GeraJobs / US Wage Premium / Polk County, MN
Polk County, Minnesota — Wages & Employment (2023)
Ranked #1,135 of 3,141 US counties by the Gera Local Wage Premium US (72.6, US = 100) — computed from real BLS QCEW 2023 establishment data.
What is the average wage in Polk County, MN?
Polk County, MN has a GLWP-US of 72.6 (rank #1,135 of 3,141), well below the US average. Average weekly wage: $1011 (~$52,572/year, US = $1392/wk). Its highest-concentration sector is Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting (LQ 6.15x). Source: BLS QCEW 2023.
Gera Local Wage Premium US
Polk County's wage premium vs US average (rank #1,135 of 3,141). Well below the US average.
How this is calculated$1,011
Avg weekly wage (2023)
$52,572
Approx annual pay
72.6
GLWP-US (US = 100)
#1,135 / 3,141
National rank
11,881
Average employment
$1,392
US avg weekly wage
Polk County vs US average — wage comparison
| Metric | Polk County | US Average | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avg weekly wage | $1,011 | $1,392 | -$381 |
| Approx annual pay | $52,572 | $72,384 | -$19,812 |
| GLWP-US index | 72.6 | 100.0 | -27.4 |
Source: BLS QCEW 2023, all industries, all ownership types. Annual pay = weekly wage × 52 (derived). GLWP-US = (county wage / US $1392/wk) × 100.
Polk 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 | 6.15x | $1,004 |
| Manufacturing | 1.76x | $1,367 |
| Health Care & Social Assistance | 1.25x | $1,035 |
| Retail Trade | 1.06x | $579 |
| Other Services | 1.03x | $373 |
LQ = (county sector employment share) / (US sector employment share). Source: BLS QCEW 2023, agglvl_code=74, own_code=5 (private sector).
Polk County — GLWP-US breakdown
GLWP-US
72.6
US = 100
National Rank
#1,135
of 3,141 counties
Wage Premium
$381
vs US avg/wk
GLWP-US = 72.6 (rank #1,135 of 3,141, well below the US average). Formula: ($1011/wk ÷ $1392/wk) × 100 = 72.6.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #44 | Hennepin County | MN | 120.8 | $1,681 |
| #116 | Olmsted County | MN | 104.7 | $1,457 |
| #134 | Ramsey County | MN | 102.9 | $1,432 |
| #197 | Dakota County | MN | 96.3 | $1,340 |
| #260 | Carver County | MN | 92.4 | $1,286 |
| #361 | Anoka County | MN | 87.4 | $1,216 |
| #433 | Roseau County | MN | 84.2 | $1,172 |
| #489 | Dodge County | MN | 82.8 | $1,153 |
| #519 | Stearns County | MN | 82.3 | $1,146 |
| #534 | Scott County | MN | 82.0 | $1,142 |
| #562 | Washington County | MN | 81.5 | $1,135 |
| #574 | Goodhue County | MN | 81.3 | $1,132 |
| #591 | Steele County | MN | 81.0 | $1,128 |
| #598 | Stevens County | MN | 80.7 | $1,124 |
| #622 | St. Louis County | MN | 80.2 | $1,117 |
| #627 | Mower County | MN | 80.1 | $1,115 |
| #691 | Swift County | MN | 78.7 | $1,095 |
| #735 | Clearwater County | MN | 77.9 | $1,085 |
| #736 | Rice County | MN | 77.9 | $1,085 |
| #751 | Pennington County | MN | 77.7 | $1,081 |
| #774 | Douglas County | MN | 77.3 | $1,076 |
| #785 | Chisago County | MN | 77.2 | $1,075 |
| #806 | Koochiching County | MN | 76.9 | $1,070 |
| #807 | Sherburne County | MN | 76.9 | $1,071 |
| #862 | Blue Earth County | MN | 76.0 | $1,058 |
| #890 | McLeod County | MN | 75.8 | $1,055 |
| #891 | Nobles County | MN | 75.8 | $1,055 |
| #898 | Carlton County | MN | 75.7 | $1,054 |
| #939 | Pope County | MN | 75.1 | $1,046 |
| #958 | Brown County | MN | 74.9 | $1,043 |
| #959 | Nicollet County | MN | 74.9 | $1,042 |
| #991 | Wilkin County | MN | 74.5 | $1,037 |
| #994 | Benton County | MN | 74.4 | $1,036 |
| #1,024 | Le Sueur County | MN | 74.0 | $1,030 |
| #1,025 | Marshall County | MN | 74.0 | $1,030 |
| #1,026 | Wright County | MN | 74.0 | $1,030 |
| #1,063 | Renville County | MN | 73.6 | $1,024 |
| #1,104 | Sibley County | MN | 73.1 | $1,017 |
| #1,135 | Polk County | MN | 72.6 | $1,011 |
| #1,152 | Lyon County | MN | 72.5 | $1,009 |
| #1,187 | Lake County | MN | 72.1 | $1,003 |
| #1,194 | Beltrami County | MN | 72.0 | $1,002 |
| #1,202 | Todd County | MN | 71.9 | $1,001 |
| #1,218 | Martin County | MN | 71.8 | $999 |
| #1,232 | Chippewa County | MN | 71.6 | $997 |
| #1,252 | Clay County | MN | 71.4 | $994 |
| #1,259 | Itasca County | MN | 71.3 | $993 |
| #1,260 | Rock County | MN | 71.3 | $993 |
| #1,273 | Meeker County | MN | 71.2 | $991 |
| #1,284 | Big Stone County | MN | 71.0 | $988 |
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.
Polk County wages — FAQ
- What is the GLWP-US score for Polk County, MN?
- Polk County, MN has a Gera Local Wage Premium US (GLWP-US) of 72.6 (US average = 100), ranking #1,135 of 3,141 US counties. This puts it well below the US average. Source: BLS QCEW 2023.
- What is the average weekly wage in Polk County, Minnesota?
- The BLS QCEW 2023 data shows the annual average weekly wage in Polk County, Minnesota is $1011, equating to approximately $52,572/year. The US average is $1392/wk ($72,384/year). GLWP-US: 72.6 (US = 100).
- How many people are employed in Polk County?
- In 2023, Polk County, Minnesota had an annual average employment of 11,881 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 Polk County?
- Based on BLS QCEW 2023 employment Location Quotients, the most concentrated private-sector industries in Polk County, Minnesota are: Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting (LQ 6.15x, avg $1004/wk); Manufacturing (LQ 1.76x, avg $1367/wk); Health Care & Social Assistance (LQ 1.25x, avg $1035/wk); Retail Trade (LQ 1.06x, avg $579/wk); Other Services (LQ 1.03x, avg $373/wk). An LQ above 1.0 means the county has a higher share of that industry than the US overall.
- How does Polk County's wage compare to Minnesota overall?
- Polk County has a GLWP-US of 72.6 vs the US average of 100. To see how Polk County compares to other counties in Minnesota, 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: 27119. No figure is modelled or estimated.