Pay grew 1.9% in Bristol County and 0.6% in Plymouth County early this year, behind the state's 4.8%, federal figures show

SOUTH COAST The average job in Bristol County paid $1,326 a week in the first three months of 2026, up 1.9% from a year earlier, and the average job in Plymouth County paid $1,443, up 0.6%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' newest county count of jobs and pay. Across Massachusetts the average rose 4.8% to $2,201 a week, and nationwide it rose 3.9% to $1,654.

Plymouth County's gain was the smallest of the state's nine large counties and ranked 354th among the 376 largest counties in the country, the bureau's Sept. 4 release shows, while Bristol County's ranked 301st. Both counties also had fewer jobs in March than a year earlier: employment fell 0.8% in Bristol County and 2.0% in Plymouth County, the largest drop among Massachusetts' large counties.

Prices kept climbing over the same months. From March 2025 to March 2026, the bureau's consumer price index rose 3.3% for the nation and 2.0% for the Boston area. Both counties' average pay gains trailed the national price rise, and Plymouth County's also fell well short of the Boston-area rise.

Average weekly wage in the first quarter of 2026 and jobs in March 2026, with the change from a year earlier, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Area	Average weekly wage	Change in pay	Jobs in March	Change in jobs
Bristol County	$1,326	+1.9%	220,596	-0.8%
Plymouth County	$1,443	+0.6%	192,096	-2.0%
Massachusetts	$2,201	+4.8%	3,552,946	-0.9%
United States	$1,654	+3.9%	154,771,941	+0.1%

How far behind the state

Bristol County's average weekly wage was $328 below the national average and $875 below the state's. Plymouth County's was $211 below the national average and $758 below the state's. Only three of Massachusetts' nine large counties paid more than the national average: Suffolk, at $3,340 a week, Middlesex, at $2,568, and Norfolk, at $1,819. Suffolk also had the largest gain, 7.5%.

For all of 2025, the average job paid $66,851 in Bristol County and $72,763 in Plymouth County, the bureau's annual county figures show.

Employment fell in all nine large Massachusetts counties from March 2025 to March 2026. Statewide it fell 0.9%, while the national count rose 0.1%. Bristol County had 220,596 jobs at 18,099 establishments in March, and Plymouth County had 192,096 jobs at 17,190.

What jobs pay here

The county files break the totals down by industry. In Bristol County, health care and social assistance had 43,292 jobs in March, more than any other private industry with published figures, and they paid an average of $1,207 a week in the quarter. Retail had 30,213 jobs at $808 a week, manufacturing had 22,040 at $2,015, and accommodation and food services, the restaurant and hotel category, had 20,522 at $524. Local government had 23,410 jobs at $1,384 a week, and 16,389 of them were in education.

In Plymouth County, health care and social assistance had 35,755 jobs at $1,196 a week, retail had 24,948 at $885, accommodation and food services had 18,548 at $582 and construction had 14,343 at $1,838. Local government had 21,887 jobs at $1,432 a week, with 15,393 of them in education.

The averages include part-time workers and count bonuses and tips as pay. The bureau says the balance of full-time and part-time workers, along with how many people hold high-paying and low-paying jobs, moves the numbers, so an average can also rise or fall when the mix of jobs changes.

About the count

The Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages is compiled from the quarterly reports employers file with state unemployment insurance agencies, and it covers workers under state and federal unemployment insurance. The bureau figures the average weekly wage by dividing a quarter's total wages by the average number of jobs in its three months, then by 13 weeks. It calls the first-quarter 2026 figures preliminary and adjusts its percent changes for county reclassifications that are not economic.

The bureau's next county release, covering April through June, is scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 2.

SC360 reported September unemployment rates for the region in its Oct. 29 story on New Bedford and Fall River jobless rates.

Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.