Department of Labor Logo United States Department of Labor
Dot gov

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

News Release Information

19-298-CHI
Wednesday, May 01, 2019

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (312) 353-1138

County Employment and Wages in North Dakota — Third Quarter 2018

North Dakota’s only large county, Cass, had an average weekly wage of $956 in the third quarter of 2018, a 2.4-percent gain over the year, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (Large counties are defined as those with 2017 annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more.) Nationally, the average weekly wage increased 3.3 percent over the year to $1,055 in the third quarter of 2018. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Charlene Peiffer 10 of the state’s 52 smaller counties, those with employment below 75,000, had an average weekly wage that was above the national average. (See table 1.)

Employment in Cass County rose 1.1 percent from September 2017 to September 2018. Cass County’s employment level of 119,700 accounted for 28.2 percent of total employment within the state. Nationally, employment rose 1.6 percent during this 12-month period, as 295 of the 349 largest U.S. counties gained jobs. Nationwide, the 349 largest counties made up 73.0 percent of total U.S. employment.

Large county wage changes

Cass County (2.4 percent) was among the 336 largest U.S. counties to record an over-the-year increase in average weekly wages. Chatham, GA, had the largest increase, up 8.5 percent from the third quarter of 2017. King, WA, was second with a wage increase of 7.9 percent, followed by Santa Clara, CA, and Stanislaus, CA, at 7.8 percent each.

Among the largest U.S. counties, 11 experienced over-the-year decreases in average weekly wages. Elkhart, IN, had the largest percentage decrease in average weekly wages (-4.2 percent), followed by Union, NJ (-3.7 percent); Providence, RI (-3.4 percent); and Forsyth, NC (-3.0 percent).

Large county average weekly wages

Cass County’s $956 average weekly wage placed in the bottom half among the 349 largest U.S. counties, ranking 178th. Nationwide, average weekly wages were above the U.S. average ($1,055) in 94 of the 349 largest counties in the third quarter of 2018. Santa Clara, CA, held the top position among the highest-paid large counties in the nation with an average weekly wage of $2,460. San Mateo, CA, was second at $2,363, followed by San Francisco, CA ($2,097); New York, NY ($1,997); and Washington, DC ($1,807).

Among the largest U.S. counties, 255 had weekly wages below the national average in the third quarter of 2018. Cameron, TX, had the lowest weekly wage at $632, followed by Horry, SC ($635); Hidalgo, TX ($662); and Webb, TX ($698).

Average weekly wages in North Dakota’s smaller counties

Forty-two of the 52 counties in North Dakota with employment below 75,000 had average weekly wages below the national average of $1,055. The 10 small counties with weekly wages above the U.S. average were located in the western portion of the state. Williams County had the highest weekly wage at $1,526, followed by McKenzie ($1,480) and Oliver ($1,439). Sheridan County had the lowest weekly wage in the state, averaging $482 in the third quarter of 2018. (See table 2.)

When all 53 counties in North Dakota were considered, 5 had average weekly wages of $649 or lower, 14 had wages from $650 to $749, 14 had wages from $750 to $849, and 20 had wages of $850 or higher. (See chart 1.)

Additional statistics and other information

QCEW data for states have been included in this release in table 3. For additional information about quarterly employment and wages data, please read the Technical Note or visit www.bls.gov/cew.

Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online features comprehensive information by detailed industry on establishments, employment, and wages for the nation and all states. The 2017 edition of this publication, which was published in September 2018, contains selected data produced by Business Employment Dynamics (BED) on job gains and losses, as well as selected data from the first quarter 2018 version of the national news release. Tables and additional content from Employment and Wages Annual Averages 2017 are now available online at www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/2017/home.htm. The 2018 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online will be available in September 2019.

The County Employment and Wages release for fourth quarter 2018 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, May 22, 2019. The County Employment and Wages full data update for fourth quarter 2018 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, June 5, 2019.


