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County Employment and Wages in Texas — Fourth Quarter 2025
Employment rose in 17 of the 28 largest counties in Texas from December 2024 to December 2025, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Acting Regional Commissioner Jerome Watters noted that Hays County (+2.8 percent) had the largest over-the-year increase in employment. (See chart 1 and table 1.)
Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in covered employment among selected large counties in Texas, December 2025
County
Percent change, December 2025
Hays
2.8
Collin
1.6
Montgomery
1.6
Brazos
1.3
Nueces
1.3
Lubbock
1.2
El Paso
0.8
Brazoria
0.6
Dallas
0.6
Comal
0.4
Smith
0.0
Bell
-0.1
Harris
-0.2
Bexar
-0.4
Potter
-0.4
Webb
-0.6
Cameron
-1.1
Jefferson
-1.1
Ector
-1.3
Midland
-1.4
Harris County (2,466,900) had the highest employment level in Texas in December 2025. Together, the 28 largest counties accounted for 80.2 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 fourth quarter 2025
Average weekly wage gains in 15 of 28 large counties in Texas were below the national average of 4.2 percent. (See chart 2.) Galveston and Montgomery had the largest gains (+5.9 percent each). Over-the-year wage gains among the other 26 large Texas counties ranged from 5.4 percent to 1.6 percent.
Chart 2. Over-the-year percent change in covered average weekly wages among selected large counties in Texas, fourth quarter 2025
County
Percent change, fourth quarter 2025
Galveston
5.9
Montgomery
5.9
Cameron
5.4
Jefferson
5.4
Lubbock
5.4
McLennan
5.4
Brazoria
5.2
Smith
5.0
Potter
4.7
Webb
4.7
El Paso
3.9
Tarrant
3.9
Bell
3.4
Denton
3.3
Hidalgo
3.3
Williamson
3.3
Midland
2.7
Hays
2.4
Comal
2.2
Ector
1.6
Weekly wages in 6 of the 28 largest counties in Texas were above the national average of $1,569. Average weekly wages ranged from $2,061 in Travis to $884 in Hidalgo.
Smaller county average weekly wages in the fourth quarter of 2025
Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 226 smaller counties in Texas, defined as having employment below 75,000 in 2024. (See table 2.) Wage levels in 210 of the 226 smaller counties were below the national average. Carson reported the highest average weekly wage ($2,103) in the state. Menard reported the lowest average weekly wage ($747).
Among all 254 Texas counties, 58 reported average weekly wages of less than $1,025, 54 had wages from $1,025 to $1,124, 43 had wages from $1,125 to $1,224, 35 had wages from $1,225 to $1,324, and 64 had average weekly wages of $1,325 or higher. (See map 1 and table 2.)
Map 1. Average weekly wages by county in Texas, fourth quarter 2025
(U.S. average = $1,569)
Additional statistics and other information
QCEW data for states have been included in this release in table 3.
(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 Texas, fourth quarter 2025
(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, fourth quarter 2025
(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.
United States Department of Labor
