Employment increased in 11 of the 29 largest counties in California from March 2024 to March 2025, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that San Joaquin County had the largest over-the-year increase in employment, with a gain of 1.2 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

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Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in covered employment among selected large counties in California, March 2025

County	Percent change, March 2025
San Joaquin	1.2
Riverside	1.0
Sacramento	1.0
Stanislaus	0.8
Merced	0.6
San Bernardino	0.4
Kern	0.3
Placer	0.3
Solano	0.2
San Mateo	0.1
Ventura	-0.3
Alameda	-0.4
Los Angeles	-0.5
San Diego	-0.5
Santa Cruz	-0.5
Butte	-0.7
San Francisco	-0.7
San Luis Obispo	-1.1
Sonoma	-1.2
Monterey	-2.1

Among the 29 largest counties in California, employment was highest in Los Angeles (4,504,700) in March 2025. Together, the 29 largest counties accounted for 93.1 percent of total covered employment within the state. Nationwide, the 372 largest counties comprise 73.4 percent of total covered employment in the United States. (Large counties and county equivalents are those with annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more in 2024.)

All twenty-seven large California counties with published data reported average weekly wage increases over the year. (See chart 2.) San Mateo had the largest increase (+11.4 percent). Over-the-year wage gains for California's other large counties ranged from 6.9 percent to 1.5 percent.

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Chart 2. Over-the-year percent change in covered average weekly wages among selected large counties in California, first quarter 2025

County	Percent change, first quarter 2025
San Mateo	11.4
Santa Clara	6.9
Solano	5.7
Yolo	5.3
Marin	5.1
Merced	5.1
Butte	4.6
Fresno	4.4
Placer	4.2
Los Angeles	4.0
Sacramento	3.0
Napa	2.8
San Joaquin	2.7
Sonoma	2.6
Stanislaus	2.5
San Francisco	2.4
San Diego	2.2
Alameda	1.9
Ventura	1.7
Contra Costa	1.5

Weekly wages in 10 of the 29 largest counties in California were above the national average of $1,589. Average weekly wages ranged from $4,379 in San Mateo to $1,035 in Tulare.

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 29 small counties in California, defined as having employment below 75,000 in 2024. (See table 2.) Wage levels in all 29 smaller counties were below the national average. Yuba reported the highest average weekly wage ($1,335). Alpine reported the lowest average weekly wage ($837) in the state.

Among all 58 California counties, 18 reported average weekly wages of less than $1,100, 14 had wages from $1,100 to $1,199, 7 had wages from $1,200 to $1,299, 3 had wages from $1,300 to $1,399, and 16 had average weekly wages of $1,400 or higher. (See map 1 and table 2.)

QCEW data for states have been included in this release in table 3.

Nationwide coverage of the largest counties is published in the County Employment and Wages news release. Additional information about quarterly employment and wages data is available in the news release Technical Note and from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages website.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

The County Employment and Wages release for the second quarter 2025 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, December 3, 2025.