Employment rose in 25 of the 26 largest counties in Texas from September 2012 to September 2013, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. (Large counties are defined as those with employment of 75,000 or more as measured by 2012 annual average employment.) Regional Commissioner Stanley W. Suchman noted that rates of job growth in three Texas counties ranked in the top 10 nationwide. Fort Bend County’s 6.0-percent job gain led the nation and the Texas counties of Brazos (5.7 percent, 3rd) and Denton (4.9 percent, 8th) also shared in the top 10 ranking. (See table 1.)

Employment nationwide advanced 1.7 percent from September 2012 as 286 of the 334 largest U.S. counties registered increases. As noted, Fort Bend, Texas, recorded the fastest rate of employment growth in the country, up 6.0 percent, while Peoria, Ill., registered the largest decline, down 3.7 percent.

Among the largest counties in Texas, employment was highest in Harris County (2,192,300) in September 2013, followed by Dallas County (1,509,000). Three other counties, Tarrant, Bexar, and Travis, had employment levels exceeding 600,000. Together, the 26 largest Texas counties accounted for 80.1 percent of total employment within the state. Nationwide, the 334 largest counties made up 71.4 percent of total U.S. employment.

From the third quarter of 2012 to the third quarter of 2013, average weekly wages nationwide increased 1.9 percent to $922. Among large counties in Texas, Gregg County registered the largest increase in average weekly wages with a gain of 4.1 percent, while Brazos recorded the largest decrease, down 1.0 percent. (See table 1.) In the third quarter of 2013, Harris had the highest average weekly wage among the state’s largest counties at $1,187 and Cameron had the lowest at $587.

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 228 counties in Texas with employment levels below 75,000 in 2012. Among these smaller counties, 89 percent (202) had average weekly wages below the national average in September 2013. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

Fourteen of Texas’s 26 large counties recorded wage growth above the 1.9-percent national increase from the third quarter of 2012 to the third quarter of 2013. Gregg County’s 4.1-percent wage increase was the highest in the state and placed 15th in the national ranking. (See table 1.) Four additional Texas counties registered wage growth ranking in the top 50 nationally: Fort Bend (3.6 percent, 29th); Midland (3.5 percent, 31st); and Brazoria and Montgomery (3.4 percent each, tied 37th). In contrast, average weekly wages fell in Brazos and Webb Counties, decreasing 1.0 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively.

Among the 334 largest U.S. counties, 291 had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages. San Mateo, Calif., had the largest increase with a gain of 9.9 percent. Dane, Wis., was second with wage growth of 9.3 percent, followed by Collier, Fla. (8.0 percent). Wage decreases were recorded in 40 large counties nationwide; Pinellas, Fla., experienced the largest over-the-year wage loss at 4.3 percent.

Large county average weekly wages

Average weekly wages in 5 of the 26 large Texas counties were at least 10 percent above the national average of $922 per week in the third quarter of 2013. Harris County led at $1,187 per week and ranked 20th among the 334 large counties nationwide. Harris was followed by Midland ($1,148, 25th), Dallas ($1,115, 33rd), Collin ($1,070, 43rd), and Travis ($1,028, 53rd). Two additional Texas counties reported average weekly wages above the national average: Fort Bend ($969, 75th), and Williamson ($928, 96th).

Texas had 4 of the 11 lowest-paying large counties in the United States, all located along the border with Mexico. These included Cameron ($587, 333rd), Hidalgo ($595, 332nd), Webb ($636, 330th) and El Paso ($666, 324th). Other Texas counties with low national rankings included Brazos ($711, 314th), Lubbock ($736, 296th), and McLennan ($748, 284th).

Nationally, weekly wages were higher than the U.S. average in 101 of the largest counties in the country. Santa Clara, Calif., held the top position among the highest-paid large counties with an average weekly wage of $1,868. San Mateo, Calif., was second at $1,698, followed by New York, N.Y. ($1,667), Washington, D.C. ($1,560), and San Francisco, Calif. ($1,549).

