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Average weekly wages highest in D.C. and lowest in Mississippi in fourth quarter 2016

July 31, 2017

Average weekly wages in the United States were $1,067 in the fourth quarter of 2016. The average was $1,763 in the District of Columbia, $1,352 in Massachusetts, and $1,342 in New York. Mississippi had the lowest average week wage, $756 in the fourth quarter. The average was $800 in Idaho and $809 in West Virginia.

 

 

Average weekly wages by state, fourth quarter 2016
State Average weekly wage Percent change, fourth quarter 2015 to fourth quarter 2016

United States

$1,067 -1.5%

Alabama

901 -1.3

Alaska

1,038 -5.2

Arizona

945 -2.2

Arkansas

827 -1.4

California

1,271 -0.3

Colorado

1,086 -1.5

Connecticut

1,289 -3.4

Delaware

1,055 -2.9

District of Columbia

1,763 0.6

Florida

942 -1.8

Georgia

993 -0.9

Hawaii

954 -0.3

Idaho

800 -0.4

Illinois

1,122 -2.0

Indiana

883 -0.9

Iowa

911 -1.0

Kansas

877 -2.2

Kentucky

874 -1.4

Louisiana

914 -2.9

Maine

855 -2.1

Maryland

1,169 -0.4

Massachusetts

1,352 -2.4

Michigan

1,026 -1.6

Minnesota

1,062 -1.1

Mississippi

756 -1.8

Missouri

918 -1.7

Montana

822 0.5

Nebraska

876 -0.5

Nevada

924 -1.2

New Hampshire

1,092 -4.1

New Jersey

1,239 -1.9

New Mexico

844 -2.5

New York

1,342 -2.3

North Carolina

932 -0.7

North Dakota

978 -4.2

Ohio

943 -2.3

Oklahoma

864 -3.5

Oregon

970 -1.0

Pennsylvania

1,039 -2.3

Rhode Island

1,027 -1.6

South Carolina

855 -0.6

South Dakota

828 -0.5

Tennessee

970 -1.1

Texas

1,072 -2.5

Utah

910 -0.3

Vermont

897 -2.4

Virginia

1,091 -0.3

Washington

1,150 1.7

West Virginia

809 -2.5

Wisconsin

924 -2.0

Wyoming

894 -4.7

The U.S. average weekly wage decreased 1.5 percent from the fourth quarter of 2015 to the fourth quarter of 2016. This is one of only eight declines in the history of the series, which dates back to 1978. The 1.5-percent decline in average weekly wages was the largest decline since fourth quarter 2011, when average weekly wages decreased by 1.7 percent. The most recent decline occurred in first quarter 2016, when the U.S. average weekly wage decreased 0.6 percent over the year.

These data are from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages. To learn more, see "County Employment and Wages, Fourth Quarter 2016" (HTML) (PDF). For industry employment and wage data at the national, state, county, and metropolitan area levels, see the data viewer tool or QCEW Open Data Access.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Average weekly wages highest in D.C. and lowest in Mississippi in fourth quarter 2016 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2017/average-weekly-wages-highest-in-dc-and-lowest-in-mississippi-in-fourth-quarter-2016.htm (visited November 14, 2024).

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