GeraJobs / US Wage Premium / Orange County, CA
Orange County, California — Wages & Employment (2023)
Ranked #96 of 3,141 US counties by the Gera Local Wage Premium US (107.6, US = 100) — computed from real BLS QCEW 2023 establishment data.
What is the average wage in Orange County, CA?
Orange County, CA has a GLWP-US of 107.6 (rank #96 of 3,141), above the US average. Average weekly wage: $1498 (~$77,896/year, US = $1392/wk). Its highest-concentration sector is Arts, Entertainment & Recreation (LQ 2.08x). Source: BLS QCEW 2023.
Gera Local Wage Premium US
Orange County's wage premium vs US average (rank #96 of 3,141). Above the US average.
How this is calculated$1,498
Avg weekly wage (2023)
$77,896
Approx annual pay
107.6
GLWP-US (US = 100)
#96 / 3,141
National rank
1,645,472
Average employment
$1,392
US avg weekly wage
Orange County vs US average — wage comparison
| Metric | Orange County | US Average | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avg weekly wage | $1,498 | $1,392 | +$106 |
| Approx annual pay | $77,896 | $72,384 | +$5,512 |
| GLWP-US index | 107.6 | 100.0 | +7.6 |
Source: BLS QCEW 2023, all industries, all ownership types. Annual pay = weekly wage × 52 (derived). GLWP-US = (county wage / US $1392/wk) × 100.
Orange 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) |
|---|---|---|
| Arts, Entertainment & Recreation | 2.08x | $822 |
| Real Estate & Rental and Leasing | 1.56x | $1,843 |
| Administrative & Support Services | 1.41x | $1,080 |
| Construction | 1.22x | $1,768 |
| Wholesale Trade | 1.20x | $1,967 |
LQ = (county sector employment share) / (US sector employment share). Source: BLS QCEW 2023, agglvl_code=74, own_code=5 (private sector).
Orange County — GLWP-US breakdown
GLWP-US
107.6
US = 100
National Rank
#96
of 3,141 counties
Wage Premium
+$106
vs US avg/wk
GLWP-US = 107.6 (rank #96 of 3,141, above the US average). Formula: ($1498/wk ÷ $1392/wk) × 100 = 107.6.
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.
Orange County wages — FAQ
- What is the GLWP-US score for Orange County, CA?
- Orange County, CA has a Gera Local Wage Premium US (GLWP-US) of 107.6 (US average = 100), ranking #96 of 3,141 US counties. This puts it above the US average. Source: BLS QCEW 2023.
- What is the average weekly wage in Orange County, California?
- The BLS QCEW 2023 data shows the annual average weekly wage in Orange County, California is $1498, equating to approximately $77,896/year. The US average is $1392/wk ($72,384/year). GLWP-US: 107.6 (US = 100).
- How many people are employed in Orange County?
- In 2023, Orange County, California had an annual average employment of 1,645,472 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 Orange County?
- Based on BLS QCEW 2023 employment Location Quotients, the most concentrated private-sector industries in Orange County, California are: Arts, Entertainment & Recreation (LQ 2.08x, avg $822/wk); Real Estate & Rental and Leasing (LQ 1.56x, avg $1843/wk); Administrative & Support Services (LQ 1.41x, avg $1080/wk); Construction (LQ 1.22x, avg $1768/wk); Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.20x, avg $1967/wk). An LQ above 1.0 means the county has a higher share of that industry than the US overall.
- How does Orange County's wage compare to California overall?
- Orange County has a GLWP-US of 107.6 vs the US average of 100. To see how Orange 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.
Find jobs in Orange County
Search live roles across Orange County and nearby areas on GeraJobs.
Get Orange County wage updates
We'll notify you when BLS QCEW 2024 data is published — including the updated wage premium for Orange County, California.
Other counties in California by GLWP-US
Related on GeraJobs
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: 06059. No figure is modelled or estimated.