Coke County reached Texas’ highest average weekly wage for 2026 at $2,408, according to a new study by SmartAsset.com revealed workers in the High Plains and West Texas regions saw the highest five-year wage increases from 2021 to 2026.
Workers in Coke County, with a population of 3,412 people, now average just above $2,000 a week, the state’s highest average weekly wage and double what employees there earned in 2021.
SmartAsset studied 252 of Texas’ 254 counties to determine where workers’ wages have increased the most over the last five years.
According to the study, nine of the 15 counties with the largest five-year wage increases are in the High Plains and West Texas, where smaller payrolls can cause significant fluctuations.
In Coke County, the rise in wages was linked to the Aviator Wind Farm, which started operating in 2020.
In the fourth quarter of 2025, workers in Travis County earned the highest average weekly wage among the state’s 28 largest counties, at $2,061. In comparison, workers in Hidalgo County earned much less, averaging $884 per week.
Only six of the 28 counties had wages higher than the national average of $1,569 per week.
