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News Release Information

25-1391-ATL
Tuesday, September 16, 2025

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (404) 893-4220

County Employment and Wages in Alabama — First Quarter 2025

Employment increased in 3 of the 7 largest counties in Alabama from March 2024 to March 2025, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Victoria G. Lee noted that Baldwin County had the largest over-the-year increase in employment, with a gain of 2.1 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.)


Among the seven largest counties in Alabama, employment was highest in Jefferson (365,200) in March 2025. Together, the seven largest counties accounted for 55.7 percent of total covered employment within the state. Nationwide, the 372 largest counties comprise 73.4 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 first quarter 2025

All six large Alabama counties with published data reported average weekly wage increases over the year. (See chart 2.) Jefferson had the largest increase (+5.4 percent). Over-the-year wage gains among the other five Alabama large counties ranged from 3.4 percent to 0.7 percent.


Weekly wages in all large counties in Alabama were below the national average of $1,589. Average weekly wages ranged from $1,514 in Madison to $996 in Baldwin.

Smaller county average weekly wages in the first quarter of 2025

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 60 small counties in Alabama, defined as having employment below 75,000 in 2024. (See table 2.) Wage levels in 59 of the 60 smaller counties were below the national average. Washington reported the highest average weekly wage ($1,886). Geneva reported the lowest average weekly wage ($825) in the state.

Among all 67 Alabama counties, 15 reported average weekly wages of less than $925, 21 had wages from $925 to $999, 12 had wages from $1,000 to $1,074, 6 had wages from $1,075 to $1,149, and 13 had average weekly wages of $1,150 or higher. (See map 1 and table 2.)

Map 1. Average weekly wages by county in Alabama, first quarter 2025

(U.S. average = $1,589)

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 news release for second quarter 2025 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, December 3, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).

County Changes for the 2025 County Employment and Wages News Releases

Counties with annual average employment of 75,000 or more in 2024 are included in this release and will be included in future 2025 releases. Four counties have been added to the nationwide publication tables: Pinal, AZ; Henry, GA; Wood, OH; and Comal, TX. One county has been dropped from the publication tables: Gregg, TX.

Table 1. Covered establishments, employment, and wages in the United States and the seven largest counties in Alabama, first quarter 2025
Area Establishments,
first quarter
(thousands)
Employment Average weekly wage (1)
March 2025
(thousands)
Percent change,
March
2024–25 (2)
National ranking
by percent change (3)
First quarter
2025 ($)
National ranking
by level (3)
Percent change,
first quarter
2024–25 (2)
National ranking
by percent change (3)

United States (4)

12,249.3 154,523.8 0.4 -- 1,589 -- 4.1 --

Alabama

163.3 2,102.3 0.3 -- 1,245 39 3.8 23

Baldwin

9.2 86.6 2.1 16 996 363 3.3 173

Jefferson

23.4 365.2 -0.1 235 1,511 105 5.4 42

Madison

14.3 231.1 0.5 155 1,514 104 (5) -

Mobile

12.4 174.6 0.3 175 1,197 284 3.4 167

Montgomery

7.4 131.7 -0.5 287 1,177 300 2.8 228

Shelby

7.5 84.0 -0.7 314 1,389 161 2.3 268

Tuscaloosa

5.5 98.0 -0.2 246 1,176 301 0.7 328

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.
(5) Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.

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 Alabama, first quarter 2025
Area Establishments Employment March 2025 Average weekly wage ($) (1)

United States (2)

