GeraJobs / US Wage Premium / Boulder County, CO
Boulder County, Colorado — Wages & Employment (2023)
Ranked #30 of 3,141 US counties by the Gera Local Wage Premium US (126.7, US = 100) — computed from real BLS QCEW 2023 establishment data.
What is the average wage in Boulder County, CO?
Boulder County, CO has a GLWP-US of 126.7 (rank #30 of 3,141), well above the US average. Average weekly wage: $1763 (~$91,676/year, US = $1392/wk). Its highest-concentration sector is Professional, Scientific & Technical Services (LQ 2.59x). Source: BLS QCEW 2023.
Gera Local Wage Premium US
Boulder County's wage premium vs US average (rank #30 of 3,141). Well above the US average.
How this is calculated$1,763
Avg weekly wage (2023)
$91,676
Approx annual pay
126.7
GLWP-US (US = 100)
#30 / 3,141
National rank
195,224
Average employment
$1,392
US avg weekly wage
Boulder County vs US average — wage comparison
| Metric | Boulder County | US Average | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avg weekly wage | $1,763 | $1,392 | +$371 |
| Approx annual pay | $91,676 | $72,384 | +$19,292 |
| GLWP-US index | 126.7 | 100.0 | +26.7 |
Source: BLS QCEW 2023, all industries, all ownership types. Annual pay = weekly wage × 52 (derived). GLWP-US = (county wage / US $1392/wk) × 100.
Boulder County — top industries by employment concentration
Location Quotient (LQ) > 1.0 means the industry is more concentrated here than the US average. Private sector, BLS QCEW 2023.
| Industry (NAICS sector) | LQ | Avg Wk Wage (sector) |
|---|---|---|
| Professional, Scientific & Technical Services | 2.59x | $2,834 |
| Information | 2.26x | $3,882 |
| Manufacturing | 1.29x | $1,885 |
| Arts, Entertainment & Recreation | 1.13x | $656 |
| Accommodation & Food Services | 0.97x | $589 |
LQ = (county sector employment share) / (US sector employment share). Source: BLS QCEW 2023, agglvl_code=74, own_code=5 (private sector).
Boulder County — GLWP-US breakdown
GLWP-US
126.7
US = 100
National Rank
#30
of 3,141 counties
Wage Premium
+$371
vs US avg/wk
GLWP-US = 126.7 (rank #30 of 3,141, well above the US average). Formula: ($1763/wk ÷ $1392/wk) × 100 = 126.7.
Explore US County Wage Premiums — Interactive
US average = $$1,392/wk (GLWP-US 100). Showing top 50 results.
| Rank | County | State | GLWP-US | Avg Wk Wage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #12 | Broomfield County | CO | 151.4 | $2,107 |
| #23 | Denver County | CO | 132.3 | $1,841 |
| #30 | Boulder County | CO | 126.7 | $1,763 |
| #65 | Arapahoe County | CO | 115.4 | $1,606 |
| #82 | Douglas County | CO | 111.2 | $1,548 |
| #112 | Pitkin County | CO | 105.5 | $1,469 |
| #114 | Jefferson County | CO | 105.2 | $1,464 |
| #168 | Adams County | CO | 98.4 | $1,370 |
| #246 | Larimer County | CO | 93.2 | $1,298 |
| #291 | Weld County | CO | 90.8 | $1,264 |
| #304 | Gilpin County | CO | 89.8 | $1,250 |
| #308 | Clear Creek County | CO | 89.7 | $1,249 |
| #318 | El Paso County | CO | 89.4 | $1,244 |
| #359 | Garfield County | CO | 87.4 | $1,217 |
| #368 | Eagle County | CO | 87.2 | $1,214 |
| #518 | La Plata County | CO | 82.3 | $1,146 |
| #543 | Rio Blanco County | CO | 81.8 | $1,139 |
| #572 | Routt County | CO | 81.3 | $1,132 |
| #608 | Moffat County | CO | 80.5 | $1,120 |
| #639 | Elbert County | CO | 79.7 | $1,110 |
| #680 | San Miguel County | CO | 78.9 | $1,098 |
| #749 | Cheyenne County | CO | 77.7 | $1,082 |
| #781 | Mesa County | CO | 77.2 | $1,075 |
| #814 | Summit County | CO | 76.8 | $1,069 |
| #832 | Morgan County | CO | 76.5 | $1,065 |
| #948 | Crowley County | CO | 75.0 | $1,044 |
| #949 | Pueblo County | CO | 75.0 | $1,044 |
| #993 | Fremont County | CO | 74.4 | $1,035 |
