Counties in Missouri by average weekly wage (QCEW)

St. Louis city had the highest average weekly wage (QCEW) of 115 counties in 2018, at $1,165. Oregon County had the lowest, at $484. The median was $646 and the figure for Missouri was $943. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Highest1,165St. Louis city
Lowest484Oregon County
Median646115 counties
Missouri943History

Top 40 counties, 2018

St. Louis city: 1,165 USDSt. Louis city1,165St. Louis County: 1,164 USDSt. Louis County1,164Jackson County: 1,087 USDJackson County1,087Clay County: 933 USDClay County933Platte County: 908 USDPlatte County908St. Charles County: 879 USDSt. Charles County879Ralls County: 865 USDRalls County865Buchanan County: 856 USDBuchanan County856Boone County: 848 USDBoone County848Ste. Genevieve County: 837 USDSte. Genevieve County837Greene County: 831 USDGreene County831Callaway County: 819 USDCallaway County819Cole County: 809 USDCole County809Cape Girardeau County: 777 USDCape Girardeau County777Sullivan County: 776 USDSullivan County776Franklin County: 775 USDFranklin County775Newton County: 770 USDNewton County770Lincoln County: 762 USDLincoln County762Jasper County: 758 USDJasper County758Phelps County: 758 USDPhelps County758Iron County: 757 USDIron County757Barry County: 750 USDBarry County750Warren County: 740 USDWarren County740Perry County: 730 USDPerry County730Jefferson County: 727 USDJefferson County727Pulaski County: 724 USDPulaski County724Marion County: 723 USDMarion County723Lawrence County: 713 USDLawrence County713Scott County: 713 USDScott County713Randolph County: 710 USDRandolph County710Vernon County: 709 USDVernon County709Henry County: 706 USDHenry County706Johnson County: 702 USDJohnson County702Stoddard County: 702 USDStoddard County702Crawford County: 700 USDCrawford County700Audrain County: 698 USDAudrain County698Cass County: 695 USDCass County695Osage County: 691 USDOsage County691Holt County: 690 USDHolt County690Nodaway County: 686 USDNodaway County686
USD. Source: BLS, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average weekly wage, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2018
USD
Change on 2017
1St. Louis city1,165+4.2%
2St. Louis County1,164+5.2%
3Jackson County1,087+3.2%
4Clay County933+1.9%
5Platte County908+3.9%
6St. Charles County879+3.8%
7Ralls County865+2.2%
8Buchanan County856+1.5%
9Boone County848+2.4%
10Ste. Genevieve County837+2.7%
11Greene County831+3.4%
12Callaway County819+4.5%
13Cole County809+1.8%
14Cape Girardeau County777+2.9%
15Sullivan County776-0.1%
16Franklin County775+3.5%
17Newton County770+13.6%
18Lincoln County762+1.9%
19Jasper County758-2.2%
19Phelps County758+2.8%
21Iron County757+4.1%
22Barry County750+2.9%
23Warren County740+3.9%
24Perry County730+1.7%
25Jefferson County727+3.7%
26Pulaski County724+1.3%
27Marion County723+4%
28Lawrence County713+3%
28Scott County713+2.9%
30Randolph County710+4%
31Vernon County709+2.5%
32Henry County706+2.6%
33Johnson County702+3.7%
33Stoddard County702+4%
35Crawford County700-12.3%
36Audrain County698+3.7%
37Cass County695+3.7%
38Osage County691+5.3%
39Holt County690+5.3%
40Nodaway County686+2.2%
40Ray County686+2.2%
42McDonald County684+2.7%
42Saline County684+2.9%
44New Madrid County677+4.3%
45Pettis County675+2.7%
46Mercer County673+0.9%
47Moniteau County669+4%
47Polk County669+2.6%
49DeKalb County668-3.6%
50Montgomery County667+4.1%
51Clinton County666+2%
52Laclede County664+2%
53Grundy County661+2%
54Linn County660+2.3%
55Reynolds County659+5.1%
56Butler County656+0.8%
57Livingston County653+1.6%
58Gentry County646+1.9%
59Webster County643+4.4%
60Adair County641+2.4%
60Camden County641+5.8%
60Carroll County641+3.4%
60Howell County641+2.7%
64Bates County639+6.1%
65Cooper County636+4.1%
65Pike County636+4.3%
67Christian County633+3.3%
68Andrew County628+3.5%
68Macon County628+1.9%
70Lafayette County624+1.1%
71Lewis County621+3.5%
71St. Francois County621+4%
73Caldwell County616+3%
73Miller County616+2.2%
75Atchison County613+4.3%
75Monroe County613+5.7%
77Barton County609+5.2%
78Scotland County607+5.6%
79Mississippi County606+3.4%
80Taney County604+5.2%
81Chariton County601+1%
81Howard County601+4%
83Maries County591+1.2%
84Texas County589+3%
85Gasconade County588+2.3%
86Harrison County586+2.1%
87Dent County585+3%
88Benton County583+4.7%
88Madison County583+3.9%
90Wright County578+3.6%
91Washington County577+4.2%
92Stone County575-4.2%
93Bollinger County572+5%
94Dade County567-2.1%
95Pemiscot County566+1.1%
96Morgan County554+0.9%
96Shelby County554+5.5%
98Daviess County548+1.1%
99Cedar County545+3.2%
100Putnam County544+3.2%
101Dunklin County535+4.3%
102Douglas County533+0.8%
102Knox County533+5.3%
104St. Clair County528+2.5%
105Carter County517-0.2%
106Worth County514+4%
107Dallas County513+2.8%
108Clark County5090%
109Schuyler County500+0.8%
110Hickory County499+1.2%
111Shannon County493+4.2%
112Ripley County491+4.9%
113Wayne County490-0.4%
114Ozark County487+3.2%
115Oregon County484+1%

