By my math, California has enjoyed the nation’s fourth-most lucrative economic recovery when it comes to the number and size of paychecks.

We are well past the point in this long-running upswing of the business cycle to be just counting jobs. Pay matters, too. So I filled my trusty spreadsheet with some favorite job-market figures — quarterly data derived from unemployment insurance filings — to see how California workers have fared since the Great Recession ended, comparing job markets across the U.S. between the end of 2010 and 2018.

This history lesson showed me that not only were employers statewide adding jobs at a nation-leading pace, but California workers’ pay levels also rose at a rate near the top of the pack, too.

I’m not simply crafting another state vs. state ranking with the spreadsheet. Ponder all the new opportunities created — not to mention, cash — and you’ll better understand why the state’s freeways are jammed — more commuters means highway use is up 12% in eight years — with numerous new cars, no less — vehicle sales rose 80% from 2010. You can see how dining out became so popular — restaurant jobs statewide grew by 36%.

And, yes, this new wealth is a key reason why the median selling price of a California single-family home rose 87% since the recession’s end.

Let me explain my paycheck math …

For starters, please note California added 3 million jobs in these eight years, tops in the nation. Next was Texas at 2.17 million, then Florida at 1.64 million. You might say California’s so big that’s to be expected. But even on a proportional basis, California did well: Its 21% growth in 2010-18 ranked No. 8 nationally and easily bested the nation’s 13% pace.

The fastest hiring rate was in Utah at 29%, then Nevada at 25% and Colorado at 23%. Worst was in Wyoming, Alaska and West Virginia with under 1% growth.

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Did these new jobs pay well? Last year, California’s average weekly wage was $1,392 — third-highest nationally and well above the nation’s $1,140. In 2010, the state ranked No. 6 for pay. Biggest paychecks in 2018 came in Massachusetts at $1,457 then New York at $1,445. Lowest-paying states was Mississippi at $793, then Arkansas at $869 and South Dakota at $885.

California excelled at the relative size of pay hikes, too, with a 23% jump over eight years ranking No. 5 and outpacing the nation’s 19%. Highest was Washington at 32%, then North Dakota at 31% and South Dakota at 24%. Worst? Connecticut at 9%, then Delaware and New Mexico at 11%.

When you combine job growth and pay increases you find California employers increased the size of paychecks at an annual rate of $416 billion over eight years. That windfall was more than the next two states — Texas and New York — combined.

And California wages looked solid, percentage-wise, too, ranking fourth-best nationally — at 49% — for payroll expansion. Again, Washington led the nation with a 59% payroll surge followed by Utah at 52% and North Dakota at 50%. And the states with the least-lucrative rebounds? Alaska (up 12%), Wyoming (13%) and Connecticut (15%).

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I’m not saying that California’s lucrative rebound from the business abyss was perfect or helped enough residents. But California’s outperformance in terms of hiring and pay helped replenish many household checkbooks badly stung by a nasty economic debacle. (How bad? In 2010, statewide unemployment ran 12.2% — one-in-eight workers — nearly triple’s today’s joblessness!)

Yes, the state could — and should — do better to broaden the wealth creation. It should also be better prepared for the economic swings that occur, both up and down. But on a national scale, few states in the latest economic rebound did better when it comes to paychecks.