FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:                                                                      FOR RELEASE:
Cheryl Abbot, Regional Economist                                                              April 16, 2009    
(972) 850-4800                                                  
http://www.bls.gov/ro6/                 


                           COUNTY EMPLOYMENT AND WAGES IN TEXAS: THIRD QUARTER 2008
                                Employment Growth Widespread Throughout State

     Twenty of the 24 largest counties in Texas reported increases in their employment levels from September 
2007 to September 2008.  (Large counties are defined as those with employment of 75,000 or more as measured by 
2007 annual average employment.)  Potter County led the State and ranked 2nd in the country with a job gain of 
3.1 percent, closely followed by Montgomery's 3.0 percent increase which ranked 3rd in the nation.  Regional 
Commissioner Stanley W. Suchman noted that employment fell in only three of the large Texas counties:  Cameron, 
Webb, and Jefferson.  (Data for McLennan County did not meet disclosure requirements.)

     In comparison, national employment decreased 0.8 percent during this 12-month period as 207 of the 334 
large counties nationwide registered declines.  Elkhart County, Ind., recorded the largest over-the-year 
percentage decrease in employment in the country, down 10.8 percent, while Yakima, Wash., experienced the 
fastest growth, up 3.2 percent.

     Among the 24 largest counties in Texas, employment in September 2008 was highest in Harris County 
(2,047,200) with Dallas County a distant second (1,489,100).  Three other counties, Tarrant, Bexar, and Travis, 
had employment levels exceeding 500,000.  Together, the 24 largest Texas counties accounted for 78.6 percent of 
total employment within the State.  Nationwide, the 334 largest counties made up 71.2 percent of total U.S. 
employment.

     At $1,050 per week, Harris County also had the highest average weekly wage among the 24 largest counties 
in the State, followed by Dallas at $1,025.  The fastest rate of increase in average weekly wages among Texas' 
large counties was in Montgomery where wages rose 5.5 percent from the third quarter of 2007 to the third 
quarter of 2008.  (See table 1.)  Nationally, the average weekly wage increased 2.8 percent over the year to 
$841 in the third quarter of 2008.

     Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 230 counties in 
Texas with employment below 75,000.  Among the smaller counties, more than 90 percent (212) had average weekly 
wages below the national average.  (See table 2.)


Large County Wage Changes
     Twelve of Texas' 24 large counties recorded wage growth above the 2.8-percent national increase from the 
third quarter of 2007 to the third quarter of 2008.  (See table 1.)  Montgomery County’s 5.5-percent wage gain 
was the highest in the State and placed 18th in the national ranking.  Wages rose at a 4.2-percent pace in both 
Lubbock and Smith County, placing them 46th in the national ranking.  These counties were closely followed by 
Cameron and McLennan where wages increased 4.1 percent (52nd).  The slowest wage increase in the State's largest 
counties was shared by Brazoria and El Paso with a 0.8-percent gain (281st).  No large county in Texas recorded 
an over-the-year decline.

     Nationwide, Rutherford County, Tenn., ranked first in average weekly wage growth with an increase of 17.3 
percent from the third quarter of 2007.  Yolo, Calif., was second with growth of 9.7 percent, followed by the 
counties of Madison, Ill. (9.2 percent), Suffolk, N.Y. (8.6 percent), and Calcasieu, La. (7.8 percent).

     Twenty-one large counties in the United State experienced over-the-year declines in average weekly wages.  
Clayton, Ga., had the largest decrease (-14.6 percent), followed by the counties of Santa Clara, Calif. and 
Duval, Fla. (-3.4 percent each), Gwinnett, Ga. (-3.1 percent), and Rock Island, Ill. (-2.6 percent).


Large County Average Weekly Wages
     Average weekly wage levels in 4 of the 24 large Texas counties ranked in the top 20 percent of the 334 
largest counties in the United States in the third quarter of 2008.  These four highest-paid counties had wages 
well above the U.S. average of $841 per week:  Harris ($1,050, 24th), Dallas ($1,025, 32nd), Collin ($997, 40th), 
and Travis ($924, 62nd).  Two additional Texas counties, Fort Bend and Tarrant, reported wages slightly above 
the national average and ranked in the top one-third nationwide.

