So, which Californians got 6.5% raises last year?
One of my recent columns detailed federal employment statistics
that showed the average weekly wage statewide jumped by $114 to $1,872 in 2024’s fourth quarter compared with 12 months earlier. By the way, that was the fifth-largest pay hike among the states and topped the nation’s 5% rise to $1,507.
Some of my readers wondered who’s getting these big pay hikes.
First, remember that an economic yardstick usually tells you the typical outcome. That’s useful for watching widespread business patterns across industries or geographies.
Your unique personal experience, however, is likely different than what any index might show. And this wage yardstick, built as an average, can have some dramatic swings.
Still, when my trusty spreadsheet looked into the
29 large California counties that were tracked by these federal job stats
, geographic clues emerged about who was getting the bigger pay hikes.
Eight counties had weekly wage increases last year above or just near the 6.5% statewide average. This group, primarily located around the Bay Area, was compared with the eight counties with the most disappointing pay patterns, a more geographically diverse group.
Those big-raise counties averaged 12.6% wage jumps in the past year, nearly five times greater than the 2.6% increases where pay hikes were slimmest. Looking at a map, you can guess that Silicon Valley’s mercurial compensation habits are part of this divided paycheck performance.
The big-raise counties also are larger job markets, with 3.7 million workers vs. 2.3 million where raises were less generous. But curiously, job counts dropped in the big-raise counties, off 0.2% in the year, while increasing 0.8% in the bottom eight.
The technology industry’s recent travails, again, are a likely factor behind this divergence. As Silicon Valley trimmed its collective payrolls, tech bosses are still willing to pay up for key talent. Elsewhere in the state, bosses focused on adding more “affordable” staff.
Why? Consider the salary chasm on its own.
The big-raise counties’ average weekly wage is $3,000 vs. $1,345 for low-raise spots. Highly compensated workers were clearly the raise winners.
And another hint was which type of boss was more generous – those who operate larger businesses. Big-raise counties averaged 12 workers per employment establishment compared with 9.5 jobs in shops where raises were less robust.
So, the wage stats strongly suggest that late 2024’s most significant raises went to the well-paid folks who remain employed at larger workplaces located in or near the Bay Area.
And in an era with pesky inflation headaches, California’s varied wage gains – especially, the bigger raises for the bigger paychecks – are one of the forces nudging up economic anxieties statewide.
Here are the eight counties with the biggest raises in average weekly wages in the 12 months ending in 2024’s fourth quarter, ranked by pay increases …
Santa Clara:
15% rise in a year – No. 1 nationally of 363 U.S. markets tracked – to $4,236 a week. Its 1.1 million workers were up 0.4% over 12 months.
Yolo:
12% rise – No. 6 nationally – to $1,554 for 108,600 workers, off 0.5%.
San Francisco:
10.4% rise – No. 8 nationally – to $3,521 for 706,200 workers, off 1.2%.
San Mateo:
7.7% rise to $3,588 for 413,800 workers, off 0.1%.
Santa Barbara:
7% rise to $1,410 for 209,800 workers, up 1.2%.
San Joaquin:
6.5% rise to $1,282 for 289,600 workers, up 0.9%.
Alameda:
6.4% rise to $1,927 for 787,100 workers, off 0.8%.
Santa Cruz:
6.3% rise to $1,357 for 101,200 workers, up 0.3%.
Here is where bosses were the least generous, ranked by 12-month change in average weekly wage …
San Luis Obispo:
The 1% dip to $1,238 a week was among only seven declines of the 363 U.S. counties tracked. Its 119,100 workers were flat during the 12 months.
Contra Costa:
1.9% rise to $1,680 for 375,400 – flat in a year.
Marin:
2.1% rise to $1,853 for 111,300 workers, up 0.3%
Sonoma:
2.3% rise to $1,452 for 205,700 workers, off 0.2%
Placer:
2.9% rise to $1,451 for 187,100 workers, up 0.8%
Riverside:
3% rise to $1,177 for 843,900 workers, up 1.9%
Napa:
3.5% rise to $1,446 for 75,800 workers, up 0.2%
Fresno:
3.7% rise to $1,165 for 423,600 workers, up 0.3%
Contemplate four other large California county job markets, ranked by pay hikes …
San Diego:
5.1% rise to $1,667 for 1.55 million workers – flat in a year.
San Bernardino:
5.1% rise to $1,251 for 864,300 workers, up 0.9%
Orange:
4.9% rise to $1,627 for 1.66 million workers. No job change calculated.
Los Angeles:
4.3% rise to $1,744 for 4.57 million workers, up 0.4%.
Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at
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