Counties in Washington by wages and salaries paid

King County had the highest wages and salaries paid of 39 counties in 2015, at $98.78 billion. Wahkiakum County had the lowest, at $28.51 million. The median was $920.29 million and the figure for Washington was $191.71 billion. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

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Highest98,779.7King County
Median920.339 counties
Washington191,714.8History

Map of counties, 2015

Adams County: 280.5 USD millionAsotin County: 224.1 USD millionBenton County: 4,513.9 USD millionChelan County: 1,687.5 USD millionClallam County: 928.1 USD millionClark County: 7,469.7 USD millionColumbia County: 53.3 USD millionCowlitz County: 1,845.6 USD millionDouglas County: 416.5 USD millionFerry County: 71.7 USD millionFranklin County: 1,319.4 USD millionGarfield County: 31.4 USD millionGrant County: 1,515.6 USD millionGrays Harbor County: 920.3 USD millionIsland County: 1,015.3 USD millionJefferson County: 330 USD millionKing County: 98,779.7 USD millionKitsap County: 4,941.7 USD millionKittitas County: 579.8 USD millionKlickitat County: 338.9 USD millionLewis County: 1,039.2 USD millionLincoln County: 108.1 USD millionMason County: 581.9 USD millionOkanogan County: 574.8 USD millionPacific County: 241.4 USD millionPend Oreille County: 144.3 USD millionPierce County: 16,508.8 USD millionSan Juan County: 207.1 USD millionSkagit County: 2,269.8 USD millionSkamania County: 79.8 USD millionSnohomish County: 16,751.3 USD millionSpokane County: 10,313.9 USD millionStevens County: 410.2 USD millionThurston County: 5,194.3 USD millionWahkiakum County: 28.5 USD millionWalla Walla County: 1,132.9 USD millionWhatcom County: 3,968 USD millionWhitman County: 842.5 USD millionYakima County: 4,055.2 USD million
  • Under 200
  • 200 to 400
  • 400 to 900
  • 900 to 1,600
  • 1,600 to 4,800
  • 4,800 and over
USD million, 2015. Source: BEA, CAINC4: personal income by major component, wages and salaries (published in thousands of dollars, shown in millions), individual counties and county equivalents. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All counties, 2015

