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Newport County is setting the pace in Rhode Island with an average weekly wage of $1,262.

This puts it ahead of Providence County at $1,257; Washington County at $1,187; Kent County at $1,169; and Brisol County at $1,123; despite Newport County having a smaller workforce of 45,409. It’s also not far behind the national average of $1,390 for the second quarter of 2024, according a new report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Providence County’s employment grew by 1.2%, ranking it 98th among the 355 large U.S. counties with available employment change data.

Together, Providence and Kent counties make up 72.6% of Rhode Island’s covered employment. But the job market across the state isn’t uniform. While Providence County saw a 1.2% increase in jobs from June 2023 to June 2024, Kent County experienced a 1.5% decrease.

Newport County has 4,422 covered establishments, employing 45,409.

Looking at the bigger picture, Rhode Island’s average weekly wage of $1,257 puts it at 24th place nationally. The state saw a 2.9% wage increase compared to the previous year.

See the full report here.

Ryan Belmore is the owner and publisher of What's Up Newp. He took over the publication in 2012 and has grown it into a three-time Rhode Island Monthly Best Local News Blog (2018, 2019, 2020). He was named LION Publishers Member of the Year in 2020 and received the Dominique Award from the Arts & Cultural Society of Newport County the same year. He has been awarded grants for investigative and community journalism, and continues to coach and mentor new local news publications nationwide. Ryan...