BLS - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

09/04/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/04/2026 10:32

County Employment and Wages in Washington — First Quarter 2026

News Release Information

26-1470-SAN
Friday, September 04, 2026

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

County Employment and Wages in Washington - First Quarter 2026

Employment declined in 8 of the 10 largest counties in Washington from March 2025 to March 2026, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Washington employment decreased 0.2 percent over the year to 3,558,600 in March 2026, as measured by the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program. (See table 1.) Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that Whatcom and Yakima Counties (-0.7 percent each) had the largest over-the-year decrease in employment. (See chart 1.)

View Chart Data
Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in covered employment among the largest counties in Washington, March 2026
County Percent change, March 2026

Whatcom

-0.7

Yakima

-0.7

Benton

-0.5

Kitsap

-0.5

Thurston

-0.4

King

-0.3

Spokane

-0.3

Pierce

-0.1

Clark

0.0

Snohomish

0.6
Chart 1. Over-the-year percent change in covered employment among the largest counties in Washington, September 2025
County Percent change, September 2025

Snohomish

-1.0

Thurston

-0.7

King

-0.4

Yakima

-0.2

Clark

-0.1

Pierce

-0.1

Whatcom

0.1

Benton

0.2

Spokane

0.2

Kitsap

0.9

King County (1,421,300) had the highest employment level in Washington in March 2026. Together, the 10 largest counties accounted for 84.3 percent of total covered employment within the state. Nationwide, the 376 largest counties comprise 73.5 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 2025.)

Large county average weekly wages in the first quarter 2026

Average weekly wage gains in 4 of the 9 large counties in Washington with published data were above the national average of 3.9 percent. (See chart 2.) Snohomish had the largest gain (+6.4 percent). Over-the-year wage gains among the other eight large Washington counties ranged from 4.5 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 2026
County Percent change, first quarter 2026

Snohomish

6.4

Spokane

4.5

Clark

4.3

Pierce

4.1

Benton

3.9

Thurston

3.9

Whatcom

3.7

Yakima

2.7

King

2.0
Chart 2. Over-the-year percent change in covered average weekly wages among the largest counties in Washington, third quarter 2025
County Percent change, third quarter 2025

King

9.1

Snohomish

6.4

Thurston

6.4

Pierce

5.3

Spokane

5.0

Benton

4.8

Whatcom

4.7

Clark

4.4

Kitsap

2.8

Yakima

2.7

Weekly wages in 2 of the 10 largest counties in Washington were above the national average of $1,654: King ($2,739) and Snohomish ($1,759). Average weekly wages among the other eight large counties ranged from $1,588 in Kitsap to $1,041 in Yakima.

Statewide, average weekly wages increased 2.7 percent over the year to $1,998. Washington ranked 5th in average weekly wages among the 50 states and the District of Columbia and 44th in wage growth.

Smaller county average weekly wages in the first quarter 2026

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 29 smaller counties in Washington, defined as having employment below 75,000 in 2025. (See table 2.) Wage levels in all of the smaller counties were below the national average. Pend Oreille reported the highest average weekly wage ($1,430) among small counties. Okanogan reported the lowest average weekly wage ($958) in the state.

Among all 39 Washington counties, 10 reported average weekly wages less than $1,100, 9 had wages from $1,100 to $1,199, 5 had wages from $1,200 to $1,299, 7 had wages from $1,300 to $1,399, and 8 had average weekly wages of $1,400 or higher. (See map 1 and table 2.)

Map 1. Average weekly wages by county in Washington, first quarter 2026

(U.S. average = $1,654)

Additional statistics and other information

QCEW data for all 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.

If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.

The County Employment and Wages release for the second quarter 2026 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, December 2, 2026.

County Changes for the 2026 County Employment and Wages News Releases

Counties with annual average employment of 75,000 or more in 2025 are included in this release and will be included in future 2026 releases. Five counties have been added to the publication tables: Kenton, KY; Union, NC; Licking, OH; Gregg, TX; and Kenosha, WI. One county has been dropped from the publication tables: Wood, OH.