12,249,320 154,523,785 1,589

Alabama

163,253 2,102,283 1,245

Autauga

1,173 12,951 1,006

Baldwin

9,152 86,563 996

Barbour

595 7,671 897

Bibb

456 4,760 1,021

Blount

985 9,227 882

Bullock

211 2,605 928

Butler

519 6,747 911

Calhoun

2,898 43,198 995

Chambers

802 9,174 973

Cherokee

510 5,453 879

Chilton

948 9,351 910

Choctaw

362 3,312 1,197

Clarke

731 7,809 1,007

Clay

265 4,235 897

Cleburne

290 2,814 1,031

Coffee

1,404 17,419 908

Colbert

1,674 24,607 1,113

Conecuh

294 3,315 915

Coosa

169 1,483 1,055

Covington

1,159 12,193 935

Crenshaw

306 3,482 897

Cullman

2,360 30,750 1,009

Dale

1,166 18,410 1,216

Dallas

993 11,453 975

DeKalb

1,526 23,487 967

Elmore

1,851 21,760 955

Escambia

946 12,923 1,010

Etowah

2,515 33,062 897

Fayette

363 3,887 991

Franklin

696 10,881 919

Geneva

616 5,501 825

Greene

180 1,737 876

Hale

338 2,649 932

Henry

422 3,700 1,021

Houston

3,810 50,243 1,080

Jackson

1,221 15,052 976

Jefferson

23,426 365,167 1,511

Lamar

298 3,340 990

Lauderdale

2,623 30,906 940

Lawrence

579 5,494 972

Lee

4,498 67,585 1,073

Limestone

2,184 35,085 1,165

Lowndes

210 2,455 1,141

Macon

318 4,662 1,143

Madison

14,325 231,082 1,514

Marengo

580 7,225 1,078

Marion

737 10,188 948

Marshall

2,650 40,661 952

Mobile

12,392 174,613 1,197

Monroe

486 6,014 1,069

Montgomery

7,384 131,688 1,177

Morgan

3,441 54,311 1,195

Perry

195 1,775 830

Pickens

399 3,640 1,007

Pike

807 15,539 1,017

Randolph

485 4,940 898

Russell

1,224 14,042 953

St. Clair

2,062 22,234 1,312

Shelby

7,509 83,975 1,389

Sumter

299 2,744 935

Talladega

1,615 31,708 1,088

Tallapoosa

1,080 12,763 938

Tuscaloosa

5,520 98,022 1,176

Walker

1,551 18,957 959

Washington

332 5,316 1,886

Wilcox

331 2,712 1,191

Winston

558 8,156 994

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. 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, first quarter 2025
State Establishments,
first quarter
(thousands)
Employment Average weekly wage (1)
March 2025
(thousands)
Percent change,
March
2024–25
First quarter
2025 ($)
National ranking
by level
Percent change,
first quarter
2024–25
National ranking
by percent change

United States (2)

12,249.3 154,523.8 0.4 1,589 -- 4.1 --

Alabama

163.3 2,102.3 0.3 1,245 39 3.8 23

Alaska

25.3 323.5 1.3 1,452 20 5.8 4

Arizona

226.1 3,259.3 0.3 1,431 21 3.8 23

Arkansas

107.6 1,304.4 0.7 1,236 40 5.6 6

California

1,945.4 18,066.2 0.1 1,905 6 4.2 13

Colorado

242.4 2,862.7 0.1 1,681 8 4.2 13

Connecticut

148.5 1,671.7 0.5 1,980 4 3.8 23

Delaware

45.4 474.3 0.8 1,535 15 3.4 30

District of Columbia

51.5 748.9 -1.4 2,606 1 7.2 1

Florida

886.5 9,958.4 0.9 1,456 19 5.1 8

Georgia

394.8 4,860.7 0.4 1,491 17 3.4 30

Hawaii

60.3 644.8 0.6 1,363 27 6.7 2

Idaho

102.7 848.2 1.2 1,178 48 4.2 13

Illinois

407.1 5,988.9 0.2 1,662 9 3.2 38

Indiana

194.8 3,161.4 0.3 1,323 30 4.2 13

Iowa

111.3 1,537.7 -0.5 1,253 36 3.2 38

Kansas

104.3 1,428.0 0.8 1,246 38 4.0 19

Kentucky

159.6 1,986.3 0.0 1,213 44 2.4 51

Louisiana

157.0 1,921.2 0.5 1,227 42 2.8 49

Maine

66.6 629.6 0.1 1,283 34 2.7 50

Maryland

197.7 2,739.0 -0.2 1,634 10 3.2 38

Massachusetts

289.8 3,575.8 -0.7 2,107 3 4.6 11

Michigan

307.3 4,337.3 -0.3 1,391 24 2.9 48

Minnesota

211.8 2,878.6 -0.1 1,570 14 3.7 27

Mississippi

91.3 1,160.4 -0.4 1,018 51 4.1 17

Missouri

252.4 2,886.9 0.1 1,310 31 3.2 38

Montana

67.1 505.8 0.6 1,189 46 5.6 6

Nebraska

78.6 1,008.4 -0.1 1,231 41 3.1 42

Nevada

106.1 1,541.2 0.2 1,359 29 4.1 17

New Hampshire

66.3 681.0 0.1 1,606 11 4.8 9

New Jersey

338.9 4,259.0 1.1 1,815 7 3.0 44

New Mexico

66.8 868.2 0.3 1,203 45 3.9 22

New York

716.1 9,757.0 1.4 2,213 2 6.2 3

North Carolina

373.2 4,888.5 0.2 1,467 18 4.8 9

North Dakota

36.4 422.8 0.6 1,302 33 3.3 34

Ohio

344.2 5,466.8 0.2 1,361 28 3.5 28

Oklahoma

130.9 1,700.2 0.5 1,186 47 3.0 44

Oregon

186.2 1,965.7 -0.8 1,420 23 3.3 34

Pennsylvania

394.5 6,003.5 0.6 1,500 16 3.5 28

Rhode Island

49.0 489.3 1.0 1,429 22 3.0 44

South Carolina

198.7 2,304.9 1.7 1,247 37 4.4 12

South Dakota

40.5 450.5 0.2 1,163 49 3.0 44

Tennessee

221.0 3,251.5 -0.4 1,364 26 4.0 19

Texas

847.6 14,015.9 1.2 1,587 13 3.1 42

Utah

138.1 1,720.5 1.1 1,365 25 4.0 19

Vermont

33.5 306.8 -0.4 1,280 35 3.8 23

Virginia

321.9 4,108.8 0.8 1,605 12 3.4 30

Washington

240.9 3,583.7 0.9 1,935 5 5.8 4

West Virginia

61.9 694.6 0.0 1,149 50 3.3 34

Wisconsin

208.9 2,898.4 -0.2 1,305 32 3.4 30

Wyoming

31.0 274.6 0.0 1,216 43 3.3 34

Puerto Rico

52.0 946.1 -0.7 699 (3) 3.2 (3)

Virgin Islands

2.9 33.8 -7.5 1,034 (3) 2.7 (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: Tuesday, September 16, 2025