339 5.0 267

Merced, CA................................. 6.4 76.1 4.5 4 806 7.6 81

Monterey, CA............................... 13.4 172.8 2.2 107 900 6.0 205

Napa, CA..................................... 5.8 75.8 3.1 43 1,005 5.8 215

Orange, CA.................................. 117.1 1,580.2 2.1 114 1,228 7.4 92

Placer, CA.................................... 12.7 160.0 3.6 15 1,063 7.3 98

Riverside, CA............................... 60.9 705.7 2.9 55 870 6.4 170

Sacramento, CA........................... 56.0 640.7 2.2 107 1,152 5.3 249

San Bernardino, CA..................... 56.7 718.9 3.2 34 880 7.7 73

San Diego, CA.............................. 108.2 1,421.4 2.1 114 1,171 6.1 199

San Francisco, CA....................... 59.7 714.1 3.0 50 2,264 9.8 21

San Joaquin, CA.......................... 17.5 241.3 3.1 43 851 3.7 321

San Luis Obispo, CA.................... 10.3 117.0 3.3 31 862 4.6 289

San Mateo, CA............................. 27.7 398.5 3.1 43 2,385 8.3 50

Santa Barbara, CA....................... 15.3 192.6 0.2 287 1,018 9.5 25

Santa Clara, CA........................... 71.0 1,056.8 2.5 85 2,450 10.5 13

Santa Cruz, CA............................ 9.5 100.0 1.9 138 961 9.1 30

Solano, CA................................... 11.1 136.0 1.1 209 1,131 5.9 210

Sonoma, CA................................. 19.7 203.2 1.8 143 979 6.4 170

Stanislaus, CA.............................. 15.0 183.6 3.1 43 882 5.0 267

Tulare, CA.................................... 10.1 154.5 1.7 157 760 7.5 90

Ventura, CA.................................. 26.4 322.7 0.7 248 1,111 3.0 334

Yolo, CA....................................... 6.6 99.3 2.1 114 1,148 11.3 8

Adams, CO................................... 10.8 200.0 3.4 26 1,024 8.8 38

Arapahoe, CO.............................. 21.8 323.2 1.9 138 1,328 6.6 158

Boulder, CO.................................. 15.1 177.7 2.7 73 1,281 8.5 44

Denver, CO.................................. 31.7 499.4 2.7 73 1,401 7.1 118

Douglas, CO................................. 11.9 117.3 2.5 85 1,273 6.2 189

El Paso, CO.................................. 19.3 266.6 3.4 26 949 8.3 50

Jefferson, CO............................... 20.0 228.7 -0.3 320 1,126 10.1 15

Larimer, CO.................................. 11.9 153.3 3.0 50 988 9.9 19

Weld, CO...................................... 7.2 103.6 3.5 23 982 10.0 17

 See footnotes at end of table.
Table 1. Covered establishments, employment, and wages in the 347 largest counties,

first quarter 2017 - Continued

Employment Average weekly wage 2

County1

Establishments,

first quarter

2017

(thousands)

March

2017

(thousands)

Percent

change,

March

2016-173

Ranking by

percent

change

First

quarter

2017

Percent

change,

first quarter

2016-173

Ranking by

percent

change

Fairfield, CT................................. 35.2 414.8 -1.0 338 $1,939 1.8 344

