GeraJobs / US Wage Premium / Essex County, MA
Essex County, Massachusetts — Wages & Employment (2023)
Ranked #138 of 3,141 US counties by the Gera Local Wage Premium US (102.4, US = 100) — computed from real BLS QCEW 2023 establishment data.
What is the average wage in Essex County, MA?
Essex County, MA has a GLWP-US of 102.4 (rank #138 of 3,141), in line with the US average. Average weekly wage: $1426 (~$74,152/year, US = $1392/wk). Its highest-concentration sector is Manufacturing (LQ 1.48x). Source: BLS QCEW 2023.
Gera Local Wage Premium US
Essex County's wage premium vs US average (rank #138 of 3,141). In line with the US average.
How this is calculated$1,426
Avg weekly wage (2023)
$74,152
Approx annual pay
102.4
GLWP-US (US = 100)
#138 / 3,141
National rank
321,610
Average employment
$1,392
US avg weekly wage
Essex County vs US average — wage comparison
| Metric | Essex County | US Average | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avg weekly wage | $1,426 | $1,392 | +$34 |
| Approx annual pay | $74,152 | $72,384 | +$1,768 |
| GLWP-US index | 102.4 | 100.0 | +2.4 |
Source: BLS QCEW 2023, all industries, all ownership types. Annual pay = weekly wage × 52 (derived). GLWP-US = (county wage / US $1392/wk) × 100.
Essex 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) |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 1.48x | $2,012 |
| Health Care & Social Assistance | 1.38x | $1,154 |
| Other Services | 1.25x | $791 |
| Educational Services | 1.21x | $1,096 |
| Arts, Entertainment & Recreation | 1.13x | $686 |
LQ = (county sector employment share) / (US sector employment share). Source: BLS QCEW 2023, agglvl_code=74, own_code=5 (private sector).
Essex County — GLWP-US breakdown
GLWP-US
102.4
US = 100
National Rank
#138
of 3,141 counties
Wage Premium
+$34
vs US avg/wk
GLWP-US = 102.4 (rank #138 of 3,141, in line with the US average). Formula: ($1426/wk ÷ $1392/wk) × 100 = 102.4.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #6 | Suffolk County | MA | 171.9 | $2,393 |
| #17 | Middlesex County | MA | 148.0 | $2,060 |
| #74 | Norfolk County | MA | 112.7 | $1,569 |
| #115 | Nantucket County | MA | 105.1 | $1,463 |
| #138 | Essex County | MA | 102.4 | $1,426 |
| #218 | Dukes County | MA | 95.0 | $1,322 |
| #221 | Worcester County | MA | 94.8 | $1,320 |
| #249 | Plymouth County | MA | 93.1 | $1,296 |
| #395 | Bristol County | MA | 86.0 | $1,197 |
| #398 | Barnstable County | MA | 85.8 | $1,195 |
| #460 | Hampshire County | MA | 83.5 | $1,162 |
| #467 | Hampden County | MA | 83.3 | $1,160 |
| #479 | Berkshire County | MA | 83.1 | $1,157 |
| #989 | Franklin County | MA | 74.5 | $1,037 |
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.
Essex County wages — FAQ
- What is the GLWP-US score for Essex County, MA?
- Essex County, MA has a Gera Local Wage Premium US (GLWP-US) of 102.4 (US average = 100), ranking #138 of 3,141 US counties. This puts it in line with the US average. Source: BLS QCEW 2023.
- What is the average weekly wage in Essex County, Massachusetts?
- The BLS QCEW 2023 data shows the annual average weekly wage in Essex County, Massachusetts is $1426, equating to approximately $74,152/year. The US average is $1392/wk ($72,384/year). GLWP-US: 102.4 (US = 100).
- How many people are employed in Essex County?
- In 2023, Essex County, Massachusetts had an annual average employment of 321,610 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 Essex County?
- Based on BLS QCEW 2023 employment Location Quotients, the most concentrated private-sector industries in Essex County, Massachusetts are: Manufacturing (LQ 1.48x, avg $2012/wk); Health Care & Social Assistance (LQ 1.38x, avg $1154/wk); Other Services (LQ 1.25x, avg $791/wk); Educational Services (LQ 1.21x, avg $1096/wk); Arts, Entertainment & Recreation (LQ 1.13x, avg $686/wk). An LQ above 1.0 means the county has a higher share of that industry than the US overall.
- How does Essex County's wage compare to Massachusetts overall?
- Essex County has a GLWP-US of 102.4 vs the US average of 100. To see how Essex County compares to other counties in Massachusetts, 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 Massachusetts by GLWP-US
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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: 25009. No figure is modelled or estimated.