Counties in Washington by wages and salaries paid

King County had the highest wages and salaries paid of 39 counties in 2018, at $128.88 billion. Wahkiakum County had the lowest, at $34.08 million. The median was $1.05 billion and the figure for Washington was $237.18 billion. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest128,876.8King County
Median1,045.939 counties
Washington237,183.1History

Map of counties, 2018

Adams County: 310.9 USD millionAsotin County: 278.7 USD millionBenton County: 5,208.5 USD millionChelan County: 1,903.2 USD millionClallam County: 1,074.3 USD millionClark County: 9,249.1 USD millionColumbia County: 59.4 USD millionCowlitz County: 2,105.4 USD millionDouglas County: 492.8 USD millionFerry County: 71.1 USD millionFranklin County: 1,544.3 USD millionGarfield County: 34.4 USD millionGrant County: 1,731.1 USD millionGrays Harbor County: 1,045.9 USD millionIsland County: 1,283.9 USD millionJefferson County: 392.5 USD millionKing County: 128,876.8 USD millionKitsap County: 5,465.3 USD millionKittitas County: 701.5 USD millionKlickitat County: 419.6 USD millionLewis County: 1,260.2 USD millionLincoln County: 122.5 USD millionMason County: 663.8 USD millionOkanogan County: 617.1 USD millionPacific County: 279.3 USD millionPend Oreille County: 167.8 USD millionPierce County: 19,299.7 USD millionSan Juan County: 244.1 USD millionSkagit County: 2,751.5 USD millionSkamania County: 85 USD millionSnohomish County: 18,868.5 USD millionSpokane County: 12,017.9 USD millionStevens County: 468 USD millionThurston County: 6,464.4 USD millionWahkiakum County: 34.1 USD millionWalla Walla County: 1,282.9 USD millionWhatcom County: 4,705.4 USD millionWhitman County: 984.7 USD millionYakima County: 4,617.7 USD million
  • Under 1,000
  • 1,000 to 2,000
  • 2,000 to 5,000
  • 5,000 and over
USD million, 2018. 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, 2018

King County: 128,876.8 USD millionKing County128,876.8Pierce County: 19,299.7 USD millionPierce County19,299.7Snohomish County: 18,868.5 USD millionSnohomish County18,868.5Spokane County: 12,017.9 USD millionSpokane County12,017.9Clark County: 9,249.1 USD millionClark County9,249.1Thurston County: 6,464.4 USD millionThurston County6,464.4Kitsap County: 5,465.3 USD millionKitsap County5,465.3Benton County: 5,208.5 USD millionBenton County5,208.5Whatcom County: 4,705.4 USD millionWhatcom County4,705.4Yakima County: 4,617.7 USD millionYakima County4,617.7Skagit County: 2,751.5 USD millionSkagit County2,751.5Cowlitz County: 2,105.4 USD millionCowlitz County2,105.4Chelan County: 1,903.2 USD millionChelan County1,903.2Grant County: 1,731.1 USD millionGrant County1,731.1Franklin County: 1,544.3 USD millionFranklin County1,544.3Island County: 1,283.9 USD millionIsland County1,283.9Walla Walla County: 1,282.9 USD millionWalla Walla County1,282.9Lewis County: 1,260.2 USD millionLewis County1,260.2Clallam County: 1,074.3 USD millionClallam County1,074.3Grays Harbor County: 1,045.9 USD millionGrays Harbor County1,045.9Whitman County: 984.7 USD millionWhitman County984.7Kittitas County: 701.5 USD millionKittitas County701.5Mason County: 663.8 USD millionMason County663.8Okanogan County: 617.1 USD millionOkanogan County617.1Douglas County: 492.8 USD millionDouglas County492.8Stevens County: 468 USD millionStevens County468Klickitat County: 419.6 USD millionKlickitat County419.6Jefferson County: 392.5 USD millionJefferson County392.5Adams County: 310.9 USD millionAdams County310.9Pacific County: 279.3 USD millionPacific County279.3Asotin County: 278.7 USD millionAsotin County278.7San Juan County: 244.1 USD millionSan Juan County244.1Pend Oreille County: 167.8 USD millionPend Oreille County167.8Lincoln County: 122.5 USD millionLincoln County122.5Skamania County: 85 USD millionSkamania County85Ferry County: 71.1 USD millionFerry County71.1Columbia County: 59.4 USD millionColumbia County59.4Garfield County: 34.4 USD millionGarfield County34.4Wahkiakum County: 34.1 USD millionWahkiakum County34.1King County: 128,876.8 USD millionKing County128,876.8Pierce County: 19,299.7 USD millionPierce County19,299.7Snohomish County: 18,868.5 USD millionSnohomish County18,868.5Spokane County: 12,017.9 USD millionSpokane County12,017.9Clark County: 9,249.1 USD millionClark County9,249.1Thurston County: 6,464.4 USD millionThurston County6,464.4Kitsap County: 5,465.3 USD millionKitsap County5,465.3Benton County: 5,208.5 USD millionBenton County5,208.5Whatcom County: 4,705.4 USD millionWhatcom County4,705.4Yakima County: 4,617.7 USD millionYakima County4,617.7Skagit County: 2,751.5 USD millionSkagit County2,751.5Cowlitz County: 2,105.4 USD millionCowlitz County2,105.4Chelan County: 1,903.2 USD millionChelan County1,903.2Grant County: 1,731.1 USD millionGrant County1,731.1Franklin County: 1,544.3 USD millionFranklin County1,544.3Island County: 1,283.9 USD millionIsland County1,283.9Walla Walla County: 1,282.9 USD millionWalla Walla County1,282.9Lewis County: 1,260.2 USD millionLewis County1,260.2Clallam County: 1,074.3 USD millionClallam County1,074.3Grays Harbor County: 1,045.9 USD millionGrays Harbor County1,045.9Whitman County: 984.7 USD millionWhitman County984.7Kittitas County: 701.5 USD millionKittitas County701.5Mason County: 663.8 USD millionMason County663.8Okanogan County: 617.1 USD millionOkanogan County617.1Douglas County: 492.8 USD millionDouglas County492.8Stevens County: 468 USD millionStevens County468Klickitat County: 419.6 USD millionKlickitat County419.6Jefferson County: 392.5 USD millionJefferson County392.5Adams County: 310.9 USD millionAdams County310.9Pacific County: 279.3 USD millionPacific County279.3Asotin County: 278.7 USD millionAsotin County278.7San Juan County: 244.1 USD millionSan Juan County244.1Pend Oreille County: 167.8 USD millionPend Oreille County167.8Lincoln County: 122.5 USD millionLincoln County122.5Skamania County: 85 USD millionSkamania County85Ferry County: 71.1 USD millionFerry County71.1Columbia County: 59.4 USD millionColumbia County59.4Garfield County: 34.4 USD millionGarfield County34.4Wahkiakum County: 34.1 USD millionWahkiakum County34.1
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

