Employment rose in all three of the largest counties in Oklahoma from June 2021 to June 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (Large counties are those with annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more in 2021.) Regional Commissioner Michael Hirniak noted that Oklahoma County had the largest over-the-year increase in employment (+3.7 percent). (See chart 1 and table 1.)

National employment increased 4.0 percent over the year, with 338 of the 355 largest U.S. counties reporting gains. Orange, FL, had the largest over-the-year increase in employment with a gain of 9.7 percent. Kanawha, WV, had the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment with a loss of 1.0 percent.

Among the three largest counties in Oklahoma, employment was highest in Oklahoma County (468,200) in June 2022. Within Oklahoma County’s private industry, health care and social assistance accounted for the largest employment. Together, the three largest Oklahoma counties accounted for 56.6 percent of total employment within the state. Nationwide, the 355 largest counties made up 72.8 percent of total U.S. employment.

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 74 counties in Oklahoma with employment below 75,000. Wage levels in all 74 smaller counties were below the national average of $1,294 in the second quarter of 2022. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

All three large Oklahoma counties reported average weekly wage gains from the second quarter of 2021 to the second quarter of 2022. (See chart 2.) Two counties had rates of wage gains at or above the national rate of 4.3 percent: Cleveland (+4.9 percent) and Oklahoma (+4.3 percent). Tulsa County’s reported rate of wage gain was 3.8 percent.

Among the 355 largest counties in the United States, 340 had over-the-year wage increases. Saratoga, NY, had the largest percentage wage increase (+16.3 percent). Benton, AR, had the largest over-the-year percentage decrease (-16.1 percent).

Large county average weekly wages

Weekly wages in the three largest counties in Oklahoma were below the national average of $1,294 in the second quarter of 2022. Average weekly wages in Oklahoma County ($1,131) and Tulsa County ($1,081) ranked 201^st and 236^th, respectively, in the middle third of the large county national rankings. The average weekly wage for Cleveland County ($912) ranked 342^nd among the 355 largest U.S. counties.

Among the largest U.S. counties, 91 reported average weekly wages above the U.S. average in the second quarter of 2022. Santa Clara, CA, had the highest average weekly wage at $3,262. Average weekly wages were at or below the national average in the remaining 264 counties. At $767 a week, Hidalgo, TX, had the lowest average weekly wage.

Average weekly wages in Oklahoma's smaller counties

All 74 smaller counties in Oklahoma—those with employment below 75,000—reported an average weekly wage below the national average. Dewey County reported the highest average weekly wage, $1,175. McIntosh County reported the lowest average wage in the state at $675 per week.

When all 77 counties in Oklahoma were considered, 20 reported average weekly wages of $799 or less, 25 registered wages from $800 to $899, 26 had wages from $900 to $999, and 6 had average weekly wages of $1,000 or higher. (See chart 3.) Most of the highest paying counties were in and around the Oklahoma City and Tulsa metropolitan areas.

Additional statistics and other information

QCEW data for states have been included in this release in table 3. For additional information about quarterly employment and wages data, please read the Technical Note or visit www.bls.gov/cew.

Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online features comprehensive information by detailed industry on establishments, employment, and wages for the nation and all states. This publication is typically published in September of the following year of the reference period or shortly after the QCEW first quarter full data update. The Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online is available at www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/.

The County Employment and Wages release for third quarter 2022 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, February 22, 2023.
The County Employment and Wages full data update for third quarter 2022 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, March 8, 2023.

Technical Note

Average weekly wage data by county are compiled under the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program, also known as the ES-202 program. The data are derived from summaries of employment and total pay of workers covered by state and federal unemployment insurance (UI) legislation and provided by State Workforce Agencies (SWAs). The average weekly wage values are calculated by dividing quarterly total wages by the average of the three monthly employment levels of those covered by UI programs. The result is then divided by 13, the number of weeks in a quarter. It is to be noted, therefore, that over-the-year wage changes for geographic areas may reflect shifts in the composition of employment by industry, occupation, and such other factors as hours of work. Thus, wages may vary among counties, metropolitan areas, or states for reasons other than changes in the average wage level. Data for all states, Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), counties, and the nation are available on the BLS web site at www.bls.gov/cew. However, data in QCEW press releases have been revised and may not match the data contained on the Bureau’s web site.

QCEW data are not designed as a time series. QCEW data are simply the sums of individual establishment records reflecting the number of establishments that exist in a county or industry at a point in time. Establishments can move in or out of a county or industry for a number of reasons–some reflecting economic events, others reflecting administrative changes.

