The average weekly wage in Washington, D.C., increased 3.3 percent from the second quarter of 2016 to the second quarter of 2017, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Nationally, the average weekly wage rose 3.2 percent over the year, as 325 of the largest 346 counties had 12-month increases. (Large counties are defined as those with employment of 75,000 or more as measured by 2016 annual average employment.) Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that the average weekly wage in Washington, D.C., ranked fifth-highest in the nation in the second quarter of 2017, at $1,675. Nationally, weekly wages averaged $1,020.

Washington, D.C., had a 1.0-percent employment increase from June 2016 to June 2017. Nationally, employment rose 1.7 percent over the 12-month period. Washington, D.C.’s rate of employment growth ranked 235^th among the nation’s 346 largest counties. Employment in Washington, D.C., totaled 766,500 in June 2017.

Large county wage changes

Over the year, Washington, D.C.’s 3.3-percent wage growth ranked 140^th among the 346 largest U.S. counties. Nationally, New Hanover, N.C., had the largest over-the-year increase in average weekly wages (11.9 percent), followed by the counties of San Mateo, Calif., and Midland, Texas, at 11.4 percent each.

Only 19 large counties nationwide had over-the-year declines in average weekly wages, led by McLean, Ill., with a loss of 20.4 percent. Union, N.J., had the second-largest decline at 3.7 percent, followed by Warren, Ohio (-3.6 percent) and Somerset, N.J. (-3.4 percent).

Large county average weekly wages

Nationally, average weekly wages were higher than the U.S. average in 97 of the largest 346 counties. Santa Clara, Calif., held the top position with an average weekly wage of $2,392. San Mateo, Calif., was second with an average weekly wage of $2,093, followed by San Francisco, Calif. ($1,941); New York, N.Y. ($1,907); Washington, D.C. ($1,675); and Suffolk, Mass. ($1,651).

Three of the 10 counties with the highest wages in the United States were located in the Washington metropolitan area (Arlington, Va.; Fairfax, Va.; and Washington, D.C.), and two were in the New York metropolitan area (New York, N.Y.; and Morris, N.J.). Three other top-paying counties were located in or around the San Francisco metropolitan area (San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara, Calif.). Rounding out the top 10 were Middlesex, Mass., and Suffolk, Mass., both located in the Boston metropolitan area. (See table 1.)

There were 249 large counties with an average weekly wage below the national average in the second quarter of 2017. The lowest average weekly wage was in Cameron, Texas ($615), followed by Horry, S.C. ($622); Hidalgo, Texas ($632); Webb, Texas ($667); Lake, Fla. ($702); and Tulare, Calif. ($711).

Additional statistics and other information

QCEW data for states have been included in this release in table 2. For additional information about quarterly employment and wages data, please read the Technical Note or visit the QCEW Web site at www.bls.gov/cew/.

Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online features comprehensive information by detailed industry on establishments, employment, and wages for the nation and all states. The 2016 edition of this publication contains selected data produced by Business Employment Dynamics (BED) on job gains and losses, as well as selected data from the second quarter 2017 version of the national news release. Tables and additional content from Employment and Wages Annual Averages 2016 are now available online at www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/2016/home.htm. The 2017 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online will be available in September 2018.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; Federal Relay Service: 1-800-877-8339.

Technical Note

Average weekly wage data by county are compiled under 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 9.9 million employer reports cover 145.2 million full- and part-time workers. The average weekly wage values are calculated by dividing quarterly total wages by the average of the three monthly employment levels of those covered by UI programs. The result is then divided by 13, the number of weeks in a quarter. It is to be noted, therefore, that over-the-year wage changes for geographic areas may reflect shifts in the composition of employment by industry, occupation, and such other factors as hours of work. Thus, wages may vary among counties, metropolitan areas, or states for reasons other than changes in the average wage level. Data for all states, Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), counties, and the nation are available on the BLS Web site at www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/2016/home.htm; however, data in QCEW press releases have been revised and may not match the data contained on the Bureau’s Web site.

QCEW data are not designed as a time series. QCEW data are simply the sums of individual establishment records reflecting 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.

The preliminary QCEW data presented in this release may differ from data released by the individual states as well as from the data presented on the BLS Web site. These potential differences result from the states’ continuing receipt, review and editing of UI data over time. On the other hand, differences between data in this release and the data found on the BLS Web site are the result of adjustments made to improve over-the-year comparisons. Specifically, these adjustments account for administrative (noneconomic) changes such as a correction to a previously reported location or industry classification. Adjusting for these administrative changes allows users to more accurately assess changes of an economic nature (such as a firm moving from one county to another or changing its primary economic activity) over a 12-month period. Currently, adjusted data are available only from BLS press releases.

