Impact Essex County

Economy And Workforce

Change in Average Salary by Sector, 2017

What does this measure?

The overall percentage change in average salary since 2000.

Why is this important?

Salaries are a gauge of overall economic health and a measure of the degree to which employees are sharing in the prosperity of a community. They also indicate the vitality of a region and its ability to compete and attract workers.

How is our county doing?

Although there have been shifts in average salaries among employment sectors, the overall average salary in Essex County ($58,000) increased from 2000. This is in contrast to the state, where average salary has increased by 11% and a 10% increase in the nation. Essex County's average salary simply kept pace with inflation.

The greatest increases in average salary were in the Financial Activities (39%), Government (22%) and Manufacturing (21%) sectors in Essex County, while the Information sector had the largest decline (-18%). Although Essex County, the state and nation had similar changes in many sectors, the state and nation both had increases in average salaries in Information (14% and 25%, respectively).

How do we compare to similar counties?

Lake, IL, with an increase of 20% in overall average salary since 2000, was the highest among the comparison counties, with Westchester, NY and Middlesex, MA trailing with increases of 8% and 11%, respectively. The greatest sector increase within each comparison county was Manufacturing in Lake County, IL (57%), Natural Resources and Mining in Middlesex, MA (65%), and Financial Activities in Westchester, NY (38%) since 2000. The largest declines in average salary were in the Information sector in Westchester, NY (-19%) and Lake County, IL (-8%) and Trade, Transportation and Utilities in Middlesex, NY (-6%).

Notes about the data

Data have been converted to 2017 dollars. Industries in which most of the workforce is full time (e.g., Manufacturing) will appear to pay significantly higher wages than ones that employ many part-timers (e.g., Retail or Leisure and Hospitality). 2018 data for this indicator are expected to be released in the third quarter of 2019.

Change in Average Salary by Sector, 2017

	Construction	Educational Services	Financial Activities	Government	Health Care and Social Assistance	Information	Leisure and Hospitality	Manufacturing	Natural Resources and Mining	Other Services	Professional and Business Services	Trade, Transportation, and Utilities	Total
Essex County, MA	11%	13%	39%	22%	8%	-18%	5%	21%	20%	-0%	18%	-2%	4%
Middlesex County, MA	6%	42%	34%	20%	10%	21%	3%	12%	65%	2%	22%	-6%	11%
Lake County, IL	8%	33%	9%	15%	-0%	-8%	11%	57%	0%	10%	34%	11%	20%
Westchester County, NY	9%	11%	38%	18%	13%	-19%	1%	25%	14%	26%	15%	-6%	8%
Massachusetts	12%	18%	27%	25%	14%	14%	9%	10%	29%	10%	25%	2%	11%
United States	15%	8%	24%	16%	11%	25%	8%	9%	29%	17%	20%	4%	10%

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Notes: N/A - Data not disclosed or not available

Change in Average Salary by Sector, 2017

	Construction	Educational Services	Financial Activities	Government	Health Care and Social Assistance	Information	Leisure and Hospitality	Manufacturing	Natural Resources and Mining	Other Services	Professional and Business Services	Trade, Transportation, and Utilities	Total
Essex County, MA	11%	13%	39%	22%	8%	-18%	5%	21%	20%	-0%	18%	-2%	4%
Middlesex County, MA	6%	42%	34%	20%	10%	21%	3%	12%	65%	2%	22%	-6%	11%
Lake County, IL	8%	33%	9%	15%	-0%	-8%	11%	57%	0%	10%	34%	11%	20%
Westchester County, NY	9%	11%	38%	18%	13%	-19%	1%	25%	14%	26%	15%	-6%	8%
Massachusetts	12%	18%	27%	25%	14%	14%	9%	10%	29%	10%	25%	2%	11%
United States	15%	8%	24%	16%	11%	25%	8%	9%	29%	17%	20%	4%	10%

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Notes: N/A - Data not disclosed or not available

