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News Release Information

25-1393-ATL
Tuesday, September 16, 2025

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

County Employment and Wages in Georgia — First Quarter 2025

Employment rose in 6 of the 12 largest counties in Georgia from March 2024 to March 2025, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Victoria G. Lee noted that Henry County had the largest over-the-year increase in employment, with a gain of 1.4 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.) Clayton had the largest over-the-year decrease in employment (-2.3 percent).


Among the 12 largest counties in Georgia, employment was highest in Fulton (944,900) in March 2025. Together, the 12 largest counties accounted for 58.7 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

Eleven of Georgia’s largest counties reported average weekly wage gains over the year. (See chart 2.) DeKalb had the largest gain (+6.4 percent). Over-the-year wage gains among the other 10 large Georgia counties ranged from 5.6 percent to 0.1 percent. Muscogee (-1.0 percent) reported the only loss.


Weekly wages in 3 of the 12 largest counties in Georgia were above the national average of $1,589. Average weekly wages ranged from $2,284 in Fulton to $1,018 in Henry.

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 147 small counties in Georgia, defined as having employment below 75,000 in 2024. (See table 2.) Wage levels in 146 of the 147 smaller counties were below the national average. Burke reported the highest average weekly wage ($2,054). Clay reported the lowest average weekly wage ($655) in the state.

Among all 159 Georgia counties, 44 reported average weekly wages of less than $875, 42 registered wages from $875 to $949, 24 had wages from $950 to $1,024, 17 had wages from $1,025 to $1,099, and 32 had average weekly wages of $1,100 or higher. (See map 1 and table 2.)

Map 1. Average weekly wages by county in Georgia, 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 12 largest counties in Georgia, 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 --

Georgia

394.8 4,860.7 0.4 -- 1,491 17 3.4 30

Bibb

4.8 78.6 0.0 222 1,120 330 5.3 44

Chatham

11.0 170.4 -0.2 246 1,234 259 4.0 110

Clayton

5.2 128.5 -2.3 361 1,792 42 5.6 34

Cobb

28.5 377.8 -0.5 287 1,609 76 0.5 334

DeKalb

23.5 309.0 0.3 175 1,588 83 6.4 20

Forsyth

9.2 88.7 0.2 189 1,273 225 2.3 268

Fulton

78.9 944.9 0.8 105 2,284 15 2.9 217

Gwinnett

34.5 386.2 0.4 167 1,345 189 2.9 217

Hall

6.0 102.4 1.1 76 1,263 234 3.6 145

Henry

5.5 74.6 1.4 48 1,018 360 1.7 304

Muscogee

5.4 88.9 -0.6 301 1,157 313 -1.0 345

Richmond

5.1 103.7 -0.5 287 1,135 324 0.1 338

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

United States (2)

