BLS - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

06/09/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 06/09/2026 13:14

County Employment and Wages in Washington — Fourth Quarter 2025

News Release Information

26-856-SAN
Tuesday, June 09, 2026

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County Employment and Wages in Washington - Fourth Quarter 2025

Employment declined in 6 of the 10 largest counties in Washington from December 2024 to December 2025, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that Whatcom County (-1.4 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 Washington, December 2025
County Percent change, December 2025

Whatcom

-1.4

King

-0.6

Snohomish

-0.6

Benton

-0.3

Pierce

-0.3

Thurston

-0.1

Clark

0.0

Kitsap

0.0

Spokane

0.2

Yakima

0.2
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 (1,439,100) had the highest employment level in Washington in December 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 fourth quarter 2025

Average weekly wage gains in 6 of 9 large counties in Washington with published data were above the national average of 4.2 percent. (See chart 2.) Snohomish had the largest gain (+7.6 percent). Over-the-year wage gains among the other eight large Washington counties ranged from 6.9 percent to 0.3 percent.

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

Snohomish

7.6

Spokane

6.9

Pierce

5.8

Thurston

5.7

Whatcom

5.1

Benton

4.4

Clark

3.8

Yakima

2.7

King

0.3
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 $1,569: King ($2,667) and Snohomish ($1,680). Average weekly wages among the other eight large counties ranged from $1,508 in Clark to $1,083 in Yakima.

Smaller county average weekly wages in the fourth quarter 2025

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 2024. (See table 2.) Wage levels in all smaller counties were below the national average. Pend Oreille reported the highest average weekly wage ($1,421). Wahkiakum reported the lowest average weekly wage ($973) in the state.

Among all 39 Washington counties, 8 reported average weekly wages less than $1,125, 12 had wages from $1,125 to $1,224, 5 had wages from $1,225 to $1,324, 7 had wages from $1,325 to $1,424, and 7 had average weekly wages of $1,425 or higher. (See map 1 and table 2.)

Map 1. Average weekly wages by county in Washington, 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 10 largest counties in Washington, 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 --

Washington

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

Benton

5.5 97.9 -0.3 208 1,458 143 4.4 138

Clark

15.8 183.5 0.0 170 1,508 108 3.8 223

King

83.0 1,439.1 -0.6 254 2,667 6 0.3 345

Kitsap

6.9 94.1 0.0 170 1,432 157 (5) -

Pierce

21.4 339.2 -0.3 208 1,469 135 5.8 39

Snohomish

21.0 300.6 -0.6 254 1,680 58 7.6 8

Spokane

16.1 243.3 0.2 135 1,369 188 6.9 18

Thurston

8.5 129.8 -0.1 181 1,493 121 5.7 42

Whatcom

7.4 92.5 -1.4 341 1,411 169 5.1 79

Yakima

6.4 109.9 0.2 135 1,083 360 2.7 299

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

United States (2)

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

Washington

242,069 3,590,293 1,948

Adams

701 8,511 1,116

Asotin

532 6,636 1,156

Benton

5,536 97,912 1,458

Chelan

3,247 42,578 1,191

Clallam

2,295 24,032 1,170

Clark

15,802 183,466 1,508

Columbia

180 1,256 1,251

Cowlitz

2,722 41,090 1,386

Douglas

1,123 11,905 1,095

Ferry

275 1,718 1,149

Franklin

2,435 35,562 1,205

Garfield

71 620 1,186

Grant

2,731 40,142 1,330

Grays Harbor

1,864 23,819 1,196

Island

2,160 17,990 1,249

Jefferson

1,077 9,196 1,231

King

82,950 1,439,136 2,667

Kitsap

6,883 94,138 1,432

Kittitas

1,441 16,202 1,158

Klickitat

844 6,895 1,289

Lewis

2,291 27,280 1,210

Lincoln

440 2,700 1,095

Mason

1,269 15,504 1,234

Okanogan

1,634 16,974 1,020

Pacific

702 6,345 1,044

Pend Oreille

353 3,109 1,421

Pierce

21,396 339,165 1,469

San Juan

1,046 5,897 1,139

Skagit

3,878 53,445 1,361

Skamania

280 2,224 1,175

Snohomish

21,008 300,572 1,680

Spokane

16,083 243,281 1,369

Stevens

1,053 11,041 1,088

Thurston

8,547 129,772 1,493

Wahkiakum

132 694 973

Walla Walla

1,830 27,759 1,173

Whatcom

7,424 92,501 1,411

Whitman

1,231 18,877 1,364

Yakima

6,414 109,898 1,083

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 09, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on June 09, 2026 at 19:14 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]