County Employment and Wages in West Virginia — Third Quarter 2025

Employment declined 0.4 percent in West Virginia’s only large county, Kanawha, from September 2024 to September 2025, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that the rate of employment growth in Kanawha ranked 238th among the 364 largest U.S. counties with published data. (See table 1.)

Employment in Kanawha stood at 95,300 in September 2025, accounting for 13.6 percent of total employment in West Virginia. Nationwide, the 372 largest counties comprise 73.2 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 third quarter 2025

The average weekly wage in Kanawha increased 3.7 percent over the year to $1,192. The national average was $1,459, up 4.7 percent over the year. Kanawha’s weekly wage ranked 266^th nationally, and the percent change ranked 206^th among the largest U.S. counties.

Smaller county average weekly wages in the third quarter of 2025

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 54 small counties in West Virginia, defined as having employment below 75,000 in 2024. (See table 2.) Wage levels for all 54 smaller counties were below the national average. Putnam reported the highest average weekly wage ($1,276). Clay reported the lowest average weekly wage ($696) in the state.

Among all 55 West Virginia counties, 14 reported average weekly wages of less than $900, 10 registered wages from $900 to $999, 15 had wages from $1,000 to $1,099, and 16 had average weekly wages of $1,100 or higher. (See map 1 and table 2.)

Map 1. Average weekly wages by county in West Virginia, third quarter 2025

(U.S. average = $1,459)

Additional statistics and other information

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.

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

The County Employment and Wages release for the fourth quarter 2025 is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, June 2, 2026.

