County Employment and Wages Summary

For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Tuesday, March 10, 2026		USDL-26-0436

Technical information:	(202) 691-6567  *  QCEWInfo@bls.gov  *  www.bls.gov/cew
Media contact:		(202) 691-5902  *  PressOffice@bls.gov

COUNTY EMPLOYMENT AND WAGES - THIRD QUARTER 2025

From September 2024 to September 2025, employment increased in 167 of the 372 largest U.S. counties,
the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. In September 2025, national employment increased
to 155.8 million, a 0.1-percent increase over the year, as measured by the Quarterly Census of
Employment and Wages (QCEW) program. Boone, KY, had the largest over-the-year increase in
employment, with a gain of 3.8 percent. Employment data in this release are presented for September
2025, and average weekly wage data are presented for third quarter 2025.

Among the 372 largest counties, 358 had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages. In the
third quarter of 2025, average weekly wages for the nation increased to $1,459, a 4.7-percent
increase over the year. San Mateo, CA, had the largest third quarter over-the-year wage gain at 31.7
percent. (See table 1.)

Large County Employment in September 2025

Boone, KY, had the largest over-the-year percentage increase in employment (+3.8 percent). Within
Boone, the largest employment increase occurred in professional and business services, with a gain
of 2,276 (+17.7 percent).

Washington, OR, had the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment (-3.9 percent).
Within Washington, the largest employment decrease occurred in manufacturing, with a loss of 5,828
(-11.3 percent).

Large County Average Weekly Wage in Third Quarter 2025

San Mateo, CA, had the largest over-the-year percentage increase in average weekly wages (+31.7
percent). Within San Mateo, an average weekly wage gain of $8,362 (+74.2 percent) in information
made the largest contribution to the county's increase in average weekly wages.

Midland, TX, had the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in average weekly wages (-8.0
percent). Within Midland, an average weekly wage loss of $642 (-20.3 percent) in natural resources
and mining made the largest contribution to the county's decrease in average weekly wages.

Ten Largest Counties

Two of the 10 largest counties had over-the-year percentage increases in employment. In September
2025, Dallas, TX, had the largest over-the-year employment percentage gain (+0.6 percent). Within
Dallas, financial activities had the largest employment increase, with a gain of 6,296 (+3.9
percent). (See table 2.)

All of the 10 largest counties had over-the-year percentage increases in average weekly wages. In
the third quarter of 2025, King, WA, experienced the largest over-the-year percentage gain in
average weekly wages (+9.1 percent). Within King, professional and business services had the largest
impact, with an average weekly wage increase of $424 (+13.8 percent).

For More Information

The tables included in this release contain data for the nation and for the 372 U.S. counties with
annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more in 2024. September 2025 employment and third
quarter 2025 average weekly wages for all states are provided in table 3 of this release.

Over-the-year changes of employment and wages presented in this news release are adjusted and may
differ from unadjusted data used in BLS data tools and interactive charts. More information is
available in the QCEW Technical Note at www.bls.gov/cew/news-release-technical-note.htm.

QCEW reporting rates tables are available at www.bls.gov/cew/reporting-rates/.

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.

BLS regional offices issue QCEW news releases targeted to local data users. Links to these releases
are available at www.bls.gov/cew/regional-resources.htm.

QCEW data are available in the Census Business Builder suite of web tools assisting business owners
and regional analysts in data-driven decision making at www.census.gov/data/data-tools/cbb.html.

The QCEW news release schedule is available at www.bls.gov/cew/release-calendar.htm.

If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access
telecommunications relay services.

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The County Employment and Wages news release for fourth quarter 2025 is scheduled to be released on
Tuesday, June 2, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).


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		Change in the presentation of Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) data in QCEW
	
	With this release, the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) will publish 
	Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) employment and wages only at the total covered employment 
	aggregation level. Data for detailed industry within MSAs will no longer be available. For more 
	information, see www.bls.gov/cew/notices/2025/change-in-the-presentation-of-metropolitan- 
	statistical-area-data-in-qcew.htm.
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