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News Release Information

25-946-CHI
Thursday, June 12, 2025

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (312) 353-1138

County Employment and Wages in Nebraska — Fourth Quarter 2024

Employment rose in all three of the largest counties in Nebraska from December 2023 to December 2024, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Acting Regional Commissioner Julie Wilson noted that Lancaster County had the largest over-the-year increase in employment at 0.7 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.)


Among the three largest counties in Nebraska, employment was highest in Douglas (341,700) in December 2024. Together, the three largest counties accounted for 58.6 percent of total covered employment within the state. Nationwide, the 369 largest counties comprise 73.3 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 2023.)

Large county average weekly wages in the fourth quarter 2024

All three large Nebraska counties reported average weekly wage gains over the year. (See chart 2.) Sarpy had the largest gain (+4.0 percent). Over-the-year wage gains among Nebraska’s other two large counties were 3.5 percent in Lancaster and 2.7 percent in Douglas.


Weekly wages in all large counties in Nebraska were below the national average of $1,507. Average weekly wages ranged from $1,354 in Douglas to $1,173 in Sarpy.

Smaller county average weekly wages in the fourth quarter of 2024

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 90 small counties in Nebraska, defined as having employment below 75,000 in 2023. (See table 2.) Wage levels in 89 of the 90 smaller counties were below the national average. Stanton reported the highest average weekly wage ($1,587). Keya Paha reported the lowest average weekly wage ($671) in the state.

Among all 93 Nebraska counties, 25 reported average weekly wages of less than $900, 23 registered wages from $900 to $999, 26 had wages from $1,000 to $1,099, and 19 had average weekly wages of $1,100 or higher. (See map 1 and table 2.)

Map 1. Average weekly wages by county in Nebraska, fourth quarter 2024

(U.S. average = $1,507)

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.

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 first quarter 2025 is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, September 9, 2025.

QCEW Moves to One Data Release Beginning with Fourth Quarter 2024 Publication

The Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) is streamlining its release process. Beginning with the fourth quarter 2024 national release on June 4, QCEW will publish the national County Employment and Wages news release on the same date as the QCEW full data update. Revised news release dates are available online.

Table 1. Covered establishments, employment, and wages in the United States and the three largest counties in Nebraska, fourth quarter 2024
Area Establishments,
fourth quarter
(thousands)
Employment Average weekly wage (1)
December 2024
(thousands)
Percent change,
December
2023–24 (2)
National ranking
by percent change (3)
Fourth quarter
2024 ($)
National ranking
by level (3)
Percent change,
fourth quarter
2023–24 (2)
National ranking
by percent change (3)

United States (4)

12,265.4 156,202.9 0.8 -- 1,507 -- 5.0 --

Nebraska

78.0 1,024.8 0.5 -- 1,227 41 3.5 45

Douglas

19.0 341.7 0.1 251 1,354 169 2.7 318

Lancaster

9.9 177.0 0.7 159 1,197 286 3.5 245

Sarpy

4.6 82.3 0.6 177 1,173 306 4.0 203

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 Nebraska, fourth quarter 2024
Area Establishments Employment December 2024 Average weekly wage ($) (1)

United States (2)

