Data / Rankings / Covered employment (QCEW) / Counties in Alabama

Counties in Alabama by covered employment (QCEW)

Jefferson County had the highest covered employment (QCEW) of 67 counties in 2021, at 347,199 jobs. Coosa County had the lowest, at 1,317 jobs. The median was 10,571 jobs and the figure for Alabama was 1,965,189 jobs. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest347,199Jefferson County
Lowest1,317Coosa County
Median10,57167 counties
Alabama1,965,189History

Map of counties, 2021

Autauga County: 11,123 jobsBaldwin County: 76,546 jobsBarbour County: 7,719 jobsBibb County: 4,756 jobsBlount County: 8,496 jobsBullock County: 2,812 jobsButler County: 6,421 jobsCalhoun County: 43,520 jobsChambers County: 8,364 jobsCherokee County: 5,202 jobsChilton County: 9,070 jobsChoctaw County: 3,552 jobsClarke County: 8,063 jobsClay County: 4,243 jobsCleburne County: 2,225 jobsCoffee County: 16,430 jobsColbert County: 23,434 jobsConecuh County: 3,239 jobsCoosa County: 1,317 jobsCovington County: 11,868 jobsCrenshaw County: 3,343 jobsCullman County: 29,111 jobsDale County: 17,324 jobsDallas County: 11,258 jobsDeKalb County: 22,099 jobsElmore County: 19,794 jobsEscambia County: 12,183 jobsEtowah County: 31,692 jobsFayette County: 4,003 jobsFranklin County: 10,701 jobsGeneva County: 5,115 jobsGreene County: 1,793 jobsHale County: 2,532 jobsHenry County: 3,600 jobsHouston County: 48,139 jobsJackson County: 15,026 jobsJefferson County: 347,199 jobsLamar County: 3,324 jobsLauderdale County: 28,908 jobsLawrence County: 4,970 jobsLee County: 59,363 jobsLimestone County: 25,779 jobsLowndes County: 2,165 jobsMacon County: 4,490 jobsMadison County: 210,051 jobsMarengo County: 7,058 jobsMarion County: 10,571 jobsMarshall County: 38,005 jobsMobile County: 169,918 jobsMonroe County: 6,168 jobsMontgomery County: 126,809 jobsMorgan County: 49,574 jobsPerry County: 1,845 jobsPickens County: 3,570 jobsPike County: 14,945 jobsRandolph County: 4,690 jobsRussell County: 13,556 jobsSt. Clair County: 19,273 jobsShelby County: 83,679 jobsSumter County: 2,807 jobsTalladega County: 29,562 jobsTallapoosa County: 12,640 jobsTuscaloosa County: 90,584 jobsWalker County: 17,633 jobsWashington County: 3,432 jobsWilcox County: 2,542 jobsWinston County: 8,099 jobs
  • Under 3,000
  • 3,000 to 5,000
  • 5,000 to 11K
  • 11K to 17K
  • 17K to 38K
  • 38K and over
jobs, 2021. Source: BLS, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 2021

