BLS - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

06/11/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 06/11/2026 09:12

County Employment and Wages in Ohio — Fourth Quarter 2025

News Release Information

26-807-CHI
Thursday, June 11, 2026

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County Employment and Wages in Ohio - Fourth Quarter 2025

Employment declined in 8 of the 15 largest counties in Ohio from December 2024 to December 2025, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Michael Hirniak noted that Greene County (-2.5 percent) had the largest over-the-year decrease in employment. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

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

Franklin

1.8

Warren

1.4

Delaware

0.7

Montgomery

0.6

Lorain

0.2

Lake

0.1

Wood

0.1

Stark

-0.2

Cuyahoga

-0.3

Hamilton

-0.5

Butler

-1.0

Lucas

-1.0

Mahoning

-1.0

Summit

-1.2

Greene

-2.5

Franklin County (804,700) had the highest employment level in Ohio in December 2025. Together, the 15 largest counties accounted for 66.6 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 fourth quarter 2025

Average weekly wage gains in 7 of 14 large counties in Ohio with published data were below the national average of 4.2 percent. (See chart 2.) Stark had the largest gain (+6.5 percent). Over-the-year wage gains among the other 13 large Ohio counties ranged from 5.4 percent to 1.1 percent.

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

Stark

6.5

Lake

5.4

Lucas

5.3

Butler

5.1

Summit

4.3

Mahoning

4.2

Montgomery

4.2

Wood

4.1

Cuyahoga

3.9

Hamilton

3.9

Lorain

3.8

Delaware

3.2

Franklin

3.2

Warren

1.1

Weekly wages in all 15 large counties in Ohio were below the national average of $1,569. Average weekly wages ranged from $1,553 in Hamilton to $1,088 in Mahoning.

Smaller county average weekly wages in the fourth quarter of 2025

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 73 smaller counties in Ohio, defined as having employment below 75,000 in 2024. (See table 2.) Wage levels in all smaller counties were below the national average. Union reported the highest average weekly wage ($1,526) among the smaller counties. Hocking reported the lowest average weekly wage ($798) in the state.

Among all 88 Ohio counties, 10 reported average weekly wages less than $1,000, 17 had wages from $1,000 to $1,074, 20 had wages from $1,075 to $1,149, 21 had wages from $1,150 to $1,224, and 20 had average weekly wages of $1,225 or higher. (See map 1 and table 2.)

Map 1. Average weekly wages by county in Ohio, fourth quarter 2025

(U.S. average = $1,569)

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.

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 first quarter 2026 is scheduled to be released on Friday, August 28, 2026.

Table 1. Covered establishments, employment, and wages in the United States and the 15 largest counties in Ohio, fourth quarter 2025
Area Establishments,
fourth quarter
(thousands) 		Employment Average weekly wage (1)
December 2025
(thousands) 		Percent change,
December
2024-25 (2) 		National ranking
by percent change (3) 		Fourth quarter
2025 ($) 		National ranking
by level (3) 		Percent change,
fourth quarter
2024-25 (2) 		National ranking
by percent change (3)

United States (4)

12,428.4 156,700.2 0.2 -- 1,569 -- 4.2 --

Ohio

348.5 5,554.4 0.0 -- 1,358 30 4.1 24

Butler

9.3 164.6 -1.0 307 1,314 228 5.1 79

Cuyahoga

38.9 694.8 -0.3 208 1,537 98 3.9 208

Delaware

7.6 100.8 0.7 84 1,460 142 3.2 269

Franklin

40.1 804.7 1.8 27 1,496 117 3.2 269

Greene

4.2 79.7 -2.5 361 1,392 177 (5) -

Hamilton

27.3 514.9 -0.5 236 1,553 94 3.9 208

Lake

6.8 99.2 0.1 152 1,288 252 5.4 60

Lorain

6.9 99.7 0.2 135 1,174 333 3.8 223

Lucas

11.1 195.7 -1.0 307 1,292 247 5.3 68

Mahoning

6.3 93.4 -1.0 307 1,088 358 4.2 166

Montgomery

13.3 254.2 0.6 89 1,274 267 4.2 166

Stark

9.6 157.5 -0.2 195 1,152 339 6.5 24

Summit

15.8 260.1 -1.2 325 1,307 238 4.3 151

Warren

6.6 102.5 1.4 43 1,348 209 1.1 340

Wood

3.5 76.7 0.1 152 1,143 342 4.1 182

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 Ohio, fourth quarter 2025
Area Establishments Employment December 2025 Average weekly wage ($) (1)

