Los Angeles ? For your best shot at a job, consider working in Los Angeles. But if you want a higher wage, try New York City.

A new U.S. Census Bureau report released today shows populous Los Angeles County leads the nation with the highest number of businesses while Manhattan tops the chart with the highest average salary.

The bureau’s 2003 County Business Patterns report analyzes business establishments in more than 1,000 industries on a national, state and local level. The data is used by business planners to study economic activity.

In the report, Los Angeles County had 235,000 businesses, followed by Cook County, Ill., home to Chicago, with 128,000, and New York County, also known as Manhattan, with 103,000.

In 2003, businesses in Los Angeles County hired 3.8 million workers who earned $147 billion. Meanwhile, Cook County had 2.4 million employees who made $102 billion, and Manhattan had 2 million workers with a payroll of $148 billion.

Among the nation’s most populous counties, Manhattan had the highest average annual salary per worker at $73,000, while the lowest was in Riverside County, Calif., east of Los Angeles, at $29,000.