Hartford, CT.................................. 27.7 503.3 0.4 274 1,416 3.9 316

New Haven, CT............................ 23.9 360.2 0.3 280 1,087 4.6 289

New London, CT.......................... 7.4 122.0 1.3 190 1,135 9.8 21

New Castle, DE............................ 19.5 284.0 0.3 280 1,370 12.0 6

Sussex, DE.................................. 6.6 74.5 3.2 34 760 8.1 60

Washington, DC........................... 39.5 760.7 1.2 201 1,885 7.0 126

Alachua, FL.................................. 7.1 129.5 2.5 85 877 9.5 25

Bay, FL......................................... 5.6 77.3 -0.6 331 744 4.5 296

Brevard, FL................................... 15.6 205.6 3.7 10 922 9.0 34

Broward, FL.................................. 69.3 799.1 2.2 107 1,001 7.6 81

Collier, FL..................................... 13.9 149.3 3.8 8 875 4.4 298

Duval, FL..................................... 29.4 496.9 2.9 55 1,046 5.4 244

Escambia, FL............................... 8.3 133.1 2.7 73 846 8.9 37

Hillsborough, FL........................... 42.0 677.1 1.6 168 1,061 8.4 45

Lake, FL....................................... 8.1 96.6 3.6 15 681 4.6 289

Lee, FL......................................... 22.0 263.1 3.6 15 832 8.2 54

Leon, FL....................................... 8.7 147.4 0.5 269 843 7.9 63

Manatee, FL................................. 10.8 123.9 2.9 55 795 6.0 205

Marion, FL.................................... 8.3 101.1 2.3 98 697 4.3 302

Miami-Dade, FL............................ 98.0 1,130.2 1.9 138 1,053 8.2 54

Okaloosa, FL................................ 6.3 82.5 1.4 181 846 7.1 118

Orange, FL................................... 41.7 817.5 3.2 34 942 5.5 239

Osceola, FL.................................. 6.8 91.2 2.9 55 699 5.3 249

Palm Beach, FL............................ 56.0 606.8 2.8 65 1,050 5.7 228

Pasco, FL..................................... 10.9 116.8 3.1 43 715 6.7 148

Pinellas, FL................................... 32.9 425.1 2.1 114 913 5.3 249

Polk, FL........................................ 13.1 216.7 3.2 34 812 8.8 38

Sarasota, FL................................ 15.9 169.7 3.0 50 856 7.3 98

Seminole, FL................................ 14.9 186.2 3.2 34 902 7.9 63

Volusia, FL................................... 14.2 172.2 2.8 65 743 7.4 92

Bibb, GA....................................... 4.2 82.2 -0.2 314 838 7.2 109

Chatham, GA................................ 8.2 150.9 1.8 143 900 9.1 30

Clayton, GA.................................. 4.0 121.8 1.0 218 1,181 3.0 334

Cobb, GA...................................... 22.0 353.9 2.5 85 1,192 6.1 199

DeKalb, GA................................. 17.9 296.2 1.8 143 1,148 5.3 249

Fulton, GA.................................... 43.2 839.3 3.5 23 1,653 5.5 239

Gwinnett, GA................................ 24.7 349.8 3.0 50 1,055 7.8 68

Hall, GA....................................... 4.4 84.4 2.9 55 874 8.2 54

Muscogee, GA.............................. 4.6 93.4 1.5 176 885 4.4 298

Richmond, GA.............................. 4.5 104.2 0.9 229 870 6.1 199

Honolulu, HI.................................. 26.3 474.5 0.7 248 999 7.2 109

Maui + Kalawao, HI...................... 6.2 76.8 1.1 209 846 6.7 148

Ada, ID......................................... 15.3 229.2 3.2 34 895 6.7 148

Champaign, IL.............................. 4.4 88.9 0.0 300 889 3.7 321

Cook, IL........................................ 154.2 2,531.8 0.4 274 1,365 6.9 135

DuPage, IL................................. 38.3 614.4 0.7 248 1,275 6.3 183

Kane, IL........................................ 13.8 206.5 1.0 218 915 5.8 215

Lake, IL........................................ 22.4 325.1 -0.5 328 1,650 6.5 163

McHenry, IL.................................. 8.7 95.2 0.8 237 847 5.6 233

 See footnotes at end of table.
Table 1. Covered establishments, employment, and wages in the 347 largest counties,

first quarter 2017 - Continued

Employment Average weekly wage 2

County1

Establishments,

first quarter

2017

(thousands)

March

2017

(thousands)

Percent

change,

March

2016-173

Ranking by

percent

change

First

quarter

2017

Percent

change,

first quarter

2016-173

Ranking by

percent

change

McLean, IL.................................... 3.7 82.8 -0.6 331 $1,141 27.8 1

Madison, IL................................... 6.0 98.4 2.4 95 821 4.1 310

Peoria, IL...................................... 4.5 98.7 -1.3 341 1,025 -1.1 346

St. Clair, IL.................................... 5.5 92.8 0.0 300 795 4.3 302

Sangamon, IL............................... 5.2 127.0 -0.2 314 1,022 3.0 334

Will, IL.......................................... 16.2 233.5 3.4 26 893 4.8 278

Winnebago, IL.............................. 6.6 124.4 -0.8 335 921 10.3 14

Allen, IN........................................ 8.8 182.7 1.2 201 895 7.3 98

Elkhart, IN..................................... 4.7 130.9 3.3 31 977 15.1 2

Hamilton, IN.................................. 9.3 137.5 2.7 73 1,093 6.4 170

Lake, IN........................................ 10.4 185.1 0.7 248 898 5.8 215

Marion, IN..................................... 23.9 588.3 0.6 259 1,157 8.2 54

St. Joseph, IN............................... 5.8 122.4 0.4 274 824 5.0 267

Tippecanoe, IN............................. 3.4 83.2 1.3 190 914 5.2 255

Vanderburgh, IN........................... 4.8 107.1 1.4 181 863 8.4 45

Johnson, IA.................................. 4.2 83.4 2.1 114 952 5.7 228

Linn, IA......................................... 6.8 128.5 0.1 294 1,020 6.5 163

Polk, IA........................................ 17.2 293.4 1.3 190 1,145 8.2 54

Scott, IA........................................ 5.6 89.9 1.0 218 855 7.8 68

Johnson, KS................................. 23.9 337.6 1.8 143 1,110 6.7 148

Sedgwick, KS............................... 12.8 247.3 -0.4 325 944 8.6 42

Shawnee, KS................................ 5.2 96.8 1.4 181 879 4.4 298

Wyandotte, KS............................. 3.6 89.8 2.2 107 1,011 5.2 255

Boone, KY................................... 4.4 85.0 2.5 85 914 6.9 135

Fayette, KY................................... 11.0 192.0 2.0 127 901 5.3 249

Jefferson, KY................................ 25.4 460.1 1.5 176 1,096 8.2 54

Caddo, LA.................................... 7.3 112.8 -1.0 338 814 5.9 210

Calcasieu, LA............................... 5.2 96.6 1.8 143 917 4.1 310

East Baton Rouge, LA.................. 15.5 268.7 0.0 300 1,009 7.7 73

Jefferson, LA................................ 13.9 190.7 -0.5 328 925 6.4 170

Lafayette, LA................................ 9.5 129.2 -2.3 345 872 2.0 343

Orleans, LA.................................. 12.5 191.7 0.0 300 1,023 4.7 284

St. Tammany, LA.......................... 8.3 87.6 0.3 280 876 2.6 340

Cumberland, ME.......................... 14.0 176.2 1.7 157 1,015 8.8 38

Anne Arundel, MD........................ 15.2 267.3 2.0 127 1,120 4.8 278

Baltimore, MD............................... 21.4 372.6 -0.1 308 1,075 7.7 73

Frederick, MD............................... 6.4 99.8 1.0 218 985 4.6 289

Harford, MD.................................. 5.8 91.4 1.3 190 1,008 4.8 278

Howard, MD................................. 10.1 167.9 0.6 259 1,309 6.2 189

Montgomery, MD.......................... 32.9 466.4 1.2 201 1,499 5.2 255

Prince George's, MD.................... 15.9 317.7 2.9 55 1,086 6.1 199

Baltimore City, MD....................... 13.6 334.6 0.7 248 1,253 3.8 318

Barnstable, MA............................. 9.5 86.0 0.3 280 909 7.3 98

Bristol, MA.................................... 17.5 221.6 1.0 218 967 9.6 24

Essex, MA.................................... 25.2 317.9 -0.4 325 1,147 7.5 90

Hampden, MA.............................. 18.0 205.3 0.3 280 965 4.8 278

Middlesex, MA.............................. 54.7 885.5 1.4 181 1,716 9.0 34

Norfolk, MA................................... 25.4 345.7 0.4 274 1,264 8.1 60

Plymouth, MA............................... 15.8 186.5 1.1 209 965 5.8 215

Suffolk, MA................................... 29.3 665.0 2.2 107 2,016 6.0 205

 See footnotes at end of table.
Table 1. Covered establishments, employment, and wages in the 347 largest counties,

first quarter 2017 - Continued

Employment Average weekly wage 2

County1

Establishments,

first quarter

2017

(thousands)

