The average weekly wage in Washington, DC, increased 2.6 percent from the second quarter of 2017 to the second quarter of 2018, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Nationally, the average weekly wage rose 3.4 percent over the year, as 340 of the 349 largest counties had wage increases. (Large counties are defined as those with employment levels of 75,000 or greater as measured by 2017 annual average employment.) Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that the average weekly wage in Washington, DC, ranked fifth-highest in the nation in the second quarter of 2018, at $1,713. Nationally, weekly wages averaged $1,055.

Washington, DC, had a 1.3-percent employment increase from June 2017 to June 2018. Nationally, employment rose 1.5 percent over the 12-month period. Washington, DC’s rate of employment growth ranked 159^th among the nation’s 349 largest counties. Employment in Washington, DC, totaled 777,200 in June 2018.

Large county wage changes

Over the year, Washington, DC’s 2.6-percent wage growth ranked 216^th among the 349 largest U.S. counties. Nationally, Marin, CA, had the largest over-the-year increase in average weekly wages (11.7 percent), followed by the counties of Lake, IL, and King, WA (9.3 percent each).

Eight large counties nationwide had over-the-year declines in average weekly wages, led by New Hanover, NC, with a loss of 6.4 percent. Spartanburg, SC, had the second-largest decline at 2.9 percent, followed by Morris, NJ (-2.4 percent).

Large county average weekly wages

Nationally, average weekly wages were higher than the U.S. average in 94 of the 349 largest counties. Santa Clara, CA, held the top position with an average weekly wage of $2,573. San Mateo, CA, was second with an average weekly wage of $2,357, followed by San Francisco, CA ($2,083); New York, NY ($2,025); Washington, DC ($1,713); and Suffolk, Mass. ($1,711).

Three of the 10 counties with the highest weekly wages in the United States were located in the Washington metropolitan area (Washington, DC; Arlington, VA; and Fairfax, VA), and another three were located in or around the San Francisco metropolitan area (Santa Clara, CA; San Mateo, CA; and San Francisco, CA). Middlesex, MA, and Suffolk, MA, both located in the Boston metropolitan area, were also in the top 10. (See table 1.)

There were 255 large counties with an average weekly wage below the national average in the second quarter of 2018. The lowest average weekly wage was in Horry, SC ($625), followed by Cameron, TX ($642); Hidalgo, TX ($645); Webb, TX ($687); Lake, FL ($730); and Osceola, FL ($731).

 

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 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/2017/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.

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 2017 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 2018 version of the national news release. Tables and additional content from Employment and Wages Annual Averages 2017 are now available online at www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/2017/home.htm. The 2018 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online will be available in September 2019.

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.

Table 1. Covered employment and wages in the top 10 counties ranked by average weekly wage, second quarter 2018

Area (1)	Employment		Average weekly wage (2)
	June 2018 (thousands)	Percent change, June 2017-18 (3)	Average weekly wage	National Ranking by level	Percent change, second quarter 2017-18 (3)	National Ranking by percent change
United States (4)	147,431.2	1.5	$1,055	--	3.4	--
Santa Clara, CA	1,106.1	2.3	2,573	1	8.2	6
San Mateo, CA	405.3	1.7	2,357	2	9.0	4
San Francisco, CA	741.6	3.2	2,083	3	7.6	8
New York, NY	2,474.7	0.7	2,025	4	4.4	44
Washington, DC	777.2	1.3	1,713	5	2.6	216
Suffolk, MA	684.7	1.9	1,711	6	3.7	93
Arlington, VA	180.0	0.6	1,653	7	2.9	185
King, WA	1,405.6	2.5	1,605	8	9.3	2
Fairfax, VA	619.8	1.4	1,577	9	2.2	253
Middlesex, MA	934.8	1.7	1,571	10	3.4	124
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 2018

State	Employment		Average weekly wage (1)
	June 2018 (thousands)	Percent change, June 2017-18	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level	Percent change, second quarter 2017-18	National ranking by percent change
United States (2)	147,431.2	1.5	$1,055	--	3.4	--
Alabama	1,969.9	1.2	882	37	2.8	35
Alaska	335.8	-0.9	1,043	15	3.7	9
Arizona	2,770.8	2.6	973	23	3.3	19
Arkansas	1,214.6	0.7	824	47	1.7	47
California	17,473.1	1.9	1,265	4	4.6	3
Colorado	2,704.4	2.4	1,075	10	3.2	27
Connecticut	1,704.5	0.3	1,218	5	0.1	50
Delaware	454.3	1.3	1,023	17	1.4	49
District of Columbia	777.3	1.3	1,713	1	2.6	39
Florida	8,568.9	2.1	931	28	2.9	32
Georgia	4,440.5	2.0	979	22	2.3	43
Hawaii	658.3	0.5	956	24	2.5	41
Idaho	745.3	3.1	794	50	3.8	8
Illinois	6,061.1	0.8	1,097	9	3.4	14
Indiana	3,075.8	1.1	883	36	2.8	35
Iowa	1,583.7	0.8	880	39	3.3	19
Kansas	1,393.3	1.0	879	40	3.4	14
Kentucky	1,905.9	0.9	882	37	2.3	43
Louisiana	1,918.6	0.4	901	33	3.7	9
Maine	636.8	1.0	843	45	3.6	11
Maryland	2,712.0	0.7	1,141	8	3.4	14
Massachusetts	3,650.1	1.0	1,322	2	3.5	12
Michigan	4,424.7	1.3	997	20	2.9	32
Minnesota	2,925.6	0.8	1,072	12	3.3	19
Mississippi	1,130.7	0.2	752	51	2.7	38
Missouri	2,829.0	0.5	924	30	3.9	7
Montana	478.7	1.1	817	48	2.5	41
Nebraska	990.8	0.6	859	43	3.1	29
Nevada	1,372.4	3.1	931	28	3.3	19
New Hampshire	670.8	0.8	1,049	14	3.3	19
New Jersey	4,157.0	0.9	1,201	7	2.3	43
New Mexico	823.6	1.0	852	44	3.5	12
New York	9,579.2	1.7	1,297	3	4.5	4
North Carolina	4,450.2	2.2	933	25	3.3	19
North Dakota	426.1	0.8	986	21	3.4	14
Ohio	5,461.3	0.7	933	25	2.3	43
Oklahoma	1,606.4	1.2	875	41	3.2	27
Oregon	1,947.3	1.5	999	18	3.3	19
Pennsylvania	5,924.9	1.1	1,031	16	3.1	29
Rhode Island	491.0	0.7	998	19	1.7	47
South Carolina	2,126.5	3.4	833	46	0.0	51
South Dakota	439.7	0.9	807	49	2.8	35
Tennessee	2,994.1	1.6	932	27	2.9	32
Texas	12,326.3	2.2	1,062	13	3.4	14
Utah	1,483.9	3.4	899	35	4.3	5
Vermont	312.4	-0.8	907	31	4.3	5
Virginia	3,941.0	1.3	1,073	11	2.6	39
Washington	3,444.1	2.7	1,218	5	6.9	1
West Virginia	702.9	1.6	868	42	4.8	2
Wisconsin	2,933.5	0.9	904	32	3.3	19
Wyoming	282.2	0.5	901	33	3.0	31
Puerto Rico	853.5	-2.3	543	(3)	5.2	(3)
Virgin Islands	33.4	-14.4	838	(3)	12.8	(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.