| #1,133 | Lake County | CO | 72.6 | $1,010 |
| #1,173 | Gunnison County | CO | 72.2 | $1,005 |
| #1,208 | Teller County | CO | 71.8 | $1,000 |
| #1,306 | Park County | CO | 70.8 | $986 |
| #1,365 | Lincoln County | CO | 70.3 | $978 |
| #1,388 | Grand County | CO | 70.1 | $976 |
| #1,421 | Chaffee County | CO | 69.8 | $971 |
| #1,493 | Montrose County | CO | 69.1 | $962 |
| #1,559 | Rio Grande County | CO | 68.7 | $956 |
| #1,611 | Logan County | CO | 68.2 | $950 |
| #1,670 | Alamosa County | CO | 67.7 | $943 |
| #1,750 | Yuma County | CO | 67.0 | $932 |
| #1,768 | Phillips County | CO | 66.9 | $931 |
| #1,903 | Hinsdale County | CO | 65.8 | $916 |
| #2,012 | Ouray County | CO | 64.9 | $904 |
| #2,025 | Bent County | CO | 64.8 | $902 |
| #2,108 | Kit Carson County | CO | 64.2 | $893 |
| #2,253 | Archuleta County | CO | 62.9 | $875 |
| #2,273 | Las Animas County | CO | 62.7 | $873 |
| #2,301 | Jackson County | CO | 62.5 | $870 |
| #2,312 | Delta County | CO | 62.4 | $869 |
| #2,409 | Montezuma County | CO | 61.7 | $859 |
Source: BLS QCEW 2023 Annual Single File, US public domain. GLWP-US = (county avg weekly wage ÷ US avg $1,392/wk) × 100. Top sector LQ = employment location quotient (private sector). Computed by GeraJobs.
Boulder County wages — FAQ
- What is the GLWP-US score for Boulder County, CO?
- Boulder County, CO has a Gera Local Wage Premium US (GLWP-US) of 126.7 (US average = 100), ranking #30 of 3,141 US counties. This puts it well above the US average. Source: BLS QCEW 2023.
- What is the average weekly wage in Boulder County, Colorado?
- The BLS QCEW 2023 data shows the annual average weekly wage in Boulder County, Colorado is $1763, equating to approximately $91,676/year. The US average is $1392/wk ($72,384/year). GLWP-US: 126.7 (US = 100).
- How many people are employed in Boulder County?
- In 2023, Boulder County, Colorado had an annual average employment of 195,224 workers covered by unemployment insurance, per the BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages. This covers private-sector and government workers across all industries.
- What industries are most concentrated in Boulder County?
- Based on BLS QCEW 2023 employment Location Quotients, the most concentrated private-sector industries in Boulder County, Colorado are: Professional, Scientific & Technical Services (LQ 2.59x, avg $2834/wk); Information (LQ 2.26x, avg $3882/wk); Manufacturing (LQ 1.29x, avg $1885/wk); Arts, Entertainment & Recreation (LQ 1.13x, avg $656/wk); Accommodation & Food Services (LQ 0.97x, avg $589/wk). An LQ above 1.0 means the county has a higher share of that industry than the US overall.
- How does Boulder County's wage compare to Colorado overall?
- Boulder County has a GLWP-US of 126.7 vs the US average of 100. To see how Boulder County compares to other counties in Colorado, explore the full GeraJobs US Wage Premium rankings. The GLWP-US is computed from BLS QCEW 2023 establishment data covering all industries and ownership types.
How the Gera Local Wage Premium US is calculated
GLWP-US = (county avg weekly wage / US avg weekly wage) × 100. US average $1392/wk in 2023 → US = 100 by construction. Data: BLS QCEW 2023 annual singlefile, all industries, all ownership. Suppressed cells excluded. No imputation. Full methodology · Licence: US public domain.
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Other counties in Colorado by GLWP-US
Related on GeraJobs
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, QCEW 2023 Annual Single File (data.bls.gov/cew/data/files/2023/csv/2023_annual_singlefile.zip). US public domain. Area title from BLS area_titles.csv. FIPS: 08013. No figure is modelled or estimated.