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County Employment and Wages in Alaska — Fourth Quarter 2024
Employment rose 1.3 percent in Alaska’s only large county, Anchorage Municipality, from December 2023 to December 2024, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that the rate of employment growth in Anchorage ranked 69th among the 363 largest U.S. counties with published data. (See table 1.)
Employment in Anchorage stood at 146,800 in December 2024, accounting for 46.2 percent of total employment in Alaska. Nationwide, the 369 largest counties comprise 73.3 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 2023.)
Large county average weekly wages in the fourth quarter 2024
The average weekly wage in Anchorage increased 4.4 percent over the year to $1,479. The national average was $1,507, up 5.0 percent over the year. Anchorage’s weekly wage ranked 100th nationally, and the percent change ranked 168th among the largest U.S. counties.
Smaller county average weekly wages in the fourth quarter of 2024
Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 29 small county equivalents in Alaska, defined as having employment below 75,000 in 2023. (See table 2.)These smaller county equivalents include 17 boroughs, 11 census areas, and 1 municipality. Wage levels for 23 of the 29 smaller counties were below the national average. North Slope Borough reported the highest average weekly wage ($2,442). Kusilvak Census Area reported the lowest average weekly wage ($756) in the state.
Among all 30 Alaska counties, 6 reported average weekly wages of less than $1,100, 11 registered wages from $1,100 to $1,299, 6 had wages from $1,300 to $1,499, and 7 had average weekly wages of $1,500 or higher. (See map 1 and table 2.)
Map 1. Average weekly wages by borough in Alaska, fourth quarter 2024
(U.S. average = $1,507)
Additional statistics and other information
QCEW data for states have been included in this release in table 3.
Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.
The County Employment and Wages release for the first quarter 2025 is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, September 9, 2025.
QCEW Moves to One Data Release Beginning with Fourth Quarter 2024 Publication
The Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) is streamlining its release process. Beginning with the fourth quarter 2024 national release on June 4, QCEW will publish the national County Employment and Wages news release on the same date as the QCEW full data update. Revised news release dates are available online.
Table 1. Covered establishments, employment, and wages in the United States and the largest borough in Alaska, fourth quarter 2024
Footnotes: (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 boroughs in Alaska, fourth quarter 2024
Footnotes: (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 2024
Footnotes: (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