RankCounties2018
USD million
Change on 2017
1King County128,876.8+11%
2Pierce County19,299.7+6.2%
3Snohomish County18,868.5+5.3%
4Spokane County12,017.9+5.9%
5Clark County9,249.1+8.2%
6Thurston County6,464.4+8.6%
7Kitsap County5,465.3+1.6%
8Benton County5,208.5+5%
9Whatcom County4,705.4+6.7%
10Yakima County4,617.7+4.8%
11Skagit County2,751.5+8%
12Cowlitz County2,105.4+5.2%
13Chelan County1,903.2+6%
14Grant County1,731.1+7.5%
15Franklin County1,544.3+8.7%
16Island County1,283.9-3.5%
17Walla Walla County1,282.9+4.9%
18Lewis County1,260.2+8.8%
19Clallam County1,074.3+4.8%
20Grays Harbor County1,045.9+4.8%
21Whitman County984.7+6.4%
22Kittitas County701.5+5.9%
23Mason County663.8+7.8%
24Okanogan County617.1+0.9%
25Douglas County492.8+1.8%
26Stevens County468+5%
27Klickitat County419.6+6.4%
28Jefferson County392.5+4.9%
29Adams County310.9+5.8%
30Pacific County279.3+1.9%
31Asotin County278.7+5.7%
32San Juan County244.1+5.5%
33Pend Oreille County167.8+7%
34Lincoln County122.5+8.5%
35Skamania County85+3.7%
36Ferry County71.1-3.3%
37Columbia County59.4+6.7%
38Garfield County34.4+5.1%
39Wahkiakum County34.1+6.1%

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, 2018) [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, 2018. 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=2018. 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, 2018. 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=2018.

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, 2018 [Dataset]. Available at: https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/CAINC4.zip, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/wages-and-salaries/washington-counties?period=2018 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_washington_by_2018,
  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, 2018}},
  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=2018. 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, 2018
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=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/wages-and-salaries/washington-counties?period=2018.
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 $128.88 billion in 2018, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Which county has the lowest wages and salaries paid?

Wahkiakum County, with $34.08 million 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 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