Counties in Washington by wages and salaries paid

King County had the highest wages and salaries paid of 39 counties in 2020, at $148.15 billion. Wahkiakum County had the lowest, at $34.59 million. The median was $1.1 billion and the figure for Washington was $264.89 billion. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest148,152King County
Median1,102.139 counties
Washington264,888.6History

Map of counties, 2020

Adams County: 352.3 USD millionAsotin County: 304.8 USD millionBenton County: 5,678.5 USD millionChelan County: 2,002.7 USD millionClallam County: 1,148.1 USD millionClark County: 10,143.9 USD millionColumbia County: 75.2 USD millionCowlitz County: 2,302.1 USD millionDouglas County: 540.5 USD millionFerry County: 79.5 USD millionFranklin County: 1,697 USD millionGarfield County: 36.9 USD millionGrant County: 2,072.3 USD millionGrays Harbor County: 1,102.1 USD millionIsland County: 1,414.9 USD millionJefferson County: 435.3 USD millionKing County: 148,152 USD millionKitsap County: 5,998.9 USD millionKittitas County: 756.3 USD millionKlickitat County: 411.1 USD millionLewis County: 1,368.9 USD millionLincoln County: 132.5 USD millionMason County: 704.6 USD millionOkanogan County: 671.7 USD millionPacific County: 281.3 USD millionPend Oreille County: 157.4 USD millionPierce County: 20,996.1 USD millionSan Juan County: 258.8 USD millionSkagit County: 2,838.3 USD millionSkamania County: 87.7 USD millionSnohomish County: 19,628.4 USD millionSpokane County: 13,025.6 USD millionStevens County: 509.2 USD millionThurston County: 7,036.7 USD millionWahkiakum County: 34.6 USD millionWalla Walla County: 1,408.2 USD millionWhatcom County: 4,924.9 USD millionWhitman County: 1,059.3 USD millionYakima County: 5,059.9 USD million
  • Under 1,000
  • 1,000 to 2,000
  • 2,000 to 6,000
  • 6,000 and over
USD million, 2020. 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, 2020

King County: 148,152 USD millionKing County148,152Pierce County: 20,996.1 USD millionPierce County20,996.1Snohomish County: 19,628.4 USD millionSnohomish County19,628.4Spokane County: 13,025.6 USD millionSpokane County13,025.6Clark County: 10,143.9 USD millionClark County10,143.9Thurston County: 7,036.7 USD millionThurston County7,036.7Kitsap County: 5,998.9 USD millionKitsap County5,998.9Benton County: 5,678.5 USD millionBenton County5,678.5Yakima County: 5,059.9 USD millionYakima County5,059.9Whatcom County: 4,924.9 USD millionWhatcom County4,924.9Skagit County: 2,838.3 USD millionSkagit County2,838.3Cowlitz County: 2,302.1 USD millionCowlitz County2,302.1Grant County: 2,072.3 USD millionGrant County2,072.3Chelan County: 2,002.7 USD millionChelan County2,002.7Franklin County: 1,697 USD millionFranklin County1,697Island County: 1,414.9 USD millionIsland County1,414.9Walla Walla County: 1,408.2 USD millionWalla Walla County1,408.2Lewis County: 1,368.9 USD millionLewis County1,368.9Clallam County: 1,148.1 USD millionClallam County1,148.1Grays Harbor County: 1,102.1 USD millionGrays Harbor County1,102.1Whitman County: 1,059.3 USD millionWhitman County1,059.3Kittitas County: 756.3 USD millionKittitas County756.3Mason County: 704.6 USD millionMason County704.6Okanogan County: 671.7 USD millionOkanogan County671.7Douglas County: 540.5 USD millionDouglas County540.5Stevens County: 509.2 USD millionStevens County509.2Jefferson County: 435.3 USD millionJefferson County435.3Klickitat County: 411.1 USD millionKlickitat County411.1Adams County: 352.3 USD millionAdams County352.3Asotin County: 304.8 USD millionAsotin County304.8Pacific County: 281.3 USD millionPacific County281.3San Juan County: 258.8 USD millionSan Juan County258.8Pend Oreille County: 157.4 USD millionPend Oreille County157.4Lincoln County: 132.5 USD millionLincoln County132.5Skamania County: 87.7 USD millionSkamania County87.7Ferry County: 79.5 USD millionFerry County79.5Columbia County: 75.2 USD millionColumbia County75.2Garfield County: 36.9 USD millionGarfield County36.9Wahkiakum County: 34.6 USD millionWahkiakum County34.6King County: 148,152 USD millionKing County148,152Pierce County: 20,996.1 USD millionPierce County20,996.1Snohomish County: 19,628.4 USD millionSnohomish County19,628.4Spokane County: 13,025.6 USD millionSpokane County13,025.6Clark County: 10,143.9 USD millionClark County10,143.9Thurston County: 7,036.7 USD millionThurston County7,036.7Kitsap County: 5,998.9 USD millionKitsap County5,998.9Benton County: 5,678.5 USD millionBenton County5,678.5Yakima County: 5,059.9 USD millionYakima County5,059.9Whatcom County: 4,924.9 USD millionWhatcom County4,924.9Skagit County: 2,838.3 USD millionSkagit County2,838.3Cowlitz County: 2,302.1 USD millionCowlitz County2,302.1Grant County: 2,072.3 USD millionGrant County2,072.3Chelan County: 2,002.7 USD millionChelan County2,002.7Franklin County: 1,697 USD millionFranklin County1,697Island County: 1,414.9 USD millionIsland County1,414.9Walla Walla County: 1,408.2 USD millionWalla Walla County1,408.2Lewis County: 1,368.9 USD millionLewis County1,368.9Clallam County: 1,148.1 USD millionClallam County1,148.1Grays Harbor County: 1,102.1 USD millionGrays Harbor County1,102.1Whitman County: 1,059.3 USD millionWhitman County1,059.3Kittitas County: 756.3 USD millionKittitas County756.3Mason County: 704.6 USD millionMason County704.6Okanogan County: 671.7 USD millionOkanogan County671.7Douglas County: 540.5 USD millionDouglas County540.5Stevens County: 509.2 USD millionStevens County509.2Jefferson County: 435.3 USD millionJefferson County435.3Klickitat County: 411.1 USD millionKlickitat County411.1Adams County: 352.3 USD millionAdams County352.3Asotin County: 304.8 USD millionAsotin County304.8Pacific County: 281.3 USD millionPacific County281.3San Juan County: 258.8 USD millionSan Juan County258.8Pend Oreille County: 157.4 USD millionPend Oreille County157.4Lincoln County: 132.5 USD millionLincoln County132.5Skamania County: 87.7 USD millionSkamania County87.7Ferry County: 79.5 USD millionFerry County79.5Columbia County: 75.2 USD millionColumbia County75.2Garfield County: 36.9 USD millionGarfield County36.9Wahkiakum County: 34.6 USD millionWahkiakum County34.6
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