March

2017

(thousands)

Percent

change,

March

2016-173

Ranking by

percent

change

First

quarter

2017

Percent

change,

first quarter

2016-173

Ranking by

percent

change

Worcester, MA.............................. 25.0 340.4 1.1 209 $1,082 9.0 34

Genesee, MI................................. 6.8 131.6 -0.3 320 840 3.6 325

Ingham, MI................................... 6.0 150.8 1.9 138 987 3.8 318

Kalamazoo, MI............................. 5.0 117.5 1.5 176 1,031 7.4 92

Kent, MI....................................... 14.3 394.8 1.7 157 929 6.8 140

Macomb, MI.................................. 17.5 323.1 1.4 181 1,110 9.3 28

Oakland, MI.................................. 39.2 715.6 1.8 143 1,233 6.5 163

Ottawa, MI.................................... 5.6 122.1 2.0 127 894 10.1 15

Saginaw, MI.................................. 3.9 83.0 -0.1 308 857 7.7 73

Washtenaw, MI............................. 8.1 210.4 2.1 114 1,109 6.4 170

Wayne, MI.................................... 30.5 710.6 1.6 168 1,226 6.8 140

Anoka, MN.................................... 7.0 121.0 2.1 114 948 4.9 274

Dakota, MN.................................. 9.7 183.5 0.6 259 1,063 6.4 170

Hennepin, MN.............................. 37.7 905.0 2.5 85 1,471 7.6 81

Olmsted, MN................................ 3.3 95.4 0.8 237 1,231 5.7 228

Ramsey, MN................................. 13.0 331.3 2.1 114 1,347 11.0 9

St. Louis, MN................................ 5.2 96.2 0.7 248 831 6.4 170

Stearns, MN................................. 4.2 85.8 2.1 114 910 11.4 7

Washington, MN........................... 5.4 81.5 2.8 65 923 7.6 81

Harrison, MS................................ 4.6 84.9 1.2 201 733 4.7 284

Hinds, MS..................................... 5.8 120.6 -0.5 328 887 5.2 255

Boone, MO................................... 4.9 93.6 1.4 181 826 7.3 98

Clay, MO...................................... 5.7 103.3 3.2 34 940 5.0 267

Greene, MO.................................. 8.8 164.6 2.0 127 804 8.4 45

Jackson, MO................................ 21.6 365.2 2.0 127 1,066 3.6 325

St. Charles, MO............................ 9.3 145.6 2.3 98 914 6.8 140

St. Louis, MO................................ 38.0 599.3 0.9 229 1,149 7.0 126

St. Louis City, MO........................ 14.1 222.2 0.3 280 1,185 3.3 331

Yellowstone, MT........................... 6.6 80.2 0.3 280 899 8.8 38

Douglas, NE................................. 18.9 335.6 1.2 201 1,005 6.7 148

Lancaster, NE............................... 10.2 166.9 0.2 287 846 5.4 244

Clark, NV..................................... 56.0 957.8 3.5 23 922 6.7 148

Washoe, NV................................. 14.5 212.4 3.6 15 910 6.8 140

Hillsborough, NH.......................... 12.1 199.9 1.0 218 1,140 5.4 244

Merrimack, NH............................. 5.1 76.1 0.6 259 964 6.4 170

Rockingham, NH.......................... 10.8 145.3 1.7 157 1,042 6.0 205

Atlantic, NJ................................... 6.6 120.2 -1.3 341 886 5.6 233

Bergen, NJ................................... 33.3 439.5 1.1 209 1,288 6.2 189

Burlington, NJ............................... 11.0 201.7 2.3 98 1,102 6.2 189

Camden, NJ................................. 12.1 202.3 1.8 143 1,010 5.4 244

Essex, NJ.................................... 20.6 340.4 1.6 168 1,466 7.0 126

Gloucester, NJ.............................. 6.4 107.2 3.6 15 875 4.8 278

Hudson, NJ................................... 15.2 259.8 3.6 15 1,632 7.2 109

Mercer, NJ.................................... 11.2 243.9 0.2 287 1,483 4.1 310

Middlesex, NJ.............................. 22.3 419.2 2.7 73 1,326 3.1 332

Monmouth, NJ.............................. 20.2 251.8 0.6 259 1,070 5.7 228

Morris, NJ..................................... 17.1 284.5 0.4 274 1,766 4.1 310

Ocean, NJ.................................... 13.2 159.3 1.6 168 847 4.7 284

Passaic, NJ.................................. 12.7 166.9 0.9 229 1,015 3.6 325

Somerset, NJ............................... 10.2 184.1 0.8 237 2,026 0.9 345

 See footnotes at end of table.
Table 1. Covered establishments, employment, and wages in the 347 largest counties,

first quarter 2017 - Continued

Employment Average weekly wage 2

County1

Establishments,

first quarter

2017

(thousands)

March

2017

(thousands)

