BLS - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

09/16/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/16/2025 09:34

County Employment and Wages in Washington — First Quarter 2025

News Release Information

25-1441-SAN
Tuesday, September 16, 2025

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (415) 625-2270

County Employment and Wages in Washington - First Quarter 2025

Employment increased in all 10 largest counties in Washington from March 2024 to March 2025, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that Benton County had the largest over-the-year increase in employment, with a gain of 2.2 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

View Chart Data
Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in covered employment among the largest counties in Washington, March 2025
County Percent change, March 2025

Benton

2.2

Thurston

1.7

Clark

1.5

Kitsap

1.4

Whatcom

1.4

Pierce

0.7

Snohomish

0.6

Spokane

0.5

Yakima

0.5

King

0.3

Among the 10 largest counties in Washington, employment was highest in King (1,433,300) in March 2025. Together, the 10 largest counties accounted for 84.4 percent of total covered employment within the state. Nationwide, the 372 largest counties comprise 73.4 percent of total covered employment in the United States. (Large counties and county equivalents are those with annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more in 2024.)

Large county average weekly wages in the first quarter 2025

All 10 large Washington counties reported average weekly wage increases over the year. (See chart 2.) King had the largest increase (+7.5 percent). Over-the-year wage gains for Washington's other large counties ranged from 4.6 percent to 2.0 percent.

View Chart Data
Chart 2. Over-the-year percent change in covered average weekly wages among the largest counties in Washington, first quarter 2025
County Percent change, first quarter 2025

King

7.5

Thurston

4.6

Whatcom

4.4

Spokane

4.3

Benton

3.6

Clark

3.3

Pierce

3.3

Kitsap

2.7

Yakima

2.3

Snohomish

2.0

Weekly wages in 2 of the 10 largest counties in Washington were above the national average of $1,589. Average weekly wages ranged from $2,675 in King to $1,004 in Yakima.

Smaller county average weekly wages in the first quarter 2025

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 29 small counties in Washington, defined as having employment below 75,000 in 2024. (See table 2.) Wage levels in all 29 smaller counties were below the national average. Cowlitz reported the highest average weekly wage ($1,324). Wahkiakum reported the lowest average weekly wage ($903) in the state.

Among all 39 Washington counties, 12 reported average weekly wages of less than $1,075, 12 had wages from $1,075 to $1,199, 7 had wages from $1,200 to $1,324, and 8 had average weekly wages of $1,325 or higher. (See map 1 and table 2.)

Map 1. Average weekly wages by county in Washington, first quarter 2025

U.S. average = $1,589

Additional statistics and other information

QCEW data for states have been included in this release in table 3.

Nationwide coverage of the largest counties is published in the County Employment and Wages news release. Additional information about quarterly employment and wages data is available in the news release Technical Note and from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages website.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

The County Employment and Wages release for the second quarter 2025 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, December 3, 2025.

County Changes for the 2025 County Employment and Wages News Releases

Counties with annual average employment of 75,000 or more in 2024 are included in this release and will be included in future 2025 releases. Four counties have been added to the nationwide publication tables: Pinal, AZ; Henry, GA; Wood, OH; and Comal, TX. One county has been dropped from the publication tables: Gregg, TX.

Table 1. Covered establishments, employment, and wages in the United States and the 10 largest counties in Washington, first quarter 2025
Area Establishments,
first quarter
(thousands) 		Employment Average weekly wage (1)
March 2025
(thousands) 		Percent change,
March
2024-25 (2) 		National ranking
by percent change (3) 		First quarter
2025 ($) 		National ranking
by level (3) 		Percent change,
first quarter
2024-25 (2) 		National ranking
by percent change (3)

United States (4)