Table 1. Covered establishments, employment, and wages in the United States and the 10 largest counties in Washington, first quarter 2026
Area Establishments,
first quarter
(thousands) 		Employment Average weekly wage (1)
March 2026
(thousands) 		Percent change,
March
2025-26 (2) 		National ranking
by percent change (3) 		First quarter
2026 ($) 		National ranking
by level (3) 		Percent change,
first quarter
2025-26 (2) 		National ranking
by percent change (3)

United States (4)

12,381.8 154,771.9 0.1 -- 1,654 -- 3.9 --

Washington

240.6 3,558.6 -0.2 -- 1,998 5 2.7 44

Benton

5.4 97.0 -0.5 220 1,480 144 3.9 141

Clark

15.7 181.6 0.0 152 1,522 119 4.3 107

King

82.5 1,421.3 -0.3 185 2,739 9 2.0 295

Kitsap

6.9 93.2 -0.5 220 1,588 101 (5) -

Pierce

21.2 335.3 -0.1 166 1,459 152 4.1 123

Snohomish

20.9 300.2 0.6 93 1,759 64 6.4 29

Spokane

16.0 241.1 -0.3 185 1,395 183 4.5 93

Thurston

8.5 128.6 -0.4 205 1,507 128 3.9 141

Whatcom

7.4 92.6 -0.7 252 1,384 186 3.7 161

Yakima

6.2 110.5 -0.7 252 1,041 366 2.7 243

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.
(5) Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.

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 2026
Area Establishments Employment March 2026 Average weekly wage ($) (1)

United States (2)

12,381,750 154,771,941 1,654

Washington

240,584 3,558,558 1,998

Adams

693 8,379 1,124

Asotin

520 6,453 1,094

Benton

5,436 97,015 1,480

Chelan

3,222 41,686 1,169

Clallam

2,263 23,930 1,113

Clark

15,688 181,583 1,522

Columbia

180 1,354 1,237

Cowlitz

2,701 40,775 1,378

Douglas

1,106 11,991 1,099

Ferry

280 1,726 1,157

Franklin

2,395 36,520 1,130

Garfield

66 598 1,339

Grant

2,683 40,949 1,283

Grays Harbor

1,837 23,620 1,149

Island

2,140 18,165 1,259

Jefferson

1,070 9,101 1,299

King

82,524 1,421,311 2,739

Kitsap

6,894 93,225 1,588

Kittitas

1,427 16,587 1,109

Klickitat

838 6,503 1,393

Lewis

2,260 27,353 1,239

Lincoln

442 2,639 1,037

Mason

1,267 14,645 1,187

Okanogan

1,615 16,461 958

Pacific

686 6,369 996

Pend Oreille

352 3,154 1,430

Pierce

21,215 335,321 1,459

San Juan

1,023 5,692 1,069

Skagit

3,811 53,293 1,312

Skamania

277 2,722 1,058

Snohomish

20,903 300,220 1,759

Spokane

15,959 241,051 1,395

Stevens

1,048 11,283 1,073

Thurston

8,519 128,616 1,507

Wahkiakum

133 681 978

Walla Walla

1,808 27,295 1,147

Whatcom

7,409 92,566 1,384

Whitman

1,216 18,771 1,398

Yakima

6,245 110,541 1,041

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 2026
State Establishments,
first quarter
(thousands) 		Employment Average weekly wage (1)
March 2026
(thousands) 		Percent change,
March
2025-26 		First quarter
2026 ($) 		National ranking
by level 		Percent change,
first quarter
2025-26 		National ranking
by percent change

United States (2)