Jefferson County: 347,199 jobsJefferson County347,199Madison County: 210,051 jobsMadison County210,051Mobile County: 169,918 jobsMobile County169,918Montgomery County: 126,809 jobsMontgomery County126,809Tuscaloosa County: 90,584 jobsTuscaloosa County90,584Shelby County: 83,679 jobsShelby County83,679Baldwin County: 76,546 jobsBaldwin County76,546Lee County: 59,363 jobsLee County59,363Morgan County: 49,574 jobsMorgan County49,574Houston County: 48,139 jobsHouston County48,139Calhoun County: 43,520 jobsCalhoun County43,520Marshall County: 38,005 jobsMarshall County38,005Etowah County: 31,692 jobsEtowah County31,692Talladega County: 29,562 jobsTalladega County29,562Cullman County: 29,111 jobsCullman County29,111Lauderdale County: 28,908 jobsLauderdale County28,908Limestone County: 25,779 jobsLimestone County25,779Colbert County: 23,434 jobsColbert County23,434DeKalb County: 22,099 jobsDeKalb County22,099Elmore County: 19,794 jobsElmore County19,794St. Clair County: 19,273 jobsSt. Clair County19,273Walker County: 17,633 jobsWalker County17,633Dale County: 17,324 jobsDale County17,324Coffee County: 16,430 jobsCoffee County16,430Jackson County: 15,026 jobsJackson County15,026Pike County: 14,945 jobsPike County14,945Russell County: 13,556 jobsRussell County13,556Tallapoosa County: 12,640 jobsTallapoosa County12,640Escambia County: 12,183 jobsEscambia County12,183Covington County: 11,868 jobsCovington County11,868Dallas County: 11,258 jobsDallas County11,258Autauga County: 11,123 jobsAutauga County11,123Franklin County: 10,701 jobsFranklin County10,701Marion County: 10,571 jobsMarion County10,571Chilton County: 9,070 jobsChilton County9,070Blount County: 8,496 jobsBlount County8,496Chambers County: 8,364 jobsChambers County8,364Winston County: 8,099 jobsWinston County8,099Clarke County: 8,063 jobsClarke County8,063Barbour County: 7,719 jobsBarbour County7,719Jefferson County: 347,199 jobsJefferson County347,199Madison County: 210,051 jobsMadison County210,051Mobile County: 169,918 jobsMobile County169,918Montgomery County: 126,809 jobsMontgomery County126,809Tuscaloosa County: 90,584 jobsTuscaloosa County90,584Shelby County: 83,679 jobsShelby County83,679Baldwin County: 76,546 jobsBaldwin County76,546Lee County: 59,363 jobsLee County59,363Morgan County: 49,574 jobsMorgan County49,574Houston County: 48,139 jobsHouston County48,139Calhoun County: 43,520 jobsCalhoun County43,520Marshall County: 38,005 jobsMarshall County38,005Etowah County: 31,692 jobsEtowah County31,692Talladega County: 29,562 jobsTalladega County29,562Cullman County: 29,111 jobsCullman County29,111Lauderdale County: 28,908 jobsLauderdale County28,908Limestone County: 25,779 jobsLimestone County25,779Colbert County: 23,434 jobsColbert County23,434DeKalb County: 22,099 jobsDeKalb County22,099Elmore County: 19,794 jobsElmore County19,794St. Clair County: 19,273 jobsSt. Clair County19,273Walker County: 17,633 jobsWalker County17,633Dale County: 17,324 jobsDale County17,324Coffee County: 16,430 jobsCoffee County16,430Jackson County: 15,026 jobsJackson County15,026Pike County: 14,945 jobsPike County14,945Russell County: 13,556 jobsRussell County13,556Tallapoosa County: 12,640 jobsTallapoosa County12,640Escambia County: 12,183 jobsEscambia County12,183Covington County: 11,868 jobsCovington County11,868Dallas County: 11,258 jobsDallas County11,258Autauga County: 11,123 jobsAutauga County11,123Franklin County: 10,701 jobsFranklin County10,701Marion County: 10,571 jobsMarion County10,571Chilton County: 9,070 jobsChilton County9,070Blount County: 8,496 jobsBlount County8,496Chambers County: 8,364 jobsChambers County8,364Winston County: 8,099 jobsWinston County8,099Clarke County: 8,063 jobsClarke County8,063Barbour County: 7,719 jobsBarbour County7,719
jobs. Source: BLS, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2021
jobs		Change on 2020
1Jefferson County347,199+3%
2Madison County210,051+3.7%
3Mobile County169,918+3.4%
4Montgomery County126,809+2%
5Tuscaloosa County90,584+0.6%
6Shelby County83,679+3.1%
7Baldwin County76,546+4.7%
8Lee County59,363+3.5%
9Morgan County49,574+1.1%
10Houston County48,139+1.9%
11Calhoun County43,520+1.7%
12Marshall County38,005+2%
13Etowah County31,692-1.1%
14Talladega County29,562+2.1%
15Cullman County29,111+3.5%
16Lauderdale County28,908+2.2%
17Limestone County25,779+7.3%
18Colbert County23,434+1.2%
19DeKalb County22,099+2.8%
20Elmore County19,794+2.6%
21St. Clair County19,273+2.3%
22Walker County17,633+1.8%
23Dale County17,324+2.4%
24Coffee County16,430+3.3%
25Jackson County15,026+2.9%
26Pike County14,945+4.3%
27Russell County13,556-0.5%
28Tallapoosa County12,640+2.3%
29Escambia County12,183-0.7%
30Covington County11,868+2.4%
31Dallas County11,258-0.5%
32Autauga County11,123+3%
33Franklin County10,701+0.2%
34Marion County10,571+4.1%
35Chilton County9,070+0.7%
36Blount County8,496+1.4%
37Chambers County8,364+1.2%
38Winston County8,099+1%
39Clarke County8,063+2.8%
40Barbour County7,719-2.7%
41Marengo County7,058+1.9%
42Butler County6,421+0.6%
43Monroe County6,168+0.5%
44Cherokee County5,202+5%
45Geneva County5,115+0.5%
46Lawrence County4,970+1.7%
47Bibb County4,756+2.2%
48Randolph County4,690+0.6%
49Macon County4,490+0.2%
50Clay County4,243-0.2%
51Fayette County4,003+2.9%
52Henry County3,600+1.8%
53Pickens County3,570+0.3%
54Choctaw County3,552+1.1%
55Washington County3,432-0.6%
56Crenshaw County3,343-2.4%
57Lamar County3,324+0.1%
58Conecuh County3,239-1.6%
59Bullock County2,812-3.5%
60Sumter County2,807-2.1%
61Wilcox County2,542-5.1%
62Hale County2,532+0.1%
63Cleburne County2,225+5.8%
64Lowndes County2,165-1.2%
65Perry County1,845-3.9%
66Greene County1,793-2.2%
67Coosa County1,317+0.8%

