Among Pennsylvania's 67 counties, Butler County employers offered the 12th highest weekly wages in 2017, according to U.S. Department of Labor statistics released earlier this summer.

The department released numbers for the final quarter of 2018, making available averages for the year. Butler County residents made $965 a week, according to the figures.

Based off rankings of size and population, Butler County is overperforming to some extent. The county ranks 24th in population, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures, and the Census ranks the county at 46th in physical size.

Another set of Census stats offers some explanation: high wages in Cranberry Township. Census estimates for 2016 put the mean household income in Butler Township, for instance, at $72,740. Cranberry's average household income for the same year is recorded at $125,734.

Average annual individual earnings in Butler Township in 2016 were $59,260, according to the census. That figure was $92,688 for Cranberry residents.

Other townships bring down the average. Cherry Township residents, for instance, make an average annual income of $40,294, according to the census, or about $774 a week.

Stan Kosciuszko, president of the Butler County Chamber of Commerce, initially pointed to two factors after hearing the 12th place ranking. He guessed proximity to Allegheny County, which ranks 5th in the state, is a cause, as well as the presence of several company headquarters, particularly in Cranberry Township.

Kosciuszko listed employers such as Butler Health System, Mine Safety Appliances, Alcoa, Westinghouse Electric, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Slippery Rock University and Butler County Community College as likely factors bringing up average wages for the area.

“From a chamber of commerce perspective, it makes me happy to know we have higher wages,” Kosciuszko said.

The downside, he said, comes with lower-paid positions.

“That may make it harder for businesses to find candidates for entry level jobs,” Kosciuszko said. “But, people are probably more prone to pay more for those positions, given that.”

The average weekly pay in all of Pennsylvania was $1,038 in 2017, according to the Department of Labor.