County Employment and Wages in Oklahoma — Third Quarter 2025

Employment decreased in 2 of the 3 largest counties in Oklahoma from September 2024 to September 2025, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Acting Regional Commissioner Jerome Watters noted that Cleveland County had the largest over-the-year decrease in employment, with a loss of 1.2 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

Horizontal bar chart showing over-the-year percent change in covered employment among the largest counties in Oklahoma in September 2025.

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Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in covered employment among the largest counties in Oklahoma, September 2025
County	Percent change, September 2025
Cleveland	-1.2
Oklahoma	-0.8
Tulsa	0.0

Among the three largest counties in Oklahoma, employment was highest in Oklahoma County (495,700) in September 2025. Together, the three largest counties accounted for 56.4 percent of total covered employment within the state. Nationwide, the 372 largest counties comprise 73.2 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 third quarter 2025

All three large Oklahoma counties reported average weekly wage increases over the year. (See chart 2.) Oklahoma County had the largest increase (+4.8 percent). Average weekly wages in the two other large counties, Tulsa and Cleveland, rose 4.1 percent and 3.7 percent, respectively.

Horizontal bar chart showing over-the-year percent change in covered average weekly wages among the largest counties in Oklahoma in the third quarter of 2025.

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Chart 2. Over-the-year percent change in covered average weekly wages among the largest counties in Oklahoma, third quarter 2025
County	Percent change, third quarter 2025
Oklahoma	4.8
Tulsa	4.1
Cleveland	3.7

Weekly wages in all three large counties in Oklahoma were below the national average of $1,459. Average weekly wages ranged from $1,277 in Oklahoma County to $1,001 in Cleveland.

Smaller county average weekly wages in the third quarter of 2025

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 74 small counties in Oklahoma, defined as having employment below 75,000 in 2024. (See table 2.) Wage levels in 73 of the 74 smaller counties were below the national average. Dewey reported the highest average weekly wage ($1,478) in the state. McIntosh reported the lowest average weekly wage ($738) in the state.

Among all 77 Oklahoma counties, 20 reported average weekly wages of $874 or less, 14 had wages from $875 to $949, 21 had wages from $950 to $1,024, and 22 had average weekly wages of $1,025 or higher. (See map 1 and table 2.)

Map 1. Average weekly wages by county in Oklahoma, third quarter 2025

(U.S. average = $1,459)

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.

If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.

The County Employment and Wages release for the fourth quarter 2025 is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, June 2, 2026.

