GeraJobs / US Wage Premium / Kanawha County, WV
Kanawha County, West Virginia — Wages & Employment (2023)
Ranked #568 of 3,141 US counties by the Gera Local Wage Premium US (81.5, US = 100) — computed from real BLS QCEW 2023 establishment data.
What is the average wage in Kanawha County, WV?
Kanawha County, WV has a GLWP-US of 81.5 (rank #568 of 3,141), below the US average. Average weekly wage: $1134 (~$58,968/year, US = $1392/wk). Its highest-concentration sector is Mining, Quarrying & Oil and Gas Extraction (LQ 4.01x). Source: BLS QCEW 2023.
Gera Local Wage Premium US
Kanawha County's wage premium vs US average (rank #568 of 3,141). Below the US average.
How this is calculated$1,134
Avg weekly wage (2023)
$58,968
Approx annual pay
81.5
GLWP-US (US = 100)
#568 / 3,141
National rank
97,110
Average employment
$1,392
US avg weekly wage
Kanawha County vs US average — wage comparison
| Metric | Kanawha County | US Average | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avg weekly wage | $1,134 | $1,392 | -$258 |
| Approx annual pay | $58,968 | $72,384 | -$13,416 |
| GLWP-US index | 81.5 | 100.0 | -18.5 |
Source: BLS QCEW 2023, all industries, all ownership types. Annual pay = weekly wage × 52 (derived). GLWP-US = (county wage / US $1392/wk) × 100.
Kanawha 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 | 4.01x | $2,041 |
| Utilities | 1.80x | $2,209 |
| Health Care & Social Assistance | 1.44x | $1,270 |
| Finance & Insurance | 1.02x | $1,617 |
| Retail Trade | 0.99x | $730 |
LQ = (county sector employment share) / (US sector employment share). Source: BLS QCEW 2023, agglvl_code=74, own_code=5 (private sector).
Kanawha County — GLWP-US breakdown
GLWP-US
81.5
US = 100
National Rank
#568
of 3,141 counties
Wage Premium
$258
vs US avg/wk
GLWP-US = 81.5 (rank #568 of 3,141, below the US average). Formula: ($1134/wk ÷ $1392/wk) × 100 = 81.5.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #321 | Doddridge County | WV | 89.4 | $1,244 |
| #322 | Marshall County | WV | 89.4 | $1,244 |
| #365 | Monongalia County | WV | 87.4 | $1,217 |
| #370 | Pleasants County | WV | 87.2 | $1,214 |
| #382 | Harrison County | WV | 86.4 | $1,203 |
| #431 | Putnam County | WV | 84.3 | $1,174 |
| #532 | Jefferson County | WV | 82.1 | $1,143 |
| #568 | Kanawha County | WV | 81.5 | $1,134 |
| #678 | Tyler County | WV | 79.0 | $1,099 |
| #703 | Taylor County | WV | 78.4 | $1,091 |
| #714 | Wayne County | WV | 78.2 | $1,089 |
| #747 | Barbour County | WV | 77.8 | $1,083 |
| #748 | Mingo County | WV | 77.8 | $1,083 |
| #795 | Jackson County | WV | 77.2 | $1,075 |
| #844 | Logan County | WV | 76.4 | $1,064 |
| #852 | Wyoming County | WV | 76.2 | $1,061 |
| #860 | McDowell County | WV | 76.1 | $1,059 |
| #870 | Cabell County | WV | 76.0 | $1,058 |
| #910 | Berkeley County | WV | 75.6 | $1,052 |
| #980 | Mason County | WV | 74.7 | $1,040 |
| #992 | Ohio County | WV | 74.5 | $1,037 |
| #1,020 | Boone County | WV | 74.1 | $1,031 |
| #1,095 | Wood County | WV | 73.3 | $1,021 |
| #1,163 | Raleigh County | WV | 72.4 | $1,008 |
| #1,295 | Marion County | WV | 71.0 | $989 |
| #1,321 | Hancock County | WV | 70.8 | $986 |
| #1,328 | Mineral County | WV | 70.7 | $984 |
| #1,333 | Brooke County | WV | 70.6 | $983 |
| #1,353 | Calhoun County | WV | 70.5 | $981 |
| #1,380 | Preston County | WV | 70.3 | $979 |
| #1,483 | Ritchie County | WV | 69.3 | $965 |
| #1,503 | Nicholas County | WV | 69.1 | $962 |
| #1,568 | Lewis County | WV | 68.7 | $956 |
| #1,578 | Upshur County | WV | 68.6 | $955 |
| #1,694 | Grant County | WV | 67.6 | $941 |
| #1,721 | Clay County | WV | 67.3 | $937 |
| #1,836 | Mercer County | WV | 66.5 | $926 |
| #2,099 | Gilmer County | WV | 64.4 | $896 |
| #2,166 | Fayette County | WV | 63.8 | $888 |
| #2,167 | Monroe County | WV | 63.8 | $888 |
| #2,175 | Wetzel County | WV | 63.7 | $887 |
| #2,264 | Hardy County | WV | 62.9 | $875 |
| #2,298 | Wirt County | WV | 62.6 | $871 |
| #2,349 | Roane County | WV | 62.2 | $866 |
| #2,367 | Randolph County | WV | 62.1 | $864 |
| #2,462 | Tucker County | WV | 61.3 | $853 |
| #2,507 | Greenbrier County | WV | 60.8 | $846 |
| #2,593 | Summers County | WV | 59.9 | $834 |
| #2,619 | Braxton County | WV | 59.7 | $831 |
| #2,717 | Morgan County | WV | 58.4 | $813 |
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.
Kanawha County wages — FAQ
- What is the GLWP-US score for Kanawha County, WV?
- Kanawha County, WV has a Gera Local Wage Premium US (GLWP-US) of 81.5 (US average = 100), ranking #568 of 3,141 US counties. This puts it below the US average. Source: BLS QCEW 2023.
- What is the average weekly wage in Kanawha County, West Virginia?
- The BLS QCEW 2023 data shows the annual average weekly wage in Kanawha County, West Virginia is $1134, equating to approximately $58,968/year. The US average is $1392/wk ($72,384/year). GLWP-US: 81.5 (US = 100).
- How many people are employed in Kanawha County?
- In 2023, Kanawha County, West Virginia had an annual average employment of 97,110 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 Kanawha County?
- Based on BLS QCEW 2023 employment Location Quotients, the most concentrated private-sector industries in Kanawha County, West Virginia are: Mining, Quarrying & Oil and Gas Extraction (LQ 4.01x, avg $2041/wk); Utilities (LQ 1.80x, avg $2209/wk); Health Care & Social Assistance (LQ 1.44x, avg $1270/wk); Finance & Insurance (LQ 1.02x, avg $1617/wk); Retail Trade (LQ 0.99x, avg $730/wk). An LQ above 1.0 means the county has a higher share of that industry than the US overall.
- How does Kanawha County's wage compare to West Virginia overall?
- Kanawha County has a GLWP-US of 81.5 vs the US average of 100. To see how Kanawha County compares to other counties in West Virginia, 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: 54039. No figure is modelled or estimated.