Sedgwick County’s average wage jumps 5.1 percent in a year

The average wage in Sedgwick County rose 5.1 percent in the first quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The average wage in the county was $909 a week. The size of the increase ranked 38th among 340 counties in the report.

The average wage is figured by dividing the total number of people working by the total amount of wages paid. While employment in Sedgwick County wasn’t up much during the year, by 0.9 percent, the amount of total wages employers paid was up considerably. An average can be skewed upward by large raises for a relatively small number of people.

Other Kansas counties saw similar big increases. Johnson County wages rose 5.3 percent and Wyandotte County grew 5.2 percent. But Shawnee County, home of Topeka, saw an average wage growth of just 1.1 percent.

Sedgwick County average wages still remain below Johnson County, which had an average wage of $1,072 per week. Wyandotte County had wages of $938 and Shawnee County had wages of $808 per week.

Sedgwick County also remained well below the national average of $1,027 per week. The national average wage rose 3.8 percent between the first quarter of 2013 and the first quarter of 2014.

This story was originally published September 18, 2014 at 10:15 AM with the headline "Sedgwick County’s average wage jumps 5.1 percent in a year."