King County: 98,779.7 USD millionKing County98,779.7Snohomish County: 16,751.3 USD millionSnohomish County16,751.3Pierce County: 16,508.8 USD millionPierce County16,508.8Spokane County: 10,313.9 USD millionSpokane County10,313.9Clark County: 7,469.7 USD millionClark County7,469.7Thurston County: 5,194.3 USD millionThurston County5,194.3Kitsap County: 4,941.7 USD millionKitsap County4,941.7Benton County: 4,513.9 USD millionBenton County4,513.9Yakima County: 4,055.2 USD millionYakima County4,055.2Whatcom County: 3,968 USD millionWhatcom County3,968Skagit County: 2,269.8 USD millionSkagit County2,269.8Cowlitz County: 1,845.6 USD millionCowlitz County1,845.6Chelan County: 1,687.5 USD millionChelan County1,687.5Grant County: 1,515.6 USD millionGrant County1,515.6Franklin County: 1,319.4 USD millionFranklin County1,319.4Walla Walla County: 1,132.9 USD millionWalla Walla County1,132.9Lewis County: 1,039.2 USD millionLewis County1,039.2Island County: 1,015.3 USD millionIsland County1,015.3Clallam County: 928.1 USD millionClallam County928.1Grays Harbor County: 920.3 USD millionGrays Harbor County920.3Whitman County: 842.5 USD millionWhitman County842.5Mason County: 581.9 USD millionMason County581.9Kittitas County: 579.8 USD millionKittitas County579.8Okanogan County: 574.8 USD millionOkanogan County574.8Douglas County: 416.5 USD millionDouglas County416.5Stevens County: 410.2 USD millionStevens County410.2Klickitat County: 338.9 USD millionKlickitat County338.9Jefferson County: 330 USD millionJefferson County330Adams County: 280.5 USD millionAdams County280.5Pacific County: 241.4 USD millionPacific County241.4Asotin County: 224.1 USD millionAsotin County224.1San Juan County: 207.1 USD millionSan Juan County207.1Pend Oreille County: 144.3 USD millionPend Oreille County144.3Lincoln County: 108.1 USD millionLincoln County108.1Skamania County: 79.8 USD millionSkamania County79.8Ferry County: 71.7 USD millionFerry County71.7Columbia County: 53.3 USD millionColumbia County53.3Garfield County: 31.4 USD millionGarfield County31.4Wahkiakum County: 28.5 USD millionWahkiakum County28.5King County: 98,779.7 USD millionKing County98,779.7Snohomish County: 16,751.3 USD millionSnohomish County16,751.3Pierce County: 16,508.8 USD millionPierce County16,508.8Spokane County: 10,313.9 USD millionSpokane County10,313.9Clark County: 7,469.7 USD millionClark County7,469.7Thurston County: 5,194.3 USD millionThurston County5,194.3Kitsap County: 4,941.7 USD millionKitsap County4,941.7Benton County: 4,513.9 USD millionBenton County4,513.9Yakima County: 4,055.2 USD millionYakima County4,055.2Whatcom County: 3,968 USD millionWhatcom County3,968Skagit County: 2,269.8 USD millionSkagit County2,269.8Cowlitz County: 1,845.6 USD millionCowlitz County1,845.6Chelan County: 1,687.5 USD millionChelan County1,687.5Grant County: 1,515.6 USD millionGrant County1,515.6Franklin County: 1,319.4 USD millionFranklin County1,319.4Walla Walla County: 1,132.9 USD millionWalla Walla County1,132.9Lewis County: 1,039.2 USD millionLewis County1,039.2Island County: 1,015.3 USD millionIsland County1,015.3Clallam County: 928.1 USD millionClallam County928.1Grays Harbor County: 920.3 USD millionGrays Harbor County920.3Whitman County: 842.5 USD millionWhitman County842.5Mason County: 581.9 USD millionMason County581.9Kittitas County: 579.8 USD millionKittitas County579.8Okanogan County: 574.8 USD millionOkanogan County574.8Douglas County: 416.5 USD millionDouglas County416.5Stevens County: 410.2 USD millionStevens County410.2Klickitat County: 338.9 USD millionKlickitat County338.9Jefferson County: 330 USD millionJefferson County330Adams County: 280.5 USD millionAdams County280.5Pacific County: 241.4 USD millionPacific County241.4Asotin County: 224.1 USD millionAsotin County224.1San Juan County: 207.1 USD millionSan Juan County207.1Pend Oreille County: 144.3 USD millionPend Oreille County144.3Lincoln County: 108.1 USD millionLincoln County108.1Skamania County: 79.8 USD millionSkamania County79.8Ferry County: 71.7 USD millionFerry County71.7Columbia County: 53.3 USD millionColumbia County53.3Garfield County: 31.4 USD millionGarfield County31.4Wahkiakum County: 28.5 USD millionWahkiakum County28.5
USD million. Source: BEA, CAINC4: personal income by major component, wages and salaries (published in thousands of dollars, shown in millions), individual counties and county equivalents. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2015
USD million
Change on 2014
1King County98,779.7+6.2%
2Snohomish County16,751.3+4.2%
3Pierce County16,508.8+5%
4Spokane County10,313.9+4.9%
5Clark County7,469.7+7.1%
6Thurston County5,194.3+4.6%
7Kitsap County4,941.7+5.8%
8Benton County4,513.9+6.8%
9Yakima County4,055.2+4.2%
10Whatcom County3,968+6.1%
11Skagit County2,269.8+5.1%
12Cowlitz County1,845.6+2.6%
13Chelan County1,687.5+5.7%
14Grant County1,515.6+3.9%
15Franklin County1,319.4+6.3%
16Walla Walla County1,132.9+1.7%
17Lewis County1,039.2+3.6%
18Island County1,015.3+3.1%
19Clallam County928.1+3.7%
20Grays Harbor County920.3+2.6%
21Whitman County842.5+3.9%
22Mason County581.9+4.4%
23Kittitas County579.8+8.2%
24Okanogan County574.8+4.9%
25Douglas County416.5+9%
26Stevens County410.2+4.2%
27Klickitat County338.9+2.2%
28Jefferson County330+7.9%
29Adams County280.5+2.9%
30Pacific County241.4+3.3%
31Asotin County224.1+8.1%
32San Juan County207.1+4%
33Pend Oreille County144.3+10.8%
34Lincoln County108.1-1.9%
35Skamania County79.8+2.1%
36Ferry County71.7+2.9%
37Columbia County53.3+4.7%
38Garfield County31.4-1.7%
39Wahkiakum County28.5+2.3%

