9.8.23 – Daily Advertiser
The average worker in Louisiana made nearly $100 more a week in the first three months of 2023 than they did at the same point last year, data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows, though Louisiana still ranks near the bottom for wages.
Louisiana’s average weekly wage was about $1,150, which ranks 40th among all states and the District of Columbia, the data shows. But Louisiana was among the top 20 states for wage growth between the first quarter of 2022 and the first quarter of 2023, with the average weekly pay rising by $96.
The $96 average increase ranked 17th among all states, the data shows, and several parishes greatly outpaced that growth. Three parishes ranked in the top 20 for wage increase in that span, and one parish ranked in the top 20 for average weekly wage in the first quarter of 2023.
Which parishes saw the largest wage increases?
West Feliciana Parish saw the largest increase in average weekly wage between the beginning of 2022 and the first three months of 2023 among Louisiana’s parishes with $378, ranking eighth among all counties in the U.S.
Cameron Parish saw an increase of $328 a week on average, ranking 16th overall in the U.S. St. John the Baptist Parish was close behind with an increase of $319, ranking 17th among all counties.
There was a fairly significant gap between the top three parishes for growth in the course of the year and the next two parishes in the top five. St. James Parish ranked fourth in the state with a $176 increase, while DeSoto Parish had a gain of $174.
Which parishes saw pay fall or saw the smallest increases?
Only one parish in Louisiana saw its average weekly wage fall between the first three months of 2022 and the quarter of 2023. West Carroll Parish saw its average pay decline by about $34 a week over that period, the data shows.
St. Helena Parish had the smallest increase in that span, adding about $13 a week on average. Pointe Coupee Parish had an increase of $15 a week over the same period.
Madison Parish had the third-smallest gain with $29, followed by Allen Parish’s increase of $30 on average.
Which parishes have the highest and lowest wages overall?
Cameron Parish had the highest average weekly wage in Louisiana with $2,721, which ranked 12th among all counties in the U.S. No other parish ranked in the top 50 overall.
St. Charles Parish had the second-highest average weekly wage in the state with $1,834, followed by West Feliciana Parish with $1,679. Iberville Parish had the fourth-highest average wage in the state with $1,620, then St. James Parish with $1,533.
The data shows that workers in unknown or undetermined parts of the state had an average wage of $1,860 per week.
Madison Parish had the lowest average weekly wage with $679, then Franklin Parish with a wage of $690. Caldwell Parish had an average weekly wage of $721, the third-lowest in the state.
Catahoula Parish had the fourth-lowest average weekly wage in Louisiana with $733, then Avoyelles Parish with an average of $734 a week.