Counties in Washington by average weekly wage (QCEW)

King County had the highest average weekly wage (QCEW) of 39 counties in 2024, at $2,544. Wahkiakum County had the lowest, at $867. The median was $1,127 and the figure for Washington was $1,827. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest2,544King County
Median1,12739 counties
Washington1,827History

Map of counties, 2024

Adams County: 1,006 USDAsotin County: 1,048 USDBenton County: 1,362 USDChelan County: 1,107 USDClallam County: 1,074 USDClark County: 1,398 USDColumbia County: 1,290 USDCowlitz County: 1,300 USDDouglas County: 989 USDFerry County: 1,014 USDFranklin County: 1,101 USDGarfield County: 1,171 USDGrant County: 1,222 USDGrays Harbor County: 1,092 USDIsland County: 1,133 USDJefferson County: 1,127 USDKing County: 2,544 USDKitsap County: 1,377 USDKittitas County: 1,042 USDKlickitat County: 1,250 USDLewis County: 1,129 USDLincoln County: 1,045 USDMason County: 1,113 USDOkanogan County: 934 USDPacific County: 968 USDPend Oreille County: 1,214 USDPierce County: 1,354 USDSan Juan County: 1,023 USDSkagit County: 1,257 USDSkamania County: 1,063 USDSnohomish County: 1,537 USDSpokane County: 1,259 USDStevens County: 1,023 USDThurston County: 1,385 USDWahkiakum County: 867 USDWalla Walla County: 1,073 USDWhatcom County: 1,253 USDWhitman County: 1,241 USDYakima County: 1,002 USD
  • Under 1,000
  • 1,000 to 1,100
  • 1,100 to 1,200
  • 1,200 to 1,300
  • 1,300 and over
USD, 2024. Source: BLS, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average weekly wage, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All counties, 2024

King County: 2,544 USDKing County2,544Snohomish County: 1,537 USDSnohomish County1,537Clark County: 1,398 USDClark County1,398Thurston County: 1,385 USDThurston County1,385Kitsap County: 1,377 USDKitsap County1,377Benton County: 1,362 USDBenton County1,362Pierce County: 1,354 USDPierce County1,354Cowlitz County: 1,300 USDCowlitz County1,300Columbia County: 1,290 USDColumbia County1,290Spokane County: 1,259 USDSpokane County1,259Skagit County: 1,257 USDSkagit County1,257Whatcom County: 1,253 USDWhatcom County1,253Klickitat County: 1,250 USDKlickitat County1,250Whitman County: 1,241 USDWhitman County1,241Grant County: 1,222 USDGrant County1,222Pend Oreille County: 1,214 USDPend Oreille County1,214Garfield County: 1,171 USDGarfield County1,171Island County: 1,133 USDIsland County1,133Lewis County: 1,129 USDLewis County1,129Jefferson County: 1,127 USDJefferson County1,127Mason County: 1,113 USDMason County1,113Chelan County: 1,107 USDChelan County1,107Franklin County: 1,101 USDFranklin County1,101Grays Harbor County: 1,092 USDGrays Harbor County1,092Clallam County: 1,074 USDClallam County1,074Walla Walla County: 1,073 USDWalla Walla County1,073Skamania County: 1,063 USDSkamania County1,063Asotin County: 1,048 USDAsotin County1,048Lincoln County: 1,045 USDLincoln County1,045Kittitas County: 1,042 USDKittitas County1,042San Juan County: 1,023 USDSan Juan County1,023Stevens County: 1,023 USDStevens County1,023Ferry County: 1,014 USDFerry County1,014Adams County: 1,006 USDAdams County1,006Yakima County: 1,002 USDYakima County1,002Douglas County: 989 USDDouglas County989Pacific County: 968 USDPacific County968Okanogan County: 934 USDOkanogan County934Wahkiakum County: 867 USDWahkiakum County867King County: 2,544 USDKing County2,544Snohomish County: 1,537 USDSnohomish County1,537Clark County: 1,398 USDClark County1,398Thurston County: 1,385 USDThurston County1,385Kitsap County: 1,377 USDKitsap County1,377Benton County: 1,362 USDBenton County1,362Pierce County: 1,354 USDPierce County1,354Cowlitz County: 1,300 USDCowlitz County1,300Columbia County: 1,290 USDColumbia County1,290Spokane County: 1,259 USDSpokane County1,259Skagit County: 1,257 USDSkagit County1,257Whatcom County: 1,253 USDWhatcom County1,253Klickitat County: 1,250 USDKlickitat County1,250Whitman County: 1,241 USDWhitman County1,241Grant County: 1,222 USDGrant County1,222Pend Oreille County: 1,214 USDPend Oreille County1,214Garfield County: 1,171 USDGarfield County1,171Island County: 1,133 USDIsland County1,133Lewis County: 1,129 USDLewis County1,129Jefferson County: 1,127 USDJefferson County1,127Mason County: 1,113 USDMason County1,113Chelan County: 1,107 USDChelan County1,107Franklin County: 1,101 USDFranklin County1,101Grays Harbor County: 1,092 USDGrays Harbor County1,092Clallam County: 1,074 USDClallam County1,074Walla Walla County: 1,073 USDWalla Walla County1,073Skamania County: 1,063 USDSkamania County1,063Asotin County: 1,048 USDAsotin County1,048Lincoln County: 1,045 USDLincoln County1,045Kittitas County: 1,042 USDKittitas County1,042San Juan County: 1,023 USDSan Juan County1,023Stevens County: 1,023 USDStevens County1,023Ferry County: 1,014 USDFerry County1,014Adams County: 1,006 USDAdams County1,006Yakima County: 1,002 USDYakima County1,002Douglas County: 989 USDDouglas County989Pacific County: 968 USDPacific County968Okanogan County: 934 USDOkanogan County934Wahkiakum County: 867 USDWahkiakum County867
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