Of the largest counties in the United States, 232, or more than two-thirds, reported average weekly wages below the national average in the third quarter of 2013. The lowest wage was reported in Horry, S.C., at $564 per week. Pasco, Fla. ($635), joined the Texas counties of Cameron, Hidalgo, and Webb among the bottom five. Wages in these five lowest-ranked counties were about one-third or less of the average weekly wage in the highest-ranked county, Santa Clara, Calif.

Average weekly wages in smaller Texas counties

Twenty-six of the 228 smaller Texas counties – those with employment below 75,000 – reported average weekly wages above the national average of $922. Two of these smaller counties had wages that not only exceeded $1,000 per week, but were also the highest in the state: Carson ($1,336), and Shackelford ($1,229). Delta County registered the lowest weekly wage, averaging $373 in the third quarter of 2013. (See table 2.)

When all 254 counties in Texas were considered, all but 33 had wages below the national average. Thirty-eight reported average weekly wages under $600, 78 registered wages from $600 to $699, 58 had wages from $700 to $799, 40 had wages from $800 to $899, and 40 had wages of $900 or more per week. (See chart 1.) The counties with the highest wages were generally concentrated around the metropolitan areas of Austin, Amarillo, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Midland, and Odessa. Lower paying counties were generally located in the agricultural areas of central Texas and the Texas Panhandle, as well as along the Texas-Mexico border.

Additional Statistics and Other Information

QCEW data for states have been included in this release in table 3. For additional information about quarterly employment and wages data, please read the Technical Note or visit www.bls.gov/cew.

Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online features comprehensive information by detailed industry on establishments, employment, and wages for the nation and all states. The 2012 edition of this publication contains selected data produced by Business Employment Dynamics (BED) on job gains and losses, as well as selected data from the first quarter 2013 version of the national news release. Tables and additional content from Employment and Wages Annual Averages 2012 are now available online at www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/2012/home.htm. The 2013 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online will be available in September 2014.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; Federal Relay Service: 1-800-877-8339.

Technical Note

Average weekly wage data by county are compiled under the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program, also known as the ES-202 program. The data are derived from summaries of employment and total pay of workers covered by state and federal unemployment insurance (UI) legislation and provided by State Workforce Agencies (SWAs). The 9.3 million employer reports cover 135.0 million full- and part-time workers. The average weekly wage values are calculated by dividing quarterly total wages by the average of the three monthly employment levels of those covered by UI programs. The result is then divided by 13, the number of weeks in a quarter. It is to be noted, therefore, that over-the-year wage changes for geographic areas may reflect shifts in the composition of employment by industry, occupation, and such other factors as hours of work. Thus, wages may vary among counties, metropolitan areas, or states for reasons other than changes in the average wage level. Data for all states, Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), counties, and the nation are available on the BLS Web site at www.bls.gov/cew/; however, data in QCEW press releases have been revised (see Technical Note below) and may not match the data contained on the Bureau’s Web site.

QCEW data are not designed as a time series. QCEW data are simply the sums of individual establishment records reflecting the number of establishments that exist in a county or industry at a point in time. Establishments can move in or out of a county or industry for a number of reasons–some reflecting economic events, others reflecting administrative changes.

The preliminary QCEW data presented in this release may differ from data released by the individual states as well as from the data presented on the BLS Web site. These potential differences result from the states’ continuing receipt, review and editing of UI data over time. On the other hand, differences between data in this release and the data found on the BLS Web site are the result of adjustments made to improve over-the-year comparisons. Specifically, these adjustments account for administrative (noneconomic) changes such as a correction to a previously reported location or industry classification. Adjusting for these administrative changes allows users to more accurately assess changes of an economic nature (such as a firm moving from one county to another or changing its primary economic activity) over a 12-month period. Currently, adjusted data are available only from BLS press releases.