GeraJobs / US Wage Premium / Clay County, IL
Clay County, Illinois — Wages & Employment (2023)
Ranked #1,806 of 3,141 US counties by the Gera Local Wage Premium US (66.6, US = 100) — computed from real BLS QCEW 2023 establishment data.
What is the average wage in Clay County, IL?
Clay County, IL has a GLWP-US of 66.6 (rank #1,806 of 3,141), well below the US average. Average weekly wage: $927 (~$48,204/year, US = $1392/wk). Its highest-concentration sector is Mining, Quarrying & Oil and Gas Extraction (LQ 4.51x). Source: BLS QCEW 2023.
Gera Local Wage Premium US
Clay County's wage premium vs US average (rank #1,806 of 3,141). Well below the US average.
How this is calculated$927
Avg weekly wage (2023)
$48,204
Approx annual pay
66.6
GLWP-US (US = 100)
#1,806 / 3,141
National rank
4,597
Average employment
$1,392
US avg weekly wage
Clay County vs US average — wage comparison
| Metric | Clay County | US Average | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avg weekly wage | $927 | $1,392 | -$465 |
| Approx annual pay | $48,204 | $72,384 | -$24,180 |
| GLWP-US index | 66.6 | 100.0 | -33.4 |
Source: BLS QCEW 2023, all industries, all ownership types. Annual pay = weekly wage × 52 (derived). GLWP-US = (county wage / US $1392/wk) × 100.
Clay 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) |
|---|---|---|
| Mining, Quarrying & Oil and Gas Extraction | 4.51x | $1,092 |
| Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting | 3.94x | $699 |
| Manufacturing | 3.89x | $1,170 |
| Retail Trade | 1.15x | $567 |
| Information | 1.13x | $1,352 |
LQ = (county sector employment share) / (US sector employment share). Source: BLS QCEW 2023, agglvl_code=74, own_code=5 (private sector).
Clay County — GLWP-US breakdown
GLWP-US
66.6
US = 100
National Rank
#1,806
of 3,141 counties
Wage Premium
$465
vs US avg/wk
GLWP-US = 66.6 (rank #1,806 of 3,141, well below the US average). Formula: ($927/wk ÷ $1392/wk) × 100 = 66.6.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #35 | Lake County | IL | 125.1 | $1,742 |
| #60 | Cook County | IL | 115.9 | $1,614 |
| #100 | DuPage County | IL | 107.0 | $1,490 |
| #159 | Peoria County | IL | 99.4 | $1,384 |
| #201 | Rock Island County | IL | 96.0 | $1,336 |
| #227 | Grundy County | IL | 94.3 | $1,313 |
| #251 | Macon County | IL | 92.7 | $1,290 |
| #274 | Putnam County | IL | 91.7 | $1,277 |
| #279 | De Witt County | IL | 91.5 | $1,273 |
| #302 | Sangamon County | IL | 89.9 | $1,251 |
| #331 | McLean County | IL | 88.9 | $1,238 |
| #394 | Brown County | IL | 86.0 | $1,197 |
| #445 | Champaign County | IL | 83.9 | $1,168 |
| #448 | Kane County | IL | 83.8 | $1,166 |
| #530 | Crawford County | IL | 82.1 | $1,143 |
| #581 | Boone County | IL | 81.2 | $1,131 |
| #605 | Will County | IL | 80.6 | $1,122 |
| #646 | Winnebago County | IL | 79.5 | $1,106 |
| #657 | Washington County | IL | 79.2 | $1,102 |
| #724 | Lee County | IL | 78.0 | $1,086 |
| #730 | Ogle County | IL | 77.9 | $1,085 |
| #804 | Jackson County | IL | 76.9 | $1,071 |
| #839 | LaSalle County | IL | 76.4 | $1,063 |
| #853 | Madison County | IL | 76.1 | $1,060 |
| #872 | Livingston County | IL | 75.9 | $1,056 |
| #873 | St. Clair County | IL | 75.9 | $1,057 |
| #911 | Jefferson County | IL | 75.5 | $1,051 |
| #912 | Logan County | IL | 75.5 | $1,051 |
| #918 | Ford County | IL | 75.4 | $1,049 |
| #950 | DeKalb County | IL | 75.0 | $1,044 |
| #951 | Edgar County | IL | 75.0 | $1,044 |
| #957 | Tazewell County | IL | 74.9 | $1,043 |
| #1,031 | McHenry County | IL | 73.9 | $1,029 |
| #1,032 | Stark County | IL | 73.9 | $1,028 |
| #1,033 | Stephenson County | IL | 73.9 | $1,028 |
| #1,059 | Woodford County | IL | 73.6 | $1,025 |
| #1,066 | Kankakee County | IL | 73.5 | $1,023 |
| #1,079 | Randolph County | IL | 73.3 | $1,020 |
| #1,080 | Vermilion County | IL | 73.3 | $1,020 |
| #1,118 | Adams County | IL | 72.9 | $1,015 |
| #1,174 | Hamilton County | IL | 72.2 | $1,005 |
| #1,184 | Bureau County | IL | 72.1 | $1,004 |
| #1,214 | Johnson County | IL | 71.8 | $999 |
| #1,337 | Douglas County | IL | 70.5 | $982 |
| #1,367 | Whiteside County | IL | 70.3 | $979 |
| #1,389 | Massac County | IL | 70.1 | $976 |
| #1,390 | Morgan County | IL | 70.1 | $976 |
| #1,422 | Williamson County | IL | 69.8 | $971 |
| #1,434 | Coles County | IL | 69.7 | $970 |
| #1,495 | Cass County | IL | 69.1 | $962 |
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.
Clay County wages — FAQ
- What is the GLWP-US score for Clay County, IL?
- Clay County, IL has a Gera Local Wage Premium US (GLWP-US) of 66.6 (US average = 100), ranking #1,806 of 3,141 US counties. This puts it well below the US average. Source: BLS QCEW 2023.
- What is the average weekly wage in Clay County, Illinois?
- The BLS QCEW 2023 data shows the annual average weekly wage in Clay County, Illinois is $927, equating to approximately $48,204/year. The US average is $1392/wk ($72,384/year). GLWP-US: 66.6 (US = 100).
- How many people are employed in Clay County?
- In 2023, Clay County, Illinois had an annual average employment of 4,597 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 Clay County?
- Based on BLS QCEW 2023 employment Location Quotients, the most concentrated private-sector industries in Clay County, Illinois are: Mining, Quarrying & Oil and Gas Extraction (LQ 4.51x, avg $1092/wk); Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting (LQ 3.94x, avg $699/wk); Manufacturing (LQ 3.89x, avg $1170/wk); Retail Trade (LQ 1.15x, avg $567/wk); Information (LQ 1.13x, avg $1352/wk). An LQ above 1.0 means the county has a higher share of that industry than the US overall.
- How does Clay County's wage compare to Illinois overall?
- Clay County has a GLWP-US of 66.6 vs the US average of 100. To see how Clay County compares to other counties in Illinois, 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.
Find jobs in Clay County
Search live roles across Clay County and nearby areas on GeraJobs.
Get Clay County wage updates
We'll notify you when BLS QCEW 2024 data is published — including the updated wage premium for Clay County, Illinois.
Other counties in Illinois 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: 17025. No figure is modelled or estimated.