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Union County wage growth among nation’s best
March 19, 2012
Wage earners in one Central Ohio county saw their paychecks grow at one of the fastest annual rates in the nation dating back to 1980.
Union County wage earners had a 4.76 percent annual growth rate in their paychecks from 1980 to 2010, according to an On Numbers analysis of numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis U.S. Bureau of Economic AnalysisLatest from The Business JournalsFollow this company . That means that the average wage per job in the county grew from $13,339 in 1980 to $53,741 in 2010, a growth rate that ranks it 49th among the nation’s 1,000 biggest counties.
On Numbers did not adjust wages for inflation, so the annual rate of change reflects both natural growth and the rise in the cost of living.
Union County was, by far, the best-ranked Ohio county in the analysis. The rates of wage growth in Franklin and Delaware counties, however, were among the best in the state.
Between 1980 and 2010, the average wage per job in Delaware County increased from $12,503 to $48,048, about 4.59 percent a year. In Franklin County, wages grew from $14,044 in 1980 to $46,442 in 2010, a 4.07 percent increase per year.
In 1980, Franklin County’s average wage ranked it 19th in the state, but as of 2010, it had improved its standing to sixth among all Ohio counties. Union County – 30 miles northwest of downtown Columbus – is home to Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. and Honda’s Honda U.S. manufacturing headquarters. It had the highest wages in 2010 among the 50 Ohio counties ranked in the analysis.
Click here to see the full On Numbers analysis, along with a sortable database of the 1,000 largest counties in the country.
Rick Rouan is Web coordinator for Business First.
