GeraJobs / US Wage Premium / Mercer County, IL
Mercer County, Illinois — Wages & Employment (2023)
Ranked #2,614 of 3,141 US counties by the Gera Local Wage Premium US (59.7, US = 100) — computed from real BLS QCEW 2023 establishment data.
What is the average wage in Mercer County, IL?
Mercer County, IL has a GLWP-US of 59.7 (rank #2,614 of 3,141), well below the US average. Average weekly wage: $831 (~$43,212/year, US = $1392/wk). Its highest-concentration sector is Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting (LQ 2.94x). Source: BLS QCEW 2023.
Gera Local Wage Premium US
Mercer County's wage premium vs US average (rank #2,614 of 3,141). Well below the US average.
How this is calculated$831
Avg weekly wage (2023)
$43,212
Approx annual pay
59.7
GLWP-US (US = 100)
#2,614 / 3,141
National rank
3,036
Average employment
$1,392
US avg weekly wage
Mercer County vs US average — wage comparison
| Metric | Mercer County | US Average | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avg weekly wage | $831 | $1,392 | -$561 |
| Approx annual pay | $43,212 | $72,384 | -$29,172 |
| GLWP-US index | 59.7 | 100.0 | -40.3 |
Source: BLS QCEW 2023, all industries, all ownership types. Annual pay = weekly wage × 52 (derived). GLWP-US = (county wage / US $1392/wk) × 100.
Mercer 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 | 2.94x | $1,133 |
| Arts, Entertainment & Recreation | 2.07x | $255 |
| Manufacturing | 2.02x | $1,147 |
| Wholesale Trade | 1.58x | $1,211 |
| Retail Trade | 1.16x | $623 |
LQ = (county sector employment share) / (US sector employment share). Source: BLS QCEW 2023, agglvl_code=74, own_code=5 (private sector).
Mercer County — GLWP-US breakdown
GLWP-US
59.7
US = 100
National Rank
#2,614
of 3,141 counties
Wage Premium
$561
vs US avg/wk
GLWP-US = 59.7 (rank #2,614 of 3,141, well below the US average). Formula: ($831/wk ÷ $1392/wk) × 100 = 59.7.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #35 | Lake County | IL | 125.1 | $1,742 |
| #60 | Cook County | IL | 115.9 | $1,614 |
| #100 | DuPage County | IL | 107.0 | $1,490 |
| #159 | Peoria County | IL | 99.4 | $1,384 |
| #201 | Rock Island County | IL | 96.0 | $1,336 |
| #227 | Grundy County | IL | 94.3 | $1,313 |
| #251 | Macon County | IL | 92.7 | $1,290 |
| #274 | Putnam County | IL | 91.7 | $1,277 |
| #279 | De Witt County | IL | 91.5 | $1,273 |
| #302 | Sangamon County | IL | 89.9 | $1,251 |
| #331 | McLean County | IL | 88.9 | $1,238 |
| #394 | Brown County | IL | 86.0 | $1,197 |
| #445 | Champaign County | IL | 83.9 | $1,168 |
| #448 | Kane County | IL | 83.8 | $1,166 |
| #530 | Crawford County | IL | 82.1 | $1,143 |
| #581 | Boone County | IL | 81.2 | $1,131 |
| #605 | Will County | IL | 80.6 | $1,122 |
| #646 | Winnebago County | IL | 79.5 | $1,106 |
| #657 | Washington County | IL | 79.2 | $1,102 |
| #724 | Lee County | IL | 78.0 | $1,086 |
| #730 | Ogle County | IL | 77.9 | $1,085 |
| #804 | Jackson County | IL | 76.9 | $1,071 |
| #839 | LaSalle County | IL | 76.4 | $1,063 |
| #853 | Madison County | IL | 76.1 | $1,060 |
| #872 | Livingston County | IL | 75.9 | $1,056 |
| #873 | St. Clair County | IL | 75.9 | $1,057 |
| #911 | Jefferson County | IL | 75.5 | $1,051 |
| #912 | Logan County | IL | 75.5 | $1,051 |
| #918 | Ford County | IL | 75.4 | $1,049 |
| #950 | DeKalb County | IL | 75.0 | $1,044 |
| #951 | Edgar County | IL | 75.0 | $1,044 |
| #957 | Tazewell County | IL | 74.9 | $1,043 |
| #1,031 | McHenry County | IL | 73.9 | $1,029 |
| #1,032 | Stark County | IL | 73.9 | $1,028 |
| #1,033 | Stephenson County | IL | 73.9 | $1,028 |
| #1,059 | Woodford County | IL | 73.6 | $1,025 |
| #1,066 | Kankakee County | IL | 73.5 | $1,023 |
| #1,079 | Randolph County | IL | 73.3 | $1,020 |
| #1,080 | Vermilion County | IL | 73.3 | $1,020 |
| #1,118 | Adams County | IL | 72.9 | $1,015 |
| #1,174 | Hamilton County | IL | 72.2 | $1,005 |
| #1,184 | Bureau County | IL | 72.1 | $1,004 |
| #1,214 | Johnson County | IL | 71.8 | $999 |
| #1,337 | Douglas County | IL | 70.5 | $982 |
| #1,367 | Whiteside County | IL | 70.3 | $979 |
| #1,389 | Massac County | IL | 70.1 | $976 |
| #1,390 | Morgan County | IL | 70.1 | $976 |
| #1,422 | Williamson County | IL | 69.8 | $971 |
| #1,434 | Coles County | IL | 69.7 | $970 |
| #1,495 | Cass County | IL | 69.1 | $962 |
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.
Mercer County wages — FAQ
- What is the GLWP-US score for Mercer County, IL?
- Mercer County, IL has a Gera Local Wage Premium US (GLWP-US) of 59.7 (US average = 100), ranking #2,614 of 3,141 US counties. This puts it well below the US average. Source: BLS QCEW 2023.
- What is the average weekly wage in Mercer County, Illinois?
- The BLS QCEW 2023 data shows the annual average weekly wage in Mercer County, Illinois is $831, equating to approximately $43,212/year. The US average is $1392/wk ($72,384/year). GLWP-US: 59.7 (US = 100).
- How many people are employed in Mercer County?
- In 2023, Mercer County, Illinois had an annual average employment of 3,036 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 Mercer County?
- Based on BLS QCEW 2023 employment Location Quotients, the most concentrated private-sector industries in Mercer County, Illinois are: Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting (LQ 2.94x, avg $1133/wk); Arts, Entertainment & Recreation (LQ 2.07x, avg $255/wk); Manufacturing (LQ 2.02x, avg $1147/wk); Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.58x, avg $1211/wk); Retail Trade (LQ 1.16x, avg $623/wk). An LQ above 1.0 means the county has a higher share of that industry than the US overall.
- How does Mercer County's wage compare to Illinois overall?
- Mercer County has a GLWP-US of 59.7 vs the US average of 100. To see how Mercer County compares to other counties in Illinois, 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: 17131. No figure is modelled or estimated.