Chart: Average weekly wages among large counties

The U.S. average weekly wage was $889 in the first quarter of 2010, an increase of 0.8 percent over the previous year.

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From March 2009 to March 2010, among the large counties in the United States, New York, New York—consisting entirely of the borough of Manhattan—had the largest over-the-year increase in average weekly wages in the first quarter of 2010, with a gain of 11.9 percent. Within New York, financial activities had the largest over-the-year increase in average weekly wages, with a gain of 22.7 percent.

San Mateo, California (part of the San Francisco area), led the Nation in average weekly wage decline, with a loss of 17.7 percent over the year. In the county, manufacturing had the largest over-the-year decline in average weekly wages (‑58.2 percent), which resulted from a large payout related to an acquisition in first quarter of 2009.

This earnings data is from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, which are preliminary and subject to revision. The largest counties are determined by 2009 annual average employment levels. To learn more, see "County Employment and Wages: First Quarter 2010" (HTML) (PDF) news release USDL 10-1449.