12,381.8 154,771.9 0.1 1,654 -- 3.9 --

Alabama

168.7 2,121.2 0.7 1,292 38 3.6 28

Alaska

25.4 320.1 -1.3 1,519 18 4.8 6

Arizona

227.8 3,249.1 -0.6 1,495 21 4.5 10

Arkansas

109.4 1,305.2 -0.1 1,291 39 4.6 8

California

1,990.7 18,211.8 0.9 1,986 6 2.7 44

Colorado

264.7 2,848.5 -0.7 1,774 8 5.4 4

Connecticut

150.0 1,668.2 -0.4 2,080 4 5.2 5

Delaware

47.1 473.6 -0.3 1,606 15 3.1 39

District of Columbia

51.4 715.8 -4.5 2,725 1 4.5 10

Florida

894.1 9,962.8 0.0 1,518 19 4.3 13

Georgia

397.4 4,865.2 0.0 1,539 17 3.3 34

Hawaii

64.6 643.9 -0.3 1,387 29 1.7 51

Idaho

100.8 867.9 1.9 1,254 44 6.2 2

Illinois

389.4 5,992.4 0.0 1,731 9 4.1 16

Indiana

197.7 3,160.7 -0.1 1,356 30 2.7 44

Iowa

110.8 1,537.5 -0.1 1,301 36 3.9 22

Kansas

102.2 1,425.3 0.0 1,286 41 3.1 39

Kentucky

163.0 1,979.1 -0.4 1,248 45 2.9 43

Louisiana

159.6 1,917.2 -0.5 1,274 42 4.0 17

Maine

67.5 629.1 -0.5 1,327 34 3.5 30

Maryland

201.1 2,700.3 -1.7 1,676 10 2.7 44

Massachusetts

296.4 3,552.9 -0.9 2,201 3 4.8 6

Michigan

312.6 4,357.5 0.3 1,445 24 3.9 22

Minnesota

213.9 2,878.1 -0.3 1,630 14 3.8 24

Mississippi

93.3 1,162.9 -0.2 1,051 51 3.3 34

Missouri

263.5 2,890.5 0.1 1,354 31 3.4 32

Montana

63.2 506.6 0.6 1,229 48 3.5 30

Nebraska

78.9 1,008.2 -0.1 1,274 42 3.7 26

Nevada

112.8 1,575.7 2.0 1,391 28 2.1 50

New Hampshire

66.1 675.0 -1.2 1,656 12 3.0 41

New Jersey

343.4 4,247.8 0.0 1,879 7 3.3 34

New Mexico

67.1 867.4 -0.4 1,235 46 2.7 44

New York

710.5 9,743.6 -0.3 2,363 2 6.5 1

North Carolina

375.3 4,942.7 0.8 1,515 20 3.3 34

North Dakota

36.9 420.7 -0.5 1,333 33 2.4 49

Ohio

344.6 5,458.3 -0.2 1,417 26 4.0 17

Oklahoma

130.2 1,700.6 0.0 1,235 46 3.6 28

Oregon

173.5 1,952.3 -1.3 1,481 23 4.6 8

Pennsylvania

394.1 6,002.1 -0.1 1,550 16 3.3 34

Rhode Island

49.1 486.9 -0.6 1,487 22 4.2 14

South Carolina

193.1 2,326.6 0.7 1,296 37 4.0 17

South Dakota

41.1 451.7 0.2 1,211 49 4.2 14

Tennessee

228.1 3,254.1 -0.2 1,426 25 4.4 12

Texas

868.8 14,124.6 0.6 1,646 13 3.8 24

Utah

140.6 1,737.8 0.9 1,415 27 4.0 17

Vermont

33.4 304.2 -1.0 1,322 35 3.0 41

Virginia

324.8 4,118.7 -0.2 1,665 11 4.0 17

Washington

240.6 3,558.6 -0.2 1,998 5 2.7 44

West Virginia

63.0 693.3 -0.4 1,188 50 3.4 32

Wisconsin

208.0 2,902.6 0.0 1,353 32 3.7 26

Wyoming

31.8 275.2 -0.1 1,287 40 5.8 3

Puerto Rico

52.9 944.5 -0.8 724 (3) 3.4 (3)

Virgin Islands

2.9 34.9 1.2 1,054 (3) 1.5 (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 04, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on September 04, 2026 at 16:33 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]