Employment rose in 3 of the 5 largest counties in Utah from March 2025 to March 2026, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Utah employment increased 0.9 percent over the year to 1,737,800 in March 2026, as measured by the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program. (See table 1.) Regional Commissioner James B. Howard, Jr., noted that Washington County (+1.9 percent) had the largest over-the-year increase in employment, followed by Utah County (+1.8 percent). (See chart 1.)

  

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Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in covered employment among the largest counties in Utah, March 2026

County	Percent change, March 2026
Washington	1.9
Utah	1.8
Salt Lake	1.2
Weber	-0.3
Davis	-1.3

Salt Lake County (806,300) had the highest employment level in Utah in March 2026. Together, the five largest counties accounted for 84.3 percent of total covered employment within the state. Nationwide, the 376 largest counties comprise 73.5 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 2025.)

Average weekly wage gains in 3 of the 4 large counties in Utah with published data were above the national average of 3.9 percent. (See chart 2.) Washington had the largest gain (+7.0 percent). Wages increased for the remaining three large counties: Weber County (+4.3 percent), Salt Lake County (+4.0 percent), and Utah County (+1.5 percent).

  

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Chart 2. Over-the-year percent change in covered average weekly wages among the largest counties in Utah, first quarter 2026

County	Percent change, first quarter 2026
Washington	7.0
Weber	4.3
Salt Lake	4.0
Utah	1.5

Salt Lake ($1,666) had a weekly wage above the national average of $1,654. Average weekly wages among the other four large counties ranged from $1,288 in Utah County to $1,042 in Washington County.

Statewide, average weekly wages increased 4.0 percent over the year to $1,415. Utah ranked 27th in average weekly wages among the 50 states and the District of Columbia and 17th in wage growth.

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 24 smaller counties in Utah, defined as having employment below 75,000 in 2025. (See table 2.)  Wage levels in all of the smaller counties were below the national average. Garfield reported the highest average weekly wage ($1,642) among small counties. Piute reported the lowest average weekly wage ($730) in the state.

Among all 29 Utah counties, 8 reported average weekly wages of $949 and lower, 7 had wages from $950 to $1,049, 4 had wages from $1,050 to $1,149, 4 had wages from $1,150 to $1,249, and 6 had average weekly wages of $1,250 and higher. (See map 1 and table 2.)

QCEW data for all 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.

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The County Employment and Wages release for the second quarter 2026 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, December 2, 2026.