Other periods

About this ranking

Total wages paid during the year divided by the average number of covered jobs and by 52, in US dollars, all industries, private and government, from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Counted where the job is located, from the reports employers file each quarter; monthly employment counts the jobs in the pay period that includes the 12th.

In current dollars, not adjusted for inflation. An average per job, so part-time jobs pull it down and high earners pull it up; for the typical job use median_annual_wage. Wages include bonuses, stock options exercised, severance pay and tips, which makes counties with corporate headquarters stand out. Covers about 95 percent of US wage and salary jobs. Excludes the self-employed, most agricultural workers on small farms, the armed forces, elected officials in most states, most railroad employees, some domestic workers and most student workers at schools.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average weekly wage, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2018/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2026). Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average weekly wage, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties (Counties in Missouri by average weekly wage (QCEW), 2018) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2018/a/industry/10.csv

MLA 9

Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average weekly wage, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties, Counties in Missouri by average weekly wage (QCEW), 2018. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2018/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-weekly-wage/missouri-counties?period=2018. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2026. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average weekly wage, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. Counties in Missouri by average weekly wage (QCEW), 2018. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2018/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-weekly-wage/missouri-counties?period=2018.

Harvard

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026) Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average weekly wage, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties, Counties in Missouri by average weekly wage (QCEW), 2018 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2018/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-weekly-wage/missouri-counties?period=2018 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_missouri_by_2018,
  author = {{U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics}},
  title = {{Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average weekly wage, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties: Counties in Missouri by average weekly wage (QCEW), 2018}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2018/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-weekly-wage/missouri-counties?period=2018. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average weekly wage, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2018/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
TI  - Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average weekly wage, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties: Counties in Missouri by average weekly wage (QCEW), 2018
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2018/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-weekly-wage/missouri-counties?period=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-weekly-wage/missouri-counties?period=2018.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average weekly wage, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2018/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
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Questions

Which county has the highest average weekly wage (QCEW)?

St. Louis city, with $1,165 in 2018, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest average weekly wage (QCEW)?

Oregon County, with $484 in 2018.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average weekly wage, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Average weekly wage (QCEW): other rankings

Counties in Missouri: more rankings