RankCounties2024
USD
Change on 2023
1King County2,544+9.8%
2Snohomish County1,537+1.3%
3Clark County1,398+5.4%
4Thurston County1,385+5.6%
5Kitsap County1,377+5.8%
6Benton County1,362+5.7%
7Pierce County1,354+5%
8Cowlitz County1,300+4.8%
9Columbia County1,2900%
10Spokane County1,259+4.9%
11Skagit County1,257+5.9%
12Whatcom County1,253+5.1%
13Klickitat County1,250+7.8%
14Whitman County1,241+6.1%
15Grant County1,222+5.3%
16Pend Oreille County1,214+8.3%
17Garfield County1,171+1.5%
18Island County1,133+6.9%
19Lewis County1,129+6.4%
20Jefferson County1,127+6.7%
21Mason County1,113+5.5%
22Chelan County1,107+6.2%
23Franklin County1,101+4%
24Grays Harbor County1,092+5.1%
25Clallam County1,074+6.3%
26Walla Walla County1,073+4%
27Skamania County1,063+9.4%
28Asotin County1,048+6%
29Lincoln County1,045+9.5%
30Kittitas County1,042+5.7%
31San Juan County1,023+2.3%
31Stevens County1,023+5.7%
33Ferry County1,014+9%
34Adams County1,006+3.6%
35Yakima County1,002+4.6%
36Douglas County989+3.1%
37Pacific County968+6.8%
38Okanogan County934+8%
39Wahkiakum County867+4.8%

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/2024/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 Washington by average weekly wage (QCEW), 2024) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2024/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 Washington by average weekly wage (QCEW), 2024. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2024/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-weekly-wage/washington-counties?period=2024. 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 Washington by average weekly wage (QCEW), 2024. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2024/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-weekly-wage/washington-counties?period=2024.

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 Washington by average weekly wage (QCEW), 2024 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2024/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-weekly-wage/washington-counties?period=2024 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_washington_by_2024,
  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 Washington by average weekly wage (QCEW), 2024}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2024/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-weekly-wage/washington-counties?period=2024. 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/2024/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 Washington by average weekly wage (QCEW), 2024
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2024/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-weekly-wage/washington-counties?period=2024
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-weekly-wage/washington-counties?period=2024.
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/2024/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
Embed this chart

Paste this code into a web page or a blog post. The chart shows the latest figures as they are published, with the source and a link back to this page.

Sites that read oEmbed links, such as WordPress, can show the chart when you paste the link to this page.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank Counties in Washington by average weekly wage (QCEW) using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"average_weekly_wage","level":"province","within":"Washington","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=average_weekly_wage&level=province&within=Washington&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

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

King County, with $2,544 in 2024, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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

Wahkiakum County, with $867 in 2024.

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 Washington: more rankings