GeraJobs / US Wage Premium / Buffalo County, SD
Buffalo County, South Dakota — Wages & Employment (2023)
Ranked #1,876 of 3,141 US counties by the Gera Local Wage Premium US (66.1, US = 100) — computed from real BLS QCEW 2023 establishment data.
What is the average wage in Buffalo County, SD?
Buffalo County, SD has a GLWP-US of 66.1 (rank #1,876 of 3,141), well below the US average. Average weekly wage: $920 (~$47,840/year, US = $1392/wk). Its highest-concentration sector is Retail Trade (LQ 0.65x). Source: BLS QCEW 2023.
Gera Local Wage Premium US
Buffalo County's wage premium vs US average (rank #1,876 of 3,141). Well below the US average.
How this is calculated$920
Avg weekly wage (2023)
$47,840
Approx annual pay
66.1
GLWP-US (US = 100)
#1,876 / 3,141
National rank
530
Average employment
$1,392
US avg weekly wage
Buffalo County vs US average — wage comparison
| Metric | Buffalo County | US Average | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avg weekly wage | $920 | $1,392 | -$472 |
| Approx annual pay | $47,840 | $72,384 | -$24,544 |
| GLWP-US index | 66.1 | 100.0 | -33.9 |
Source: BLS QCEW 2023, all industries, all ownership types. Annual pay = weekly wage × 52 (derived). GLWP-US = (county wage / US $1392/wk) × 100.
Buffalo 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) |
|---|---|---|
| Retail Trade | 0.65x | $474 |
LQ = (county sector employment share) / (US sector employment share). Source: BLS QCEW 2023, agglvl_code=74, own_code=5 (private sector).
Buffalo County — GLWP-US breakdown
GLWP-US
66.1
US = 100
National Rank
#1,876
of 3,141 counties
Wage Premium
$472
vs US avg/wk
GLWP-US = 66.1 (rank #1,876 of 3,141, well below the US average). Formula: ($920/wk ÷ $1392/wk) × 100 = 66.1.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Union County | SD | 98.1 | $1,365 |
| #2 | Lincoln County | SD | 87.1 | $1,213 |
| #3 | Minnehaha County | SD | 86.6 | $1,206 |
| #4 | Hughes County | SD | 80.7 | $1,123 |
| #5 | Pennington County | SD | 75.9 | $1,056 |
| #6 | Yankton County | SD | 75.6 | $1,053 |
| #7 | Brookings County | SD | 75.1 | $1,046 |
| #8 | Meade County | SD | 74.9 | $1,043 |
| #9 | Lake County | SD | 74.7 | $1,040 |
| #10 | Grant County | SD | 73.3 | $1,020 |
| #11 | Hamlin County | SD | 72.9 | $1,015 |
| #12 | Hyde County | SD | 72.7 | $1,012 |
| #13 | Brown County | SD | 72.6 | $1,011 |
| #14 | Deuel County | SD | 71.6 | $997 |
| #15 | Davison County | SD | 71.4 | $994 |
| #16 | Sully County | SD | 70.9 | $987 |
| #17 | Marshall County | SD | 70.5 | $981 |
| #18 | Moody County | SD | 70.0 | $975 |
| #19 | Oglala Lakota County | SD | 70.0 | $975 |
| #20 | Codington County | SD | 69.2 | $963 |
| #21 | Spink County | SD | 69.2 | $963 |
| #22 | Edmunds County | SD | 69.0 | $960 |
| #23 | Lawrence County | SD | 68.5 | $953 |
| #24 | Beadle County | SD | 68.3 | $951 |
| #25 | Todd County | SD | 67.7 | $943 |
| #26 | Fall River County | SD | 67.2 | $935 |
| #27 | Dewey County | SD | 66.8 | $930 |
| #28 | Hanson County | SD | 66.8 | $930 |
| #29 | Buffalo County | SD | 66.1 | $920 |
| #30 | McCook County | SD | 65.2 | $907 |
| #31 | Hutchinson County | SD | 64.5 | $898 |
| #32 | Clay County | SD | 64.4 | $897 |
| #33 | Clark County | SD | 64.2 | $894 |
| #34 | Corson County | SD | 64.0 | $891 |
| #35 | Haakon County | SD | 63.8 | $888 |
| #36 | Tripp County | SD | 63.6 | $886 |
| #37 | Kingsbury County | SD | 63.4 | $882 |
| #38 | Potter County | SD | 63.3 | $881 |
| #39 | Douglas County | SD | 62.4 | $868 |
| #40 | Custer County | SD | 62.2 | $866 |
| #41 | Campbell County | SD | 61.9 | $861 |
| #42 | Charles Mix County | SD | 61.9 | $861 |
| #43 | Harding County | SD | 61.8 | $860 |
| #44 | Turner County | SD | 61.8 | $860 |
| #45 | Stanley County | SD | 61.7 | $859 |
| #46 | Walworth County | SD | 61.6 | $857 |
| #47 | Roberts County | SD | 60.6 | $844 |
| #48 | Day County | SD | 60.5 | $842 |
| #49 | Jerauld County | SD | 60.5 | $842 |
| #50 | Butte County | SD | 59.9 | $834 |
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.
This explorer covers South Dakota counties. Explore every US county on the US Wage Premium hub.
Buffalo County wages — FAQ
- What is the GLWP-US score for Buffalo County, SD?
- Buffalo County, SD has a Gera Local Wage Premium US (GLWP-US) of 66.1 (US average = 100), ranking #1,876 of 3,141 US counties. This puts it well below the US average. Source: BLS QCEW 2023.
- What is the average weekly wage in Buffalo County, South Dakota?
- The BLS QCEW 2023 data shows the annual average weekly wage in Buffalo County, South Dakota is $920, equating to approximately $47,840/year. The US average is $1392/wk ($72,384/year). GLWP-US: 66.1 (US = 100).
- How many people are employed in Buffalo County?
- In 2023, Buffalo County, South Dakota had an annual average employment of 530 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 Buffalo County?
- Based on BLS QCEW 2023 employment Location Quotients, the most concentrated private-sector industries in Buffalo County, South Dakota are: Retail Trade (LQ 0.65x, avg $474/wk). An LQ above 1.0 means the county has a higher share of that industry than the US overall.
- How does Buffalo County's wage compare to South Dakota overall?
- Buffalo County has a GLWP-US of 66.1 vs the US average of 100. To see how Buffalo County compares to other counties in South Dakota, 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 South Dakota 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: 46017. No figure is modelled or estimated.