Technical Note

Average weekly wage data by county are compiled under the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program, also known as the ES-202 program. The data are derived from summaries of employment and total pay of workers covered by state and federal unemployment insurance (UI) legislation and provided by State Workforce Agencies (SWAs). The average weekly wage values are calculated by dividing quarterly total wages by the average of the three monthly employment levels of those covered by UI programs. The result is then divided by 13, the number of weeks in a quarter. It is to be noted, therefore, that over-the-year wage changes for geographic areas may reflect shifts in the composition of employment by industry, occupation, and such other factors as hours of work. Thus, wages may vary among counties, metropolitan areas, or states for reasons other than changes in the average wage level. Data for all states, Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), counties, and the nation are available on the BLS Web site at www.bls.gov/cew; however, data in QCEW press releases have been revised and may not match the data contained on the Bureau’s Web site.

QCEW data are not designed as a time series. QCEW data are simply the sums of individual establishment records reflecting the number of establishments that exist in a county or industry at a point in time. Establishments can move in or out of a county or industry for a number of reasons–some reflecting economic events, others reflecting administrative changes.

The preliminary QCEW data presented in this release may differ from data released by the individual states as well as from the data presented on the BLS Web site. These potential differences result from the states’ continuing receipt, review and editing of UI data over time. On the other hand, differences between data in this release and the data found on the BLS Web site are the result of adjustments made to improve over-the-year comparisons. Specifically, these adjustments account for administrative (noneconomic) changes such as a correction to a previously reported location or industry classification. Adjusting for these administrative changes allows users to more accurately assess changes of an economic nature (such as a firm moving from one county to another or changing its primary economic activity) over a 12-month period. Currently, adjusted data are available only from BLS press releases.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.

Table 1. Covered employment and wages in the United States and the largest county in North Dakota, third quarter 2018
Area Employment Average weekly wage (1)
September 2018 (thousands) Percent change, September 2017-18 (2) National ranking by percent change (3) Average weekly wage National ranking by level (3) Percent change, third quarter 2017-18 (2) National ranking by percent change (3)

United States (4)

146,824.1 1.6 -- $1,055 -- 3.3 --

North Dakota

424.3 1.1 -- 995 19 4.4 3

Cass, ND

119.7 1.1 168 956 178 2.4 232

Footnotes:
(1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data.
(2) Percent changes were computed from quarterly 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. Covered employment and wages includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.

Table 2. Covered employment and wages in the United States and all counties in North Dakota, third quarter 2018
Area Employment September 2018 Average weekly wage(1)

United States(2)

146,824,093 $1,055

North Dakota

424,251 995

Adams

951 959

Barnes

4,575 738

Benson

1,941 746

Billings

681 751

Bottineau

2,470 817

Bowman

1,506 783

Burke

710 1,064

Burleigh

55,677 972

Cass

119,678 956

Cavalier

1,450 830

Dickey

1,809 704

Divide

830 989

Dunn

2,008 1,323

Eddy

774 614

Emmons

973 658

Foster

1,656 830

Golden Valley

661 664

Grand Forks

40,369 878

Grant

537 645

Griggs

850 680

Hettinger

730 856

Kidder

750 650

LaMoure

1,372 696

Logan

619 549

McHenry

1,389 845

McIntosh

1,065 658

McKenzie

11,115 1,480

McLean

3,523 1,128

Mercer

4,569 1,369

Morton

11,855 854

Mountrail

6,130 1,251

Nelson

1,011 642

Oliver

796 1,439

Pembina

3,668 879

Pierce

1,721 794

Ramsey

5,735 750

Ransom

2,058 684

Renville

741 739

Richland

8,007 787

Rolette

4,444 710

Sargent

3,486 845

Sheridan

238 482

Sioux

1,575 828

Slope

123 1,275

Stark

19,490 1,184

Steele

582 938

Stutsman

11,075 831

Towner

776 737

Traill

3,463 813

Walsh

5,388 766

Ward

32,164 968

Wells

1,498 656

Williams

30,079 1,526

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: Includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs. Data are preliminary.