The preliminary QCEW data presented in this release may differ from data released by the individual states as well as from the data presented on the BLS web site. These potential differences result from the states’ continuing receipt, review and editing of UI data over time. On the other hand, differences between data in this release and the data found on the BLS web site are the result of adjustments made to improve over-the-year comparisons. Specifically, these adjustments account for administrative (noneconomic) changes such as a correction to a previously reported location or industry classification. Adjusting for these administrative changes allows users to more accurately assess changes of an economic nature (such as a firm moving from one county to another or changing its primary economic activity) over a 12-month period. Currently, adjusted data are available only from BLS press releases.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Table 1. Covered establishments, employment, and wages in the United States and the three largest counties in Oklahoma, second quarter 2022

Area	Establishments, second quarter (thousands)	Employment			Average weekly wage (1)
		June 2022 (thousands)	Percent change, June 2021–22 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)	Second quarter 2022	National ranking by level (3)	Percent change, second quarter 2021–22 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)
United States (4)	11,460.8	149,902.0	4.0	--	$1,294	--	4.3	--
Oklahoma	121.9	1,610.4	2.5	--	1,016	46	5.4	26
Cleveland	6.7	86.5	0.4	333	912	342	4.9	156
Oklahoma	30.8	468.2	3.7	112	1,131	201	4.3	200
Tulsa	24.6	356.6	1.6	279	1,081	236	3.8	235
(1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data. (2) Percent changes were computed from employment and pay data adjusted for noneconomic county reclassifications. (3) Ranking does not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. (4) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
Note: Data are preliminary. Covered employment and wages includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.

Table 2. Covered establishments, employment, and wages in the United States and all counties in Oklahoma, second quarter 2022

Area	Establishments	Employment June 2022	Average weekly wage (1)
United States (2)	11,460,819	149,901,995	$1,294
Oklahoma	121,907	1,610,380	1,016
Adair	331	4,476	779
Alfalfa	150	1,259	913
Atoka	320	3,229	748
Beaver	170	1,250	854
Beckham	797	9,254	921
Blaine	300	2,936	858
Bryan	1,145	20,166	951
Caddo	616	7,024	906
Canadian	3,592	35,371	917
Carter	1,782	22,819	940
Cherokee	864	16,460	864
Choctaw	374	4,426	775
Cimarron	102	835	677
Cleveland	6,721	86,474	912
Coal	122	1,110	752
Comanche	2,523	40,200	903
Cotton	112	1,584	838
Craig	423	5,054	802
Creek	1,649	19,405	973
Custer	996	12,018	864
Delaware	890	9,930	766
Dewey	201	1,862	1,175
Ellis	137	1,072	838
Garfield	1,741	23,134	941
Garvin	826	9,809	1,004
Grady	1,210	12,008	874
Grant	168	1,332	982
Greer	108	828	746
Harmon	76	637	745
Harper	145	1,004	787
Haskell	257	3,273	750
Hughes	282	2,700	740
Jackson	655	9,267	944
Jefferson	142	1,006	699
Johnston	249	2,719	849
Kay	1,230	17,418	889
Kingfisher	590	6,587	1,012
Kiowa	237	1,909	796
Latimer	222	2,423	822
LeFlore	1,002	11,886	865
Lincoln	712	6,865	903
Logan	834	8,012	817
Love	239	5,185	833
McClain	1,164	10,313	828
McCurtain	811	12,190	806
McIntosh	406	4,262	675
Major	258	2,150	807
Marshall	316	4,913	972
Mayes	972	12,892	975
Murray	371	5,416	794
Muskogee	1,554	28,535	942
Noble	261	4,784	910
Nowata	175	1,888	909
Okfuskee	224	2,261	740
Oklahoma	30,786	468,177	1,131
Okmulgee	793	9,279	875
Osage	561	6,769	882
Ottawa	762	12,866	791
Pawnee	322	3,165	838
Payne	2,159	32,818	907
Pittsburg	1,039	14,705	959
Pontotoc	1,173	19,142	942
Pottawatomie	1,424	22,281	840
Pushmataha	278	2,321	786
Roger Mills	106	818	884
Rogers	2,079	26,118	994
Seminole	528	6,607	863
Sequoyah	733	9,446	681
Stephens	1,142	14,842	921
Texas	599	9,484	919
Tillman	176	1,392	795
Tulsa	24,569	356,552	1,081
Wagoner	858	9,318	936
Washington	1,368	18,487	1,038
Washita	280	1,983	844
Woods	309	3,380	812
Woodward	836	7,914	974
(1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data. (2) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
Note: Data are preliminary. Covered employment and wages includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.

