Employment in New York’s largest counties increased in most areas from March 2024 to March 2025, according to new data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The report shows that 11 out of the 15 largest counties with published figures saw employment gains during this period.
Mark J. Maggi, Acting Regional Commissioner for the Bureau, highlighted Rockland County as having the highest year-over-year employment growth at 3.0 percent.
Among New York’s largest counties, New York County recorded the highest employment level in March 2025 with 2,479,400 jobs. Collectively, these 18 large counties represented 86.4 percent of all covered employment in the state. For comparison, the largest counties nationwide account for about 73.4 percent of total covered employment across the United States.
Wage growth was also observed across much of New York State. Twelve out of thirteen large counties with available data reported increases in average weekly wages over the year. New York County led these increases with a rise of 10.6 percent in average weekly pay. Other large counties saw wage changes ranging from an increase of 4.9 percent to a decrease of 2.1 percent.
Three of New York’s largest counties had average weekly wages above the national average of $1,589 for this period. In particular, New York County posted an average weekly wage of $4,514 while Kings County had $1,126.
The report also provided information on smaller counties—those with fewer than 75,000 employees in 2024—showing that nearly all had average weekly wages below the national figure. Steuben County had the highest among small counties at $1,772 per week; Yates County had the lowest at $976.
Of all 62 counties statewide, fourteen reported average weekly wages under $1,100; ten ranged from $1,100 to $1,199; sixteen were between $1,200 and $1,299; twelve fell between $1,300 and $1,399; and ten reached or exceeded $1,400 per week.
Additional state-level QCEW data are included in table form within this release and further details can be found through resources like the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages website.
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The next scheduled release covering second quarter data for 2025 is set for December 3rd.
