BLS - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

09/04/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/04/2026 10:33

County Employment and Wages in Idaho — First Quarter 2026

News Release Information

26-1467-SAN
Friday, September 04, 2026

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

County Employment and Wages in Idaho - First Quarter 2026

Idaho employment increased 1.9 percent over the year to 867,900 in March 2026, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table 1.) Employment rose 2.1 percent in Ada County from March 2025 to March 2026, as measured by the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program. Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that the rate of employment growth in Ada ranked 10th among the 371 largest U.S. counties with published data.

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

Ada

1.7

Canyon

0.8

Employment was 295,300 in Ada and 90,100 in Canyon in March 2026. Together these two large counties accounted for 44.4 percent of total employment in Idaho. 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

The average weekly wage in Ada increased 7.9 percent over the year (ranked 12th nationally) to $1,503 (132nd). The average wage in Canyon increased 3.3 percent (196th) to $1,048 (364th). The national average was $1,654, up 3.9 percent over the year.

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

Canyon

4.7

Ada

4.4

Statewide, average weekly wages increased 6.2 percent over the year to $1,254. Idaho ranked 44th in average weekly wages among the 50 states and the District of Columbia and 2nd 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 42 smaller counties in Idaho, defined as having employment below 75,000 in 2025. (See table 2.) Wage levels in 41 of the 42 smaller counties were below the national average. Butte reported the highest average weekly wage ($2,380) in the state. Bear Lake reported the lowest average weekly wage ($781).

Among all 44 Idaho counties, 10 reported average weekly wages less than $925, 6 had wages from $925 to $999, 15 had wages from $1,000 to $1,074, 4 had wages from $1,075 to $1,149, and 9 had average weekly wages of $1,150 or higher. (See map 1 and table 2.)

Map 1. Average weekly wages by county in Idaho, 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 two largest counties in Idaho, 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 --

Idaho

100.8 867.9 1.9 -- 1,254 44 6.2 2

Ada

25.0 295.3 2.1 10 1,503 132 7.9 12

Canyon

8.6 90.1 (5) - 1,048 364 3.3 196

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 Idaho, first quarter 2026
Area Establishments Employment March 2026 Average weekly wage ($) (1)

United States (2)

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

Idaho

100,763 867,879 1,254

Ada

25,027 295,338 1,503

Adams

212 954 1,050

Bannock

3,232 37,835 988

Bear Lake

289 1,874 781

Benewah

395 3,385 1,196

Bingham

1,501 15,963 949

Blaine

2,207 14,178 1,219

Boise

253 1,932 789

Bonner

2,443 15,947 1,033

Bonneville

5,762 62,753 1,003

Boundary

616 4,084 1,011

Butte

131 9,909 2,380

Camas

76 333 1,204

Canyon

8,598 90,131 1,048

Caribou

316 3,384 1,328

Cassia

1,139 12,298 1,013

Clark

50 307 1,517

Clearwater

339 2,612 1,039

Custer

274 1,457 1,093

Elmore

763 7,299 967

Franklin

557 4,078 886

Fremont

586 3,496 882

Gem

680 4,505 892

Gooding

619 6,393 1,020

Idaho

706 4,479 930

Jefferson

1,246 8,157 861

Jerome

944 12,239 1,047

Kootenai

8,840 69,986 1,193

Latah

1,392 15,155 1,039

Lemhi

446 2,550 1,123

Lewis

232 1,507 835

Lincoln

199 1,619 1,025

Madison

1,716 17,522 826

Minidoka

779 9,183 972

Nez Perce

1,419 21,353 1,118

Oneida

176 1,534 849

Owyhee

375 3,254 943

Payette

877 7,091 1,013

Power

271 3,856 1,049

Shoshone

466 5,087 1,239

Teton

913 4,513 1,029

Twin Falls

3,966 42,572 1,027

Valley

867 5,531 1,080

Washington

353 2,748 862

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]