GeraJobs / US Wage Premium / Laurel County, KY
Laurel County, Kentucky — Wages & Employment (2023)
Ranked #2,152 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 Laurel County, KY?
Laurel County, KY has a GLWP-US of 63.9 (rank #2,152 of 3,141), well below the US average. Average weekly wage: $889 (~$46,228/year, US = $1392/wk). Its highest-concentration sector is Administrative & Support Services (LQ 2.19x). Source: BLS QCEW 2023.
Gera Local Wage Premium US
Laurel County's wage premium vs US average (rank #2,152 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)
#2,152 / 3,141
National rank
26,168
Average employment
$1,392
US avg weekly wage
Laurel County vs US average — wage comparison
| Metric | Laurel 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.
Laurel 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) |
|---|---|---|
| Administrative & Support Services | 2.19x | $758 |
| Transportation & Warehousing | 2.12x | $983 |
| Manufacturing | 1.64x | $1,055 |
| Retail Trade | 1.35x | $668 |
| Mining, Quarrying & Oil and Gas Extraction | 1.15x | $2,131 |
LQ = (county sector employment share) / (US sector employment share). Source: BLS QCEW 2023, agglvl_code=74, own_code=5 (private sector).
Laurel County — GLWP-US breakdown
GLWP-US
63.9
US = 100
National Rank
#2,152
of 3,141 counties
Wage Premium
$503
vs US avg/wk
GLWP-US = 63.9 (rank #2,152 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Hancock County | KY | 107.3 | $1,494 |
| #2 | Kenton County | KY | 99.4 | $1,384 |
| #3 | Carroll County | KY | 97.7 | $1,360 |
| #4 | Jefferson County | KY | 95.3 | $1,327 |
| #5 | Gallatin County | KY | 94.9 | $1,321 |
| #6 | Scott County | KY | 92.1 | $1,282 |
| #7 | Fayette County | KY | 86.4 | $1,203 |
| #8 | Marshall County | KY | 84.7 | $1,179 |
| #9 | Oldham County | KY | 83.4 | $1,161 |
| #10 | Trimble County | KY | 81.4 | $1,133 |
| #11 | Meade County | KY | 81.2 | $1,131 |
| #12 | Union County | KY | 81.2 | $1,131 |
| #13 | Franklin County | KY | 79.8 | $1,111 |
| #14 | Boyd County | KY | 79.4 | $1,105 |
| #15 | Campbell County | KY | 78.2 | $1,088 |
| #16 | Boone County | KY | 78.1 | $1,087 |
| #17 | Mercer County | KY | 78.1 | $1,087 |
| #18 | Logan County | KY | 77.6 | $1,080 |
| #19 | McCracken County | KY | 76.8 | $1,069 |
| #20 | Livingston County | KY | 75.9 | $1,056 |
| #21 | Nelson County | KY | 74.3 | $1,034 |
| #22 | Clark County | KY | 73.8 | $1,027 |
| #23 | Christian County | KY | 73.6 | $1,024 |
| #24 | Henderson County | KY | 73.6 | $1,024 |
| #25 | Warren County | KY | 73.5 | $1,023 |
| #26 | Hopkins County | KY | 73.3 | $1,021 |
| #27 | Daviess County | KY | 72.6 | $1,011 |
| #28 | Hardin County | KY | 72.5 | $1,009 |
| #29 | Bourbon County | KY | 72.2 | $1,005 |
| #30 | Shelby County | KY | 72.2 | $1,005 |
| #31 | Muhlenberg County | KY | 71.5 | $995 |
| #32 | Simpson County | KY | 71.4 | $994 |
| #33 | Pendleton County | KY | 70.6 | $983 |
| #34 | Jessamine County | KY | 70.5 | $982 |
| #35 | Madison County | KY | 70.5 | $981 |
| #36 | Pike County | KY | 70.5 | $982 |
| #37 | Woodford County | KY | 70.0 | $974 |
| #38 | Washington County | KY | 69.3 | $964 |
| #39 | Boyle County | KY | 69.0 | $960 |
| #40 | Martin County | KY | 68.9 | $959 |
| #41 | Perry County | KY | 68.8 | $958 |
| #42 | Webster County | KY | 68.8 | $958 |
| #43 | Grant County | KY | 68.7 | $956 |
| #44 | Hart County | KY | 68.6 | $955 |
| #45 | Bullitt County | KY | 68.3 | $951 |
| #46 | Mason County | KY | 68.2 | $950 |
| #47 | Marion County | KY | 68.0 | $946 |
| #48 | Graves County | KY | 67.8 | $944 |
| #49 | Owen County | KY | 67.8 | $944 |
| #50 | Montgomery County | KY | 66.6 | $927 |
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.
This explorer covers Kentucky counties. Explore every US county on the US Wage Premium hub.
Laurel County wages — FAQ
- What is the GLWP-US score for Laurel County, KY?
- Laurel County, KY has a Gera Local Wage Premium US (GLWP-US) of 63.9 (US average = 100), ranking #2,152 of 3,141 US counties. This puts it well below the US average. Source: BLS QCEW 2023.
- What is the average weekly wage in Laurel County, Kentucky?
- The BLS QCEW 2023 data shows the annual average weekly wage in Laurel County, Kentucky 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 Laurel County?
- In 2023, Laurel County, Kentucky had an annual average employment of 26,168 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 Laurel County?
- Based on BLS QCEW 2023 employment Location Quotients, the most concentrated private-sector industries in Laurel County, Kentucky are: Administrative & Support Services (LQ 2.19x, avg $758/wk); Transportation & Warehousing (LQ 2.12x, avg $983/wk); Manufacturing (LQ 1.64x, avg $1055/wk); Retail Trade (LQ 1.35x, avg $668/wk); Mining, Quarrying & Oil and Gas Extraction (LQ 1.15x, avg $2131/wk). An LQ above 1.0 means the county has a higher share of that industry than the US overall.
- How does Laurel County's wage compare to Kentucky overall?
- Laurel County has a GLWP-US of 63.9 vs the US average of 100. To see how Laurel County compares to other counties in Kentucky, 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: 21125. No figure is modelled or estimated.