Table 3. Covered employment and wages by state, third quarter 2018
State Employment Average weekly wage (1)
September 2018 (thousands) Percent change, September 2017-18 Average weekly wage National ranking by level Percent change, third quarter 2017-18 National ranking by percent change

United States (2)

146,824.1 1.6 $1,055 -- 3.3 --

Alabama

1,966.0 1.2 885 38 3.1 25

Alaska

334.0 -0.4 1,065 13 3.7 12

Arizona

2,838.6 2.8 974 23 2.9 31

Arkansas

1,222.1 0.7 811 49 2.9 31

California

17,457.5 1.8 1,260 5 3.8 9

Colorado

2,684.0 2.1 1,104 9 3.5 18

Connecticut

1,681.5 0.3 1,209 6 2.5 41

Delaware

447.8 0.6 1,046 15 2.4 42

District of Columbia

770.7 0.7 1,807 1 2.8 36

Florida

8,690.7 4.6 924 29 3.1 25

Georgia

4,448.8 2.3 993 20 3.3 21

Hawaii

654.7 0.0 975 22 2.4 42

Idaho

743.5 3.0 805 50 3.2 23

Illinois

6,029.2 0.8 1,087 10 3.0 28

Indiana

3,072.3 0.9 883 39 2.4 42

Iowa

1,555.0 0.6 887 37 3.7 12

Kansas

1,390.4 1.0 867 42 3.5 18

Kentucky

1,898.7 0.5 855 43 2.2 47

Louisiana

1,915.4 0.5 901 33 3.7 12

Maine

626.5 0.6 851 45 3.7 12

Maryland

2,683.9 0.7 1,130 8 2.4 42

Massachusetts

3,598.1 0.7 1,305 2 3.2 23

Michigan

4,366.5 0.8 991 21 2.8 36

Minnesota

2,904.3 0.8 1,074 12 4.2 5

Mississippi

1,133.7 0.2 754 51 3.4 20

Missouri

2,812.0 0.4 907 31 3.3 21

Montana

473.3 1.0 815 48 2.8 36

Nebraska

980.3 0.6 873 41 2.8 36

Nevada

1,382.9 3.4 936 28 2.4 42

New Hampshire

662.3 0.5 1,040 16 1.7 49

New Jersey

4,072.6 0.8 1,181 7 2.1 48

New Mexico

826.2 1.2 855 43 3.9 7

New York

9,467.5 1.4 1,272 4 4.2 5

North Carolina

4,398.0 1.1 938 26 3.8 9

North Dakota

424.3 1.1 995 19 4.4 3

Ohio

5,424.4 0.7 947 25 2.9 31

Oklahoma

1,616.8 1.2 874 40 3.6 16

Oregon

1,939.8 1.5 1,005 18 3.8 9

Pennsylvania

5,894.8 1.0 1,031 17 3.0 28

Rhode Island

489.4 1.0 963 24 -1.3 51

South Carolina

2,088.2 2.8 834 46 0.8 50

South Dakota

431.5 1.3 827 47 3.0 28

Tennessee

3,005.6 1.7 938 26 3.9 7

Texas

12,327.0 2.6 1,064 14 3.1 25

Utah

1,494.4 3.4 911 30 3.6 16

Vermont

310.9 0.0 892 36 2.6 40

Virginia

3,889.6 1.1 1,082 11 2.9 31

Washington

3,425.6 2.4 1,280 3 6.2 2

West Virginia

706.0 1.7 894 35 8.1 1

Wisconsin

2,888.9 0.7 901 33 2.9 31

Wyoming

278.2 0.6 905 32 4.3 4

Puerto Rico

862.5 0.2 534 (3) 5.3 (3)

Virgin Islands

33.4 -8.0 888 (3) 18.6 (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. Covered employment and wages includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.

  Chart 1. Average weekly wages by county in North Dakota, third quarter 2018

 

Last Modified Date: Wednesday, May 01, 2019