GeraJobs / US Wage Premium / Chester County, PA
Chester County, Pennsylvania — Wages & Employment (2023)
Ranked #51 of 3,141 US counties by the Gera Local Wage Premium US (117.9, US = 100) — computed from real BLS QCEW 2023 establishment data.
What is the average wage in Chester County, PA?
Chester County, PA has a GLWP-US of 117.9 (rank #51 of 3,141), above the US average. Average weekly wage: $1641 (~$85,332/year, US = $1392/wk). Its highest-concentration sector is Finance & Insurance (LQ 2.28x). Source: BLS QCEW 2023.
Gera Local Wage Premium US
Chester County's wage premium vs US average (rank #51 of 3,141). Above the US average.
How this is calculated$1,641
Avg weekly wage (2023)
$85,332
Approx annual pay
117.9
GLWP-US (US = 100)
#51 / 3,141
National rank
251,034
Average employment
$1,392
US avg weekly wage
Chester County vs US average — wage comparison
| Metric | Chester County | US Average | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avg weekly wage | $1,641 | $1,392 | +$249 |
| Approx annual pay | $85,332 | $72,384 | +$12,948 |
| GLWP-US index | 117.9 | 100.0 | +17.9 |
Source: BLS QCEW 2023, all industries, all ownership types. Annual pay = weekly wage × 52 (derived). GLWP-US = (county wage / US $1392/wk) × 100.
Chester 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) |
|---|---|---|
| Finance & Insurance | 2.28x | $2,977 |
| Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting | 2.22x | $963 |
| Professional, Scientific & Technical Services | 1.50x | $2,535 |
| Information | 1.31x | $3,150 |
| Arts, Entertainment & Recreation | 1.23x | $606 |
LQ = (county sector employment share) / (US sector employment share). Source: BLS QCEW 2023, agglvl_code=74, own_code=5 (private sector).
Chester County — GLWP-US breakdown
GLWP-US
117.9
US = 100
National Rank
#51
of 3,141 counties
Wage Premium
+$249
vs US avg/wk
GLWP-US = 117.9 (rank #51 of 3,141, above the US average). Formula: ($1641/wk ÷ $1392/wk) × 100 = 117.9.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #51 | Chester County | PA | 117.9 | $1,641 |
| #52 | Montgomery County | PA | 117.5 | $1,635 |
| #70 | Montour County | PA | 113.6 | $1,581 |
| #80 | Philadelphia County | PA | 111.4 | $1,551 |
| #117 | Allegheny County | PA | 104.7 | $1,458 |
| #169 | Delaware County | PA | 98.4 | $1,370 |
| #200 | Washington County | PA | 96.1 | $1,338 |
| #234 | Lehigh County | PA | 93.9 | $1,307 |
| #283 | Dauphin County | PA | 91.4 | $1,272 |
| #301 | Greene County | PA | 90.0 | $1,253 |
| #346 | Butler County | PA | 88.2 | $1,228 |
| #373 | Bucks County | PA | 86.9 | $1,210 |
| #399 | Cumberland County | PA | 85.8 | $1,194 |
| #419 | Berks County | PA | 84.8 | $1,181 |
| #492 | Centre County | PA | 82.8 | $1,152 |
| #507 | York County | PA | 82.5 | $1,149 |
| #546 | Wyoming County | PA | 81.8 | $1,138 |
| #625 | Bradford County | PA | 80.2 | $1,117 |
| #630 | Lancaster County | PA | 80.0 | $1,114 |
| #649 | Northampton County | PA | 79.5 | $1,106 |
| #700 | Beaver County | PA | 78.4 | $1,092 |
| #793 | Union County | PA | 77.2 | $1,075 |
| #809 | Forest County | PA | 76.9 | $1,070 |
| #841 | Westmoreland County | PA | 76.4 | $1,063 |
| #923 | Indiana County | PA | 75.4 | $1,049 |
| #972 | Fulton County | PA | 74.8 | $1,041 |
| #973 | Luzerne County | PA | 74.8 | $1,041 |
| #974 | Lycoming County | PA | 74.8 | $1,041 |
| #978 | Lebanon County | PA | 74.7 | $1,040 |
| #1,068 | Franklin County | PA | 73.5 | $1,023 |
| #1,107 | Adams County | PA | 73.1 | $1,017 |
| #1,155 | Schuylkill County | PA | 72.5 | $1,009 |
| #1,162 | Monroe County | PA | 72.4 | $1,008 |
| #1,226 | Mercer County | PA | 71.7 | $998 |
| #1,237 | Lackawanna County | PA | 71.6 | $997 |
| #1,249 | Cameron County | PA | 71.5 | $995 |
| #1,275 | Lawrence County | PA | 71.2 | $991 |
| #1,289 | Erie County | PA | 71.0 | $988 |
| #1,300 | Clinton County | PA | 70.9 | $987 |
| #1,316 | Blair County | PA | 70.8 | $986 |
| #1,348 | Northumberland County | PA | 70.5 | $982 |
| #1,349 | Susquehanna County | PA | 70.5 | $981 |
| #1,408 | Wayne County | PA | 70.0 | $975 |
| #1,425 | Elk County | PA | 69.8 | $972 |
| #1,447 | Tioga County | PA | 69.6 | $969 |
| #1,518 | Warren County | PA | 69.0 | $960 |
| #1,565 | Armstrong County | PA | 68.7 | $956 |
| #1,588 | Mifflin County | PA | 68.5 | $954 |
| #1,599 | Potter County | PA | 68.4 | $952 |
| #1,608 | Fayette County | PA | 68.3 | $951 |
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.
Chester County wages — FAQ
- What is the GLWP-US score for Chester County, PA?
- Chester County, PA has a Gera Local Wage Premium US (GLWP-US) of 117.9 (US average = 100), ranking #51 of 3,141 US counties. This puts it above the US average. Source: BLS QCEW 2023.
- What is the average weekly wage in Chester County, Pennsylvania?
- The BLS QCEW 2023 data shows the annual average weekly wage in Chester County, Pennsylvania is $1641, equating to approximately $85,332/year. The US average is $1392/wk ($72,384/year). GLWP-US: 117.9 (US = 100).
- How many people are employed in Chester County?
- In 2023, Chester County, Pennsylvania had an annual average employment of 251,034 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 Chester County?
- Based on BLS QCEW 2023 employment Location Quotients, the most concentrated private-sector industries in Chester County, Pennsylvania are: Finance & Insurance (LQ 2.28x, avg $2977/wk); Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting (LQ 2.22x, avg $963/wk); Professional, Scientific & Technical Services (LQ 1.50x, avg $2535/wk); Information (LQ 1.31x, avg $3150/wk); Arts, Entertainment & Recreation (LQ 1.23x, avg $606/wk). An LQ above 1.0 means the county has a higher share of that industry than the US overall.
- How does Chester County's wage compare to Pennsylvania overall?
- Chester County has a GLWP-US of 117.9 vs the US average of 100. To see how Chester County compares to other counties in Pennsylvania, 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 Pennsylvania 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: 42029. No figure is modelled or estimated.