Employers in Wayne County spent the most for public employee salaries in Michigan in 2018, paying $1,320,456,824 total.
The data was gathered by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. The Mackinac Center for Public Policy is a nonprofit research and educational institute.
Total public-employee salaries by county in 2018
| Rank | County | Employee count | Amount spent |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wayne County | 31,679 | $1,320,456,824 |
| 2 | Oakland County | 26,278 | $1,126,799,319 |
| 3 | Macomb County | 18,779 | $768,358,107 |
| 4 | Kent County | 17,068 | $611,561,950 |
| 5 | Genesee County | 8,653 | $344,983,771 |
| 6 | Washtenaw County | 8,777 | $331,359,161 |
| 7 | Ingham County | 7,588 | $265,961,219 |
| 8 | Ottawa County | 7,217 | $259,020,073 |
| 9 | Kalamazoo County | 7,490 | $244,428,827 |
| 10 | Muskegon County | 4,517 | $158,725,589 |
| 11 | St. Clair County | 4,169 | $154,139,449 |
| 12 | Livingston County | 3,856 | $147,215,402 |
| 13 | Jackson County | 3,758 | $146,245,788 |
| 14 | Saginaw County | 4,229 | $144,206,263 |
| 15 | Monroe County | 4,349 | $140,198,152 |
| 16 | Berrien County | 3,896 | $139,059,018 |
| 17 | Calhoun County | 3,822 | $132,069,013 |
| 18 | Bay County | 3,307 | $110,972,635 |
| 19 | Grand Traverse County | 3,027 | $102,099,553 |
| 20 | Allegan County | 2,918 | $97,262,548 |
| 21 | Eaton County | 2,824 | $96,085,838 |
| 22 | Van Buren County | 2,804 | $93,606,305 |
| 23 | Lenawee County | 2,550 | $89,142,650 |
| 24 | Midland County | 1,851 | $67,199,345 |
| 25 | Shiawassee County | 1,823 | $63,990,998 |
| 26 | Lapeer County | 1,686 | $60,558,591 |
| 27 | Montcalm County | 1,781 | $58,796,864 |
| 28 | St. Joseph County | 1,871 | $57,168,371 |
| 29 | Clinton County | 1,544 | $55,640,370 |
| 30 | Marquette County | 1,645 | $53,440,392 |
| 31 | Mecosta County | 1,182 | $48,195,189 |
| 32 | Tuscola County | 1,416 | $47,199,733 |
| 33 | Isabella County | 1,294 | $47,089,945 |
| 34 | Ionia County | 1,311 | $45,996,670 |
| 35 | Newaygo County | 1,359 | $45,200,636 |
| 36 | Barry County | 1,331 | $44,374,169 |
| 37 | Gratiot County | 1,133 | $40,178,106 |
| 38 | Branch County | 1,241 | $38,717,264 |
| 39 | Cass County | 1,218 | $38,357,801 |
| 40 | Clare County | 1,104 | $36,341,911 |
| 41 | Houghton County | 951 | $35,792,078 |
| 42 | Wexford County | 969 | $32,788,652 |
| 43 | Mason County | 813 | $32,415,842 |
| 44 | Sanilac County | 859 | $32,106,127 |
| 45 | Delta County | 1,091 | $31,877,412 |
| 46 | Hillsdale County | 1,026 | $31,673,051 |
| 47 | Chippewa County | 864 | $30,741,311 |
| 48 | Huron County | 846 | $30,589,252 |
| 49 | Charlevoix County | 685 | $28,627,153 |
| 50 | Emmet County | 620 | $27,571,666 |
| 51 | Alpena County | 849 | $24,972,592 |
| 52 | Iosco County | 697 | $23,697,445 |
| 53 | Roscommon County | 730 | $22,304,911 |
| 54 | Dickinson County | 650 | $21,740,996 |
| 55 | Otsego County | 518 | $18,768,925 |
| 56 | Osceola County | 541 | $18,355,505 |
| 57 | Cheboygan County | 498 | $18,279,222 |
| 58 | Menominee County | 625 | $17,209,056 |
| 59 | Oceana County | 546 | $17,062,933 |
| 60 | Manistee County | 510 | $15,682,035 |
| 61 | Antrim County | 519 | $14,861,906 |
| 62 | Leelanau County | 439 | $13,815,173 |
| 63 | Gladwin County | 344 | $12,388,880 |
| 64 | Gogebic County | 443 | $12,172,992 |
| 65 | Missaukee County | 295 | $10,532,337 |
| 66 | Benzie County | 258 | $9,838,206 |
| 67 | Arenac County | 300 | $9,544,575 |
| 68 | Kalkaska County | 290 | $9,198,093 |
| 69 | Ogemaw County | 287 | $9,158,932 |
| 70 | Crawford County | 199 | $8,431,012 |
| 71 | Mackinac County | 289 | $8,331,226 |
| 72 | Presque Isle County | 220 | $6,964,501 |
| 73 | Iron County | 188 | $6,337,348 |
| 74 | Alger County | 235 | $6,135,930 |
| 75 | Baraga County | 198 | $5,651,325 |
| 76 | Ontonagon County | 181 | $5,221,482 |
| 77 | Oscoda County | 153 | $4,167,559 |
| 78 | Alcona County | 93 | $3,571,884 |
| 79 | Schoolcraft County | 102 | $3,515,582 |
| 80 | Lake County | 85 | $3,311,636 |
| 81 | Montmorency County | 118 | $3,254,934 |
| 82 | Luce County | 77 | $2,764,591 |
| 83 | Caledonia County | 91 | $1,776,317 |
| 84 | Keweenaw County | 8 | $89,444 |

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