Table 3. Covered establishments, employment, and wages by state, second quarter 2022

State	Establishments, second quarter (thousands)	Employment		Average weekly wage (1)
		June 2022 (thousands)	Percent change, June 2021–22	Second quarter 2022	National ranking by level	Percent change, second quarter 2021–22	National ranking by percent change
United States (2)	11,460.8	149,902.0	4.0	$1,294	--	4.3	--
Alabama	147.8	2,007.0	2.1	1,069	37	6.2	16
Alaska	24.4	329.5	4.4	1,237	17	4.7	36
Arizona	199.8	2,962.1	3.3	1,220	21	5.8	22
Arkansas	98.5	1,240.4	2.8	997	49	2.4	47
California	1,706.1	17,915.3	5.6	1,572	4	-0.6	51
Colorado	242.3	2,838.5	4.1	1,361	9	6.2	16
Connecticut	137.6	1,654.7	3.1	1,458	6	3.5	42
Delaware	39.1	456.4	2.5	1,227	18	5.8	22
District of Columbia	48.2	747.6	3.2	2,139	1	2.0	48
Florida	858.7	9,126.7	5.0	1,186	22	6.5	10
Georgia	369.2	4,669.6	4.9	1,221	20	7.2	5
Hawaii	51.6	612.6	3.4	1,152	26	3.2	44
Idaho	83.2	824.2	2.7	1,009	48	8.5	1
Illinois	408.0	5,959.3	3.7	1,325	11	5.2	29
Indiana	184.6	3,087.8	2.5	1,083	35	6.9	8
Iowa	110.2	1,555.3	1.7	1,057	40	5.8	22
Kansas	93.8	1,381.2	1.5	1,039	44	4.6	38
Kentucky	140.9	1,886.9	1.8	1,070	36	7.1	7
Louisiana	149.9	1,837.0	1.2	1,067	38	6.5	10
Maine	61.6	637.6	1.9	1,086	34	8.0	3
Maryland	184.9	2,640.3	1.5	1,378	8	4.6	38
Massachusetts	288.5	3,654.3	4.3	1,637	2	2.8	46
Michigan	289.6	4,326.6	3.7	1,183	23	3.5	42
Minnesota	197.8	2,876.6	2.0	1,289	13	4.0	40
Mississippi	79.5	1,136.6	2.4	887	51	5.3	28
Missouri	231.6	2,852.0	3.3	1,106	32	5.1	32
Montana	59.4	504.8	2.7	1,028	45	7.4	4
Nebraska	79.9	988.5	1.2	1,060	39	6.3	13
Nevada	106.9	1,462.4	7.8	1,163	24	5.2	29
New Hampshire	62.4	671.9	2.0	1,349	10	0.4	50
New Jersey	321.7	4,221.9	5.8	1,440	7	3.8	41
New Mexico	69.6	822.4	3.6	1,040	43	5.5	25
New York	672.2	9,341.5	5.1	1,587	3	3.1	45
North Carolina	344.0	4,695.0	4.0	1,160	25	6.3	13
North Dakota	33.9	416.9	2.3	1,131	30	6.0	19
Ohio	322.7	5,404.1	2.6	1,127	31	5.4	26
Oklahoma	121.9	1,610.4	2.5	1,016	46	5.4	26
Oregon	176.7	1,956.6	2.7	1,253	15	4.8	35
Pennsylvania	387.9	5,901.3	3.9	1,252	16	4.9	34
Rhode Island	45.7	488.6	3.3	1,227	18	5.0	33
South Carolina	162.7	2,170.7	3.5	1,043	42	6.8	9
South Dakota	38.4	454.0	2.6	997	49	6.5	10
Tennessee	201.0	3,151.9	4.7	1,152	26	5.2	29
Texas	796.9	13,135.7	5.2	1,284	14	6.1	18
Utah	130.3	1,644.0	3.7	1,137	28	7.2	5
Vermont	29.9	297.7	1.2	1,135	29	8.1	2
Virginia	320.6	3,949.1	2.4	1,316	12	4.7	36
Washington	264.9	3,547.2	4.7	1,569	5	1.6	49
West Virginia	56.5	672.1	1.2	1,013	47	6.0	19
Wisconsin	197.9	2,897.0	1.6	1,097	33	5.9	21
Wyoming	29.5	280.6	1.6	1,048	41	6.3	13
Puerto Rico	49.2	910.1	4.8	597	(3)	5.3	(3)
Virgin Islands	3.6	33.7	-5.2	1,014	(3)	9.1	(3)
(1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data. (2) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. (3) Data not included in the national ranking.
Note: Data are preliminary. Covered employment and wages includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.