Other periods

About this ranking

Average number of jobs covered by unemployment insurance during the year, all industries, private and government, from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Counted where the job is located, from the reports employers file each quarter; monthly employment counts the jobs in the pay period that includes the 12th.

Counts jobs, not people: someone with two jobs counts twice. Covers about 95 percent of US wage and salary jobs. Excludes the self-employed, most agricultural workers on small farms, the armed forces, elected officials in most states, most railroad employees, some domestic workers and most student workers at schools. A count of employer reports, not a survey estimate like oews_employment.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2021/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2026). Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties (Counties in Alabama by covered employment (QCEW), 2021) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2021/a/industry/10.csv

MLA 9

Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties, Counties in Alabama by covered employment (QCEW), 2021. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2021/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/alabama-counties?period=2021. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2026. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. Counties in Alabama by covered employment (QCEW), 2021. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2021/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/alabama-counties?period=2021.

Harvard

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026) Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties, Counties in Alabama by covered employment (QCEW), 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2021/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/alabama-counties?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_alabama_by_2021,
  author = {{U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics}},
  title = {{Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties: Counties in Alabama by covered employment (QCEW), 2021}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2021/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/alabama-counties?period=2021. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2021/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
TI  - Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties: Counties in Alabama by covered employment (QCEW), 2021
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2021/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/alabama-counties?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/alabama-counties?period=2021.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2021/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which county has the highest covered employment (QCEW)?

Jefferson County, with 347,199 jobs in 2021, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest covered employment (QCEW)?

Coosa County, with 1,317 jobs in 2021.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Covered employment (QCEW): other rankings

Counties in Alabama: more rankings