Counties in Virginia by average weekly wage (QCEW)

Goochland County had the highest average weekly wage (QCEW) of 133 counties in 2015, at $1,659. Patrick County had the lowest, at $522. The median was $711 and the figure for Virginia was $1,044. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Highest1,659Goochland County
Median711133 counties
Virginia1,044History

Top 40 counties, 2015

Goochland County: 1,659 USDGoochland County1,659Arlington County: 1,637 USDArlington County1,637Fairfax County: 1,557 USDFairfax County1,557Surry County: 1,523 USDSurry County1,523King George County: 1,397 USDKing George County1,397Alexandria city: 1,393 USDAlexandria city1,393Falls Church city: 1,208 USDFalls Church city1,208Loudoun County: 1,178 USDLoudoun County1,178Manassas city: 1,152 USDManassas city1,152Richmond city: 1,121 USDRichmond city1,121Fairfax city: 1,032 USDFairfax city1,032Rappahannock County: 1,031 USDRappahannock County1,031Norfolk city: 1,008 USDNorfolk city1,008Hopewell city: 998 USDHopewell city998Albemarle County: 995 USDAlbemarle County995Henrico County: 991 USDHenrico County991Charlottesville city: 988 USDCharlottesville city988Newport News city: 982 USDNewport News city982Portsmouth city: 971 USDPortsmouth city971Prince George County: 951 USDPrince George County951Covington city: 938 USDCovington city938Stafford County: 931 USDStafford County931Louisa County: 916 USDLouisa County916Salem city: 908 USDSalem city908Suffolk city: 904 USDSuffolk city904Fauquier County: 886 USDFauquier County886Winchester city: 881 USDWinchester city881Prince William County: 865 USDPrince William County865Hampton city: 864 USDHampton city864Buchanan County: 860 USDBuchanan County860Chesterfield County: 855 USDChesterfield County855Manassas Park city: 854 USDManassas Park city854Roanoke city: 853 USDRoanoke city853Clarke County: 834 USDClarke County834King William County: 833 USDKing William County833Campbell County: 826 USDCampbell County826Radford city: 815 USDRadford city815Isle of Wight County: 809 USDIsle of Wight County809Fredericksburg city: 808 USDFredericksburg city808Frederick County: 801 USDFrederick County801
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

