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County Employment and Wages in Pennsylvania — First Quarter 2025
Employment increased in 14 of the 19 largest counties in Pennsylvania from March 2024 to March 2025, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that Butler County had the largest over-the-year increase in employment, with a gain of 2.4 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.)
Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in covered employment among the largest counties in Pennsylvania, March 2025
County
Percent change, March 2025
Butler
2.4
Dauphin
1.3
Lehigh
1.3
Philadelphia
1.3
Berks
1.1
Bucks
0.8
Lackawanna
0.8
Washington
0.8
Chester
0.6
Lancaster
0.6
Montgomery
0.6
Cumberland
0.2
Delaware
0.2
Erie
0.2
Northampton
-0.1
Allegheny
-0.2
Westmoreland
-0.2
York
-0.4
Luzerne
-0.5
Among the 19 largest counties in Pennsylvania, employment was highest in Philadelphia (721,800) in March 2025. Together, the 19 largest counties accounted for 75.8 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.)
Large county average weekly wages in the first quarter 2025
All 19 large Pennsylvania counties reported average weekly wage increases over the year. (See chart 2.) Lehigh had the largest increase (+6.5 percent). Over-the-year wage gains among Pennsylvania's other large counties ranged from 4.7 percent to 0.1 percent.
Chart 2. Over-the-year percent change in covered average weekly wages among the largest counties in Pennsylvania, first quarter 2025
County
Percent change, first quarter 2025
Lehigh
6.5
Erie
4.7
York
4.3
Luzerne
4.0
Lancaster
3.8
Northampton
3.8
Allegheny
3.2
Montgomery
3.2
Lackawanna
3.1
Philadelphia
3.1
Berks
3.0
Delaware
2.7
Cumberland
2.5
Butler
2.4
Chester
2.4
Westmoreland
2.3
Bucks
2.0
Dauphin
1.4
Washington
0.1
Weekly wages in 5 of the 19 largest counties in Pennsylvania were above the national average of $1,589. Average weekly wages ranged from $2,003 in Montgomery to $1,063 in Lackawanna.
Smaller county average weekly wages in the first quarter of 2025
Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 48 small counties in Pennsylvania, defined as having employment below 75,000 in 2024. (See table 2.)
Wage levels in 47 of the 48 smaller counties were below the national average. Montour reported the highest average weekly wage ($1,735). Perry reported the lowest average weekly wage ($819) in the state.
Among all 67 Pennsylvania counties, 17 reported average weekly wages of less than $1,000, 27 had wages from $1,000 to $1,124, 8 had wages from $1,125 to $1,249, and 15 had average weekly wages of $1,250 or higher. (See map 1. and table 2.)
Map 1. Average weekly wages by county in Pennsylvania, first quarter 2025
U.S. average = $1,589
Additional statistics and other information
QCEW data for states have been included in this release in table 3.
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.
County Changes for the 2025 County Employment and Wages News Releases
Counties with annual average employment of 75,000 or more in 2024 are included in this release and will be included in future 2025 releases. Four counties have been added to the nationwide publication tables: Pinal, AZ; Henry, GA; Wood, OH; and Comal, TX. One county has been dropped from the publication tables: Gregg, TX.
Table 1. Covered establishments, employment, and wages in the United States and the 19 largest counties in Pennsylvania, first quarter 2025
Footnotes: (1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data. (2) Percent changes were computed from employment and pay data adjusted for noneconomic county reclassifications. (3) Ranking does not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. (4) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
Note: Data are preliminary. Dashes indicate data not applicable or available. Covered employment and wages include workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.
Table 2. Covered establishments, employment, and wages in the United States and all counties in Pennsylvania, first quarter 2025
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.
Note: Data are preliminary. Dashes indicate data not applicable or available. Covered employment and wages include 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 2025
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. Dashes indicate data not applicable or available. Covered employment and wages include workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.
United States Department of Labor