     Wages in the State's 18 remaining large counties were below that of the nation, although 4 of these 
(Brazoria, Galveston, Jefferson, and Williamson) were within 5 percent of the national average.  In sharp 
contrast, four of the seven lowest-paying large counties in the United States were located in Texas -- all 
along the border with Mexico.  These four counties included Cameron ($538, 333rd), Hidalgo ($549, 332nd), Webb 
($559, 331st), and El Paso ($601, 328th).

     Nationally, average weekly wages were higher than average in 108 of the largest 334 counties.  New York, 
N.Y., held the top position among the highest-paid large counties with an average weekly wage of $1,552.  Santa 
Clara, Calif., was second with an average weekly wage of $1,530, followed by Washington, D.C. ($1,391), San 
Mateo, Calif. ($1,374), and San Francisco, Calif. ($1,350).

     Of the large counties in the United States, 226, or about two-thirds, had an average weekly wage below 
that of the nation.  The lowest wage in the third quarter of 2008 was reported in Horry, S.C. ($537).  Joining 
the Texas counties of Cameron, Hidalgo, and Webb among the bottom five was Yakima, Wash. ($580).  Wages in 
these five lowest-ranked counties were less than 40 percent of the average weekly wage reported for the 
highest-ranked county, New York.


Average Weekly Wages in Smaller Counties in Texas
     Eighteen of the 230 smaller counties in Texas – those with employment below 75,000 – reported average 
weekly wages at or above the national average of $841.  Five of these counties had wage levels that exceeded 
$1,000 per week:  Carson ($1,340), King ($1,300), Sutton ($1,233), Roberts ($1,107), and Crane ($1,013).  Kent 
County reported the lowest weekly wage among the smaller counties averaging $406 in the third quarter of 2008.  
(See table 2.)

     When all 254 counties in Texas were considered, all but 24 had wages below the national average of $841.  
Fifty-nine reported average weekly wages under $550, 100 registered wages from $550 to $649, 47 had wages from 
$650 to $749, 24 had wages from $750 to $840, and 24 had wages of $841 or more per week.  (See chart 1.)  The 
24 counties with above-average wages were concentrated around the metropolitan areas of Austin, Amarillo, 
Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and Midland.  The lower-paid counties, those with wages under $550, were generally 
located along the Texas-Mexico border as well as the agricultural areas of the Texas Panhandle.


Additional Statistics and Other Information
     QCEW data for states has been included in this release in table 3. For additional information about 
quarterly employment and wages data, please read the Technical Note or visit the QCEW Web site at 
www.bls.gov/cew/.

     An annual bulletin, Employment and Wages, features comprehensive information by detailed industry on 
establishments, employment, and wages for the nation and all states.  The 2007 edition of this bulletin 
contains selected data produced by Business Employment Dynamics (BED) on job gains and losses, as well as 
selected data from the second quarter 2008 version of the news release.  Tables and additional content from the 
2007 Employment and Wages Annual Bulletin are now available online at www.bls.gov/cew/cewbultn07.htm.  These 
tables present final 2007 annual averages.  The tables are also included on the CD which accompanies the 
hardcopy version of the Annual Bulletin.  Employment and Wages Annual Averages, 2007 is available online as a 
chartbook or for sale from the United States Government Printing Office, Superintendent of Documents, P.O. Box  
371954, Pittsburgh, PA 15250, telephone (866) 512-1800, outside Washington, D.C.  Within Washington, D.C., the 
telephone number is (202) 512-1800.  The fax number is (202) 512-2104.

     Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request.  Voice 
phone: 202-691-5200; TDD message referral phone number: 1-800-877-8339.

     For personal assistance or further information on the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages Program, as 
well as other Bureau programs, contact the Dallas Information Office at 972-850-4800 from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 
a.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. CT.


