Employment declined in 9 of the 12 largest counties in Georgia from March 2025 to March 2026, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Georgia employment was essentially unchanged over the year at 4,865,200 in March 2026, as measured by the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program. (See table 1.) Regional Commissioner Victoria G. Lee noted that Muscogee County (-2.1 percent) had the largest over-the-year decrease in employment. (See chart 1.)

  

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

County	Percent change, March 2026
Muscogee	-2.1
Bibb	-1.2
Hall	-1.2
Richmond	-1.2
Chatham	-0.7
Clayton	-0.6
Henry	-0.6
Gwinnett	-0.4
DeKalb	-0.1
Fulton	0.3
Forsyth	0.8
Cobb	1.0

Fulton County (933,900) had the highest employment level in Georgia in March 2026. Together, the 12 largest counties accounted for 58.5 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 7 of the 12 large counties in Georgia were below the national average of 3.9 percent. (See chart 2.) Muscogee had the largest gain (+6.8 percent). Over-the-year wage gains among the other 11 large Georgia counties ranged from 5.5 percent to 1.1 percent.

  

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

County	Percent change, first quarter 2026
Muscogee	6.8
Clayton	5.5
Henry	4.8
Richmond	4.7
Cobb	4.0
DeKalb	3.8
Hall	3.2
Gwinnett	2.9
Fulton	2.7
Chatham	2.5
Bibb	2.3
Forsyth	1.1

Weekly wages in 3 of the 12 largest counties in Georgia were above the national average of $1,654: Fulton ($2,355), Clayton ($1,885), and Cobb ($1,717). Average weekly wages among the other nine large counties ranged from $1,650 in DeKalb to $1,072 in Henry.

Statewide, average weekly wages increased 3.3 percent over the year to $1,539. Georgia ranked 17th in average weekly wages among the 50 states and the District of Columbia and 34th in wage growth.

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 147 smaller counties in Georgia, defined as having employment below 75,000 in 2025. (See table 2.) Wage levels in 146 of the 147 smaller counties were below the national average. Burke reported the highest average weekly wage ($2,159) among small counties. Quitman reported the lowest average weekly wage ($720) in the state.

Among all 159 Georgia counties, 42 reported average weekly wages less than $900, 39 had wages from $900 to $974, 24 had wages from $975 to $1,049, 21 had wages from $1,050 to $1,124, and 33 had average weekly wages of $1,125 or 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.