January 11, 2012 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)
County wages up in second quarter 2011
In the second quarter of 2011, average weekly wages in the 322 largest counties (counties with 75,000 or more employees) ranged from under $600 in Horry, South Carolina; Hildalgo, Texas; and Cameron, Texas; to more than $1,500 in Washington, D.C.; Arlington, Virginia; New York, New York; and Santa Clara, California.
[Chart data]
From the second quarter of 2010 to the second quarter of 2011, average weekly wages for the nation increased by 3.0 percent. Among the 322 largest counties, 307 had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages in the second quarter of 2011. Williamson, Texas, had the largest wage gain among the largest U.S. counties (18.0 percent).
Of the 322 largest counties, 11 experienced declines in average weekly wages from the second quarter of 2010 to the second quarter of 2011. Champaign, Illinois, had the largest wage decline with a loss of 3.6 percent over the year.
These data are from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages program. To learn more, see "County Employment and Wages — Second Quarter 2011," (HTML) (PDF) news release USDL-12-0026.
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