Counties in Washington by wages and salaries paid

King County had the highest wages and salaries paid of 39 counties in 2016, at $106.27 billion. Wahkiakum County had the lowest, at $28.04 million. The median was $931.64 million and the figure for Washington was $203.65 billion. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest106,272.1King County
Median931.639 counties
Washington203,646.5History

Map of counties, 2016

Adams County: 288.5 USD millionAsotin County: 235.9 USD millionBenton County: 4,730.6 USD millionChelan County: 1,736.1 USD millionClallam County: 968.5 USD millionClark County: 7,874.6 USD millionColumbia County: 54.1 USD millionCowlitz County: 1,882.4 USD millionDouglas County: 451.2 USD millionFerry County: 72.2 USD millionFranklin County: 1,382 USD millionGarfield County: 32 USD millionGrant County: 1,574.2 USD millionGrays Harbor County: 931.6 USD millionIsland County: 1,203.9 USD millionJefferson County: 345.2 USD millionKing County: 106,272.1 USD millionKitsap County: 5,211.7 USD millionKittitas County: 621.9 USD millionKlickitat County: 359.6 USD millionLewis County: 1,072.6 USD millionLincoln County: 110.9 USD millionMason County: 586.1 USD millionOkanogan County: 596.2 USD millionPacific County: 255.6 USD millionPend Oreille County: 148.1 USD millionPierce County: 17,230.8 USD millionSan Juan County: 220.4 USD millionSkagit County: 2,359.3 USD millionSkamania County: 80.7 USD millionSnohomish County: 17,547.5 USD millionSpokane County: 10,747.5 USD millionStevens County: 421.5 USD millionThurston County: 5,523.5 USD millionWahkiakum County: 28 USD millionWalla Walla County: 1,192.9 USD millionWhatcom County: 4,140.1 USD millionWhitman County: 889.8 USD millionYakima County: 4,266.6 USD million
  • Under 1,000
  • 1,000 to 2,000
  • 2,000 to 5,000
  • 5,000 and over
USD million, 2016. 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, 2016

King County: 106,272.1 USD millionKing County106,272.1Snohomish County: 17,547.5 USD millionSnohomish County17,547.5Pierce County: 17,230.8 USD millionPierce County17,230.8Spokane County: 10,747.5 USD millionSpokane County10,747.5Clark County: 7,874.6 USD millionClark County7,874.6Thurston County: 5,523.5 USD millionThurston County5,523.5Kitsap County: 5,211.7 USD millionKitsap County5,211.7Benton County: 4,730.6 USD millionBenton County4,730.6Yakima County: 4,266.6 USD millionYakima County4,266.6Whatcom County: 4,140.1 USD millionWhatcom County4,140.1Skagit County: 2,359.3 USD millionSkagit County2,359.3Cowlitz County: 1,882.4 USD millionCowlitz County1,882.4Chelan County: 1,736.1 USD millionChelan County1,736.1Grant County: 1,574.2 USD millionGrant County1,574.2Franklin County: 1,382 USD millionFranklin County1,382Island County: 1,203.9 USD millionIsland County1,203.9Walla Walla County: 1,192.9 USD millionWalla Walla County1,192.9Lewis County: 1,072.6 USD millionLewis County1,072.6Clallam County: 968.5 USD millionClallam County968.5Grays Harbor County: 931.6 USD millionGrays Harbor County931.6Whitman County: 889.8 USD millionWhitman County889.8Kittitas County: 621.9 USD millionKittitas County621.9Okanogan County: 596.2 USD millionOkanogan County596.2Mason County: 586.1 USD millionMason County586.1Douglas County: 451.2 USD millionDouglas County451.2Stevens County: 421.5 USD millionStevens County421.5Klickitat County: 359.6 USD millionKlickitat County359.6Jefferson County: 345.2 USD millionJefferson County345.2Adams County: 288.5 USD millionAdams County288.5Pacific County: 255.6 USD millionPacific County255.6Asotin County: 235.9 USD millionAsotin County235.9San Juan County: 220.4 USD millionSan Juan County220.4Pend Oreille County: 148.1 USD millionPend Oreille County148.1Lincoln County: 110.9 USD millionLincoln County110.9Skamania County: 80.7 USD millionSkamania County80.7Ferry County: 72.2 USD millionFerry County72.2Columbia County: 54.1 USD millionColumbia County54.1Garfield County: 32 USD millionGarfield County32Wahkiakum County: 28 USD millionWahkiakum County28King County: 106,272.1 USD millionKing County106,272.1Snohomish County: 17,547.5 USD millionSnohomish County17,547.5Pierce County: 17,230.8 USD millionPierce County17,230.8Spokane County: 10,747.5 USD millionSpokane County10,747.5Clark County: 7,874.6 USD millionClark County7,874.6Thurston County: 5,523.5 USD millionThurston County5,523.5Kitsap County: 5,211.7 USD millionKitsap County5,211.7Benton County: 4,730.6 USD millionBenton County4,730.6Yakima County: 4,266.6 USD millionYakima County4,266.6Whatcom County: 4,140.1 USD millionWhatcom County4,140.1Skagit County: 2,359.3 USD millionSkagit County2,359.3Cowlitz County: 1,882.4 USD millionCowlitz County1,882.4Chelan County: 1,736.1 USD millionChelan County1,736.1Grant County: 1,574.2 USD millionGrant County1,574.2Franklin County: 1,382 USD millionFranklin County1,382Island County: 1,203.9 USD millionIsland County1,203.9Walla Walla County: 1,192.9 USD millionWalla Walla County1,192.9Lewis County: 1,072.6 USD millionLewis County1,072.6Clallam County: 968.5 USD millionClallam County968.5Grays Harbor County: 931.6 USD millionGrays Harbor County931.6Whitman County: 889.8 USD millionWhitman County889.8Kittitas County: 621.9 USD millionKittitas County621.9Okanogan County: 596.2 USD millionOkanogan County596.2Mason County: 586.1 USD millionMason County586.1Douglas County: 451.2 USD millionDouglas County451.2Stevens County: 421.5 USD millionStevens County421.5Klickitat County: 359.6 USD millionKlickitat County359.6Jefferson County: 345.2 USD millionJefferson County345.2Adams County: 288.5 USD millionAdams County288.5Pacific County: 255.6 USD millionPacific County255.6Asotin County: 235.9 USD millionAsotin County235.9San Juan County: 220.4 USD millionSan Juan County220.4Pend Oreille County: 148.1 USD millionPend Oreille County148.1Lincoln County: 110.9 USD millionLincoln County110.9Skamania County: 80.7 USD millionSkamania County80.7Ferry County: 72.2 USD millionFerry County72.2Columbia County: 54.1 USD millionColumbia County54.1Garfield County: 32 USD millionGarfield County32Wahkiakum County: 28 USD millionWahkiakum County28
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

