Cuyahoga County had the largest percentage wage growth in Greater Cleveland and Lorain County the largest loss, according to a federal report released Wednesday, charting what workers in large counties make.

People working in Cuyahoga saw their weekly wages increase 2.1% to $1,350 between September 2022 and September 2023, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics report. Workers in Lorain saw their weekly wages decrease 1.5% to $991. Lorain also posted the largest wage decrease in Ohio.

The quarterly report takes a look at wages of public and private sector workers in 360 of the largest counties in the United States. This means that some Greater Cleveland counties aren’t covered in the report. They include Medina, Portage and Geauga counties. Only 14 of Ohio’s 88 counties are included in the report.

With the exception of Stark, Northeast Ohio trailed Cuyahoga in wage growth. Wages were flat in Lake and barely rose in Summit. In Lake, wages remained at $1,053. In Summit, they rose 0.3% to $1,138. 

Wages in Mahoning rose 0.5% to $950. In Stark, they rose 2.3% to $1,007. Stark had the largest percentage wage gain in Northeast Ohio. Greene in southwest Ohio had the largest such gain in the state. There, wages rose 2.5% to $1,362.

The report focuses on workers covered by state unemployment insurance laws, which often exclude many low-wage workers. These laws rarely cover Independent contractors, freelancers and others in the gig economy. The report reflects where people work, not where they live. 

Wages in Lake, Lorain and Mahoning fell below the national trend.

“Among the 360 largest counties, 169 had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages,” the report states. “ In the third quarter of 2023, average weekly wages for the nation increased to $1,334, a 0.1-percent increase over the year.”

Clayton, Georgia had the largest percentage increase. Wages there rose 7.7% to  $1,304. Elkhart, Indiana had the largest decrease. Wages there fell 6% to $1,085.