Memphis’ Job Engine Is Still Centered in Shelby County. The Question Is How Much Its Neighbors Can Share the Cycle.

Memphis is often described as a logistics hub, but the employment math behind the metro is more concentrated than that label implies. Recent labor-market data show just how dominant Shelby County remains in jobs and pay — and how small, but growing, the surrounding counties still are by comparison.

Shelby County is still the economic center of gravity

As of 2024, Shelby County, Tennessee recorded an annual average of 482,470 covered jobs under the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW).¹ That figure has drifted down modestly from 493,623 in 2022 and 486,615 in 2023, but it still represents the overwhelming majority of covered employment in the multi-county area around Memphis.

Wages in Shelby County also sit at the high end of the regional range. The county’s average weekly wage reached $1,375 in 2024, up from $1,291 in 2022 and $1,349 in 2023.² On an annualized basis, that weekly pay level is materially higher than the neighboring Mississippi and Arkansas counties in this dataset, and higher than the smaller Tennessee counties immediately outside the city.

On the business-formation side, Shelby County posted 24,468 business establishments in 2024, up from 23,518 in 2022 and 24,375 in 2023.³ That base of nearly 25,000 employers is the platform on which any next cycle of local growth has to build.

What the ring counties look like today

Surrounding Shelby, each adjacent county is playing a different role — but all from far smaller starting employment bases and, in most cases, lower average wages.

Mississippi side: DeSoto, Marshall, Tunica

• DeSoto County, Mississippi had 72,666 covered jobs in 2024, up from 70,216 in 2022 and 71,103 in 2023.⁴ The county recorded 3,754 business establishments in 2024, up from 3,450 in 2022 and 3,623 in 2023,⁵ and an average weekly wage of $879 in 2024 (824 in 2022; 855 in 2023).⁶
• Marshall County, Mississippi is smaller but growing: 11,291 jobs in 2024 (10,660 in 2022; 11,225 in 2023),⁷ with 566 establishments in 2024, up from 511 in 2022 and 538 in 2023.⁸ Its average weekly wage was $935 in 2024, up from 865 in 2022 and 903 in 2023.⁹
• Tunica County, Mississippi recorded 5,799 jobs in 2024 (5,730 in 2022; 5,995 in 2023),¹⁰ with 270 establishments in 2024 (259 in 2022; 269 in 2023).¹¹ Average weekly wages there were $802 in 2024 (778 in 2022; 809 in 2023).¹²

Across these Mississippi counties, the data show incremental gains in employer counts and employment. Wages remain below Shelby County’s level, with DeSoto roughly 36% under Shelby’s 2024 weekly average, and Tunica and Marshall below both Shelby and DeSoto. Those differentials may matter for where certain employers choose to locate, but the evidence here only establishes current gaps, not why they exist.

Tennessee edge: Fayette and Tipton

• Fayette County, Tennessee posted 8,093 jobs in 2024, essentially flat versus 8,162 in 2022 and 8,085 in 2023.¹³ The number of business establishments rose to 823 in 2024 (724 in 2022; 785 in 2023),¹⁴ while the average weekly wage climbed to $1,098 in 2024, from 1,004 in 2022 and 1,060 in 2023.¹⁵
• Tipton County, Tennessee had 11,848 jobs in 2024, down from 12,360 in 2022 and 12,061 in 2023.¹⁶ Business establishments nonetheless increased to 962 in 2024, from 897 in 2022 and 934 in 2023.¹⁷ The county’s average weekly wage reached $967 in 2024 (895 in 2022; 966 in 2023).¹⁸

These edge Tennessee counties are small in absolute employment terms, but Fayette’s 2024 average weekly wage is approaching Shelby’s level and exceeds DeSoto’s.^2,15 That is a snapshot, not an explanation; the underlying industry mix is not provided in this dataset. The employment counts show no recent surge — Tipton is modestly down on jobs — but the increase in establishments suggests some diversification in employer base.

Arkansas side: Crittenden County

Across the river, Crittenden County, Arkansas recorded 16,197 covered jobs in 2024, up from 15,750 in 2022 and 15,861 in 2023.¹⁹ The county had 1,096 business establishments in 2024 (1,130 in 2022; 1,095 in 2023),²⁰ and its average weekly wage reached $919 in 2024, up from 868 in 2022 and 888 in 2023.²¹

Crittenden’s wage level is below Shelby’s and Fayette’s, but above Tunica’s and below Marshall’s and DeSoto’s.^{2,6,9,12,15,18,21} As with the other counties, the data show gradual wage gains over the last three years, but not the sector mix behind them.

