GeraJobs / US Wage Premium / Highlands County, FL
Highlands County, Florida — Wages & Employment (2023)
Ranked #2,148 of 3,141 US counties by the Gera Local Wage Premium US (63.9, US = 100) — computed from real BLS QCEW 2023 establishment data.
What is the average wage in Highlands County, FL?
Highlands County, FL has a GLWP-US of 63.9 (rank #2,148 of 3,141), well below the US average. Average weekly wage: $889 (~$46,228/year, US = $1392/wk). Its highest-concentration sector is Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting (LQ 7.04x). Source: BLS QCEW 2023.
Gera Local Wage Premium US
Highlands County's wage premium vs US average (rank #2,148 of 3,141). Well below the US average.
How this is calculated$889
Avg weekly wage (2023)
$46,228
Approx annual pay
63.9
GLWP-US (US = 100)
#2,148 / 3,141
National rank
28,664
Average employment
$1,392
US avg weekly wage
Highlands County vs US average — wage comparison
| Metric | Highlands County | US Average | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avg weekly wage | $889 | $1,392 | -$503 |
| Approx annual pay | $46,228 | $72,384 | -$26,156 |
| GLWP-US index | 63.9 | 100.0 | -36.1 |
Source: BLS QCEW 2023, all industries, all ownership types. Annual pay = weekly wage × 52 (derived). GLWP-US = (county wage / US $1392/wk) × 100.
Highlands 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) |
|---|---|---|
| Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting | 7.04x | $674 |
| Retail Trade | 1.64x | $695 |
| Health Care & Social Assistance | 1.59x | $1,159 |
| Arts, Entertainment & Recreation | 1.28x | $432 |
| Construction | 1.26x | $973 |
LQ = (county sector employment share) / (US sector employment share). Source: BLS QCEW 2023, agglvl_code=74, own_code=5 (private sector).
Highlands County — GLWP-US breakdown
GLWP-US
63.9
US = 100
National Rank
#2,148
of 3,141 counties
Wage Premium
$503
vs US avg/wk
GLWP-US = 63.9 (rank #2,148 of 3,141, well below the US average). Formula: ($889/wk ÷ $1392/wk) × 100 = 63.9.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #128 | Palm Beach County | FL | 103.4 | $1,439 |
| #135 | Miami-Dade County | FL | 102.5 | $1,427 |
| #166 | Hillsborough County | FL | 98.6 | $1,373 |
| #205 | Broward County | FL | 95.7 | $1,332 |
| #224 | Duval County | FL | 94.7 | $1,318 |
| #299 | Collier County | FL | 90.1 | $1,254 |
| #309 | Brevard County | FL | 89.7 | $1,248 |
| #315 | Orange County | FL | 89.5 | $1,246 |
| #329 | Pinellas County | FL | 89.0 | $1,239 |
| #375 | Seminole County | FL | 86.7 | $1,207 |
| #402 | Sarasota County | FL | 85.7 | $1,193 |
| #416 | Alachua County | FL | 84.9 | $1,182 |
| #497 | Lee County | FL | 82.7 | $1,151 |
| #529 | Okaloosa County | FL | 82.1 | $1,143 |
| #544 | Leon County | FL | 81.8 | $1,138 |
| #558 | St. Johns County | FL | 81.5 | $1,134 |
| #609 | Manatee County | FL | 80.5 | $1,120 |
| #698 | Monroe County | FL | 78.4 | $1,091 |
| #715 | Martin County | FL | 78.1 | $1,087 |
| #740 | Escambia County | FL | 77.8 | $1,083 |
| #772 | Indian River County | FL | 77.3 | $1,076 |
| #797 | Sumter County | FL | 77.0 | $1,072 |
| #861 | Hamilton County | FL | 76.0 | $1,058 |
| #901 | Glades County | FL | 75.6 | $1,053 |
| #916 | Walton County | FL | 75.4 | $1,050 |
| #1,043 | Nassau County | FL | 73.8 | $1,027 |
| #1,049 | Polk County | FL | 73.7 | $1,026 |
| #1,077 | Pasco County | FL | 73.3 | $1,020 |
| #1,164 | Charlotte County | FL | 72.3 | $1,007 |
| #1,209 | Hendry County | FL | 71.8 | $1,000 |
| #1,210 | Union County | FL | 71.8 | $999 |
| #1,211 | Volusia County | FL | 71.8 | $1,000 |
| #1,269 | Bay County | FL | 71.2 | $991 |
| #1,270 | Clay County | FL | 71.2 | $991 |
| #1,297 | St. Lucie County | FL | 70.9 | $987 |
| #1,442 | Lake County | FL | 69.6 | $969 |
| #1,470 | Osceola County | FL | 69.3 | $964 |
| #1,484 | Marion County | FL | 69.2 | $963 |
| #1,494 | Gulf County | FL | 69.1 | $962 |
| #1,506 | Putnam County | FL | 69.0 | $960 |
| #1,602 | Columbia County | FL | 68.3 | $951 |
| #1,643 | Santa Rosa County | FL | 68.0 | $946 |
| #1,725 | Taylor County | FL | 67.2 | $935 |
| #1,839 | Flagler County | FL | 66.4 | $924 |
| #1,926 | Hernando County | FL | 65.6 | $913 |
| #1,940 | Liberty County | FL | 65.5 | $912 |
| #1,971 | Gadsden County | FL | 65.3 | $909 |
| #1,980 | Bradford County | FL | 65.2 | $908 |
| #2,026 | Okeechobee County | FL | 64.8 | $902 |
| #2,065 | Citrus County | FL | 64.5 | $898 |
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.
Highlands County wages — FAQ
- What is the GLWP-US score for Highlands County, FL?
- Highlands County, FL has a Gera Local Wage Premium US (GLWP-US) of 63.9 (US average = 100), ranking #2,148 of 3,141 US counties. This puts it well below the US average. Source: BLS QCEW 2023.
- What is the average weekly wage in Highlands County, Florida?
- The BLS QCEW 2023 data shows the annual average weekly wage in Highlands County, Florida is $889, equating to approximately $46,228/year. The US average is $1392/wk ($72,384/year). GLWP-US: 63.9 (US = 100).
- How many people are employed in Highlands County?
- In 2023, Highlands County, Florida had an annual average employment of 28,664 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 Highlands County?
- Based on BLS QCEW 2023 employment Location Quotients, the most concentrated private-sector industries in Highlands County, Florida are: Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting (LQ 7.04x, avg $674/wk); Retail Trade (LQ 1.64x, avg $695/wk); Health Care & Social Assistance (LQ 1.59x, avg $1159/wk); Arts, Entertainment & Recreation (LQ 1.28x, avg $432/wk); Construction (LQ 1.26x, avg $973/wk). An LQ above 1.0 means the county has a higher share of that industry than the US overall.
- How does Highlands County's wage compare to Florida overall?
- Highlands County has a GLWP-US of 63.9 vs the US average of 100. To see how Highlands County compares to other counties in Florida, 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: 12055. No figure is modelled or estimated.