United States (2)

12,428,415 156,700,218 1,569

Ohio

348,487 5,554,398 1,358

Adams

684 6,918 1,093

Allen

2,584 50,122 1,212

Ashland

1,218 18,532 1,052

Ashtabula

2,255 28,903 1,000

Athens

1,378 21,356 1,027

Auglaize

1,112 22,229 1,167

Belmont

1,645 20,717 1,041

Brown

792 7,969 920

Butler

9,322 164,599 1,314

Carroll

560 6,051 1,056

Champaign

754 11,151 1,124

Clark

2,554 45,126 1,059

Clermont

5,120 63,439 1,210

Clinton

967 18,918 1,256

Columbiana

2,235 28,138 1,038

Coshocton

758 9,634 1,062

Crawford

933 12,319 1,078

Cuyahoga

38,924 694,755 1,537

Darke

1,325 18,186 1,121

Defiance

938 15,518 1,104

Delaware

7,554 100,806 1,460

Erie

2,078 34,361 1,046

Fairfield

3,551 48,637 1,158

Fayette

705 12,138 1,094

Franklin

40,115 804,726 1,496

Fulton

1,109 17,748 1,176

Gallia

776 11,552 977

Geauga

3,195 36,444 1,224

Greene

4,239 79,693 1,392

Guernsey

981 14,686 1,137

Hamilton

27,273 514,927 1,553

Hancock

1,945 43,937 1,200

Hardin

568 7,590 1,068

Harrison

352 3,940 1,291

Henry

684 10,686 1,164

Highland

865 10,670 948

Hocking

595 7,502 798

Holmes

1,552 22,277 1,200

Huron

1,404 21,048 1,145

Jackson

769 10,367 958

Jefferson

1,421 19,408 1,145

Knox

1,374 20,412 1,198

Lake

6,832 99,171 1,288

Lawrence

1,043 14,047 1,002

Licking

4,047 78,181 1,225

Logan

1,051 19,608 1,186

Lorain

6,948 99,669 1,174

Lucas

11,076 195,710 1,292

Madison

1,084 24,906 1,151

Mahoning

6,279 93,423 1,088

Marion

1,250 23,342 1,134

Medina

5,315 62,621 1,216

Meigs

357 3,442 870

Mercer

1,213 20,019 1,159

Miami

2,626 42,197 1,168

Monroe

356 2,680 975

Montgomery

13,275 254,160 1,274

Morgan

240 2,825 981

Morrow

565 5,151 956

Muskingum

2,024 36,028 1,093

Noble

267 2,996 1,057

Ottawa

1,215 12,934 1,138

Paulding

419 5,199 1,295

Perry

589 6,178 1,051

Pickaway

1,118 16,799 1,174

Pike

628 10,644 1,213

Portage

3,787 56,948 1,244

Preble

807 11,544 1,056

Putnam

868 12,427 1,075

Richland

2,924 48,737 1,086

Ross

1,549 28,199 1,165

Sandusky

1,487 24,053 1,102

Scioto

1,516 25,001 1,068

Seneca

1,256 18,472 1,013

Shelby

1,165 26,265 1,289

Stark

9,631 157,450 1,152

Summit

15,818 260,070 1,307

Trumbull

4,380 64,685 1,071

Tuscarawas

2,441 36,988 1,104

Union

1,641 36,306 1,526

Van Wert

680 10,968 1,090

Vinton

214 2,260 907

Warren

6,634 102,464 1,348

Washington

1,609 25,085 1,237

Wayne

3,019 48,341 1,215

Williams

935 15,874 1,104

Wood

3,519 76,708 1,143

Wyandot

597 10,293 1,225

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, fourth quarter 2025
State Establishments,
fourth quarter
(thousands) 		Employment Average weekly wage (1)
December 2025
(thousands) 		Percent change,
December
2024-25 		Fourth quarter
2025 ($) 		National ranking
by level 		Percent change,
fourth quarter
2024-25 		National ranking
by percent change

United States (2)