RankCounties2015
USD
Change on 2014
1Goochland County1,659+7.9%
2Arlington County1,637+3.3%
3Fairfax County1,557+2.7%
4Surry County1,523+9%
5King George County1,397+0.6%
6Alexandria city1,393+1.3%
7Falls Church city1,208-0.4%
8Loudoun County1,178+1.6%
9Manassas city1,152+0.2%
10Richmond city1,121+4.3%
11Fairfax city1,032+0.1%
12Rappahannock County1,031+12.9%
13Norfolk city1,008+6%
14Hopewell city998+3.9%
15Albemarle County995+3.4%
16Henrico County991+1.3%
17Charlottesville city988+5.3%
18Newport News city982+3.3%
19Portsmouth city971+2.2%
20Prince George County951+1.1%
21Covington city938+6%
22Stafford County931+1%
23Louisa County916+1.7%
24Salem city908+2.3%
25Suffolk city904+1%
26Fauquier County886+3.3%
27Winchester city881+1.4%
28Prince William County865+2.1%
29Hampton city864-0.9%
30Buchanan County860-3.5%
31Chesterfield County855+0.9%
32Manassas Park city854-9.1%
33Roanoke city853+4.4%
34Clarke County834+5.7%
35King William County833+1.2%
36Campbell County826+3.6%
37Radford city815+1.4%
38Isle of Wight County809+8.2%
39Fredericksburg city808+3.3%
40Frederick County801+3.8%
40Lynchburg city801-0.5%
42Augusta County800+2.6%
43Rockingham County799+2.8%
44Bland County796+4.3%
45Montgomery County788+2.2%
46Chesapeake city784+2.9%
47Virginia Beach city783+2.4%
48Hanover County778+3.2%
49Charles City County776+7.3%
50Lexington city766+3.2%
51Culpeper County760+1.9%
52Roanoke County756+3.8%
53Dickenson County747+0.3%
54Petersburg city745-2.1%
55York County742+6.9%
56Botetourt County739+2.1%
56Giles County739-0.7%
58Spotsylvania County734+2.1%
59Dinwiddie County733-1.9%
60Powhatan County732-13%
61Fluvanna County731+4.7%
62Williamsburg city727+2%
63Russell County725+5.1%
64Norton city721+1.8%
65Pulaski County717-1.4%
66Warren County714-3.4%
67Caroline County711+3.2%
67Northumberland County711+5.8%
69Greensville County710+1.9%
70Bristol city707+10%
70King and Queen County707+0.9%
72Richmond County697+3.3%
73Harrisonburg city694+3.7%
74Bath County693+3.7%
74Sussex County693+0.1%
76Washington County692-0.9%
77Amelia County690+0.4%
78Bedford County686+2.7%
78Buckingham County686+2.4%
80James City County685-1.4%
81New Kent County683+1.9%
82Waynesboro city682+0.9%
83Accomack County680+2.9%
84Orange County676+0.9%
85Nelson County670+16.5%
86Danville city665+3.4%
87Halifax County660+0.5%
87Lancaster County660+1.2%
89Smyth County658-0.6%
90Craig County655+0.9%
91Wise County653-0.8%
92Prince Edward County647+1.9%
93Alleghany County646+2.5%
94Shenandoah County645+4.2%
95Nottoway County641+2.9%
96Buena Vista city640-1.7%
96Greene County640+0.8%
98Madison County639+2.6%
99Brunswick County638+2.4%
100Staunton city634+2.4%
101Amherst County632-3.1%
102Charlotte County630+8.4%
103Martinsville city629+4.5%
104Southampton County628+0.2%
105Middlesex County626+1.5%
106Tazewell County6240%
107Lunenburg County623+2.8%
108Wythe County619+2.8%
109Mecklenburg County615+4.2%
110Essex County611+2%
110Franklin County611+2.9%
110Pittsylvania County611+2.9%
113Lee County610+1%
114Gloucester County609+2.9%
114Northampton County609+2.5%
116Henry County606+1.3%
117Poquoson city605+2.2%
118Franklin city599-0.2%
118Rockbridge County599+2.6%
118Scott County599+1%
121Grayson County574+3.2%
122Cumberland County573+2%
123Colonial Heights city570+4.6%
124Carroll County568+3.6%
124Galax city568+0.4%
126Page County567+3.8%
127Emporia city561+5.3%
128Westmoreland County559-0.9%
129Floyd County557+2.4%
130Highland County545+7.9%
131Appomattox County542+4.6%
132Mathews County529+1.3%
133Patrick County522-0.4%

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/2015/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 Virginia by average weekly wage (QCEW), 2015) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2015/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 Virginia by average weekly wage (QCEW), 2015. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2015/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-weekly-wage/virginia-counties?period=2015. 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 Virginia by average weekly wage (QCEW), 2015. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2015/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-weekly-wage/virginia-counties?period=2015.

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 Virginia by average weekly wage (QCEW), 2015 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2015/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-weekly-wage/virginia-counties?period=2015 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_virginia_by_2015,
  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 Virginia by average weekly wage (QCEW), 2015}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2015/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-weekly-wage/virginia-counties?period=2015. 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/2015/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 Virginia by average weekly wage (QCEW), 2015
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2015/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-weekly-wage/virginia-counties?period=2015
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-weekly-wage/virginia-counties?period=2015.
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/2015/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
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Questions

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

Goochland County, with $1,659 in 2015, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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

Patrick County, with $522 in 2015.

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 Virginia: more rankings