Table 1. Covered establishments, employment, and wages in the United States and the largest county in West Virginia, third quarter 2025
Area	Establishments, third quarter (thousands)	Employment			Average weekly wage (1)
Area	Establishments, third quarter (thousands)	September 2025 (thousands)	Percent change, September 2024–25 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)	Third quarter 2025 ($)	National ranking by level (3)	Percent change, third quarter 2024–25 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)
United States (4)	12,353.8	155,767.7	0.1	--	1,459	--	4.7	--
West Virginia	62.1	701.1	-0.1	--	1,121	50	3.4	44
Kanawha	6.8	95.3	-0.4	238	1,192	266	3.7	206
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 West Virginia, third quarter 2025
Area	Establishments	Employment September 2025	Average weekly wage ($) (1)
United States (2)	12,353,804	155,767,691	1,459
West Virginia	62,051	701,110	1,121
Barbour	379	3,867	1,147
Berkeley	3,924	39,041	1,151
Boone	429	4,580	1,052
Braxton	384	4,932	914
Brooke	629	7,399	1,020
Cabell	3,338	51,832	1,097
Calhoun	147	1,248	1,086
Clay	192	1,384	696
Doddridge	131	1,696	1,244
Fayette	1,221	10,720	859
Gilmer	165	1,835	976
Grant	370	3,727	976
Greenbrier	1,399	12,104	845
Hampshire	560	4,357	828
Hancock	967	8,732	1,012
Hardy	457	6,088	946
Harrison	2,473	37,758	1,255
Jackson	728	7,873	1,016
Jefferson	2,451	17,246	1,200
Kanawha	6,768	95,294	1,192
Lewis	532	5,753	956
Lincoln	341	2,607	741
Logan	948	11,480	1,104
McDowell	369	3,613	1,043
Marion	1,738	17,508	1,054
Marshall	704	10,609	1,175
Mason	505	7,373	1,247
Mercer	1,660	19,398	941
Mineral	724	8,806	1,116
Mingo	524	4,492	976
Monongalia	4,378	60,664	1,260
Monroe	323	1,934	961
Morgan	404	3,152	800
Nicholas	824	7,001	894
Ohio	1,822	26,703	1,057
Pendleton	230	1,484	771
Pleasants	189	2,372	1,134
Pocahontas	348	2,757	825
Preston	868	7,437	1,097
Putnam	1,928	22,559	1,276
Raleigh	2,577	32,235	1,037
Randolph	979	10,431	884
Ritchie	258	2,985	1,017
Roane	360	2,796	907
Summers	264	2,242	819
Taylor	348	3,529	1,014
Tucker	285	2,709	873
Tyler	167	1,941	1,115
Upshur	808	7,800	932
Wayne	715	8,798	1,174
Webster	216	1,464	741
Wetzel	438	4,809	1,052
Wirt	111	728	809
Wood	2,632	37,091	1,061
Wyoming	438	4,410	1,109
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, third quarter 2025
State	Establishments, third quarter (thousands)	Employment		Average weekly wage (1)
State	Establishments, third quarter (thousands)	September 2025 (thousands)	Percent change, September 2024–25	Third quarter 2025 ($)	National ranking by level	Percent change, third quarter 2024–25	National ranking by percent change
United States (2)	12,353.8	155,767.7	0.1	1,459	--	4.7	--
Alabama	165.7	2,119.0	0.6	1,212	36	3.6	38
Alaska	25.3	342.4	-0.1	1,455	13	5.3	7
Arizona	228.4	3,215.4	-0.2	1,360	19	4.0	31
Arkansas	111.2	1,310.5	0.5	1,135	49	3.8	33
California	1,986.7	18,281.7	0.3	1,815	4	7.2	2
Colorado	252.9	2,886.4	-0.6	1,570	7	5.7	3
Connecticut	149.6	1,693.8	0.1	1,604	6	3.8	33
Delaware	46.7	480.8	0.0	1,394	17	4.8	13
District of Columbia	51.5	737.4	-3.1	2,393	1	5.7	3
Florida	892.1	9,818.1	-0.2	1,342	21	5.1	8
Georgia	397.2	4,874.5	0.4	1,349	20	3.5	43
Hawaii	62.1	640.1	0.1	1,342	21	3.1	48
Idaho	103.7	879.8	1.3	1,180	44	4.9	11
Illinois	386.5	6,086.3	-0.1	1,457	12	4.3	23
Indiana	197.1	3,198.4	0.1	1,214	35	4.3	23
Iowa	109.6	1,549.3	-0.9	1,194	39	3.6	38
Kansas	102.2	1,431.7	0.1	1,179	45	3.8	33
Kentucky	160.7	1,995.4	-0.4	1,176	46	4.3	23
Louisiana	158.7	1,913.1	-0.1	1,187	42	3.3	46
Maine	67.4	659.2	-0.2	1,231	33	5.0	10
Maryland	199.5	2,739.5	-1.3	1,526	9	3.8	33
Massachusetts	293.2	3,625.0	-0.9	1,818	3	4.8	13
Michigan	316.0	4,423.8	-0.4	1,323	25	4.5	18
Minnesota	214.3	2,958.6	0.2	1,438	15	3.6	38
Mississippi	91.3	1,172.6	0.0	1,005	51	4.7	15
Missouri	256.0	2,903.7	-0.4	1,249	31	4.4	21
Montana	64.6	518.3	-0.4	1,182	43	5.1	8
Nebraska	78.6	1,021.8	-0.1	1,190	40	3.1	48
Nevada	109.5	1,581.0	1.4	1,314	27	4.3	23
New Hampshire	67.3	687.8	-0.6	1,481	11	5.5	6
New Jersey	334.9	4,301.0	0.4	1,558	8	3.6	38
New Mexico	69.0	876.4	0.3	1,190	40	3.2	47
New York	720.8	9,808.4	0.4	1,757	5	4.7	15
North Carolina	386.3	4,939.4	0.5	1,328	23	4.2	27
North Dakota	36.7	433.8	-0.5	1,291	29	2.8	50
Ohio	346.6	5,537.8	0.1	1,279	30	3.4	44
Oklahoma	128.8	1,697.9	-0.3	1,143	48	4.5	18
Oregon	180.5	1,994.7	-1.3	1,409	16	4.2	27
Pennsylvania	397.2	6,066.3	0.2	1,383	18	4.1	30
Rhode Island	48.8	503.3	0.2	1,322	26	4.7	15
South Carolina	190.8	2,312.3	0.7	1,198	38	4.9	11
South Dakota	40.9	462.9	0.1	1,146	47	4.0	31
Tennessee	224.2	3,255.5	-1.2	1,327	24	5.7	3
Texas	854.9	14,062.3	0.7	1,444	14	3.6	38
Utah	142.4	1,745.9	1.2	1,297	28	3.8	33
Vermont	34.1	307.2	-0.7	1,243	32	4.4	21
Virginia	324.0	4,142.4	0.7	1,504	10	4.2	27
Washington	242.3	3,639.4	-0.1	1,923	2	7.7	1
West Virginia	62.1	701.1	-0.1	1,121	50	3.4	44
Wisconsin	211.6	2,949.1	-0.4	1,228	34	4.5	18
Wyoming	31.7	285.6	-1.1	1,201	37	2.0	51
Puerto Rico	52.8	945.5	-0.6	687	(3)	2.7	(3)
Virgin Islands	3.0	33.2	-5.4	1,025	(3)	4.7	(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. 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.

Last Modified Date: Tuesday, March 17, 2026

Mid-Atlantic Information Office

County Employment and Wages in West Virginia — Third Quarter 2025

(U.S. average = $1,459)