Percent

change,

March

2016-173

Ranking by

percent

change

First

quarter

2017

Percent

change,

first quarter

2016-173

Ranking by

percent

change

Union, NJ..................................... 14.4 216.9 0.6 259 $1,423 7.6 81

Bernalillo, NM............................... 18.3 321.9 0.5 269 896 6.7 148

Albany, NY................................... 10.4 233.4 0.7 248 1,075 5.8 215

Bronx, NY..................................... 18.8 298.7 0.2 287 971 5.0 267

Broome, NY.................................. 4.6 86.3 0.2 287 813 7.4 92

Dutchess, NY............................... 8.5 110.6 0.5 269 1,010 6.8 140

Erie, NY........................................ 24.9 465.3 0.8 237 957 7.0 126

Kings, NY..................................... 62.4 700.2 3.2 34 864 5.1 260

Monroe, NY.................................. 19.1 380.6 -0.1 308 971 5.3 249

Nassau, NY.................................. 54.2 619.4 1.3 190 1,175 4.4 298

New York, NY............................... 129.2 2,436.8 1.3 190 2,954 6.3 183

Oneida, NY................................... 5.4 104.3 1.7 157 815 5.8 215

Onondaga, NY.............................. 13.0 240.1 0.0 300 961 5.1 260

Orange, NY.................................. 10.5 140.1 0.8 237 888 7.6 81

Queens, NY.................................. 52.9 654.6 2.7 73 1,010 4.7 284

Richmond, NY.............................. 9.8 114.7 1.4 181 903 4.3 302

Rockland, NY............................... 10.8 121.2 1.8 143 1,042 3.7 321

Saratoga, NY................................ 6.0 83.3 1.4 181 952 8.4 45

Suffolk, NY................................... 53.1 642.9 0.6 259 1,116 5.1 260

Westchester, NY.......................... 36.6 421.8 1.0 218 1,465 3.8 318

Buncombe, NC............................. 9.1 128.6 2.3 98 796 8.4 45

Catawba, NC................................ 4.4 86.9 2.6 79 826 10.9 11

Cumberland, NC........................... 6.2 118.9 -0.4 325 790 4.9 274

Durham, NC................................. 8.3 198.4 2.1 114 1,388 5.8 215

Forsyth, NC.................................. 9.2 182.2 0.5 269 1,093 7.8 68

Guilford, NC.................................. 14.2 277.7 0.6 259 930 6.5 163

Mecklenburg, NC.......................... 36.9 672.1 2.5 85 1,469 7.8 68

New Hanover, NC........................ 8.0 110.2 3.1 43 852 6.1 199

Wake, NC..................................... 33.7 532.5 2.8 65 1,104 4.6 289

Cass, ND...................................... 7.1 115.2 0.9 229 941 5.5 239

Butler, OH..................................... 7.8 152.1 2.4 95 991 9.9 19

Cuyahoga, OH.............................. 35.8 709.4 0.1 294 1,114 6.7 148

Delaware, OH............................... 5.3 85.3 2.1 114 1,171 7.3 98

Franklin, OH................................. 31.7 737.5 2.3 98 1,106 6.2 189

Hamilton, OH................................ 23.8 506.2 0.8 237 1,207 6.5 163

Lake, OH...................................... 6.3 93.4 -0.3 320 878 5.9 210

Lorain, OH.................................... 6.2 96.2 0.9 229 835 7.3 98

Lucas, OH.................................... 10.1 206.6 -0.3 320 946 7.0 126

Mahoning, OH.............................. 5.9 95.2 -0.1 308 733 7.0 126

Montgomery, OH.......................... 11.8 250.4 0.0 300 904 7.9 63

Stark, OH..................................... 8.5 156.2 -0.2 314 773 6.6 158

Summit, OH................................. 14.3 262.0 0.1 294 979 3.7 321

Warren, OH................................. 4.9 89.7 1.1 209 996 5.8 215

Cleveland, OK.............................. 5.7 79.4 -0.3 320 744 6.4 170

Oklahoma, OK.............................. 27.8 440.0 -1.5 343 1,028 7.1 118

Tulsa, OK..................................... 22.2 346.5 -0.8 335 981 7.2 109

Clackamas, OR............................ 14.6 160.5 3.3 31 964 5.1 260

Deschutes, OR............................. 8.2 77.6 4.5 4 822 7.3 98

Jackson, OR................................ 7.3 85.4 2.9 55 773 3.1 332

Lane, OR...................................... 11.9 153.1 2.8 65 802 6.2 189

 See footnotes at end of table.
Table 1. Covered establishments, employment, and wages in the 347 largest counties,

first quarter 2017 - Continued

Employment Average weekly wage 2

County1

Establishments,

first quarter

2017

(thousands)

March

2017

(thousands)