Economy And Workforce Indicators

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INDICATORS	TREND \| ESSEX COUNTY
Early Prenatal Care by Mother's Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Preterm Births	Increasing
Infant Mortality Rate	Maintaining
Children with Elevated Blood Lead Levels	Decreasing
Children Living in Poverty	Increasing
Children Living in Poverty by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Child Abuse and Neglect	Increasing
Disengaged Youth	Decreasing
Live Births to Teen Mothers	Decreasing
Youth Arrests	Decreasing
Arts, Entertainment and Recreation Establishments	Maintaining
Arts, Entertainment and Recreation Employment	Maintaining
Tourism Spending	Maintaining
Voter Participation Rate	Increasing
Charitable Contributions	Maintaining
Protected Land	Not Applicable
Days with Good Air Quality	Increasing
Beach Contamination	Decreasing
Daily Water Use per Resident	Decreasing
Crimes Against People	Increasing
Crimes Against Property	Increasing
Drug-Related Arrests	Maintaining
Reports of Domestic Violence	Increasing
Incarceration Rates	Decreasing
Recidivism	Decreasing
Households Without Vehicles	Maintaining
Means of Transportation to Work	Not Applicable
Traffic Injuries and Fatalities	Maintaining
Households With Internet Access	Increasing
Change in Total Population	Increasing
Change in Population by Age/Gender	Not Applicable
People 65 or Older Living Alone	Decreasing
People with Disabilities	Increasing
Households by Type	Not Applicable
Single-Parent Families by Gender	Not Applicable
Single-Parent Families by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Change in Population by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Foreign-Born Population	Increasing
Language Diversity	Increasing
Change in Total Jobs	Increasing
Change in Jobs by Sector	Not Applicable
Change in Average Salary	Increasing
Change in Average Salary by Sector	Not Applicable
Average Salary by Sector	Not Applicable
Median Earnings by Occupation by Gender	Not Applicable
People Entering/Leaving County for Work	Not Applicable
Employer Size	Not Applicable
Self-Employment Revenue	Maintaining
Unemployment Rate	Increasing
Unemployment Rate by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Prekindergarten Participation	Not Applicable
Female Enrollment in School	Not Applicable
Chronically Absent Students	Increasing
Per-Student Spending	Maintaining
Bullying	Maintaining
Student Performance on Grade 3 Reading	Not Applicable
Student Performance on Grade 8 Math by Student Group	Not Applicable
Student Performance on Grade 10 English Language Arts	Not Applicable
Student Performance on Grade 10 Math	Not Applicable
High School Cohort Graduation Rate	Increasing
High School Cohort Graduation Rate by Student Group	Not Applicable
Education Levels of Adults	Not Applicable
Bachelor's Degree or Higher by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Income in Relation to Poverty Level	Not Applicable
People Living in Poverty by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Median Household Income	Maintaining
Median Household Income by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Median Household Income by Household Type	Not Applicable
Living Wage Rate by Household Type	Not Applicable
Households Receiving Temporary Assistance	Maintaining
Households Receiving Federal Food Assistance	Increasing
Participation in Food Assistance by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Earned Income Tax Credit Participation	Maintaining
Economically Disadvantaged Students	Increasing
Median Home Value	Maintaining
Housing Affordability for Homeowners	Increasing
Housing Affordability for Renters	Increasing
Homeownership Rates	Maintaining
Homeownership Rates by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Homeless Persons	Increasing
People Without Health Insurance	Decreasing
Medical Care Expenses	Maintaining
Prevalence of Children with Asthma	Maintaining
Prevalence of Overweight Children	Decreasing
Prevalence of Overweight Adults	Not Applicable
Diabetes Incidence	Decreasing
Chronic Disease Among Older Adults	Increasing
Cancer Incidence	Decreasing
Cancer Mortality Rate	Decreasing
Heart Disease Mortality Rate	Decreasing
Mortality Rate	Decreasing
People who Smoke	Not Applicable
Use of Illegal Drugs	Not Applicable
Youth Use of Illegal Drugs	Not Applicable
Substance Abuse Treatment Admissions	Not Applicable
Drug Overdose Mortality Rate	Increasing
Prevalence of Mental Illness	Maintaining
Suicide Rate	Maintaining