RankCounties2016
USD million
Change on 2015
1King County106,272.1+7.6%
2Snohomish County17,547.5+4.8%
3Pierce County17,230.8+4.4%
4Spokane County10,747.5+4.2%
5Clark County7,874.6+5.4%
6Thurston County5,523.5+6.3%
7Kitsap County5,211.7+5.5%
8Benton County4,730.6+4.8%
9Yakima County4,266.6+5.2%
10Whatcom County4,140.1+4.3%
11Skagit County2,359.3+3.9%
12Cowlitz County1,882.4+2%
13Chelan County1,736.1+2.9%
14Grant County1,574.2+3.9%
15Franklin County1,382+4.7%
16Island County1,203.9+18.6%
17Walla Walla County1,192.9+5.3%
18Lewis County1,072.6+3.2%
19Clallam County968.5+4.4%
20Grays Harbor County931.6+1.2%
21Whitman County889.8+5.6%
22Kittitas County621.9+7.3%
23Okanogan County596.2+3.7%
24Mason County586.1+0.7%
25Douglas County451.2+8.3%
26Stevens County421.5+2.8%
27Klickitat County359.6+6.1%
28Jefferson County345.2+4.6%
29Adams County288.5+2.9%
30Pacific County255.6+5.9%
31Asotin County235.9+5.2%
32San Juan County220.4+6.4%
33Pend Oreille County148.1+2.7%
34Lincoln County110.9+2.6%
35Skamania County80.7+1.2%
36Ferry County72.2+0.7%
37Columbia County54.1+1.4%
38Garfield County32+2.1%
39Wahkiakum County28-1.7%

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, 2016) [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, 2016. 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=2016. 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, 2016. 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=2016.

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, 2016 [Dataset]. Available at: https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/CAINC4.zip, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/wages-and-salaries/washington-counties?period=2016 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_washington_by_2016,
  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, 2016}},
  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=2016. 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, 2016
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=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/wages-and-salaries/washington-counties?period=2016.
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  - 
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 wages and salaries paid using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"wages_and_salaries","level":"province","within":"Washington","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=wages_and_salaries&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 wages and salaries paid?

King County, with $106.27 billion in 2016, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Which county has the lowest wages and salaries paid?

Wahkiakum County, with $28.04 million in 2016.

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