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Average US weekly wage up 3.7% in first quarter

August 22, 2018

The US average weekly wage increased 3.7% year over year to $1,152 in the first quarter, according to data released today by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Among the 349 largest counties in the US, Peoria County in Illinois and Suffolk County in Massachusetts posted the largest year-over-year percentage increases in average weekly wages, with gains of 23.8% and 12.1% respectively.

Here are the large counties with the highest average weekly wages in the first quarter:

  • New York, NY: $3,087
  • Santa Clara, Calif.: $2,651
  • San Mateo, Calif.: $2,606
  • San Francisco, Calif.: $2,485
  • Suffolk, Mass.: $2,268
  • Somerset, NJ: $2,078
  • Fairfield, Conn.: $1,959
  • Arlington, Va.: $1,925
  • Washington, DC: $1,917
  • Morris, NJ: $1,808

Looking at just the 10 largest US counties, average weekly wages increased year over year in all of them. King County in Washington state experienced the largest percentage gain in average weekly wages at 10.1%. Within King, professional and business services had the largest impact on the county’s average weekly wage gain; average weekly wages increased by $305, or 16.9%, over the year.