GeraJobs / US Wage Premium / Cole County, MO
Cole County, Missouri — Wages & Employment (2023)
Ranked #1,051 of 3,141 US counties by the Gera Local Wage Premium US (73.7, US = 100) — computed from real BLS QCEW 2023 establishment data.
What is the average wage in Cole County, MO?
Cole County, MO has a GLWP-US of 73.7 (rank #1,051 of 3,141), well below the US average. Average weekly wage: $1026 (~$53,352/year, US = $1392/wk). Its highest-concentration sector is Utilities (LQ 1.33x). Source: BLS QCEW 2023.
Gera Local Wage Premium US
Cole County's wage premium vs US average (rank #1,051 of 3,141). Well below the US average.
How this is calculated$1,026
Avg weekly wage (2023)
$53,352
Approx annual pay
73.7
GLWP-US (US = 100)
#1,051 / 3,141
National rank
53,455
Average employment
$1,392
US avg weekly wage
Cole County vs US average — wage comparison
| Metric | Cole County | US Average | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avg weekly wage | $1,026 | $1,392 | -$366 |
| Approx annual pay | $53,352 | $72,384 | -$19,032 |
| GLWP-US index | 73.7 | 100.0 | -26.3 |
Source: BLS QCEW 2023, all industries, all ownership types. Annual pay = weekly wage × 52 (derived). GLWP-US = (county wage / US $1392/wk) × 100.
Cole 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) |
|---|---|---|
| Utilities | 1.33x | $2,067 |
| Retail Trade | 1.14x | $669 |
| Construction | 1.04x | $1,357 |
| Other Services | 1.02x | $1,130 |
| Finance & Insurance | 0.87x | $1,372 |
LQ = (county sector employment share) / (US sector employment share). Source: BLS QCEW 2023, agglvl_code=74, own_code=5 (private sector).
Cole County — GLWP-US breakdown
GLWP-US
73.7
US = 100
National Rank
#1,051
of 3,141 counties
Wage Premium
$366
vs US avg/wk
GLWP-US = 73.7 (rank #1,051 of 3,141, well below the US average). Formula: ($1026/wk ÷ $1392/wk) × 100 = 73.7.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #113 | St. Louis City | MO | 105.5 | $1,468 |
| #141 | St. Louis County | MO | 102.2 | $1,423 |
| #206 | Jackson County | MO | 95.7 | $1,332 |
| #412 | Clay County | MO | 85.1 | $1,184 |
| #612 | Platte County | MO | 80.5 | $1,120 |
| #623 | St. Charles County | MO | 80.2 | $1,116 |
| #707 | Buchanan County | MO | 78.3 | $1,090 |
| #786 | Boone County | MO | 77.2 | $1,074 |
| #863 | Callaway County | MO | 76.0 | $1,058 |
| #864 | Greene County | MO | 76.0 | $1,058 |
| #1,008 | Ste. Genevieve County | MO | 74.2 | $1,033 |
| #1,051 | Cole County | MO | 73.7 | $1,026 |
| #1,253 | Ralls County | MO | 71.4 | $994 |
| #1,285 | Cape Girardeau County | MO | 71.0 | $989 |
| #1,373 | Lincoln County | MO | 70.3 | $979 |
| #1,374 | Newton County | MO | 70.3 | $979 |
| #1,450 | Franklin County | MO | 69.5 | $967 |
| #1,461 | Sullivan County | MO | 69.4 | $966 |
| #1,585 | Marion County | MO | 68.5 | $953 |
| #1,702 | Randolph County | MO | 67.5 | $939 |
| #1,759 | Phelps County | MO | 67.0 | $932 |
| #1,760 | Warren County | MO | 67.0 | $933 |
| #1,843 | Jefferson County | MO | 66.4 | $924 |
| #1,850 | Scott County | MO | 66.3 | $923 |
| #1,860 | Jasper County | MO | 66.2 | $921 |
| #1,906 | Mercer County | MO | 65.8 | $916 |
| #1,920 | Montgomery County | MO | 65.7 | $915 |
| #1,986 | Osage County | MO | 65.2 | $908 |
| #1,987 | Perry County | MO | 65.2 | $907 |
| #2,049 | Cass County | MO | 64.7 | $900 |
| #2,092 | Henry County | MO | 64.4 | $896 |
| #2,136 | Crawford County | MO | 64.1 | $892 |
| #2,179 | Pettis County | MO | 63.6 | $885 |
| #2,232 | Polk County | MO | 63.1 | $878 |
| #2,247 | New Madrid County | MO | 63.0 | $877 |
| #2,248 | Pulaski County | MO | 63.0 | $877 |
| #2,288 | DeKalb County | MO | 62.6 | $871 |
| #2,289 | Iron County | MO | 62.6 | $871 |
| #2,290 | Lawrence County | MO | 62.6 | $872 |
| #2,307 | Audrain County | MO | 62.5 | $870 |
| #2,324 | Laclede County | MO | 62.4 | $869 |
| #2,359 | Barry County | MO | 62.1 | $864 |
| #2,360 | Saline County | MO | 62.1 | $864 |
| #2,381 | Johnson County | MO | 61.9 | $862 |
| #2,398 | Camden County | MO | 61.8 | $860 |
| #2,399 | Clinton County | MO | 61.8 | $860 |
| #2,400 | Ray County | MO | 61.8 | $860 |
| #2,423 | Holt County | MO | 61.6 | $857 |
| #2,444 | Moniteau County | MO | 61.4 | $855 |
| #2,445 | Stoddard County | MO | 61.4 | $855 |
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.
Cole County wages — FAQ
- What is the GLWP-US score for Cole County, MO?
- Cole County, MO has a Gera Local Wage Premium US (GLWP-US) of 73.7 (US average = 100), ranking #1,051 of 3,141 US counties. This puts it well below the US average. Source: BLS QCEW 2023.
- What is the average weekly wage in Cole County, Missouri?
- The BLS QCEW 2023 data shows the annual average weekly wage in Cole County, Missouri is $1026, equating to approximately $53,352/year. The US average is $1392/wk ($72,384/year). GLWP-US: 73.7 (US = 100).
- How many people are employed in Cole County?
- In 2023, Cole County, Missouri had an annual average employment of 53,455 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 Cole County?
- Based on BLS QCEW 2023 employment Location Quotients, the most concentrated private-sector industries in Cole County, Missouri are: Utilities (LQ 1.33x, avg $2067/wk); Retail Trade (LQ 1.14x, avg $669/wk); Construction (LQ 1.04x, avg $1357/wk); Other Services (LQ 1.02x, avg $1130/wk); Finance & Insurance (LQ 0.87x, avg $1372/wk). An LQ above 1.0 means the county has a higher share of that industry than the US overall.
- How does Cole County's wage compare to Missouri overall?
- Cole County has a GLWP-US of 73.7 vs the US average of 100. To see how Cole County compares to other counties in Missouri, 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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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: 29051. No figure is modelled or estimated.