Other periods

About this ranking

Total wages and salaries paid to employees for jobs located in a place, including tips, bonuses and pay in kind, before deductions, in millions of current US dollars. United States: Bureau of Economic Analysis regional accounts, table SAINC4 line 50 for the nation and states and CAINC4 line 50 for counties.

Counted where the jobs are, not where the workers live, so places with many commuters coming in can pay more in wages than their residents receive in personal income (the District of Columbia does). Excludes employer contributions to pensions, insurance and social security, and the income of the self-employed.

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 Economic Analysis. CAINC4: personal income by major component, wages and salaries (published in thousands of dollars, shown in millions), individual counties and county equivalents. https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/CAINC4.zip. 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 Economic Analysis. (2026). CAINC4: personal income by major component, wages and salaries (published in thousands of dollars, shown in millions), individual counties and county equivalents (Counties in Washington by wages and salaries paid, 2015) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/CAINC4.zip

MLA 9

CAINC4: personal income by major component, wages and salaries (published in thousands of dollars, shown in millions), individual counties and county equivalents, Counties in Washington by wages and salaries paid, 2015. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, 5 Feb. 2026, https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/CAINC4.zip. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/wages-and-salaries/washington-counties?period=2015. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. 2026. CAINC4: personal income by major component, wages and salaries (published in thousands of dollars, shown in millions), individual counties and county equivalents. Counties in Washington by wages and salaries paid, 2015. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/CAINC4.zip. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/wages-and-salaries/washington-counties?period=2015.

Harvard

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (2026) CAINC4: personal income by major component, wages and salaries (published in thousands of dollars, shown in millions), individual counties and county equivalents, Counties in Washington by wages and salaries paid, 2015 [Dataset]. Available at: https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/CAINC4.zip, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/wages-and-salaries/washington-counties?period=2015 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_washington_by_2015,
  author = {{U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis}},
  title = {{CAINC4: personal income by major component, wages and salaries (published in thousands of dollars, shown in millions), individual counties and county equivalents: Counties in Washington by wages and salaries paid, 2015}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/CAINC4.zip},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/wages-and-salaries/washington-counties?period=2015. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. CAINC4: personal income by major component, wages and salaries (published in thousands of dollars, shown in millions), individual counties and county equivalents. https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/CAINC4.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
TI  - CAINC4: personal income by major component, wages and salaries (published in thousands of dollars, shown in millions), individual counties and county equivalents: Counties in Washington by wages and salaries paid, 2015
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/02/05
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/CAINC4.zip
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/wages-and-salaries/washington-counties?period=2015
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/wages-and-salaries/washington-counties?period=2015.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. CAINC4: personal income by major component, wages and salaries (published in thousands of dollars, shown in millions), individual counties and county equivalents. https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/CAINC4.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
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Questions

Which county has the highest wages and salaries paid?

King County, with $98.78 billion in 2015, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Which county has the lowest wages and salaries paid?

Wahkiakum County, with $28.51 million 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 Economic Analysis, CAINC4: personal income by major component, wages and salaries (published in thousands of dollars, shown in millions), individual counties and county equivalents. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Wages and salaries paid: other rankings

Counties in Washington: more rankings