December 20, 2000 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

New York County leads in pay in 1999

Workers in New York County, New York—comprised entirely of the borough of Manhattan—had the highest average annual pay among all of the largest counties in 1999.

[Chart data—TXT]

Average pay in Manhattan was $65,653 in 1999. The next highest—$61,110—was in Santa Clara, California. Other counties in the top five in average pay were Fairfield, Connecticut, at a level of $56,361, Loudon, Virginia, at $52,282, and San Mateo, California, at $51,447.

The five large counties with the lowest pay in 1999 were all much below the national average of $33,313. The lowest average annual pay was reported in Cameron, Texas ($20,997), followed by Hidalgo, Texas ($21,105), Horry, South Carolina ($21,691), Yakima, Washington ($22,400), and Tulare, California. ($22,703).

The BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages program produced these data. Pay data presented here are for all workers covered by State and Federal unemployment insurance programs. Find more information on pay in large counties in 1999 in "Employment and Average Annual Pay for Large Counties, 1999," news release USDL 00-367. The largest counties are defined as those with covered employment levels of 75,000 or more in 1999.