Employment rose in 25 of the 26 largest counties in Texas from September 2013 to September 2014, 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 2013 annual average employment.) Regional Commissioner Stanley W. Suchman noted that the rates of job growth in three Texas counties ranked in the top 10 nationwide. Midland County’s 7.4-percent job gain ranked second in the nation and Fort Bend and Montgomery Counties’ gains, each at 5.1 percent, ranked ninth. (See table 1.)

Employment nationwide advanced 2.0 percent from September 2013 to September 2014 as 306 of the 339 largest U.S. counties registered increases. Weld, Colo., recorded the fastest employment gain in the country, up 8.8 percent, while Atlantic, N.J., registered the largest decline, down 4.0 percent.

Among the largest counties in Texas, employment was highest in Harris County (2,269,500) in September 2014, followed by Dallas County (1,558,500). 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 339 largest counties made up 71.8 percent of total U.S. employment.

From the third quarter of 2013 to the third quarter of 2014, average weekly wages nationwide increased 2.9 percent to $949. Among large counties in Texas, Brazoria registered the largest increase in average weekly wages with a gain of 7.1 percent, while Williamson recorded the only decrease, down 0.8 percent. (See table 1.) In the third quarter of 2014, Midland had the highest average weekly wage among the state’s largest counties at $1,256 and Cameron had the lowest at $603.

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 2013. Among these smaller counties, 195 had average weekly wages below the national average in September 2014. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

Nineteen of Texas’s 26 large counties recorded wage growth above the 2.9-percent national increase from the third quarter of 2013 to the third quarter of 2014. Wage growth in Brazoria (7.1 percent, 4^th) and Midland (6.8 percent, 6^th) placed in the top 10 nationwide. (See table 1.) Three other Texas counties registered wage growth ranking in the top 25 nationally: Montgomery and Nueces (5.5 percent each, 13^th); and Jefferson (4.5 percent, 23^rd).

Among the 339 largest U.S. counties, 328 had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages. Olmsted, Minn., had the largest increase with a gain of 11.1 percent, followed by San Francisco, Calif. (8.6 percent) and Santa Clara, Calif. (7.4 percent). Wage decreases were recorded in 10 large counties nationwide, with the largest over-the-year loss in Collier, Fla., down 3.9 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 $949 per week in the third quarter of 2014. Midland County led at $1,256 per week and ranked 16^th among the 339 large counties nationwide. Midland was followed by Harris ($1,238, 19^th), Dallas ($1,141, 33^rd), Collin ($1,097, 43^rd), and Travis ($1,074, 47^th). Four additional Texas counties reported average weekly wages above the national average: Jefferson ($969, 84^th), Brazoria ($966, 87^th), Fort Bend ($956, 93^rd), and Montgomery ($954, 97^th).

Texas had four of the lowest-paying large counties in the United States, all located along the border with Mexico: Cameron ($603, 338^th), Hidalgo ($616, 337^th), Webb ($653, 334^th), and El Paso ($682, 328^th). Other Texas counties that ranked in the bottom quintile were Brazos ($734, 316^th), Lubbock ($764, 287^th), and McLennan ($775, 276^th).

Nationally, weekly wages were higher than the U.S. average in 99 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 $2,012. San Mateo, Calif., was second at $1,824, followed by New York, N.Y. ($1,733), San Francisco, Calif. ($1,685), and Washington, D.C. ($1,631).

Of the largest counties in the United States, 237, or more than two-thirds, reported average weekly wages below the national average in the third quarter of 2014. The lowest wage was reported in Horry, S.C., at $580 per week, followed by the Texas counties of Cameron and Hidalgo. Wages in these three lowest-ranked counties were less than one-third of the average weekly wage in the highest-ranked county, Santa Clara, Calif.

Average weekly wages in smaller Texas counties

Thirty-three of the 228 smaller Texas counties – those with employment below 75,000 – reported average weekly wages above the national average of $949. Three of these smaller counties had wages that were also the highest in the state: Irion ($1,514), Sutton ($1,379), and Carson ($1,370). Delta County registered the lowest weekly wage, averaging $375 in the third quarter of 2014. (See table 2.)

When all 254 counties in Texas were considered, all but 42 had wages below the national average. Fifty-four reported average weekly wages under $650, 76 registered wages from $650 to $749, 52 had wages from $750 to $849, 30 had wages from $850 to $949, and 42 had wages of $950 or more per week. (See chart 1.) The counties with the highest average weekly wages were located around the large metropolitan areas of Dallas, Houston, and Austin, as well as the smaller areas of Midland, Odessa, and Amarillo. Lower-paying counties were concentrated 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 2013 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 2014 version of the national news release. Tables and additional content from Employment and Wages Annual Averages 2013 are now available online at www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/2013/home.htm. The 2014 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online will be available in September 2015.

The County Employment and Wages release for fourth quarter 2014 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, June 17, 2015, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).

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 9.4 million employer reports cover 137.7 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.

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.