GeraJobs / US Wage Premium / Swain County, NC
Swain County, North Carolina — Wages & Employment (2023)
Ranked #2,063 of 3,141 US counties by the Gera Local Wage Premium US (64.6, US = 100) — computed from real BLS QCEW 2023 establishment data.
What is the average wage in Swain County, NC?
Swain County, NC has a GLWP-US of 64.6 (rank #2,063 of 3,141), well below the US average. Average weekly wage: $899 (~$46,748/year, US = $1392/wk). Its highest-concentration sector is Arts, Entertainment & Recreation (LQ 2.94x). Source: BLS QCEW 2023.
Gera Local Wage Premium US
Swain County's wage premium vs US average (rank #2,063 of 3,141). Well below the US average.
How this is calculated$899
Avg weekly wage (2023)
$46,748
Approx annual pay
64.6
GLWP-US (US = 100)
#2,063 / 3,141
National rank
10,779
Average employment
$1,392
US avg weekly wage
Swain County vs US average — wage comparison
| Metric | Swain County | US Average | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avg weekly wage | $899 | $1,392 | -$493 |
| Approx annual pay | $46,748 | $72,384 | -$25,636 |
| GLWP-US index | 64.6 | 100.0 | -35.4 |
Source: BLS QCEW 2023, all industries, all ownership types. Annual pay = weekly wage × 52 (derived). GLWP-US = (county wage / US $1392/wk) × 100.
Swain 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 | 2.94x | $638 |
| Accommodation & Food Services | 0.90x | $490 |
| Transportation & Warehousing | 0.62x | $601 |
| Retail Trade | 0.59x | $559 |
| Other Services | 0.53x | $674 |
LQ = (county sector employment share) / (US sector employment share). Source: BLS QCEW 2023, agglvl_code=74, own_code=5 (private sector).
Swain County — GLWP-US breakdown
GLWP-US
64.6
US = 100
National Rank
#2,063
of 3,141 counties
Wage Premium
$493
vs US avg/wk
GLWP-US = 64.6 (rank #2,063 of 3,141, well below the US average). Formula: ($899/wk ÷ $1392/wk) × 100 = 64.6.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #29 | Durham County | NC | 126.9 | $1,766 |
| #55 | Mecklenburg County | NC | 117.2 | $1,631 |
| #125 | Orange County | NC | 103.6 | $1,442 |
| #139 | Wake County | NC | 102.4 | $1,425 |
| #353 | Forsyth County | NC | 87.8 | $1,222 |
| #392 | Iredell County | NC | 86.1 | $1,199 |
| #553 | Guilford County | NC | 81.7 | $1,137 |
| #577 | New Hanover County | NC | 81.3 | $1,132 |
| #586 | Union County | NC | 81.2 | $1,130 |
| #719 | Pitt County | NC | 78.1 | $1,087 |
| #770 | Buncombe County | NC | 77.4 | $1,077 |
| #771 | Granville County | NC | 77.4 | $1,078 |
| #850 | Rowan County | NC | 76.2 | $1,061 |
| #940 | Catawba County | NC | 75.1 | $1,046 |
| #1,040 | Franklin County | NC | 73.9 | $1,029 |
| #1,073 | Craven County | NC | 73.4 | $1,022 |
| #1,089 | Cumberland County | NC | 73.3 | $1,021 |
| #1,100 | Lincoln County | NC | 73.2 | $1,019 |
| #1,106 | Wilson County | NC | 73.1 | $1,018 |
| #1,137 | Henderson County | NC | 72.6 | $1,010 |
| #1,153 | Cabarrus County | NC | 72.5 | $1,009 |
| #1,160 | Johnston County | NC | 72.4 | $1,008 |
| #1,181 | Lee County | NC | 72.2 | $1,005 |
| #1,220 | Moore County | NC | 71.8 | $999 |
| #1,247 | Davidson County | NC | 71.5 | $995 |
| #1,248 | Gaston County | NC | 71.5 | $995 |
| #1,287 | Nash County | NC | 71.0 | $989 |
| #1,357 | Alamance County | NC | 70.4 | $980 |
| #1,377 | Cleveland County | NC | 70.3 | $979 |
| #1,514 | Davie County | NC | 69.0 | $960 |
| #1,551 | Chatham County | NC | 68.8 | $958 |
| #1,587 | Brunswick County | NC | 68.5 | $953 |
| #1,705 | Caldwell County | NC | 67.5 | $939 |
| #1,746 | Camden County | NC | 67.1 | $934 |
| #1,773 | Lenoir County | NC | 66.9 | $931 |
| #1,797 | Person County | NC | 66.7 | $928 |
| #1,861 | Pasquotank County | NC | 66.2 | $921 |
| #1,879 | Mitchell County | NC | 66.0 | $919 |
| #1,909 | Montgomery County | NC | 65.8 | $916 |
| #1,923 | Hertford County | NC | 65.7 | $915 |
| #1,928 | Northampton County | NC | 65.6 | $913 |
| #1,949 | Sampson County | NC | 65.5 | $912 |
| #1,950 | Scotland County | NC | 65.5 | $912 |
| #1,951 | Surry County | NC | 65.5 | $912 |
| #1,996 | Wayne County | NC | 65.1 | $906 |
| #2,005 | Chowan County | NC | 65.0 | $905 |
| #2,019 | Beaufort County | NC | 64.9 | $904 |
| #2,020 | Transylvania County | NC | 64.9 | $903 |
| #2,030 | Haywood County | NC | 64.8 | $902 |
| #2,051 | Randolph County | NC | 64.7 | $900 |
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.
Swain County wages — FAQ
- What is the GLWP-US score for Swain County, NC?
- Swain County, NC has a Gera Local Wage Premium US (GLWP-US) of 64.6 (US average = 100), ranking #2,063 of 3,141 US counties. This puts it well below the US average. Source: BLS QCEW 2023.
- What is the average weekly wage in Swain County, North Carolina?
- The BLS QCEW 2023 data shows the annual average weekly wage in Swain County, North Carolina is $899, equating to approximately $46,748/year. The US average is $1392/wk ($72,384/year). GLWP-US: 64.6 (US = 100).
- How many people are employed in Swain County?
- In 2023, Swain County, North Carolina had an annual average employment of 10,779 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 Swain County?
- Based on BLS QCEW 2023 employment Location Quotients, the most concentrated private-sector industries in Swain County, North Carolina are: Arts, Entertainment & Recreation (LQ 2.94x, avg $638/wk); Accommodation & Food Services (LQ 0.90x, avg $490/wk); Transportation & Warehousing (LQ 0.62x, avg $601/wk); Retail Trade (LQ 0.59x, avg $559/wk); Other Services (LQ 0.53x, avg $674/wk). An LQ above 1.0 means the county has a higher share of that industry than the US overall.
- How does Swain County's wage compare to North Carolina overall?
- Swain County has a GLWP-US of 64.6 vs the US average of 100. To see how Swain County compares to other counties in North Carolina, 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: 37173. No figure is modelled or estimated.