GeraJobs / US Wage Premium / Polk County, OR
Polk County, Oregon — Wages & Employment (2023)
Ranked #1,623 of 3,141 US counties by the Gera Local Wage Premium US (68.2, US = 100) — computed from real BLS QCEW 2023 establishment data.
What is the average wage in Polk County, OR?
Polk County, OR has a GLWP-US of 68.2 (rank #1,623 of 3,141), well below the US average. Average weekly wage: $950 (~$49,400/year, US = $1392/wk). Its highest-concentration sector is Health Care & Social Assistance (LQ 1.33x). Source: BLS QCEW 2023.
Gera Local Wage Premium US
Polk County's wage premium vs US average (rank #1,623 of 3,141). Well below the US average.
How this is calculated$950
Avg weekly wage (2023)
$49,400
Approx annual pay
68.2
GLWP-US (US = 100)
#1,623 / 3,141
National rank
21,709
Average employment
$1,392
US avg weekly wage
Polk County vs US average — wage comparison
| Metric | Polk County | US Average | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avg weekly wage | $950 | $1,392 | -$442 |
| Approx annual pay | $49,400 | $72,384 | -$22,984 |
| GLWP-US index | 68.2 | 100.0 | -31.8 |
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) |
|---|---|---|
| Health Care & Social Assistance | 1.33x | $867 |
| Construction | 1.09x | $1,207 |
| Other Services | 1.08x | $683 |
| Accommodation & Food Services | 1.07x | $436 |
| Manufacturing | 1.01x | $976 |
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
68.2
US = 100
National Rank
#1,623
of 3,141 counties
Wage Premium
$442
vs US avg/wk
GLWP-US = 68.2 (rank #1,623 of 3,141, well below the US average). Formula: ($950/wk ÷ $1392/wk) × 100 = 68.2.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #45 | Washington County | OR | 120.5 | $1,677 |
| #99 | Multnomah County | OR | 107.2 | $1,492 |
| #119 | Crook County | OR | 104.4 | $1,453 |
| #226 | Morrow County | OR | 94.7 | $1,318 |
| #240 | Clackamas County | OR | 93.6 | $1,303 |
| #310 | Benton County | OR | 89.7 | $1,248 |
| #386 | Deschutes County | OR | 86.3 | $1,201 |
| #441 | Sherman County | OR | 84.1 | $1,170 |
| #521 | Marion County | OR | 82.3 | $1,145 |
| #743 | Lane County | OR | 77.8 | $1,083 |
| #792 | Jackson County | OR | 77.2 | $1,074 |
| #834 | Gilliam County | OR | 76.5 | $1,065 |
| #907 | Linn County | OR | 75.6 | $1,053 |
| #1,002 | Yamhill County | OR | 74.3 | $1,034 |
| #1,090 | Wasco County | OR | 73.3 | $1,021 |
| #1,116 | Columbia County | OR | 73.0 | $1,016 |
| #1,170 | Umatilla County | OR | 72.3 | $1,006 |
| #1,236 | Jefferson County | OR | 71.6 | $996 |
| #1,347 | Douglas County | OR | 70.5 | $982 |
| #1,359 | Hood River County | OR | 70.4 | $980 |
| #1,379 | Grant County | OR | 70.3 | $978 |
| #1,407 | Tillamook County | OR | 70.0 | $974 |
| #1,424 | Klamath County | OR | 69.8 | $972 |
| #1,439 | Union County | OR | 69.7 | $970 |
| #1,517 | Wallowa County | OR | 69.0 | $961 |
| #1,574 | Coos County | OR | 68.6 | $955 |
| #1,607 | Clatsop County | OR | 68.3 | $951 |
| #1,623 | Polk County | OR | 68.2 | $950 |
| #1,714 | Lincoln County | OR | 67.4 | $938 |
| #1,747 | Lake County | OR | 67.1 | $934 |
| #1,899 | Josephine County | OR | 65.9 | $917 |
| #1,965 | Baker County | OR | 65.4 | $910 |
| #2,007 | Curry County | OR | 65.0 | $905 |
| #2,033 | Harney County | OR | 64.8 | $902 |
| #2,157 | Malheur County | OR | 63.9 | $889 |
| #2,784 | Wheeler County | OR | 57.5 | $801 |
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, OR?
- Polk County, OR has a Gera Local Wage Premium US (GLWP-US) of 68.2 (US average = 100), ranking #1,623 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, Oregon?
- The BLS QCEW 2023 data shows the annual average weekly wage in Polk County, Oregon is $950, equating to approximately $49,400/year. The US average is $1392/wk ($72,384/year). GLWP-US: 68.2 (US = 100).
- How many people are employed in Polk County?
- In 2023, Polk County, Oregon had an annual average employment of 21,709 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, Oregon are: Health Care & Social Assistance (LQ 1.33x, avg $867/wk); Construction (LQ 1.09x, avg $1207/wk); Other Services (LQ 1.08x, avg $683/wk); Accommodation & Food Services (LQ 1.07x, avg $436/wk); Manufacturing (LQ 1.01x, avg $976/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 Oregon overall?
- Polk County has a GLWP-US of 68.2 vs the US average of 100. To see how Polk County compares to other counties in Oregon, 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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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: 41053. No figure is modelled or estimated.