Percent

change,

March

2016-173

Ranking by

percent

change

First

quarter

2017

Percent

change,

first quarter

2016-173

Ranking by

percent

change

Marion, OR................................... 10.5 149.6 2.5 85 $843 7.7 73

Multnomah, OR............................ 34.4 498.3 1.8 143 1,109 2.6 340

Washington, OR........................... 19.0 286.1 2.8 65 1,357 9.1 30

Allegheny, PA............................... 35.8 685.0 0.8 237 1,203 7.2 109

Berks, PA..................................... 9.0 169.4 0.1 294 938 7.2 109

Bucks, PA..................................... 20.0 259.5 1.8 143 981 6.7 148

Butler, PA..................................... 5.1 83.7 -0.9 337 961 7.0 126

Chester, PA.................................. 15.5 246.4 1.1 209 1,408 6.2 189

Cumberland, PA........................... 6.5 131.3 0.9 229 960 5.6 233

Dauphin, PA................................ 7.6 177.9 0.1 294 1,060 5.8 215

Delaware, PA............................... 14.2 220.0 1.2 201 1,220 7.9 63

Erie, PA........................................ 7.0 119.6 -1.0 338 799 4.3 302

Lackawanna, PA.......................... 5.8 96.4 -0.1 308 778 4.0 315

Lancaster, PA............................... 13.5 233.3 1.2 201 881 6.5 163

Lehigh, PA.................................... 8.9 184.7 0.7 248 1,063 6.5 163

Luzerne, PA.................................. 7.5 141.8 -0.2 314 825 7.4 92

Montgomery, PA........................... 27.7 484.8 1.0 218 1,449 5.7 228

Northampton, PA.......................... 6.8 113.0 3.1 43 917 2.7 338

Philadelphia, PA........................... 35.4 667.1 2.2 107 1,274 5.8 215

Washington, PA............................ 5.5 84.3 0.0 300 1,183 9.1 30

Westmoreland, PA....................... 9.3 131.1 -0.6 331 841 5.9 210

York, PA....................................... 9.2 176.0 0.8 237 911 6.2 189

Providence, RI.............................. 18.1 281.5 -0.1 308 1,115 7.6 81

Charleston, SC............................. 15.0 243.7 2.3 98 949 6.6 158

Greenville, SC.............................. 13.4 264.3 2.0 127 907 5.8 215

Horry, SC..................................... 8.4 122.9 2.6 79 628 6.8 140

Lexington, SC............................... 6.4 115.7 1.8 143 820 8.6 42

Richland, SC................................ 9.9 218.9 1.3 190 931 7.1 118

Spartanburg, SC........................... 6.1 136.1 3.6 15 891 4.5 296

York, SC....................................... 5.5 92.6 6.8 1 895 10.9 11

Minnehaha, SD............................. 7.1 124.0 1.6 168 924 4.9 274

Davidson, TN................................ 22.2 474.5 3.0 50 1,150 4.9 274

Hamilton, TN................................ 9.5 198.6 1.7 157 944 7.4 92

Knox, TN...................................... 12.1 235.0 0.8 237 941 7.9 63

Rutherford, TN.............................. 5.5 123.1 3.7 10 907 7.7 73

Shelby, TN.................................... 20.4 488.2 0.7 248 1,059 7.1 118

Williamson, TN............................. 8.5 127.0 4.6 3 1,287 7.1 118

Bell, TX......................................... 5.4 117.8 1.0 218 882 5.9 210

Bexar, TX..................................... 40.6 850.9 1.8 143 983 5.6 233

Brazoria, TX................................. 5.7 104.8 0.6 259 1,115 3.6 325

Brazos, TX.................................... 4.5 102.3 2.1 114 765 6.4 170

Cameron, TX................................ 6.5 138.6 1.1 209 614 4.2 307

Collin, TX...................................... 24.2 391.6 3.7 10 1,330 4.8 278

Dallas, TX..................................... 75.6 1,662.0 2.6 79 1,376 6.9 135

Denton, TX.................................. 14.6 235.4 3.8 8 988 7.2 109

El Paso, TX.................................. 15.0 300.2 2.0 127 730 6.0 205

Fort Bend, TX............................... 12.9 176.6 1.7 157 1,023 2.9 337

Galveston, TX............................... 6.2 109.9 3.7 10 951 2.7 338

Harris, TX..................................... 114.3 2,265.1 -0.2 314 1,443 3.9 316

Hidalgo, TX................................... 12.2 255.0 2.0 127 642 5.4 244

 See footnotes at end of table.
Table 1. Covered establishments, employment, and wages in the 347 largest counties,

first quarter 2017 - Continued

Employment Average weekly wage 2

County1

Establishments,

first quarter

2017

(thousands)

March

2017

(thousands)

Percent

change,

March

2016-173

Ranking by

percent

change

First

quarter

2017

Percent

change,

first quarter

2016-173

Ranking by

percent

change

Jefferson, TX................................ 5.9 122.7 0.5 269 $1,139 6.1 199

Lubbock, TX................................. 7.5 138.0 1.5 176 796 5.2 255

McLennan, TX.............................. 5.2 112.3 2.3 98 854 6.9 135

Midland, TX.................................. 5.4 85.6 1.7 157 1,428 14.3 3

Montgomery, TX........................... 11.1 172.5 1.6 168 1,072 4.7 284

Nueces, TX.................................. 8.3 163.5 1.9 138 913 7.7 73

Potter, TX..................................... 3.9 78.4 -0.6 331 818 5.1 260

Smith, TX..................................... 6.1 101.8 1.4 181 832 6.3 183

Tarrant, TX................................... 42.5 863.4 2.8 65 1,063 6.3 183

Travis, TX..................................... 39.9 717.4 2.9 55 1,252 6.9 135

Webb, TX..................................... 5.3 99.6 2.5 85 675 4.2 307

Williamson, TX............................. 10.4 162.5 3.6 15 1,135 12.4 5

Davis, UT..................................... 8.2 123.7 4.9 2 826 4.2 307

Salt Lake, UT................................ 43.3 676.2 2.5 85 1,038 6.7 148

Utah, UT....................................... 15.5 225.1 4.5 4 849 7.3 98

Weber, UT.................................... 5.9 102.8 2.2 107 784 7.8 68

Chittenden, VT............................. 6.8 99.8 -0.2 314 1,014 6.4 170

Arlington, VA................................ 9.2 174.3 1.7 157 1,847 6.6 158

Chesterfield, VA........................... 8.9 132.8 0.4 274 915 9.2 29

Fairfax, VA.................................... 37.1 594.7 1.1 209 1,748 7.7 73

Henrico, VA.................................. 11.4 190.5 0.8 237 1,119 9.7 23

Loudoun, VA................................ 12.1 160.8 3.4 26 1,239 3.6 325

Prince William, VA........................ 9.2 125.3 1.7 157 900 7.3 98

Alexandria City, VA...................... 6.4 93.2 0.0 300 1,467 5.0 267

Chesapeake City, VA................... 6.0 98.4 0.9 229 831 8.3 50

Newport News City, VA................ 3.9 96.5 0.1 294 1,064 4.6 289

Norfolk City, VA........................... 5.8 141.6 1.2 201 1,025 4.3 302

Richmond City, VA....................... 7.6 155.1 1.7 157 1,247 6.8 140

Virginia Beach City, VA................ 12.1 174.9 0.9 229 801 5.1 260

Benton, WA.................................. 5.8 85.0 3.4 26 1,039 5.6 233

Clark, WA..................................... 14.6 152.7 4.2 7 968 7.6 81

King, WA...................................... 86.8 1,335.4 3.2 34 1,601 10.0 17

Kitsap, WA.................................... 6.7 86.1 0.8 237 930 6.4 170

Pierce, WA................................... 22.0 298.0 2.9 55 949 6.3 183

Snohomish, WA............................ 20.8 282.3 0.6 259 1,186 5.8 215

Spokane, WA............................... 15.7 215.0 1.6 168 906 7.2 109

Thurston, WA............................... 8.2 112.1 3.7 10 932 5.1 260

Whatcom, WA.............................. 7.3 88.1 2.6 79 883 7.0 126

Yakima, WA................................. 7.8 107.2 2.3 98 725 6.8 140

Kanawha, WV............................... 5.8 98.7 -2.7 346 915 7.6 81

Brown, WI..................................... 6.7 153.1 1.3 190 962 6.4 170

Dane, WI...................................... 15.1 328.8 2.0 127 1,098 9.5 25

Milwaukee, WI.............................. 25.8 481.7 0.2 287 1,058 6.2 189

Outagamie, WI............................. 5.1 106.4 1.3 190 900 5.5 239

Waukesha, WI.............................. 12.7 238.2 1.0 218 1,068 4.6 289

Winnebago, WI............................. 3.7 92.4 1.0 218 1,016 2.5 342

San Juan, PR............................... 10.8 242.7 -1.2 (5) 633 1.0 (5)