12,428.4 156,700.2 0.2 1,569 -- 4.2 --

Alabama

167.4 2,135.3 0.5 1,301 36 3.7 37

Alaska

25.3 317.3 -0.3 1,497 16 4.7 14

Arizona

227.4 3,278.3 0.0 1,446 20 3.0 47

Arkansas

113.0 1,318.2 0.4 1,213 49 5.0 8

California

2,013.7 18,351.7 0.6 1,954 4 4.6 16

Colorado

258.5 2,896.4 -0.6 1,683 8 5.6 3

Connecticut

149.8 1,706.5 0.1 1,801 6 5.0 8

Delaware

47.3 481.0 0.1 1,502 15 4.7 14

District of Columbia

51.0 726.1 -4.5 2,587 1 4.1 24

Florida

886.2 10,013.2 0.3 1,471 17 4.8 12

Georgia

398.7 4,925.4 0.1 1,440 21 3.5 40

Hawaii

63.0 650.0 -0.2 1,411 25 5.0 8

Idaho

104.3 875.7 1.8 1,303 35 5.8 2

Illinois

387.7 6,089.5 -0.1 1,588 11 3.3 42

Indiana

195.6 3,211.2 0.1 1,276 40 4.5 17

Iowa

110.6 1,560.0 -0.2 1,282 39 3.7 37

Kansas

101.8 1,443.2 -0.1 1,268 44 4.1 24

Kentucky

161.3 2,008.7 -0.1 1,235 46 3.8 34

Louisiana

159.2 1,927.3 -0.5 1,267 45 3.2 44

Maine

67.6 644.7 -0.1 1,332 33 4.2 21

Maryland

199.5 2,754.6 -1.1 1,616 10 3.0 47

Massachusetts

298.5 3,625.5 -0.9 1,980 2 4.9 11

Michigan

316.9 4,412.7 0.0 1,427 23 4.2 21

Minnesota

215.2 2,948.0 0.0 1,505 14 3.7 37

Mississippi

92.2 1,180.9 0.3 1,075 51 5.1 7

Missouri

259.9 2,920.8 -0.1 1,324 34 4.4 18

Montana

62.3 512.3 -0.1 1,296 38 3.3 42

Nebraska

78.5 1,024.0 -0.2 1,275 42 4.0 31

Nevada

111.0 1,592.1 1.7 1,395 27 3.2 44

New Hampshire

67.9 688.8 -0.6 1,652 9 4.8 12

New Jersey

343.1 4,343.1 0.2 1,691 7 3.9 33

New Mexico

69.7 875.3 -0.3 1,275 42 4.1 24

New York

719.1 9,907.5 0.4 1,975 3 5.4 4

North Carolina

392.1 4,991.1 0.9 1,409 26 3.8 34

North Dakota

37.0 430.4 -0.2 1,350 31 2.7 49

Ohio

348.5 5,554.4 0.0 1,358 30 4.1 24

Oklahoma

129.3 1,717.1 0.1 1,217 48 4.1 24

Oregon

177.9 1,975.8 -1.0 1,468 19 3.2 44

Pennsylvania

398.1 6,094.8 0.2 1,470 18 4.0 31

Rhode Island

49.1 500.3 -0.1 1,429 22 6.0 1

South Carolina

192.4 2,344.7 1.5 1,276 40 4.3 20

South Dakota

41.2 458.9 -0.2 1,230 47 4.1 24

Tennessee

225.2 3,281.6 -0.3 1,424 24 3.8 34

Texas

860.8 14,255.2 0.8 1,549 13 4.2 21

Utah

144.6 1,761.6 1.4 1,389 28 4.1 24

Vermont

34.5 309.3 -0.9 1,378 29 5.3 5

Virginia

324.0 4,166.9 0.5 1,585 12 2.6 50

Washington

242.1 3,590.3 -0.3 1,948 5 2.4 51

West Virginia

62.8 698.3 -0.6 1,203 50 3.5 40

Wisconsin

213.9 2,946.2 -0.1 1,346 32 5.3 5

Wyoming

31.7 278.4 -0.8 1,297 37 4.4 18

Puerto Rico

53.5 974.7 -0.2 735 (3) 2.8 (3)

Virgin Islands

3.0 34.7 0.3 1,068 (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 June 11, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on June 11, 2026 at 15:12 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]