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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 266th nationally, and the percent change ranked 206th 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.
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
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
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