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 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 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 346 U.S. counties comprise 72.8 percent of the total covered workers in the U.S.
Table 2. Covered establishments, employment, and wages in the 10 largest counties,

first quarter 2017

Employment Average weekly wage 1

County by NAICS supersector

Establishments,

first quarter

2017

(thousands)

March

2017

(thousands)

Percent

change,

March

2016-172

First

quarter

2017

Percent

change,

first quarter

2016-172

United States3................................................................. 9,864.2 142,309.2 1.6 $1,111 6.6

 Private industry............................................................. 9,565.9 120,451.2 1.7 1,121 7.0

 Natural resources and mining.................................... 136.7 1,746.4 -0.1 1,218 5.3

 Construction............................................................... 781.7 6,595.2 3.3 1,130 7.5

 Manufacturing............................................................ 347.0 12,303.9 0.0 1,353 7.2

 Trade, transportation, and utilities.............................. 1,917.5 26,775.5 0.8 916 7.1

 Information................................................................. 160.4 2,797.2 0.5 2,210 10.0

 Financial activities...................................................... 866.2 7,993.6 1.6 2,279 7.9

 Professional and business services........................... 1,771.5 19,981.9 1.8 1,470 6.6

 Education and health services................................... 1,633.4 22,041.4 2.4 919 6.5

 Leisure and hospitality............................................... 829.4 15,454.4 2.1 432 6.1

 Other services............................................................ 841.2 4,383.4 1.2 710 6.9

 Government.................................................................. 298.3 21,858.0 0.7 1,056 5.0

Los Angeles, CA.............................................................. 474.6 4,359.4 1.3 1,216 7.2

 Private industry............................................................. 468.4 3,782.7 1.3 1,192 8.0

 Natural resources and mining.................................... 0.5 7.7 -6.1 1,262 7.3

 Construction............................................................... 13.7 133.8 2.0 1,188 7.7

 Manufacturing............................................................ 12.2 347.7 -3.9 1,438 6.3

 Trade, transportation, and utilities.............................. 53.1 809.6 0.6 975 8.5

 Information................................................................. 9.4 219.5 -3.6 2,350 10.3

 Financial activities...................................................... 25.3 216.6 0.5 2,388 8.6

 Professional and business services........................... 47.1 596.9 1.7 1,496 10.2

 Education and health services................................... 221.1 763.2 2.2 874 8.4

 Leisure and hospitality............................................... 32.5 506.8 2.4 621 6.0

 Other services............................................................ 26.5 145.2 -0.5 707 6.0

 Government.................................................................. 6.3 576.7 1.3 1,374 3.3

Cook, IL........................................................................... 154.2 2,531.8 0.4 1,365 6.9

 Private industry............................................................. 152.9 2,237.5 0.6 1,384 7.0

 Natural resources and mining.................................... 0.1 1.1 1.3 1,069 3.7

 Construction............................................................... 12.3 68.3 0.3 1,483 3.7

 Manufacturing............................................................ 6.3 183.4 -0.6 1,350 7.4

 Trade, transportation, and utilities.............................. 30.0 463.2 0.1 1,063 8.8

 Information................................................................. 2.6 50.2 -0.7 2,190 3.0

 Financial activities...................................................... 15.3 191.3 1.1 3,688 7.5

 Professional and business services........................... 32.6 464.3 -0.4 1,673 7.2

 Education and health services................................... 16.4 441.9 0.7 968 7.0

 Leisure and hospitality............................................... 14.3 270.9 2.4 504 6.1

 Other services............................................................ 17.6 96.5 0.3 947 5.5

 Government.................................................................. 1.3 294.3 -0.6 1,218 5.7

New York, NY.................................................................. 129.2 2,436.8 1.3 2,954 6.3

 Private industry............................................................. 128.4 2,170.4 1.4 3,155 6.4

 Natural resources and mining.................................... 0.0 0.2 -6.3 2,715 -0.6

 Construction............................................................... 2.3 40.0 -0.8 1,918 5.8

 Manufacturing............................................................ 2.1 25.2 -5.9 1,699 6.1

 Trade, transportation, and utilities.............................. 19.3 249.6 -0.9 1,502 7.3

 Information................................................................. 4.9 158.8 2.9 3,390 6.0

 Financial activities...................................................... 19.5 368.0 -0.8 9,424 10.7

 Professional and business services........................... 26.9 564.2 1.9 2,625 1.3

 Education and health services................................... 10.0 351.3 1.6 1,282 5.2

 Leisure and hospitality............................................... 13.8 294.3 1.8 877 5.9

 Other services............................................................ 20.5 102.5 0.9 1,276 5.8

 Government.................................................................. 0.8 266.4 0.5 1,306 2.9

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

first quarter 2017 - Continued

Employment Average weekly wage 1

County by NAICS supersector

Establishments,

first quarter

2017

(thousands)

March

2017

(thousands)

Percent

change,

March

2016-172

First

quarter

2017

Percent

change,

first quarter

2016-172

Harris, TX........................................................................ 114.3 2,265.1 -0.2 $1,443 3.9

 Private industry............................................................. 113.7 1,985.8 -0.5 1,490 4.1

 Natural resources and mining.................................... 1.6 65.9 -7.4 4,687 9.0

