In Whatcom County, these industries pay wages well above the national average
Whatcom County continues to lag urban wages in some categories, but a new report finds some local industries are paying more than national averages.
Whatcom County’s average hourly wage in May 2020 was $25.71, up nearly $1.50 an hour from May 2019, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, Whatcom’s hourly average wage in 2020 was 5% less than the U.S. average of $27.07.
Industries that are paying well above the national average in Whatcom County include the fishing, farming and forestry sector. The average hourly salary for those jobs in Whatcom County is $22.56, which is 41% percent higher than the national average of $16.02 for that occupation. Commercial fishing, with access to a wide area from California to Alaska, has traditionally driven wages higher than the national average in the category.
Other Whatcom County industries that are above the national average include protective services (29% above the national average), food prep (up 23%) and construction (up 14%).
The protective services category includes border patrol agents, who tend to be paid a higher wage than many other positions in that category. Construction is also generally higher in Whatcom because of the types of construction jobs available: construction work at oil refineries tends to pay a higher wage than general labor positions, for example.
Jobs that pay well below the national average in that industry include legal (26% below the national average) and computers (17% below the national average).
Overall Whatcom wages still lag
In the last 10 years, Whatcom County’s hourly wage has usually been 5% to 8% below the national average, with the gap being even larger compared to the Seattle area.
More dense urban areas such as Seattle tend to have wages rise higher because there is a large base of higher wages already in place, said James McCafferty, co-director at the Center for Economic and Business Research at Western Washington University. Having that base of higher-income workers makes it easier for places like coffee shops to raise wages and prices.
He expects wages to continue to rise at a faster rate in Seattle compared to Bellingham coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic and current worker shortages.
McCafferty said places like Bellingham could see a better-than-average boost from corporate initiatives, such as Bank of America’s plan to set its minimum wage at $25 an hour by 2025. That could boost wages throughout the industry in places such as Bellingham as companies try to hold on to valued employees.
