Five of the six large counties in Wisconsin had employment increases from September 2014 to September 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.) Dane County had the largest increase, up 1.8 percent, followed by Outagamie and Waukesha Counties, up 1.3 percent each. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Charlene Peiffer noted that the employment gains in the state’s five large counties were less than the national increase of 1.9 percent. (See table 1.)

Among the six large counties in Wisconsin, employment was highest in Milwaukee (484,900) in September 2015, followed by Dane (322,800), and Waukesha (237,000). Each of the three other counties—Brown, Outagamie, and Winnebago—had employment levels of less than 153,000. Collectively, Wisconsin's six large counties accounted for 49.5 percent of total employment within the state. Nationwide, the 342 largest counties made up 72.2 percent of total U.S. employment.

The average weekly wage in Dane County rose 4.6 percent from the third quarter of 2014 to the third quarter of 2015, the largest increase among Wisconsin's large counties, followed by Brown and Waukesha Counties at 3.8 percent each. Waukesha County had the highest average weekly wage in the state at $953, followed by Dane County at $938 and Milwaukee County at $925. (See table 1.) Nationally, the average weekly wage rose 2.6 percent over the year to $974 in the third quarter of 2015.

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 66 counties in Wisconsin 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

All of Wisconsin’s large counties recorded wage gains greater than the national increase of 2.6 percent from the third quarter of 2014 to the third quarter of 2015. (See table 1.) As noted, Dane County had the state’s largest average weekly wage increase, up 4.6 percent, and ranked 24^th among the 342 largest U.S. counties. The over-the-year wage gains in Brown and Waukesha Counties, at 3.8 percent each, ranked 53^rd nationally. The three remaining counties had average weekly wage increases ranging from 3.3 to 2.8 percent, ranking in the top-half nationwide.

Nationally, 319 of the 342 largest counties registered over-the-year wage increases. Rockland, N.Y., had the largest wage gain, up 24.9 percent from the third quarter of 2014. Lake, Ill., was second with a wage increase of 11.7 percent, followed by Onondaga, N.Y. (6.5 percent); Washington, Ore. (6.4 percent); and Marin, Calif.; and Santa Cruz, Calif. (6.1 percent each).

Among the largest U.S. counties, 20 experienced over-the-year wage decreases. Midland, Texas, had the largest wage decrease with a loss of 6.7 percent. Ector, Texas, had the second largest decrease in average weekly wages, down 4.9 percent from the third quarter 2014, followed by Lafayette, La. (-3.2 percent); Stark, Ohio (-2.1 percent); and Gregg, Texas (-1.5 percent).

Large county average weekly wages

Average weekly wages in Wisconsin’s six largest counties were below the national average of $974 in the third quarter of 2015. As noted, Waukesha County ($953) had the highest average weekly wage in the state, ranking 114^th among the 342 largest U.S. counties, followed by Dane ($938) and Milwaukee ($925) which placed 126^th and 147^th, respectively. The state’s remaining large counties had average weekly wages that placed in the bottom half of the national ranking.

Nationwide, average weekly wages were above the U.S. average ($974) in 100 of the 342 largest counties in the third quarter of 2015. Santa Clara, Calif., recorded the highest average weekly wage at $2,090, followed by San Mateo, Calif. ($1,894); New York, N.Y. ($1,829); San Francisco, Calif. ($1,712); and Washington, D.C. ($1,667).

Among the largest U.S. counties, 242 had weekly wages below the national average in the third quarter of 2015. Horry County, S.C. ($598), reported the lowest wage, followed by Cameron, Texas ($615); Hidalgo, Texas ($624); Webb, Texas ($658); and Marion, Fla. ($658).

Average weekly wages in Wisconsin’s smaller counties

Of the 66 counties in Wisconsin with employment below 75,000, Racine County had the highest average weekly wage at $846. Florence County had the lowest weekly wage at $490, followed by Bayfield at $525. (See table 2.)

When all 72 counties in Wisconsin were considered, 22 reported average weekly wages of $649 or lower, 29 had wages from $650 to $749, 16 had wages from $750 to $849, and 5 had wages from $850 or higher. (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 fourth quarter 2015 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, June 8, 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 140.4 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) 877-8342.