 Construction............................................................... 7.3 158.2 -2.6 1,431 6.4

 Manufacturing............................................................ 4.8 167.9 -4.8 1,821 6.7

 Trade, transportation, and utilities.............................. 25.1 464.4 -0.3 1,349 6.1

 Information................................................................. 1.2 27.0 -1.7 1,632 9.2

 Financial activities...................................................... 12.0 125.0 1.6 2,311 7.3

 Professional and business services........................... 23.2 388.5 -0.8 1,813 1.1

 Education and health services................................... 16.0 290.7 2.3 1,007 5.0

 Leisure and hospitality............................................... 9.9 230.3 1.1 446 3.2

 Other services............................................................ 11.7 65.9 1.1 821 6.3

 Government.................................................................. 0.6 279.3 2.1 1,111 3.0

Maricopa, AZ.................................................................... 95.8 1,914.1 2.6 1,050 8.1

 Private industry............................................................. 95.1 1,701.2 2.8 1,054 8.0

 Natural resources and mining.................................... 0.4 8.5 1.9 1,191 15.2

 Construction............................................................... 6.8 105.7 4.8 1,070 10.2

 Manufacturing............................................................ 3.1 114.9 -1.3 1,535 5.9

 Trade, transportation, and utilities.............................. 18.2 368.9 1.7 966 7.3

 Information................................................................. 1.4 34.4 0.5 1,542 14.4

 Financial activities...................................................... 10.6 173.0 5.4 1,555 8.4

 Professional and business services........................... 20.4 322.7 1.3 1,142 8.2

 Education and health services................................... 10.5 290.0 3.1 995 7.3

 Leisure and hospitality............................................... 7.5 217.3 3.1 479 7.2

 Other services............................................................ 5.8 50.1 -2.7 817 23.6

 Government.................................................................. 0.7 213.0 0.8 1,013 8.1

Dallas, TX........................................................................ 75.6 1,662.0 2.6 1,376 6.9

 Private industry............................................................. 75.0 1,488.9 2.9 1,403 7.1

 Natural resources and mining.................................... 0.5 8.0 -2.5 6,316 28.9

 Construction............................................................... 4.5 86.6 4.8 1,267 11.5

 Manufacturing............................................................ 2.7 111.0 0.4 1,919 13.1

 Trade, transportation, and utilities.............................. 15.9 335.9 2.9 1,128 7.0

 Information................................................................. 1.4 49.2 1.9 2,549 3.8

 Financial activities...................................................... 9.3 162.0 3.9 2,299 7.1

 Professional and business services........................... 17.0 337.3 3.1 1,516 4.8

 Education and health services................................... 9.4 196.3 2.8 1,065 4.9

 Leisure and hospitality............................................... 6.7 158.7 3.0 509 4.7

 Other services............................................................ 7.0 42.4 0.6 829 8.5

 Government.................................................................. 0.6 173.1 -0.4 1,147 4.7

Orange, CA...................................................................... 117.1 1,580.2 2.1 1,228 7.4

 Private industry............................................................. 115.6 1,424.7 2.2 1,208 7.9

 Natural resources and mining.................................... 0.2 3.0 0.6 868 -11.6

 Construction............................................................... 6.6 97.8 3.0 1,361 9.5

 Manufacturing............................................................ 4.9 156.6 -0.9 1,590 11.1

 Trade, transportation, and utilities.............................. 16.7 255.9 0.7 1,092 9.2

 Information................................................................. 1.3 26.6 1.0 2,311 14.3

 Financial activities...................................................... 11.0 117.1 1.4 2,058 8.6

 Professional and business services........................... 20.1 291.2 1.8 1,403 4.9

 Education and health services................................... 31.3 208.0 3.7 940 6.8

 Leisure and hospitality............................................... 8.5 211.2 1.9 499 9.0

 Other services............................................................ 6.8 45.4 1.4 712 7.4

 Government.................................................................. 1.5 155.5 1.2 1,413 4.1

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

first quarter 2017 - Continued

Employment Average weekly wage 1

County by NAICS supersector

Establishments,

first quarter

2017

(thousands)

March

2017

(thousands)

Percent

change,

March

2016-172

First

quarter

2017

Percent

change,

first quarter

2016-172

San Diego, CA................................................................ 108.2 1,421.4 2.1 $1,171 6.1

 Private industry............................................................. 106.3 1,187.2 2.1 1,149 6.3

 Natural resources and mining.................................... 0.6 8.9 -6.3 697 12.1

 Construction............................................................... 6.6 77.4 4.2 1,198 8.3

 Manufacturing............................................................ 3.2 107.1 0.6 1,767 11.2

 Trade, transportation, and utilities.............................. 14.1 222.8 0.9 968 3.9

 Information................................................................. 1.1 24.0 -0.1 1,912 4.0

 Financial activities...................................................... 9.8 72.1 1.3 1,750 10.5

 Professional and business services........................... 17.7 228.5 0.6 1,592 3.0

 Education and health services................................... 30.2 196.2 2.1 965 10.5

 Leisure and hospitality............................................... 8.2 190.0 2.4 495 6.2

 Other services............................................................ 7.2 50.0 1.3 622 7.6

 Government.................................................................. 1.9 234.2 2.3 1,280 5.0

King, WA......................................................................... 86.8 1,335.4 3.2 1,601 10.0

 Private industry............................................................. 86.3 1,165.1 3.4 1,638 10.5

 Natural resources and mining.................................... 0.4 2.7 -3.1 1,184 -41.9

 Construction............................................................... 6.6 68.2 5.6 1,367 10.0

 Manufacturing............................................................ 2.5 101.7 -3.5 1,890 10.3

 Trade, transportation, and utilities.............................. 14.4 256.7 6.1 1,533 13.0

 Information................................................................. 2.2 100.2 6.5 3,949 14.4

 Financial activities...................................................... 6.6 66.6 3.0 2,118 5.8

 Professional and business services........................... 17.6 220.2 2.1 1,797 6.0

 Education and health services................................... 19.4 170.6 3.2 1,055 12.8

