Four of the five largest counties in Iowa reported employment growth from June 2014 to June 2015, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (Large counties are defined as those with employment of 75,000 or more as measured by 2014 annual average employment.) Scott County had the largest increase, up 1.3 percent, followed by Polk and Linn Counties, up 1.1 percent and 1.0 percent, respectively. Regional Commissioner Charlene Peiffer noted that Black Hawk County had an over-the-year employment decline of 1.5 percent. Nationally, employment increased 2.0 percent. (See table 1.)

Among the five largest counties in Iowa, employment was highest in Polk County (293,100) in June 2015. Collectively, Iowa’s five large counties accounted for 43.2 percent of total employment within the state. Nationwide, the 342 largest counties made up 72.1 percent of total U.S. employment, which stood at 140.6 million in June 2015.

The average weekly wage in Linn County rose 3.4 percent from the second quarter of 2014 to the second quarter of 2015, the largest increase among Iowa’s large counties. Polk County had the highest average weekly wage in the state at $944, followed by Linn ($924) and Johnson ($898) Counties.  (See table 1.)  Nationally, the average weekly wage rose 3.0 percent over the year to $968 in the second quarter of 2015.

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 94 counties in Iowa with employment below 75,000. All of these smaller counties had average weekly wages below the national average. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

Only one of Iowa’s large counties recorded wage growth above the national increase of 3.0 percent from the second quarter of 2014 to the second quarter of 2015. (See table 1.)  As noted, Linn County’s average weekly wages increased 3.4 percent over the year, ranking 79^th among the 342 largest U.S. counties. Johnson County (2.6 percent) and Polk County (2.5 percent) also placed in the top half of the national ranking at 154^th and 160^th, respectively.

Among the 342 largest U.S. counties, 323 had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages in the second quarter of 2015. Ventura, Calif., ranked first in average weekly wage growth with a gain of 15.2 percent. Sixteen of the largest U.S. counties experienced over-the-year decreases in average weekly wages. Olmsted, Minn., had the largest percentage decline in average weekly wages with a loss of 5.2 percent.

Large county average weekly wages

Average weekly wages in all five large Iowa counties were below the national average of $968 in the second quarter of 2015. As noted, Polk County ($944) had the highest average weekly wage in the state and ranked 128^th among the 342 largest counties in the nation. Scott County ($783) reported the lowest average weekly wage of Iowa’s large counties and ranked 284^th nationwide.

Nationally, weekly wages were higher than the U.S. average of $968 in 102 of the 342 largest counties. Santa Clara, Calif., held the top position with an average weekly wage of $2,109. Santa Mateo, Calif., was second at $1,863, followed by New York, N.Y. ($1,842), and San Francisco, Calif. ($1,730). There were 240 large counties with an average weekly wage below the national average in the second quarter of 2015. The lowest average weekly wage was reported in Horry, S.C. ($568), followed by Cameron, Texas ($586); Hidalgo, Texas ($614); Webb, Texas ($651); Yakima, Wash. ($660); and Lake, Fla.

Average weekly wages in Iowa’s smaller counties

All 94 counties in Iowa with employment below 75,000 had average weekly wages below the national average of $968. Among these smaller counties, Muscatine County had the highest average weekly wage at $868 and Decatur County had the lowest at $552. (See table 2.)

When all 99 counties in Iowa were considered, 26 reported average weekly wages of $649 or less, 35 reported wages from $650 to $699, 17 had wages from $700 to $749, and 21 had wages of $750 or more. (See chart 1.)

Additional statistics and other information

Quarterly data for states have been included in this release in table 3. 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 2014 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 first quarter 2015 version of the national news release. Tables and additional content from Employment and Wages Annual Averages 2014 are now available online at www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/2014/home.htm. The 2015 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online will be available in September 2016.

The County Employment and Wages release for third quarter 2015 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, March 9, 2016.

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 9.6 million employer reports cover 140.6 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/; 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.

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