                                               Technical Note

     Average weekly wage data by county are compiled under the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) 
program, also known as the ES-202 program.  The data are derived from summaries of employment and total pay of 
workers covered by state and federal unemployment insurance (UI) legislation and provided by State Workforce 
Agencies (SWAs).  The 9.1 million employer reports cover 136.6 million full- and part-time workers.  The 
average weekly wage values are calculated by dividing quarterly total wages by the average of the three monthly 
employment levels of those covered by UI programs.  The result is then divided by 13, the number of weeks in a 
quarter.  It is to be noted, therefore, that over-the-year wage changes for geographic areas may reflect shifts 
in the composition of employment by industry, occupation, and such other factors as hours of work.  Thus, wages 
may vary among counties, metropolitan areas, or states for reasons other than changes in the average wage 
level.  Data for all states, Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), counties, and the nation are available on 
the BLS Web site at www.bls.gov/cew/; however, data in QCEW press releases have been revised and may not match 
the data contained on the Bureau’s Web site.

     QCEW data are not designed as a time series.  QCEW data are simply the sums of individual establishment 
records reflecting the number of establishments that exist in a county or industry at a point in time.  
Establishments can move in or out of a county or industry for a number of reasons—some reflecting economic 
events, others reflecting administrative changes. 

     The preliminary QCEW data presented in this release may differ from data released by the individual states 
as well as from the data presented on the BLS Web site.  These potential differences result from the states’ 
continuing receipt, review and editing of UI data over time.  On the other hand, differences between data in 
this release and the data found on the BLS Web site are the result of adjustments made to improve over-the-year 
comparisons.  Specifically, these adjustments account for administrative (noneconomic) changes such as a 
correction to a previously reported location or industry classification.  Adjusting for these administrative 
changes allows users to more accurately assess changes of an economic nature (such as a firm moving from one 
county to another or changing its primary economic activity) over a 12-month period.  Currently, adjusted data 
are available only from BLS press releases. 



Table 1. Covered(1) employment and wages in the United States and the 24 largest counties in Texas, third quarter 2008(2)
Area Employment Average Weekly Wage (3)
September
2008
(thousands)  
Percent change,
September
2007-08 (4)  
National
ranking by
percent change (5)
Average
weekly
wage  
National
ranking by
level (5)
Percent change,
third quarter
2007-08 (4)  
National
ranking by
percent change (5)

United States (6)

135,173.8 -0.8 -- $841 -- 2.8 --

Texas

10,438.3 1.4 -- 850 15 2.9 24

Bell, Texas

103.0 1.9 17 663 305 2.5 176

Bexar, Texas

729.1 1.2 30 734 230 2.1 211

Brazoria, Texas

86.0 0.1 101 800 146 0.8 281

Brazos, Texas

85.2 1.0 39 646 318 3.2 110

Cameron, Texas

122.4 -0.1 121 538 333 4.1 52

Collin, Texas

294.8 2.0 15 997 40 1.1 266

Dallas, Texas

1,489.1 0.5 69 1,025 32 2.4 183

Denton, Texas

168.8 1.4 24 738 222 3.1 123

El Paso, Texas

271.4 1.2 30 601 328 0.8 281

Fort Bend, Texas

128.9 2.5 6 865 85 2.1 211

Galveston, Texas

95.7 0.4 76 803 143 3.5 82

Harris, Texas

2,047.2 1.3 29 1,050 24 3.0 139

Hidalgo, Texas

214.8 1.2 30 549 332 3.8 66

Jefferson, Texas

123.3 -1.3 212 820 126 3.8 66

Lubbock, Texas

124.7 1.9 17 641 319 4.2 46

McLennan, Texas

103.2 (7) - 685 287 4.1 52

Montgomery, Texas

125.8 3.0 3 785 163 5.5 18

Nueces, Texas

155.0 2.5 6 728 239 2.5 176

Potter, Texas

77.2 3.1 2 729 237 (7) -

Smith, Texas

94.4 2.4 8 743 214 4.2 46

Tarrant, Texas

769.5 0.8 50 843 106 1.0 270

Travis, Texas

581.5 1.6 21 924 62 1.3 260

Webb, Texas

88.5 -0.4 145 559 331 2.0 221

Williamson, Texas

120.8 1.6 21 800 146 3.1 123

Footnotes:
(1) Includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.
(2) Data are preliminary.
(3) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data.
(4) Percent changes were computed from quarterly employment and pay data adjusted for noneconomic county reclassifications.
(5) Ranking does not include the county of San Juan, Puerto Rico.
(6) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
(7) Data do not meet BLS or State agency disclosure standards.