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

Georgia

394,849 4,860,651 1,491

Appling

511 7,724 1,462

Atkinson

126 2,138 949

Bacon

289 3,636 917

Baker

69 437 908

Baldwin

1,010 16,423 868

Banks

391 4,985 879

Barrow

1,794 25,008 1,045

Bartow

3,038 46,972 1,162

Ben Hill

367 5,662 869

Berrien

326 3,947 1,137

Bibb

4,790 78,634 1,120

Bleckley

225 3,310 870

Brantley

256 2,678 861

Brooks

313 3,380 886

Bryan

1,130 12,657 1,067

Bulloch

1,972 29,195 923

Burke

484 7,342 2,054

Butts

558 8,695 949

Calhoun

129 1,231 821

Camden

1,241 16,231 1,156

Candler

279 3,126 881

Carroll

2,766 45,884 1,151

Catoosa

1,270 16,374 863

Charlton

196 2,035 875

Chatham

11,012 170,424 1,234

Chattahoochee

137 2,038 980

Chattooga

401 5,168 836

Cherokee

8,287 74,330 1,067

Clarke

4,018 73,392 1,153

Clay

78 604 655

Clayton

5,205 128,512 1,792

Clinch

181 2,391 897

Cobb

28,496 377,809 1,609

Coffee

1,021 18,014 949

Colquitt

1,159 15,606 924

Columbia

3,618 40,551 962

Cook

413 4,628 863

Coweta

3,762 48,209 1,084

Crawford

159 1,298 831

Crisp

606 8,403 913

Dade

328 4,525 907

Dawson

1,065 11,310 841

Decatur

794 8,390 908

DeKalb

23,547 309,018 1,588

Dodge

379 4,959 823

Dooly

228 2,615 862

Dougherty

2,620 45,235 1,116

Douglas

3,521 50,539 1,131

Early

273 3,597 1,087

Echols

60 626 922

Effingham

1,232 14,337 1,075

Elbert

555 6,035 900

Emanuel

478 7,918 894

Evans

288 4,626 815

Fannin

842 7,491 886

Fayette

4,873 48,321 1,166

Floyd

2,433 44,328 1,019

Forsyth

9,246 88,698 1,273

Franklin

618 8,183 881

Fulton

78,890 944,906 2,284

Gilmer

849 8,227 873

Glascock

48 397 706

Glynn

3,345 42,114 1,072

Gordon

1,267 24,961 1,242

Grady

539 5,851 878

Greene

654 7,223 996

Gwinnett

34,466 386,236 1,345

Habersham

1,160 15,705 1,017

Hall

6,049 102,396 1,263

Hancock

99 1,458 873

Haralson

621 7,904 1,066

Harris

597 6,861 939

Hart

618 8,132 995

Heard

180 2,153 1,296

Henry

5,511 74,578 1,018

Houston

3,500 66,071 1,198

Irwin

166 1,935 842

Jackson

2,205 45,123 1,007

Jasper

279 2,462 784

Jeff Davis

287 4,204 932

Jefferson

412 4,736 1,014

Jenkins

135 1,683 904

Johnson

148 1,422 812

Jones

416 4,226 918

Lamar

365 4,453 963

Lanier

133 1,358 874

Laurens

1,244 20,392 1,033

Lee

634 7,577 915

Liberty

1,114 19,836 1,024

Lincoln

194 1,429 807

Long

153 1,403 803

Lowndes

3,299 49,484 931

Lumpkin

738 8,787 965

McDuffie

501 6,999 871

McIntosh

251 1,882 801

Macon

236 2,696 1,161

Madison

518 4,176 900

Marion

123 1,331 739

Meriwether

426 5,013 968

Miller

169 1,960 765

Mitchell

470 6,507 878

Monroe

707 8,293 1,159

Montgomery

146 1,539 771

Morgan

727 8,876 1,107

Murray

542 8,177 856

Muscogee

5,405 88,919 1,157

Newton

2,159 28,047 1,109

Oconee

1,682 16,957 1,014

Oglethorpe

261 2,011 840

Paulding

3,039 30,411 956

Peach

659 10,909 1,038

Pickens

959 9,430 1,136

Pierce

451 4,587 896

Pike

409 3,642 920

Polk

786 11,154 965

Pulaski

233 2,909 909

Putnam

640 6,385 892

Quitman

46 343 689

Rabun

619 5,490 800

Randolph

166 1,747 809

Richmond

5,145 103,729 1,135

Rockdale

2,572 34,703 1,248

Schley

79 1,042 846

Screven

298 2,915 820

Seminole

225 2,275 841

Spalding

1,506 23,481 983

Stephens

645 8,235 957

Stewart

91 1,694 1,078

Sumter

720 9,691 853

Talbot

103 1,003 968

Taliaferro

27 201 746

Tattnall

439 5,667 885

Taylor

187 1,566 1,052

Telfair

227 2,090 815

Terrell

225 2,102 858

Thomas

1,542 20,944 1,096

Tift

1,219 21,579 1,017

Toombs

786 11,812 919

Towns

367 3,353 890

Treutlen

100 1,088 899

Troup

1,848 42,779 1,097

Turner

186 1,804 830

Twiggs

118 1,763 887

Union

789 7,806 927

Upson

532 7,270 959

Walker

929 14,678 902

Walton

2,399 26,435 1,046

Ware

1,007 14,105 919

Warren

100 1,461 1,022

Washington

436 6,394 1,037

Wayne

695 9,013 1,034

Webster

45 467 1,001

Wheeler

82 1,012 911

White

863 9,150 800

Whitfield

2,744 56,291 1,106

Wilcox

120 1,207 804

Wilkes

250 2,713 992

Wilkinson

178 2,788 1,110

Worth

373 3,098 806

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