GeraJobs / US Wage Premium / Merced County, CA
Merced County, California — Wages & Employment (2023)
Ranked #1,076 of 3,141 US counties by the Gera Local Wage Premium US (73.3, US = 100) — computed from real BLS QCEW 2023 establishment data.
What is the average wage in Merced County, CA?
Merced County, CA has a GLWP-US of 73.3 (rank #1,076 of 3,141), well below the US average. Average weekly wage: $1021 (~$53,092/year, US = $1392/wk). Its highest-concentration sector is Manufacturing (LQ 1.42x). Source: BLS QCEW 2023.
Gera Local Wage Premium US
Merced County's wage premium vs US average (rank #1,076 of 3,141). Well below the US average.
How this is calculated$1,021
Avg weekly wage (2023)
$53,092
Approx annual pay
73.3
GLWP-US (US = 100)
#1,076 / 3,141
National rank
83,841
Average employment
$1,392
US avg weekly wage
Merced County vs US average — wage comparison
| Metric | Merced County | US Average | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avg weekly wage | $1,021 | $1,392 | -$371 |
| Approx annual pay | $53,092 | $72,384 | -$19,292 |
| GLWP-US index | 73.3 | 100.0 | -26.7 |
Source: BLS QCEW 2023, all industries, all ownership types. Annual pay = weekly wage × 52 (derived). GLWP-US = (county wage / US $1392/wk) × 100.
Merced 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 | 1.42x | $1,196 |
| Retail Trade | 1.02x | $702 |
| Health Care & Social Assistance | 0.91x | $976 |
| Accommodation & Food Services | 0.85x | $455 |
| Other Services | 0.85x | $821 |
LQ = (county sector employment share) / (US sector employment share). Source: BLS QCEW 2023, agglvl_code=74, own_code=5 (private sector).
Merced County — GLWP-US breakdown
GLWP-US
73.3
US = 100
National Rank
#1,076
of 3,141 counties
Wage Premium
$371
vs US avg/wk
GLWP-US = 73.3 (rank #1,076 of 3,141, well below the US average). Formula: ($1021/wk ÷ $1392/wk) × 100 = 73.3.
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 | Santa Clara County | CA | 241.3 | $3,359 |
| #2 | San Mateo County | CA | 240.8 | $3,352 |
| #3 | San Francisco County | CA | 230.8 | $3,213 |
| #24 | Alameda County | CA | 130.9 | $1,822 |
| #33 | Marin County | CA | 125.6 | $1,749 |
| #62 | Contra Costa County | CA | 115.7 | $1,611 |
| #79 | Los Angeles County | CA | 111.4 | $1,550 |
| #86 | San Diego County | CA | 110.1 | $1,532 |
| #96 | Orange County | CA | 107.6 | $1,498 |
| #108 | Sacramento County | CA | 106.0 | $1,475 |
| #149 | Yolo County | CA | 100.9 | $1,404 |
| #174 | Placer County | CA | 97.8 | $1,361 |
| #192 | Sonoma County | CA | 96.7 | $1,346 |
| #203 | Napa County | CA | 95.8 | $1,333 |
| #223 | Solano County | CA | 94.7 | $1,318 |
| #239 | Ventura County | CA | 93.6 | $1,303 |
| #289 | Santa Barbara County | CA | 90.9 | $1,266 |
| #294 | Santa Cruz County | CA | 90.2 | $1,256 |
| #340 | El Dorado County | CA | 88.6 | $1,234 |
| #341 | Yuba County | CA | 88.6 | $1,233 |
| #444 | Stanislaus County | CA | 83.9 | $1,168 |
| #496 | San Joaquin County | CA | 82.7 | $1,151 |
| #502 | Nevada County | CA | 82.6 | $1,150 |
| #504 | San Luis Obispo County | CA | 82.5 | $1,148 |
| #516 | Monterey County | CA | 82.3 | $1,145 |
| #517 | San Bernardino County | CA | 82.3 | $1,146 |
| #607 | Inyo County | CA | 80.5 | $1,121 |
| #638 | Kern County | CA | 79.7 | $1,109 |
| #644 | Riverside County | CA | 79.6 | $1,108 |
| #645 | Lassen County | CA | 79.5 | $1,107 |
| #652 | Colusa County | CA | 79.4 | $1,105 |
| #668 | Plumas County | CA | 79.0 | $1,100 |
| #669 | San Benito County | CA | 79.0 | $1,100 |
| #670 | Shasta County | CA | 79.0 | $1,099 |
| #722 | Amador County | CA | 78.0 | $1,086 |
| #727 | Tuolumne County | CA | 77.9 | $1,084 |
| #766 | Fresno County | CA | 77.4 | $1,078 |
| #767 | Trinity County | CA | 77.4 | $1,078 |
| #822 | Tehama County | CA | 76.7 | $1,068 |
| #871 | Butte County | CA | 75.9 | $1,056 |
| #997 | Kings County | CA | 74.3 | $1,034 |
| #1,005 | Madera County | CA | 74.2 | $1,033 |
| #1,011 | Sutter County | CA | 74.1 | $1,031 |
| #1,074 | Humboldt County | CA | 73.3 | $1,021 |
| #1,075 | Imperial County | CA | 73.3 | $1,020 |
| #1,076 | Merced County | CA | 73.3 | $1,021 |
| #1,196 | Calaveras County | CA | 71.9 | $1,001 |
| #1,197 | Glenn County | CA | 71.9 | $1,001 |
| #1,225 | Mendocino County | CA | 71.7 | $998 |
| #1,296 | Modoc County | CA | 70.9 | $987 |
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.
Merced County wages — FAQ
- What is the GLWP-US score for Merced County, CA?
- Merced County, CA has a Gera Local Wage Premium US (GLWP-US) of 73.3 (US average = 100), ranking #1,076 of 3,141 US counties. This puts it well below the US average. Source: BLS QCEW 2023.
- What is the average weekly wage in Merced County, California?
- The BLS QCEW 2023 data shows the annual average weekly wage in Merced County, California is $1021, equating to approximately $53,092/year. The US average is $1392/wk ($72,384/year). GLWP-US: 73.3 (US = 100).
- How many people are employed in Merced County?
- In 2023, Merced County, California had an annual average employment of 83,841 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 Merced County?
- Based on BLS QCEW 2023 employment Location Quotients, the most concentrated private-sector industries in Merced County, California are: Manufacturing (LQ 1.42x, avg $1196/wk); Retail Trade (LQ 1.02x, avg $702/wk); Health Care & Social Assistance (LQ 0.91x, avg $976/wk); Accommodation & Food Services (LQ 0.85x, avg $455/wk); Other Services (LQ 0.85x, avg $821/wk). An LQ above 1.0 means the county has a higher share of that industry than the US overall.
- How does Merced County's wage compare to California overall?
- Merced County has a GLWP-US of 73.3 vs the US average of 100. To see how Merced County compares to other counties in California, 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: 06047. No figure is modelled or estimated.