The top paying counties in New York State

When we think of New York State, it’s hard to avoid jumping straight to the Big Apple, and for many of us, that’s where we might assume we’d find the highest earners.

We recently analyzed over 8 million job ads advertised on Adzuna in January 2024, looking into the average salary advertised in each county to reveal the counties and states offering jobseekers the biggest paycheques.

Our data shows that Chenango County is in fact the county where you’ll find the highest salary on average in the New York State. Read on to find out the best paying counties in New York State!

Top 10 highest-paying counties in New York State

Chenango County (Norwich)

Average advertised salary: $126,843

Chenango County’s emergence as the county with the highest salary offerings in New York may surprise some, given the high cost of living in Manhattan and the assumption that New York City would have an equally high salary.

Chenango’s high salaries come from professionals such as doctors, surgeons, and finance roles, but there are many low-income roles in the area too (such as hospitality).

 

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New York County (Manhattan)

Average advertised salary: $97,068

What many would have assumed as top of the list, Manhattan has an average salary of a little below $100k. There are plenty of high-paying opportunities, but the busy metropolis also requires many lower-paid jobseekers.

Thousands of sales, hospitality catering, and admin roles are advertised in the Big Apple.

Kings County (Brooklyn)

Average advertised salary: $92,361

Since 2009, the number of businesses in Brooklyn has increased by 32% and business sales are up 48%. It’s a place where the private sector is thriving, and with that, residents can expect high average salaries.

Schenectady County

Average advertised salary: $90,476

Back out in the sticks, Schenectady may not scream high salaries, but Schenectady City is home to two prominent businesses, the Edison Electric Company (now known as General Electric), and the American Locomotive Company (ALCO). Both of these require highly skilled professionals including engineers, electricians, and project managers.

Broome County

Average advertised salary: $89,987

Healthcare and nursing jobs are in high demand in Broome County, as well as legal and teaching jobs. In areas where accessing services are higher, professionals in certain professions such as medicine can demand higher premiums than they might find in metropolitan areas.

Queens County (Queens)

Average advertised salary: $86,220

Queens has one of the most ethnically diverse urban areas in the USA with 47.5% of residents born outside the US.

With two airports, there’s a high demand for employees in the travel industry, including skilled professionals in engineering and air traffic control. There are also thousands of healthcare and nursing roles available.

Rockland County

Average advertised salary: $85,887

Rockland is just 25 miles northwest of NYC, that’s home to celebrities including Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson. It’s another area that shows high demand for healthcare and nursing but is also home to a thriving biotech and life sciences industry. The latter pushes average salaries up with roles in engineering and logistics.

There are also a lot of jobs with the US Navy, the US Navy Reserve, the FBI, and the Army.

 

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Rensselaer County

Average advertised salary: $85,505

Albany Medical Center is by far the largest employer advertising roles in the county and as one of the best places to live in the state of NY, healthcare and nursing professionals can bag themselves a pretty sweet deal.

The county also boasts a growing technology industry as well as industries that you’d expect such as agriculture.

Westchester County (White Plains)

Average advertised salary: $84,683

Westchester County has a significant number of roles in military and public service departments, including the Department of the Treasury.

Private-sector employers are also plentiful throughout the county. Global tech giant IBM has its headquarters in Armonk.

Otsego County

Average advertised salary: $82,828

Otsego County is a manufacturing hub with a wide variety of products, including communications equipment and pharmaceuticals manufactured in the area. It’s also a county with a high-achieving agribusiness, farming, and manufacturing base.

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