GeraJobs / US Wage Premium / Wake County, NC
Wake County, North Carolina — Wages & Employment (2023)
Ranked #139 of 3,141 US counties by the Gera Local Wage Premium US (102.4, US = 100) — computed from real BLS QCEW 2023 establishment data.
What is the average wage in Wake County, NC?
Wake County, NC has a GLWP-US of 102.4 (rank #139 of 3,141), in line with the US average. Average weekly wage: $1425 (~$74,100/year, US = $1392/wk). Its highest-concentration sector is Information (LQ 2.11x). Source: BLS QCEW 2023.
Gera Local Wage Premium US
Wake County's wage premium vs US average (rank #139 of 3,141). In line with the US average.
How this is calculated$1,425
Avg weekly wage (2023)
$74,100
Approx annual pay
102.4
GLWP-US (US = 100)
#139 / 3,141
National rank
639,870
Average employment
$1,392
US avg weekly wage
Wake County vs US average — wage comparison
| Metric | Wake County | US Average | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avg weekly wage | $1,425 | $1,392 | +$33 |
| Approx annual pay | $74,100 | $72,384 | +$1,716 |
| GLWP-US index | 102.4 | 100.0 | +2.4 |
Source: BLS QCEW 2023, all industries, all ownership types. Annual pay = weekly wage × 52 (derived). GLWP-US = (county wage / US $1392/wk) × 100.
Wake 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) |
|---|---|---|
| Information | 2.11x | $2,723 |
| Professional, Scientific & Technical Services | 1.72x | $2,165 |
| Construction | 1.30x | $1,561 |
| Administrative & Support Services | 1.27x | $1,104 |
| Arts, Entertainment & Recreation | 1.21x | $614 |
LQ = (county sector employment share) / (US sector employment share). Source: BLS QCEW 2023, agglvl_code=74, own_code=5 (private sector).
Wake County — GLWP-US breakdown
GLWP-US
102.4
US = 100
National Rank
#139
of 3,141 counties
Wage Premium
+$33
vs US avg/wk
GLWP-US = 102.4 (rank #139 of 3,141, in line with the US average). Formula: ($1425/wk ÷ $1392/wk) × 100 = 102.4.
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 | Durham County | NC | 126.9 | $1,766 |
| #2 | Mecklenburg County | NC | 117.2 | $1,631 |
| #3 | Orange County | NC | 103.6 | $1,442 |
| #4 | Wake County | NC | 102.4 | $1,425 |
| #5 | Forsyth County | NC | 87.8 | $1,222 |
| #6 | Iredell County | NC | 86.1 | $1,199 |
| #7 | Guilford County | NC | 81.7 | $1,137 |
| #8 | New Hanover County | NC | 81.3 | $1,132 |
| #9 | Union County | NC | 81.2 | $1,130 |
| #10 | Pitt County | NC | 78.1 | $1,087 |
| #11 | Buncombe County | NC | 77.4 | $1,077 |
| #12 | Granville County | NC | 77.4 | $1,078 |
| #13 | Rowan County | NC | 76.2 | $1,061 |
| #14 | Catawba County | NC | 75.1 | $1,046 |
| #15 | Franklin County | NC | 73.9 | $1,029 |
| #16 | Craven County | NC | 73.4 | $1,022 |
| #17 | Cumberland County | NC | 73.3 | $1,021 |
| #18 | Lincoln County | NC | 73.2 | $1,019 |
| #19 | Wilson County | NC | 73.1 | $1,018 |
| #20 | Henderson County | NC | 72.6 | $1,010 |
| #21 | Cabarrus County | NC | 72.5 | $1,009 |
| #22 | Johnston County | NC | 72.4 | $1,008 |
| #23 | Lee County | NC | 72.2 | $1,005 |
| #24 | Moore County | NC | 71.8 | $999 |
| #25 | Davidson County | NC | 71.5 | $995 |
| #26 | Gaston County | NC | 71.5 | $995 |
| #27 | Nash County | NC | 71.0 | $989 |
| #28 | Alamance County | NC | 70.4 | $980 |
| #29 | Cleveland County | NC | 70.3 | $979 |
| #30 | Davie County | NC | 69.0 | $960 |
| #31 | Chatham County | NC | 68.8 | $958 |
| #32 | Brunswick County | NC | 68.5 | $953 |
| #33 | Caldwell County | NC | 67.5 | $939 |
| #34 | Camden County | NC | 67.1 | $934 |
| #35 | Lenoir County | NC | 66.9 | $931 |
| #36 | Person County | NC | 66.7 | $928 |
| #37 | Pasquotank County | NC | 66.2 | $921 |
| #38 | Mitchell County | NC | 66.0 | $919 |
| #39 | Montgomery County | NC | 65.8 | $916 |
| #40 | Hertford County | NC | 65.7 | $915 |
| #41 | Northampton County | NC | 65.6 | $913 |
| #42 | Sampson County | NC | 65.5 | $912 |
| #43 | Scotland County | NC | 65.5 | $912 |
| #44 | Surry County | NC | 65.5 | $912 |
| #45 | Wayne County | NC | 65.1 | $906 |
| #46 | Chowan County | NC | 65.0 | $905 |
| #47 | Beaufort County | NC | 64.9 | $904 |
| #48 | Transylvania County | NC | 64.9 | $903 |
| #49 | Haywood County | NC | 64.8 | $902 |
| #50 | 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.
This explorer covers North Carolina counties. Explore every US county on the US Wage Premium hub.
Wake County wages — FAQ
- What is the GLWP-US score for Wake County, NC?
- Wake County, NC has a Gera Local Wage Premium US (GLWP-US) of 102.4 (US average = 100), ranking #139 of 3,141 US counties. This puts it in line with the US average. Source: BLS QCEW 2023.
- What is the average weekly wage in Wake County, North Carolina?
- The BLS QCEW 2023 data shows the annual average weekly wage in Wake County, North Carolina is $1425, equating to approximately $74,100/year. The US average is $1392/wk ($72,384/year). GLWP-US: 102.4 (US = 100).
- How many people are employed in Wake County?
- In 2023, Wake County, North Carolina had an annual average employment of 639,870 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 Wake County?
- Based on BLS QCEW 2023 employment Location Quotients, the most concentrated private-sector industries in Wake County, North Carolina are: Information (LQ 2.11x, avg $2723/wk); Professional, Scientific & Technical Services (LQ 1.72x, avg $2165/wk); Construction (LQ 1.30x, avg $1561/wk); Administrative & Support Services (LQ 1.27x, avg $1104/wk); Arts, Entertainment & Recreation (LQ 1.21x, avg $614/wk). An LQ above 1.0 means the county has a higher share of that industry than the US overall.
- How does Wake County's wage compare to North Carolina overall?
- Wake County has a GLWP-US of 102.4 vs the US average of 100. To see how Wake 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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Other counties in North Carolina by GLWP-US
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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: 37183. No figure is modelled or estimated.