12,265,395 156,202,874 1,507

Nebraska

77,970 1,024,782 1,227

Adams

1,048 15,832 1,101

Antelope

284 2,189 1,051

Arthur

14 93 690

Banner

14 128 892

Blaine

25 133 935

Boone

256 2,489 1,046

Box Butte

360 3,671 970

Boyd

94 580 770

Brown

164 1,387 953

Buffalo

1,891 28,456 1,033

Burt

242 1,773 944

Butler

274 2,628 1,156

Cass

709 6,013 1,047

Cedar

345 2,815 965

Chase

222 1,768 1,081

Cherry

293 2,302 870

Cheyenne

347 4,002 961

Clay

280 2,056 1,096

Colfax

315 5,111 1,090

Cuming

401 3,852 1,066

Custer

481 4,529 1,053

Dakota

501 14,023 1,163

Dawes

301 3,175 813

Dawson

765 12,044 1,029

Deuel

78 551 812

Dixon

147 1,812 1,174

Dodge

1,114 18,501 1,092

Douglas

19,029 341,651 1,354

Dundy

84 623 998

Fillmore

282 2,403 1,114

Franklin

130 799 883

Frontier

100 802 862

Furnas

213 1,748 993

Gage

740 8,721 1,005

Garden

72 486 876

Garfield

108 809 925

Gosper

77 428 994

Grant

54 287 909

Greeley

120 604 925

Hall

1,979 35,797 1,084

Hamilton

386 4,019 1,166

Harlan

125 846 920

Hayes

38 194 823

Hitchcock

93 651 1,085

Holt

520 4,375 997

Hooker

32 217 678

Howard

215 1,542 878

Jefferson

277 3,387 972

Johnson

132 1,425 1,109

Kearney

209 2,018 1,019

Keith

399 3,262 956

Keya Paha

32 144 671

Kimball

143 1,527 1,036

Knox

331 2,820 903

Lancaster

9,915 176,998 1,197

Lincoln

1,136 14,619 1,069

Logan

36 170 876

Loup

21 116 740

McPherson

10 50 890

Madison

1,333 22,131 1,140

Merrick

274 2,459 1,119

Morrill

184 1,541 980

Nance

111 951 916

Nemaha

224 2,964 1,434

Nuckolls

188 1,586 890

Otoe

504 6,195 1,067

Pawnee

90 731 981

Perkins

151 1,139 1,072

Phelps

421 4,862 1,219

Pierce

246 1,975 1,056

Platte

1,164 20,039 1,096

Polk

171 1,468 1,035

Red Willow

444 4,944 966

Richardson

296 2,374 875

Rock

62 471 912

Saline

386 6,703 1,094

Sarpy

4,618 82,304 1,173

Saunders

661 5,923 1,032

Scotts Bluff

1,200 16,001 1,051

Seward

520 6,000 1,086

Sheridan

223 1,723 831

Sherman

112 724 783

Sioux

27 174 839

Stanton

93 1,280 1,587

Thayer

266 2,260 1,108

Thomas

41 232 783

Thurston

165 3,648 1,152

Valley

232 1,763 992

Washington

687 8,539 1,229

Wayne

286 4,219 884

Webster

128 1,067 870

Wheeler

40 311 842

York

652 7,715 1,143

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, fourth quarter 2024
State Establishments,
fourth quarter
(thousands)
Employment Average weekly wage (1)
December 2024
(thousands)
Percent change,
December
2023–24
Fourth quarter
2024 ($)
National ranking
by level
Percent change,
fourth quarter
2023–24
National ranking
by percent change

United States (2)

12,265.4 156,202.9 0.8 1,507 -- 5.0 --

Alabama

162.3 2,122.2 0.9 1,255 36 4.1 32

Alaska

25.3 317.4 1.7 1,430 16 4.2 30

Arizona

225.5 3,272.3 1.2 1,406 19 6.4 6

Arkansas

106.1 1,312.6 1.1 1,153 50 5.9 10

California

1,903.9 18,230.8 0.5 1,872 5 6.5 5

Colorado

236.6 2,911.3 -0.3 1,594 8 5.1 16

Connecticut

150.7 1,700.7 0.5 1,716 6 5.2 15

Delaware

45.2 480.6 1.5 1,437 15 4.5 24

District of Columbia

52.4 757.2 -0.5 2,495 1 4.7 21

Florida

914.8 9,978.9 0.9 1,405 20 5.7 13

Georgia

396.6 4,916.6 0.8 1,391 21 4.7 21

Hawaii

61.4 651.3 1.1 1,345 27 4.3 26

Idaho

103.9 859.1 0.5 1,232 39 8.3 3

Illinois

411.2 6,089.1 0.5 1,538 12 4.1 32

Indiana

194.6 3,201.9 0.4 1,222 44 4.4 25

Iowa

112.5 1,559.3 -0.6 1,237 38 3.2 50

Kansas

103.5 1,445.6 0.9 1,218 45 4.3 26

Kentucky

159.0 2,008.4 0.2 1,189 46 3.8 39

Louisiana

156.8 1,936.3 1.1 1,228 40 2.8 51

Maine

66.2 643.9 0.9 1,278 33 5.9 10

Maryland

197.0 2,779.9 1.6 1,570 10 4.2 30

Massachusetts

288.5 3,646.1 -0.4 1,890 3 4.7 21

Michigan

303.4 4,406.8 -0.1 1,370 23 4.1 32

Minnesota

215.1 2,945.4 1.1 1,452 14 3.7 42

Mississippi

90.9 1,174.3 0.2 1,023 51 4.1 32

Missouri

251.5 2,922.2 0.5 1,268 35 3.8 39

Montana

65.8 512.8 0.5 1,254 37 6.4 6

Nebraska

78.0 1,024.8 0.5 1,227 41 3.5 45

Nevada

108.1 1,561.5 0.4 1,350 25 6.1 9

New Hampshire

68.7 692.4 0.4 1,577 9 3.3 49

New Jersey

339.1 4,332.2 0.9 1,629 7 3.4 47

New Mexico

68.9 873.8 0.3 1,223 42 5.0 17

New York

711.5 9,777.3 1.5 1,881 4 5.4 14

North Carolina

384.0 4,941.9 0.5 1,358 24 5.8 12

North Dakota

36.9 431.1 0.9 1,315 30 3.8 39

Ohio

346.3 5,551.7 0.6 1,305 32 4.8 20

Oklahoma

129.7 1,713.2 0.8 1,168 48 4.1 32

Oregon

190.9 1,989.6 0.0 1,424 17 6.6 4

Pennsylvania

395.1 6,076.5 0.8 1,414 18 4.0 37

Rhode Island

48.9 500.8 1.6 1,348 26 3.5 45

South Carolina

195.3 2,310.1 1.4 1,223 42 6.2 8

South Dakota

40.6 459.7 0.9 1,181 47 3.9 38

Tennessee

232.2 3,320.3 0.9 1,372 22 5.0 17

Texas

846.0 14,129.7 1.5 1,488 13 4.3 26

Utah

142.6 1,735.8 1.3 1,333 29 3.7 42

Vermont

33.7 311.2 0.0 1,311 31 4.9 19

Virginia

320.9 4,142.6 1.2 1,546 11 4.3 26

Washington

241.5 3,612.0 0.8 1,897 2 8.7 2

West Virginia

62.7 701.4 0.2 1,159 49 3.4 47

Wisconsin

212.2 2,950.8 0.4 1,278 33 3.6 44

Wyoming

31.1 279.4 0.5 1,340 28 12.4 1

Puerto Rico

51.6 975.4 -0.2 718 (3) 4.5 (3)

Virgin Islands

3.0 33.1 -8.6 1,046 (3) 1.8 (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: Thursday, June 12, 2025