Table 1. Covered employment and wages in the top 10 counties ranked by average weekly wage, second quarter 2017

Area (1)	Employment		Average weekly wage (2)
	June 2017 (thousands)	Percent change, June 2016-17 (3)	Average weekly wage	National Ranking by level	Percent change, second quarter 2016-17 (3)	National Ranking by percent change
United States (4)	145,186.4	1.7	$1,020	--	3.2	--
Santa Clara, Calif.	1,077.3	2.5	2,392	1	6.3	14
San Mateo, Calif.	402.5	2.8	2,093	2	11.4	2
San Francisco, Calif.	717.4	3.1	1,941	3	7.3	9
New York, N.Y.	2,469.1	1.7	1,907	4	2.4	215
Washington, D.C.	766.5	1.0	1,675	5	3.3	140
Suffolk, Mass.	677.3	2.3	1,651	6	4.4	66
Arlington, Va.	178.7	2.3	1,609	7	3.3	140
Fairfax, Va.	610.3	1.2	1,542	8	3.5	125
Morris, N.J.	295.0	1.1	1,525	9	7.2	10
Middlesex, Mass.	912.0	2.1	1,522	10	3.3	140
Footnotes: (1) Includes areas not officially designated as counties. (2) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data (3) Percent changes were computed from quarterly employment and pay data adjusted for any noneconomic county reclassifications. (4) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
NOTE: Covered employment and wages include workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs. Data are preliminary.

Table 2. Covered employment and wages by state, second quarter 2017

State	Employment		Average weekly wage (1)
	June 2017 (thousands)	Percent change, June 2016-17	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level	Percent change, second quarter 2016-17	National ranking by percent change
United States (2)	145,186.4	1.7	$1,020	--	3.2	--
Alabama	1,946.4	1.2	858	38	2.8	31
Alaska	338.4	-0.7	1,005	16	-0.5	51
Arizona	2,699.6	2.9	943	23	2.5	35
Arkansas	1,206.0	0.7	810	47	3.2	22
California	17,150.9	2.2	1,210	5	4.7	3
Colorado	2,638.8	2.5	1,042	11	4.2	5
Connecticut	1,701.2	0.6	1,216	4	0.4	50
Delaware	446.6	0.6	1,012	15	2.2	43
District of Columbia	766.5	1.0	1,675	1	3.3	19
Florida	8,390.6	2.8	905	27	2.5	35
Georgia	4,357.8	2.1	956	21	2.9	27
Hawaii	653.0	1.0	935	24	3.5	13
Idaho	723.5	3.4	765	50	3.4	16
Illinois	6,006.6	0.9	1,062	9	2.4	39
Indiana	3,041.0	1.5	859	37	3.7	9
Iowa	1,571.4	0.4	853	39	3.3	19
Kansas	1,377.8	-0.1	849	40	2.4	39
Kentucky	1,889.4	0.8	862	35	2.9	27
Louisiana	1,907.7	0.0	869	34	2.0	46
Maine	629.1	0.9	814	46	2.5	35
Maryland	2,694.8	1.4	1,103	8	3.1	23
Massachusetts	3,604.5	1.6	1,278	2	3.6	11
Michigan	4,365.3	1.6	969	19	2.9	27
Minnesota	2,902.1	2.0	1,037	12	3.9	6
Mississippi	1,128.9	0.7	732	51	0.8	49
Missouri	2,818.7	1.2	889	30	3.0	25
Montana	473.6	1.3	797	48	3.9	6
Nebraska	984.0	0.4	833	43	3.5	13
Nevada	1,333.5	3.4	900	29	2.9	27
New Hampshire	665.4	1.6	1,015	14	1.2	48
New Jersey	4,123.5	1.8	1,173	6	2.3	41
New Mexico	815.4	0.7	823	45	1.5	47
New York	9,417.4	1.6	1,237	3	2.2	43
North Carolina	4,361.4	1.8	902	28	4.3	4
North Dakota	422.7	-0.2	953	22	5.0	2
Ohio	5,422.8	1.2	912	25	3.3	19
Oklahoma	1,583.8	0.8	845	41	2.5	35
Oregon	1,912.6	2.2	967	20	3.8	8
Pennsylvania	5,859.4	1.3	1,000	17	3.0	25
Rhode Island	487.3	1.0	980	18	2.6	33
South Carolina	2,053.9	2.0	834	42	3.6	11
South Dakota	435.5	0.6	785	49	3.4	16
Tennessee	2,948.1	1.8	906	26	3.5	13
Texas	12,059.6	2.1	1,027	13	2.7	32
Utah	1,440.3	3.4	862	35	2.6	33
Vermont	314.2	1.0	870	33	2.1	45
Virginia	3,886.6	1.5	1,047	10	3.7	9
Washington	3,352.5	2.2	1,141	7	5.6	1
West Virginia	690.9	-0.3	828	44	3.4	16
Wisconsin	2,905.3	1.1	876	31	2.3	41
Wyoming	280.2	-0.7	875	32	3.1	23
Puerto Rico	873.6	-1.0	515	(3)	1.2	(3)
Virgin Islands	38.6	0.4	762	(3)	2.6	(3)
Footnotes: (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. (3) Data not included in the national ranking.
Note: Data are preliminary. Covered employment and wages includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.