RankCounties2020
USD million
Change on 2019
1King County148,152+6.2%
2Pierce County20,996.1+2.3%
3Snohomish County19,628.4-0.8%
4Spokane County13,025.6+2.1%
5Clark County10,143.9+2.8%
6Thurston County7,036.7+2.2%
7Kitsap County5,998.9+5.8%
8Benton County5,678.5+2.5%
9Yakima County5,059.9+4.2%
10Whatcom County4,924.9-0.4%
11Skagit County2,838.3-3.5%
12Cowlitz County2,302.1+3.6%
13Grant County2,072.3+13.4%
14Chelan County2,002.7+0.6%
15Franklin County1,697+3.7%
16Island County1,414.9+3.4%
17Walla Walla County1,408.2+4.5%
18Lewis County1,368.9+4.3%
19Clallam County1,148.1+3.1%
20Grays Harbor County1,102.1+0.4%
21Whitman County1,059.3+2.6%
22Kittitas County756.3+2.8%
23Mason County704.6+2.8%
24Okanogan County671.7+7%
25Douglas County540.5+5.1%
26Stevens County509.2+5%
27Jefferson County435.3+1.5%
28Klickitat County411.1-1.3%
29Adams County352.3+7.2%
30Asotin County304.8+5.3%
31Pacific County281.3-0.7%
32San Juan County258.8-0.6%
33Pend Oreille County157.4-7.7%
34Lincoln County132.5+6.9%
35Skamania County87.7-1.3%
36Ferry County79.5+10.7%
37Columbia County75.2+2.8%
38Garfield County36.9+4.3%
39Wahkiakum County34.6+5%

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, 2020) [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, 2020. 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=2020. 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, 2020. 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=2020.

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, 2020 [Dataset]. Available at: https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/CAINC4.zip, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/wages-and-salaries/washington-counties?period=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_washington_by_2020,
  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, 2020}},
  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=2020. 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, 2020
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=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/wages-and-salaries/washington-counties?period=2020.
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 $148.15 billion in 2020, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Which county has the lowest wages and salaries paid?

Wahkiakum County, with $34.59 million in 2020.

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