The US county with the largest year-over-year increase in average weekly wage was Snohomish County in Washington state, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Snohomish County’s average weekly wage rose 18.6% year over year to $1,664 in the fourth quarter of 2023. The BLS noted the increase was fueled by the “professional and business services” industry, where the average weekly wage rose 101.3% year over year.
Snohomish lies within the Seattle metro area.
Overall, the top 10 counties with the fastest-growing weekly wages among the 360 largest US counties were:
- Snohomish County, Washinton, up 18.6% to $1,664
- San Mateo County, California, up 17.2% to $3,469
- Butler County, Pennsylvania, up 12.0% to $1,346
- Santa Clara County, California, up 11.3% to $3,699
- Arlington County, Virginia, up 9.2% to $2,379
- St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, up 7.8% to $1,203
- San Francisco, California, up 7.6% to $3,202
- Wyandotte County, Kansas, up 7.6% to $1,310
- Durham County, North Carolina, up 7.4% to $1,823
- King County, Washington, up 7.2% to $2,356
The largest year-over-year decreases in average weekly wage among the 360 largest counties in the US were in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, down 7.2% to $1,383, and Essex County, Massachusetts, down 6.2% to $1,457.
The average weekly wage for the US as a whole rose 3.6% to $1,435.