Where the employment base actually sits

Putting these pieces together, Shelby County’s roughly 482,000 covered jobs dwarf the surrounding counties measured here:

• DeSoto, the largest neighbor in this set, has about 72,666 jobs — roughly 15% of Shelby’s covered employment.^1,4
• Crittenden (16,197 jobs), Marshall (11,291), Tipton (11,848), Fayette (8,093) and Tunica (5,799) are each a fraction of Shelby’s base.^{7,10,13,16,19}

The verified evidence supports three clear points about the current landscape:

1. Concentration: Covered employment is heavily concentrated in Shelby County. None of the surrounding counties come close in absolute job counts.
2. Relative wages: Shelby’s average weekly wage is the highest in this group, with Fayette County next, followed by Marshall, DeSoto, Crittenden, Tipton and Tunica in varying order depending on the precise comparison.^{2,6,9,12,15,18,21}
3. Employer growth at the edge: Several smaller counties — DeSoto, Marshall, Fayette, Tipton and Tunica — show increases in the number of business establishments between 2022 and 2024, even where total employment is flat or slightly down.^{5,8,11,14,17,20}

Why this matters for the next cycle

These labor-market snapshots do not, by themselves, prove that Memphis is at a turning point or that a specific corridor is about to boom. They do, however, define the base any future cycle has to build on:

• A large existing job base and high relative wages in Shelby County suggest that major employers and higher-paying roles are still clustered in the core.^1,2,3
• Growing establishment counts in DeSoto, Marshall, Fayette, Tipton, Tunica and Crittenden show that employers are continuing to form or locate in the ring counties, even if the absolute job numbers remain relatively modest.^{5,8,11,14,17,20}

Any scenario in which the Memphis region adds another wave of jobs would have to answer where those jobs land along this core-and-ring pattern. If new employment continues to concentrate in Shelby County, the pressure will fall more heavily on the city’s housing, infrastructure and business districts. If more of it diffuses into DeSoto, Crittenden, Fayette, Tipton, Marshall or Tunica, the story becomes more about cross-border commuting patterns, industrial land on the periphery and how those smaller counties scale services around a relatively low starting base.

The evidence here does not establish which of those paths the region will follow. It does establish the starting conditions: a dominant core county with the majority of jobs and the highest wages, and a set of smaller neighboring counties that are adding employers and, in most cases, nudging wages higher from lower levels. What happens next depends on investment decisions and policy choices that go beyond the scope of the labor data alone.

Sources

1. BLS QCEW: Shelby County, TN covered employment, annual averages 2022–2024 (493,623; 486,615; 482,470).
2. BLS QCEW: Shelby County, TN average weekly wage, annual averages 2022–2024 (1,291; 1,349; 1,375).
3. BLS QCEW: Shelby County, TN business establishments, annual averages 2022–2024 (23,518; 24,375; 24,468).
4. BLS QCEW: DeSoto County, MS covered employment, annual averages 2022–2024 (70,216; 71,103; 72,666).
5. BLS QCEW: DeSoto County, MS business establishments, annual averages 2022–2024 (3,450; 3,623; 3,754).
6. BLS QCEW: DeSoto County, MS average weekly wage, annual averages 2022–2024 (824; 855; 879).
7. BLS QCEW: Marshall County, MS covered employment, annual averages 2022–2024 (10,660; 11,225; 11,291).
8. BLS QCEW: Marshall County, MS business establishments, annual averages 2022–2024 (511; 538; 566).
9. BLS QCEW: Marshall County, MS average weekly wage, annual averages 2022–2024 (865; 903; 935).
10. BLS QCEW: Tunica County, MS covered employment, annual averages 2022–2024 (5,730; 5,995; 5,799).
11. BLS QCEW: Tunica County, MS business establishments, annual averages 2022–2024 (259; 269; 270).
12. BLS QCEW: Tunica County, MS average weekly wage, annual averages 2022–2024 (778; 809; 802).
13. BLS QCEW: Fayette County, TN covered employment, annual averages 2022–2024 (8,162; 8,085; 8,093).
14. BLS QCEW: Fayette County, TN business establishments, annual averages 2022–2024 (724; 785; 823).
15. BLS QCEW: Fayette County, TN average weekly wage, annual averages 2022–2024 (1,004; 1,060; 1,098).
16. BLS QCEW: Tipton County, TN covered employment, annual averages 2022–2024 (12,360; 12,061; 11,848).
17. BLS QCEW: Tipton County, TN business establishments, annual averages 2022–2024 (897; 934; 962).
18. BLS QCEW: Tipton County, TN average weekly wage, annual averages 2022–2024 (895; 966; 967).
19. BLS QCEW: Crittenden County, AR covered employment, annual averages 2022–2024 (15,750; 15,861; 16,197).
20. BLS QCEW: Crittenden County, AR business establishments, annual averages 2022–2024 (1,130; 1,095; 1,096).
21. BLS QCEW: Crittenden County, AR average weekly wage, annual averages 2022–2024 (868; 888; 919).