People living in Delaware have reason to be cheerful this year. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Delaware recorded the greatest growth in hourly earnings between July 2016 and July 2017. Average hourly earnings climbed from $23.85 to $26.64, an increase of 11.7 percent.

No U.S. states experienced a drop in hourly earnings while Delaware was the only one posting an increase higher than 10 percent. Only three other states managed to pass the six percent mark - Georgia (7.5 percent), Missouri (7.2 percent), and Arizona (6.9 percent). They were joined by the District of Columbia which saw its average hourly wages go up 6.9 percent. It has the highest hourly wages in the country at $41.03, quite a distance ahead of Massachusetts' $31.96.