12,249.3 154,523.8 0.4 -- 1,589 -- 4.1 --

Washington

240.9 3,583.7 0.9 -- 1,935 5 5.8 4

Benton

5.5 96.9 2.2 12 1,422 141 3.6 145

Clark

15.8 183.2 1.5 41 1,451 131 3.3 173

King

83.1 1,433.3 0.3 175 2,675 8 7.5 9

Kitsap

6.8 93.9 1.4 48 1,425 139 2.7 239

Pierce

21.2 336.4 0.7 127 1,394 157 3.3 173

Snohomish

21.0 299.1 0.6 141 1,643 71 2.0 290

Spokane

15.9 243.5 0.5 155 1,333 192 4.3 94

Thurston

8.6 129.9 1.7 29 1,464 124 4.6 81

Whatcom

7.5 94.2 1.4 48 1,322 198 4.4 88

Yakima

6.4 113.4 0.5 155 1,004 362 2.3 268

Footnotes:
(1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data.
(2) Percent changes were computed from employment and pay data adjusted for noneconomic county reclassifications.
(3) Ranking does not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
(4) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.

Note: Data are preliminary. Dashes indicate data not applicable or available. Covered employment and wages include workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.

Table 2. Covered establishments, employment, and wages in the United States and all counties in Washington, first quarter 2025
Area Establishments Employment March 2025 Average weekly wage ($) (1)

United States (2)

12,249,320 154,523,785 1,589

Washington

240,944 3,583,653 1,935

Adams

693 8,849 1,049

Asotin

546 6,686 1,088

Benton

5,465 96,928 1,422

Chelan

3,270 42,562 1,118

Clallam

2,309 24,368 1,062

Clark

15,771 183,198 1,451

Columbia

182 1,399 1,158

Cowlitz

2,729 41,103 1,324

Douglas

1,150 12,201 1,001

Ferry

279 1,685 1,030

Franklin

2,416 36,508 1,116

Garfield

72 656 1,185

Grant

2,728 41,284 1,253

Grays Harbor

1,848 23,455 1,118

Island

2,160 18,249 1,189

Jefferson

1,073 9,201 1,171

King

83,145 1,433,301 2,675

Kitsap

6,849 93,880 1,425

Kittitas

1,434 17,415 1,041

Klickitat

839 6,918 1,320

Lewis

2,256 27,173 1,147

Lincoln

451 2,674 1,034

Mason

1,242 14,786 1,143

Okanogan

1,648 16,895 939

Pacific

695 6,318 966

Pend Oreille

348 3,156 1,218

Pierce

21,186 336,399 1,394

San Juan

1,056 5,746 1,028

Skagit

3,886 53,546 1,305

Skamania

279 2,165 1,095

Snohomish

20,961 299,057 1,643

Spokane

15,883 243,456 1,333

Stevens

1,018 11,189 1,052

Thurston

8,598 129,945 1,464

Wahkiakum

130 709 903

Walla Walla

1,810 27,910 1,118

Whatcom

7,469 94,163 1,322

Whitman

1,243 18,763 1,305

Yakima

6,393 113,373 1,004

Footnotes:
(1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data.
(2) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.

Note: Data are preliminary. Dashes indicate data not applicable or available. Covered employment and wages include workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.

Table 3. Covered establishments, employment, and wages by state, first quarter 2025
State Establishments,
first quarter
(thousands) 		Employment Average weekly wage (1)
March 2025
(thousands) 		Percent change,
March
2024-25 		First quarter
2025 ($) 		National ranking
by level 		Percent change,
first quarter
2024-25 		National ranking
by percent change

United States (2)