Table 2. Covered (1) employment and wages in the United States and all counties in Texas, 3rd quarter 2008 (2)
Area

Employment
September
2008  
Average
Weekly
Wage (3)  
Area

Employment
September
2008  
Average
Weekly
Wage (3)  

United States (4)

135,173,818 $841     Jones County 4,267 $574

Texas -- Statewide

10,438,312 850     Karnes County 3,776 557

Anderson County

18,004 692     Kaufman County 26,078 617

Andrews County

5,530 861     Kendall County 10,559 736

Angelina County

36,744 636     Kenedy County 524 827

Aransas County

5,976 542     Kent County 295 406

Archer County

2,213 609     Kerr County 17,774 646

Armstrong County

362 658     Kimble County 1,540 470

Atascosa County

9,561 617     King County 172 1,300

Austin County

12,317 805     Kinney County 765 589

Bailey County

2,689 567     Kleberg County 13,158 572

Bandera County

2,991 483     Knox County 1,284 648

Bastrop County

14,000 619     La Salle County 1,732 771

Baylor County

1,281 495     Lamar County 20,210 628

Bee County

8,203 583     Lamb County 4,726 544

Bell County

103,022 663     Lampasas County 4,863 542

Bexar County

729,112 734     Lavaca County 6,091 534

Blanco County

2,646 646     Lee County 5,547 668

Borden County

125 534     Leon County 5,535 783

Bosque County

3,722 577     Liberty County 17,520 650

Bowie County

43,607 668     Limestone County 8,496 564

Brazoria County

85,970 800     Lipscomb County 1,422 766

Brazos County

85,171 646     Live Oak County 2,897 625

Brewster County

4,659 529     Llano County 4,547 583

Briscoe County

341 440     Loving County 91 669

Brooks County

2,691 605     Lubbock County 124,663 641

Brown County

15,617 594     Lynn County 1,363 503

Burleson County

3,851 666     Madison County 3,828 525

Burnet County

12,614 691     Marion County 1,965 537

Caldwell County

7,055 541     Martin County 1,257 678

Calhoun County

9,552 974     Mason County 1,119 467

Callahan County

2,353 648     Matagorda County 11,117 719

Cameron County

122,350 538     Maverick County 15,723 500

Camp County

4,318 559     McCulloch County 3,106 560

Carson County

4,849 1,340     McLennan County 103,211 685

Cass County

7,803 582     McMullen County 207 710

Castro County

2,491 534     Medina County 8,280 516

Chambers County

10,306 852     Menard County 533 434

Cherokee County

14,638 556     Midland County 69,884 979

Childress County

2,438 529     Milam County 6,687 708

Clay County

1,998 563     Mills County 1,411 487

Cochran County

788 571     Mitchell County 2,277 595

Coke County

832 482     Montague County 5,337 610

Coleman County

2,354 509     Montgomery County 125,763 785

Collin County

294,818 997     Moore County 10,115 644

Collingsworth County

869 499     Morris County 4,778 882

Colorado County

6,824 616     Motley County 383 443

Comal County

38,951 634     Nacogdoches County 23,394 575

Comanche County

3,842 513     Navarro County 16,335 570

Concho County

892 520     Newton County 1,886 514

Cooke County

16,394 736     Nolan County 6,402 605

Coryell County

15,832 622     Nueces County 154,957 728

Cottle County

495 565     Ochiltree County 4,741 786

Crane County

1,503 1,013     Oldham County 701 529

Crockett County

1,512 566     Orange County 22,880 753

Crosby County

1,448 509     Palo Pinto County 8,581 671

Culberson County

1,166 571     Panola County 8,869 752

Dallam County

3,757 630     Parker County 26,615 664

Dallas County

1,489,124 1,025     Parmer County 5,069 565

Dawson County

4,366 570     Pecos County 4,517 617

De Witt County

6,522 592     Polk County 10,096 591

Deaf Smith County

7,035 581     Potter County 77,177 729

Delta County

1,245 468     Presidio County 2,034 573

Denton County

168,802 738     Rains County 1,720 492

Dickens County

561 595     Randall County 28,461 593

Dimmit County

2,919 605     Reagan County 2,132 891

Donley County

984 469     Real County 704 417

Duval County

3,207 676     Red River County 2,905 504

Eastland County

6,978 598     Reeves County 3,908 582

Ector County

63,219 841     Refugio County 2,200 637

Edwards County

453 561     Roberts County 352 1,107

El Paso County

271,364 601     Robertson County 3,881 628

Ellis County

39,354 665     Rockwall County 20,335 644

Erath County

15,243 516     Runnels County 2,970 561

Falls County

3,331 542     Rusk County 14,598 780

Fannin County

6,884 622     Sabine County 2,205 827

Fayette County

8,883 652     San Augustine County 1,615 531

Fisher County

885 569     San Jacinto County 2,126 540

Floyd County

1,923 511     San Patricio County 17,970 718

Foard County

353 408     San Saba County 1,749 493

Fort Bend County

128,948 865     Schleicher County 834 618

Franklin County

3,021 622     Scurry County 6,399 793

Freestone County

6,104 705     Shackelford County 1,115 668

Frio County

4,264 544     Shelby County 8,306 545

Gaines County

5,068 673     Sherman County 768 555

Galveston County

95,734 803     Smith County 94,388 743

Garza County

1,688 614     Somervell County 5,067 979

Gillespie County

8,991 562     Starr County 13,345 470

Glasscock County

349 531     Stephens County 3,424 601

Goliad County

1,449 567     Sterling County 568 677

Gonzales County

6,370 576     Stonewall County 594 555

Gray County

9,031 789     Sutton County 2,921 1,233

Grayson County

43,086 670     Swisher County 2,112 526

Gregg County

74,727 733     Tarrant County 769,472 843

Grimes County

6,971 790     Taylor County 59,136 626

Guadalupe County

29,939 675     Terrell County 258 600

Hale County

14,345 550     Terry County 3,996 639

Hall County

927 435     Throckmorton County 475 567

Hamilton County

2,690 568     Titus County 17,098 604

Hansford County

1,861 663     Tom Green County 45,037 612

Hardeman County

1,403 541     Travis County 581,521 924

Hardin County

12,142 617     Trinity County 2,374 451

Harris County

2,047,191 1,050     Tyler County 4,115 550

Harrison County

23,549 719     Upshur County 6,592 566

Hartley County

1,505 549     Upton County 1,485 790

Haskell County

2,094 612     Uvalde County 9,230 518

Hays County

48,351 594     Val Verde County 17,366 580

Hemphill County

2,581 877     Van Zandt County 10,513 552

Henderson County

16,164 553     Victoria County 39,330 700

Hidalgo County

214,834 549     Walker County 23,341 609

Hill County

9,449 538     Waller County 13,298 764

Hockley County

8,976 703     Ward County 3,955 858

Hood County

13,228 623     Washington County 14,454 627

Hopkins County

12,060 587     Webb County 88,450 559

Houston County

6,250 682     Wharton County 15,395 594

Howard County

12,711 667     Wheeler County 2,571 698

Hudspeth County

1,054 713     Wichita County 55,526 662

Hunt County

28,777 734     Wilbarger County 6,850 587

Hutchinson County

9,305 967     Willacy County 3,510 630

Irion County

561 799     Williamson County 120,848 800

Jack County

3,041 817     Wilson County 6,501 500

Jackson County

5,252 623     Winkler County 2,593 934

Jasper County

10,686 610     Wise County 20,728 805

Jeff Davis County

938 551     Wood County 9,625 560

Jefferson County

123,291 820     Yoakum County 3,604 900

Jim Hogg County

1,949 526     Young County 7,160 675

Jim Wells County

18,238 752     Zapata County 3,718 712

Johnson County

40,976 672     Zavala County 2,610 452

Footnotes:
(1) Includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees programs.
(2) Data are preliminary.
(3) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data.
(4) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.

Table 3. Covered (1) employment and wages by state, third quarter 2008(2)
State Employment Average weekly wage (3)
September
2008
(thousands)  
Percent change,
September
2007-08  
Average
weekly
wage  
National
ranking by
level  
Percent change,
third quarter
2007-08  
National
ranking by
percent change  

United States (4)

135,173.8 -0.8 $841 - 2.8 -

Alabama

1,936.4 -1.2 730 32 3.3 17

Alaska

332.1 1.4 872 13 3.7 13

Arizona

2,570.1 -3.0 798 20 2.0 45

Arkansas

1,185.0 -0.1 649 47 3.0 22

California

15,527.1 -1.4 959 6 2.9 24

Colorado

2,322.7 0.4 877 11 3.8 12

Connecticut

1,692.5 -0.3 1,032 2 1.0 50

Delaware

420.6 -1.1 879 10 2.1 42

District of Columbia

688.2 1.4 1,391 1 1.0 50

Florida

7,546.4 -4.1 756 27 2.2 40

Georgia

4,018.6 -1.6 794 21 1.5 47

Hawaii

613.0 -2.1 774 24 1.8 46

Idaho

665.7 -1.4 643 48 1.3 49

Illinois

5,872.8 -0.7 891 9 2.9 24

Indiana

2,897.6 -1.4 718 35 2.3 37

Iowa

1,499.0 0.2 696 40 4.2 8

Kansas

1,368.9 0.0 711 38 4.6 6

Kentucky

1,795.3 -1.0 692 42 2.4 36

Louisiana

1,877.4 -0.2 756 27 5.6 4

Maine

610.8 -0.6 683 43 3.5 14

Maryland

2,543.4 -0.8 920 7 3.1 19

Massachusetts

3,265.7 0.0 1,025 4 2.3 37

Michigan

4,093.9 -3.0 820 18 1.5 47

Minnesota

2,699.6 -0.5 862 14 4.7 5

Mississippi

1,128.3 -1.3 631 49 4.0 11

Missouri

2,736.1 -0.4 739 31 2.8 29

Montana

446.4 0.1 628 50 3.1 19

Nebraska

925.7 0.2 694 41 4.2 8

Nevada

1,253.0 -2.7 809 19 2.1 42

New Hampshire

634.6 -0.5 822 16 2.8 29

New Jersey

3,952.9 -0.7 990 5 2.5 33

New Mexico

835.2 0.7 712 37 3.5 14

New York

8,633.8 0.5 1,030 3 2.2 40

North Carolina

4,064.2 -1.0 741 30 3.1 19

North Dakota

357.0 2.8 665 45 6.9 1

Ohio

5,251.1 -1.5 766 25 2.8 29

Oklahoma

1,562.8 1.2 698 39 4.5 7

Oregon

1,734.1 -1.0 766 25 2.1 42

Pennsylvania

5,679.0 0.0 822 16 2.5 33

Rhode Island

476.0 -2.0 778 23 2.5 33

South Carolina

1,874.6 -1.5 683 43 2.9 24

South Dakota

401.3 1.0 623 51 4.2 8

Tennessee

2,730.4 -1.5 745 29 2.8 29

Texas

10,438.3 1.4 850 15 2.9 24

Utah

1,229.3 -0.1 717 36 2.9 24

Vermont

304.2 -0.5 722 34 3.3 17

Virginia

3,676.1 -0.3 877 11 2.3 37

Washington

3,007.5 1.0 903 8 3.0 22

West Virginia

716.4 0.6 661 46 5.9 3

Wisconsin

2,788.7 -0.6 730 32 3.4 16

Wyoming

294.0 3.3 781 22 6.4 2

Puerto Rico

992.8 -1.6 477 (5) 5.5 (5)

Virgin Islands

44.9 -0.9 709 (5) 4.3 (5)

Footnotes:
(1) Includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.
(2) Data are preliminary.
(3) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data.
(4) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
(5) Data not included in the national ranking.

Chart 1. Average weekly wages by county in Texas, third quarter 2008 Average weekly wages by county in Texas, third quarter 2008

 

Last Modified Date: April 17, 2009