PORTLAND, Ore — Wheeler County in central Oregon is 1,700 square miles but has only 284 jobs, and someone who holds one of them brings in just over $600 a week, or about $31,000 a year.
By contrast, the counties that make up the Portland metro area are home to hundreds of thousands of jobs that pay on average about twice as much.
The Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics reported data on all 36 of Oregon's counties and their employment and average weekly pay.
SLIDESHOW: Weekly average pay by county
The numbers illustrate the contrast between the state's populous west side and the sparsely populated land east of the Willamette Valley. But wages do not always correspond with geography. Two of the state's least populated counties are among the 10 counties with the highest average pay. But overall, the places where the jobs are also where the paychecks are the highest.
Using the BLS data, which cover the fourth quarter of 2018, we ranked Oregon's counties in order of their average weekly wages. Click through the slideshow to see the complete list.
The Portland Business Journal is a KGW News partner.