 Leisure and hospitality............................................... 7.2 133.8 3.5 545 9.0

 Other services............................................................ 9.2 44.3 2.5 885 4.4

 Government.................................................................. 0.5 170.3 2.0 1,346 6.4

Miami-Dade, FL............................................................... 98.0 1,130.2 1.9 1,053 8.2

 Private industry............................................................. 97.6 990.4 1.9 1,031 7.7

 Natural resources and mining.................................... 0.5 10.1 0.6 587 13.8

 Construction............................................................... 6.5 45.7 7.7 989 6.2

 Manufacturing............................................................ 2.9 41.0 1.7 934 5.8

 Trade, transportation, and utilities.............................. 25.9 280.7 1.0 964 8.7

 Information................................................................. 1.6 18.2 1.3 1,977 13.4

 Financial activities...................................................... 10.7 77.8 4.3 2,010 8.1

 Professional and business services........................... 21.8 156.8 2.8 1,215 7.9

 Education and health services................................... 10.5 178.1 2.2 952 5.7

 Leisure and hospitality............................................... 7.3 140.9 -1.1 587 3.5

 Other services............................................................ 8.4 39.8 1.0 630 9.0

 Government.................................................................. 0.3 139.8 1.9 1,209 11.5

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.

Note: Data are preliminary. Counties selected are based on 2016 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,

first quarter 2017

Employment Average weekly wage 1

State

Establishments,

first quarter

2017

(thousands)

March

2017

(thousands)

Percent

change,

March

2016-17

First

quarter

2017

Percent

change,

first quarter

2016-17

United States2.......................................... 9,864.2 142,309.2 1.6 $1,111 6.6

Alabama.................................................... 123.7 1,928.9 1.4 893 6.2

Alaska........................................................ 22.1 312.8 -1.8 1,061 3.9

Arizona...................................................... 156.8 2,743.0 2.4 991 8.1

Arkansas................................................... 89.6 1,199.9 0.7 859 8.5

California................................................... 1,512.5 16,831.4 2.3 1,295 7.6

Colorado.................................................... 196.1 2,573.2 2.3 1,136 7.5

Connecticut............................................... 118.0 1,651.5 0.1 1,417 4.0

Delaware................................................... 31.6 433.2 0.8 1,185 10.7

District of Columbia................................... 39.5 760.7 1.2 1,885 7.0

Florida....................................................... 679.4 8,532.6 2.8 949 7.2

Georgia...................................................... 276.1 4,317.1 2.7 1,068 6.1

Hawaii........................................................ 41.5 653.6 0.9 954 6.8

Idaho......................................................... 60.2 690.4 3.0 775 7.0

Illinois........................................................ 408.2 5,842.0 0.5 1,195 6.3

Indiana....................................................... 164.1 2,985.8 1.2 918 7.6

Iowa........................................................... 101.4 1,518.3 0.0 899 6.5

Kansas...................................................... 90.9 1,368.0 0.4 888 6.7

Kentucky.................................................... 124.1 1,864.1 1.1 879 6.9

Louisiana................................................... 130.4 1,901.3 -0.5 906 5.5

Maine......................................................... 54.4 586.7 1.0 860 7.2

Maryland.................................................... 171.0 2,626.0 1.2 1,171 5.8

Massachusetts.......................................... 251.3 3,464.0 1.1 1,428 7.7

Michigan.................................................... 241.9 4,230.6 1.7 1,041 6.8

Minnesota.................................................. 164.7 2,806.4 2.1 1,149 7.9

Mississippi................................................. 73.2 1,122.9 0.1 750 5.3

Missouri..................................................... 201.7 2,767.0 1.4 930 5.9

Montana.................................................... 47.6 451.5 1.4 800 6.5

Nebraska................................................... 72.0 960.7 0.4 868 6.4

Nevada...................................................... 81.3 1,311.6 3.8 932 6.9

New Hampshire......................................... 51.4 643.2 1.2 1,070 7.3

New Jersey............................................... 272.0 3,955.1 1.5 1,333 5.0

New Mexico............................................... 58.2 803.3 0.2 838 5.9

New York.................................................. 646.6 9,159.3 1.3 1,541 5.9

North Carolina........................................... 270.0 4,287.0 1.8 991 6.9

North Dakota............................................. 31.8 405.7 -1.0 953 5.0

Ohio........................................................... 294.8 5,278.3 0.8 976 6.7

Oklahoma.................................................. 109.8 1,563.9 -1.0 883 5.9

Oregon...................................................... 149.4 1,855.0 2.5 984 5.4

Pennsylvania............................................. 358.6 5,712.3 0.8 1,078 6.5

Rhode Island............................................. 37.1 465.4 0.3 1,055 7.2

South Carolina.......................................... 125.9 2,017.9 2.2 864 7.3

South Dakota............................................ 33.0 413.4 0.7 819 6.2

Tennessee................................................. 156.8 2,906.2 1.8 945 6.7

Texas......................................................... 668.0 11,924.5 1.7 1,124 5.5

Utah........................................................... 96.7 1,411.3 3.1 905 6.6

Vermont..................................................... 25.3 305.6 0.2 889 6.7

Virginia...................................................... 265.5 3,796.3 1.4 1,129 6.9

Washington............................................... 241.1 3,225.9 2.6 1,215 8.6

West Virginia............................................. 49.8 678.2 -0.8 837 7.6

Wisconsin.................................................. 171.0 2,803.7 1.1 933 6.8

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

first quarter 2017 - Continued

Employment Average weekly wage 1

State

Establishments,

first quarter

2017

(thousands)

March

2017

(thousands)

Percent

change,

March

2016-17

First

quarter

2017

Percent

change,

first quarter

2016-17

Wyoming................................................... 26.0 262.4 -2.3 $880 3.3

Puerto Rico............................................... 46.2 887.7 -0.9 526 1.2

Virgin Islands............................................ 3.4 38.7 0.0 797 3.1

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,

March 2016-17 (U.S. average = 1.6 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, first quarter 2016-17 (U.S. average = 6.6 percent)

Higher than U.S. average

U.S. average or lower

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics