Erick Dschaak is among a relatively new breed in Slope County: He's young, single and he's got money to burn.

Dschaak, 19, laughs about supplying a photo and phone number for a story about Slope County, which has just more than 700 people, but still ranks second for highest annual average wages in North Dakota for 2007.

Slope County just showed up in the top six counties last year, and now bumped Mercer County in Coal Country out of second place into third. Oliver County ranked first and has for 15 years, according to Job Service North Dakota, which supplies the annual data.

The numbers for Slope County get a little skewed because the base population is so small, a phenomenon that's also true for Oliver County.

Slope County - smallest county population in the state - has an estimated 713 people, and Oliver County has 1,800. The only other two counties between them are Billings and Golden Valley.

Small, or not, the relatively new wealth in Slope County is changing life for many who live there.

Dschaak, of Marmarth, said he's earning $28 an hour, more than $2,000 every two weeks, and finds himself falling into a spending trap.

"I think, 'I can spend this check because I'll get another one just like it in two weeks,'" he said. He's got a fairly new pickup, a motorcycle and he's working on buying himself a house.

"I'm spending it just as fast as I'm making it," Dschaak said. Still, he says, he's not as bad as some guys, who can't afford to buy dinner out four days after pay day.

He said he'll roughneck another season on the rigs and then concentrate on firefighting training. He's the fire chief in Marmarth, now.

His mom, Hailey Dschaak, also of Marmarth, said the situation can add up to a double tight spot for some young people, because they're doing dangerous work with enough time off and money to spend between seven 12-hour shifts to compromise their own situation.

Many, though, are from Marmarth-area ranches or from oil field families and bring experience to the job, she said.

Patti Perry, who's Erick Dschaak's grandmother and also Slope County development director, said she doesn't see a lot of new people moving in. She sees more people like her grandson, "staying and making a living. These are kids who grew up here and want to stay."

Perry said the good news is that many jobs are associated with the production of oil, not the exploration, making them more stable and long-term.

Job Service says the average annual wage in Slope County was $48,644 last year. That's only $300 less than top-ranked Oliver's annual average and $2,000 more than Mercer's. The statewide average for all counties is $33,000, a boost of $2,000 from 2006.

Williams County - another oil producing county - emerged in the top six income counties, said Job Service. Others like Dunn, Mountrail and McKenzie could see their annual wage profile improve as the oil boom becomes broader and more entrenched in the employment economy.

For now, three Coal Country counties were in the top six for annual average income. Rounding out the top six was Sargent County.