Table 1. Covered establishments, employment, and wages in the United States and the three largest counties in Oklahoma, third quarter 2025
Area	Establishments, third quarter (thousands)	Employment			Average weekly wage (1)
Area	Establishments, third quarter (thousands)	September 2025 (thousands)	Percent change, September 2024–25 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)	Third quarter 2025 ($)	National ranking by level (3)	Percent change, third quarter 2024–25 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)
United States (4)	12,353.8	155,767.7	0.1	--	1,459	--	4.7	--
Oklahoma	128.8	1,697.9	-0.3	--	1,143	48	4.5	18
Cleveland	7.6	91.7	-1.2	322	1,001	364	3.7	206
Oklahoma	33.5	495.7	-0.8	284	1,277	195	4.8	88
Tulsa	26.6	370.8	0.0	168	1,229	232	4.1	164
(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 Oklahoma, third quarter 2025
Area	Establishments	Employment September 2025	Average weekly wage ($) (1)
United States (2)	12,353,804	155,767,691	1,459
Oklahoma	128,824	1,697,877	1,143
Adair	358	4,284	829
Alfalfa	146	1,174	993
Atoka	345	3,476	777
Beaver	175	1,277	939
Beckham	765	9,712	1,152
Blaine	290	2,973	982
Bryan	1,268	22,309	1,041
Caddo	586	7,670	1,042
Canadian	4,240	39,425	967
Carter	1,701	23,701	1,019
Cherokee	936	18,566	950
Choctaw	386	5,361	855
Cimarron	92	602	843
Cleveland	7,559	91,703	1,001
Coal	132	1,288	1,063
Comanche	2,666	40,665	1,014
Cotton	127	1,871	938
Craig	425	4,909	873
Creek	1,682	20,997	1,103
Custer	995	12,826	983
Delaware	952	9,731	808
Dewey	185	2,275	1,478
Ellis	141	1,155	940
Garfield	1,743	23,243	973
Garvin	820	9,363	1,083
Grady	1,273	13,621	969
Grant	148	1,314	1,078
Greer	100	898	794
Harmon	75	627	839
Harper	143	1,101	898
Haskell	288	3,270	829
Hughes	280	2,841	788
Jackson	683	9,526	1,115
Jefferson	140	839	759
Johnston	261	3,020	950
Kay	1,199	17,588	964
Kingfisher	609	6,952	1,093
Kiowa	230	1,867	860
Latimer	215	3,169	1,121
LeFlore	1,019	12,122	832
Lincoln	723	7,374	992
Logan	954	9,087	887
Love	250	5,251	909
McClain	1,316	12,599	940
McCurtain	891	12,337	917
McIntosh	433	4,658	738
Major	246	1,965	981
Marshall	368	5,440	1,000
Mayes	1,037	14,508	1,145
Murray	364	4,896	913
Muskogee	1,583	26,502	1,060
Noble	263	4,688	1,015
Nowata	200	1,693	824
Okfuskee	213	2,621	809
Oklahoma	33,516	495,704	1,277
Okmulgee	808	10,526	962
Osage	553	7,738	1,011
Ottawa	802	12,896	882
Pawnee	353	3,497	900
Payne	2,299	34,815	1,057
Pittsburg	1,056	14,816	992
Pontotoc	1,194	20,628	1,062
Pottawatomie	1,475	23,140	918
Pushmataha	294	2,528	792
Roger Mills	107	874	933
Rogers	2,217	31,277	1,103
Seminole	500	7,055	967
Sequoyah	795	9,472	755
Stephens	1,206	14,725	1,052
Texas	573	10,007	981
Tillman	173	1,492	828
Tulsa	26,600	370,804	1,229
Wagoner	1,289	11,490	1,093
Washington	1,416	18,935	1,162
Washita	283	1,950	859
Woods	302	3,234	907
Woodward	808	7,868	1,044
(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. 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 3. Covered establishments, employment, and wages by state, third quarter 2025
State	Establishments, third quarter (thousands)	Employment		Average weekly wage (1)
State	Establishments, third quarter (thousands)	September 2025 (thousands)	Percent change, September 2024–25	Third quarter 2025 ($)	National ranking by level	Percent change, third quarter 2024–25	National ranking by percent change
United States (2)	12,353.8	155,767.7	0.1	1,459	--	4.7	--
Alabama	165.7	2,119.0	0.6	1,212	36	3.6	38
Alaska	25.3	342.4	-0.1	1,455	13	5.3	7
Arizona	228.4	3,215.4	-0.2	1,360	19	4.0	31
Arkansas	111.2	1,310.5	0.5	1,135	49	3.8	33
California	1,986.7	18,281.7	0.3	1,815	4	7.2	2
Colorado	252.9	2,886.4	-0.6	1,570	7	5.7	3
Connecticut	149.6	1,693.8	0.1	1,604	6	3.8	33
Delaware	46.7	480.8	0.0	1,394	17	4.8	13
District of Columbia	51.5	737.4	-3.1	2,393	1	5.7	3
Florida	892.1	9,818.1	-0.2	1,342	21	5.1	8
Georgia	397.2	4,874.5	0.4	1,349	20	3.5	43
Hawaii	62.1	640.1	0.1	1,342	21	3.1	48
Idaho	103.7	879.8	1.3	1,180	44	4.9	11
Illinois	386.5	6,086.3	-0.1	1,457	12	4.3	23
Indiana	197.1	3,198.4	0.1	1,214	35	4.3	23
Iowa	109.6	1,549.3	-0.9	1,194	39	3.6	38
Kansas	102.2	1,431.7	0.1	1,179	45	3.8	33
Kentucky	160.7	1,995.4	-0.4	1,176	46	4.3	23
Louisiana	158.7	1,913.1	-0.1	1,187	42	3.3	46
Maine	67.4	659.2	-0.2	1,231	33	5.0	10
Maryland	199.5	2,739.5	-1.3	1,526	9	3.8	33
Massachusetts	293.2	3,625.0	-0.9	1,818	3	4.8	13
Michigan	316.0	4,423.8	-0.4	1,323	25	4.5	18
Minnesota	214.3	2,958.6	0.2	1,438	15	3.6	38
Mississippi	91.3	1,172.6	0.0	1,005	51	4.7	15
Missouri	256.0	2,903.7	-0.4	1,249	31	4.4	21
Montana	64.6	518.3	-0.4	1,182	43	5.1	8
Nebraska	78.6	1,021.8	-0.1	1,190	40	3.1	48
Nevada	109.5	1,581.0	1.4	1,314	27	4.3	23
New Hampshire	67.3	687.8	-0.6	1,481	11	5.5	6
New Jersey	334.9	4,301.0	0.4	1,558	8	3.6	38
New Mexico	69.0	876.4	0.3	1,190	40	3.2	47
New York	720.8	9,808.4	0.4	1,757	5	4.7	15
North Carolina	386.3	4,939.4	0.5	1,328	23	4.2	27
North Dakota	36.7	433.8	-0.5	1,291	29	2.8	50
Ohio	346.6	5,537.8	0.1	1,279	30	3.4	44
Oklahoma	128.8	1,697.9	-0.3	1,143	48	4.5	18
Oregon	180.5	1,994.7	-1.3	1,409	16	4.2	27
Pennsylvania	397.2	6,066.3	0.2	1,383	18	4.1	30
Rhode Island	48.8	503.3	0.2	1,322	26	4.7	15
South Carolina	190.8	2,312.3	0.7	1,198	38	4.9	11
South Dakota	40.9	462.9	0.1	1,146	47	4.0	31
Tennessee	224.2	3,255.5	-1.2	1,327	24	5.7	3
Texas	854.9	14,062.3	0.7	1,444	14	3.6	38
Utah	142.4	1,745.9	1.2	1,297	28	3.8	33
Vermont	34.1	307.2	-0.7	1,243	32	4.4	21
Virginia	324.0	4,142.4	0.7	1,504	10	4.2	27
Washington	242.3	3,639.4	-0.1	1,923	2	7.7	1
West Virginia	62.1	701.1	-0.1	1,121	50	3.4	44
Wisconsin	211.6	2,949.1	-0.4	1,228	34	4.5	18
Wyoming	31.7	285.6	-1.1	1,201	37	2.0	51
Puerto Rico	52.8	945.5	-0.6	687	(3)	2.7	(3)
Virgin Islands	3.0	33.2	-5.4	1,025	(3)	4.7	(3)
(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, March 17, 2026

Southwest Information Office

County Employment and Wages in Oklahoma — Third Quarter 2025

(U.S. average = $1,459)