12,249.3 154,523.8 0.4 1,589 -- 4.1 --

Alabama

163.3 2,102.3 0.3 1,245 39 3.8 23

Alaska

25.3 323.5 1.3 1,452 20 5.8 4

Arizona

226.1 3,259.3 0.3 1,431 21 3.8 23

Arkansas

107.6 1,304.4 0.7 1,236 40 5.6 6

California

1,945.4 18,066.2 0.1 1,905 6 4.2 13

Colorado

242.4 2,862.7 0.1 1,681 8 4.2 13

Connecticut

148.5 1,671.7 0.5 1,980 4 3.8 23

Delaware

45.4 474.3 0.8 1,535 15 3.4 30

District of Columbia

51.5 748.9 -1.4 2,606 1 7.2 1

Florida

886.5 9,958.4 0.9 1,456 19 5.1 8

Georgia

394.8 4,860.7 0.4 1,491 17 3.4 30

Hawaii

60.3 644.8 0.6 1,363 27 6.7 2

Idaho

102.7 848.2 1.2 1,178 48 4.2 13

Illinois

407.1 5,988.9 0.2 1,662 9 3.2 38

Indiana

194.8 3,161.4 0.3 1,323 30 4.2 13

Iowa

111.3 1,537.7 -0.5 1,253 36 3.2 38

Kansas

104.3 1,428.0 0.8 1,246 38 4.0 19

Kentucky

159.6 1,986.3 0.0 1,213 44 2.4 51

Louisiana

157.0 1,921.2 0.5 1,227 42 2.8 49

Maine

66.6 629.6 0.1 1,283 34 2.7 50

Maryland

197.7 2,739.0 -0.2 1,634 10 3.2 38

Massachusetts

289.8 3,575.8 -0.7 2,107 3 4.6 11

Michigan

307.3 4,337.3 -0.3 1,391 24 2.9 48

Minnesota

211.8 2,878.6 -0.1 1,570 14 3.7 27

Mississippi

91.3 1,160.4 -0.4 1,018 51 4.1 17

Missouri

252.4 2,886.9 0.1 1,310 31 3.2 38

Montana

67.1 505.8 0.6 1,189 46 5.6 6

Nebraska

78.6 1,008.4 -0.1 1,231 41 3.1 42

Nevada

106.1 1,541.2 0.2 1,359 29 4.1 17

New Hampshire

66.3 681.0 0.1 1,606 11 4.8 9

New Jersey

338.9 4,259.0 1.1 1,815 7 3.0 44

New Mexico

66.8 868.2 0.3 1,203 45 3.9 22

New York

716.1 9,757.0 1.4 2,213 2 6.2 3

North Carolina

373.2 4,888.5 0.2 1,467 18 4.8 9

North Dakota

36.4 422.8 0.6 1,302 33 3.3 34

Ohio

344.2 5,466.8 0.2 1,361 28 3.5 28

Oklahoma

130.9 1,700.2 0.5 1,186 47 3.0 44

Oregon

186.2 1,965.7 -0.8 1,420 23 3.3 34

Pennsylvania

394.5 6,003.5 0.6 1,500 16 3.5 28

Rhode Island

49.0 489.3 1.0 1,429 22 3.0 44

South Carolina

198.7 2,304.9 1.7 1,247 37 4.4 12

South Dakota

40.5 450.5 0.2 1,163 49 3.0 44

Tennessee

221.0 3,251.5 -0.4 1,364 26 4.0 19

Texas

847.6 14,015.9 1.2 1,587 13 3.1 42

Utah

138.1 1,720.5 1.1 1,365 25 4.0 19

Vermont

33.5 306.8 -0.4 1,280 35 3.8 23

Virginia

321.9 4,108.8 0.8 1,605 12 3.4 30

Washington

240.9 3,583.7 0.9 1,935 5 5.8 4

West Virginia

61.9 694.6 0.0 1,149 50 3.3 34

Wisconsin

208.9 2,898.4 -0.2 1,305 32 3.4 30

Wyoming

31.0 274.6 0.0 1,216 43 3.3 34

Puerto Rico

52.0 946.1 -0.7 699 (3) 3.2 (3)

Virgin Islands

2.9 33.8 -7.5 1,034 (3) 2.7 (3)

Footnotes:
(1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data.
(2) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
(3) Data not included in the national ranking.

Note: Data are preliminary. Dashes indicate data not applicable or available. Covered employment and wages include workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.

BLS - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics published this content on September 16, 2025, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on September 16, 2025 at 15:34 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]