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 2022, at 356,742 jobs. Coosa County had the lowest, at 1,448 jobs. The median was 11,002 jobs and the figure for Alabama was 2,026,102 jobs. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest356,742Jefferson County
Lowest1,448Coosa County
Median11,00267 counties
Alabama2,026,102History

Map of counties, 2022

Autauga County: 11,535 jobsBaldwin County: 79,972 jobsBarbour County: 7,823 jobsBibb County: 4,836 jobsBlount County: 8,726 jobsBullock County: 2,713 jobsButler County: 6,633 jobsCalhoun County: 43,846 jobsChambers County: 8,533 jobsCherokee County: 5,233 jobsChilton County: 9,047 jobsChoctaw County: 3,401 jobsClarke County: 8,180 jobsClay County: 4,359 jobsCleburne County: 2,440 jobsCoffee County: 16,566 jobsColbert County: 24,107 jobsConecuh County: 3,150 jobsCoosa County: 1,448 jobsCovington County: 11,925 jobsCrenshaw County: 3,244 jobsCullman County: 30,056 jobsDale County: 17,619 jobsDallas County: 11,479 jobsDeKalb County: 22,347 jobsElmore County: 19,977 jobsEscambia County: 12,510 jobsEtowah County: 32,084 jobsFayette County: 3,924 jobsFranklin County: 11,002 jobsGeneva County: 5,356 jobsGreene County: 1,674 jobsHale County: 2,547 jobsHenry County: 3,722 jobsHouston County: 49,495 jobsJackson County: 15,231 jobsJefferson County: 356,742 jobsLamar County: 3,341 jobsLauderdale County: 29,630 jobsLawrence County: 5,051 jobsLee County: 62,001 jobsLimestone County: 28,946 jobsLowndes County: 2,753 jobsMacon County: 4,467 jobsMadison County: 217,074 jobsMarengo County: 7,207 jobsMarion County: 11,023 jobsMarshall County: 38,984 jobsMobile County: 172,206 jobsMonroe County: 6,248 jobsMontgomery County: 128,398 jobsMorgan County: 50,750 jobsPerry County: 1,800 jobsPickens County: 3,645 jobsPike County: 15,090 jobsRandolph County: 4,810 jobsRussell County: 13,682 jobsSt. Clair County: 19,970 jobsShelby County: 86,332 jobsSumter County: 2,887 jobsTalladega County: 30,716 jobsTallapoosa County: 12,586 jobsTuscaloosa County: 93,942 jobsWalker County: 17,790 jobsWashington County: 3,482 jobsWilcox County: 2,531 jobsWinston County: 8,211 jobs
  • Under 3,000
  • 3,000 to 5,000
  • 5,000 to 11K
  • 11K to 18K
  • 18K to 39K
  • 39K and over
jobs, 2022. 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, 2022

Jefferson County: 356,742 jobsJefferson County356,742Madison County: 217,074 jobsMadison County217,074Mobile County: 172,206 jobsMobile County172,206Montgomery County: 128,398 jobsMontgomery County128,398Tuscaloosa County: 93,942 jobsTuscaloosa County93,942Shelby County: 86,332 jobsShelby County86,332Baldwin County: 79,972 jobsBaldwin County79,972Lee County: 62,001 jobsLee County62,001Morgan County: 50,750 jobsMorgan County50,750Houston County: 49,495 jobsHouston County49,495Calhoun County: 43,846 jobsCalhoun County43,846Marshall County: 38,984 jobsMarshall County38,984Etowah County: 32,084 jobsEtowah County32,084Talladega County: 30,716 jobsTalladega County30,716Cullman County: 30,056 jobsCullman County30,056Lauderdale County: 29,630 jobsLauderdale County29,630Limestone County: 28,946 jobsLimestone County28,946Colbert County: 24,107 jobsColbert County24,107DeKalb County: 22,347 jobsDeKalb County22,347Elmore County: 19,977 jobsElmore County19,977St. Clair County: 19,970 jobsSt. Clair County19,970Walker County: 17,790 jobsWalker County17,790Dale County: 17,619 jobsDale County17,619Coffee County: 16,566 jobsCoffee County16,566Jackson County: 15,231 jobsJackson County15,231Pike County: 15,090 jobsPike County15,090Russell County: 13,682 jobsRussell County13,682Tallapoosa County: 12,586 jobsTallapoosa County12,586Escambia County: 12,510 jobsEscambia County12,510Covington County: 11,925 jobsCovington County11,925Autauga County: 11,535 jobsAutauga County11,535Dallas County: 11,479 jobsDallas County11,479Marion County: 11,023 jobsMarion County11,023Franklin County: 11,002 jobsFranklin County11,002Chilton County: 9,047 jobsChilton County9,047Blount County: 8,726 jobsBlount County8,726Chambers County: 8,533 jobsChambers County8,533Winston County: 8,211 jobsWinston County8,211Clarke County: 8,180 jobsClarke County8,180Barbour County: 7,823 jobsBarbour County7,823Jefferson County: 356,742 jobsJefferson County356,742Madison County: 217,074 jobsMadison County217,074Mobile County: 172,206 jobsMobile County172,206Montgomery County: 128,398 jobsMontgomery County128,398Tuscaloosa County: 93,942 jobsTuscaloosa County93,942Shelby County: 86,332 jobsShelby County86,332Baldwin County: 79,972 jobsBaldwin County79,972Lee County: 62,001 jobsLee County62,001Morgan County: 50,750 jobsMorgan County50,750Houston County: 49,495 jobsHouston County49,495Calhoun County: 43,846 jobsCalhoun County43,846Marshall County: 38,984 jobsMarshall County38,984Etowah County: 32,084 jobsEtowah County32,084Talladega County: 30,716 jobsTalladega County30,716Cullman County: 30,056 jobsCullman County30,056Lauderdale County: 29,630 jobsLauderdale County29,630Limestone County: 28,946 jobsLimestone County28,946Colbert County: 24,107 jobsColbert County24,107DeKalb County: 22,347 jobsDeKalb County22,347Elmore County: 19,977 jobsElmore County19,977St. Clair County: 19,970 jobsSt. Clair County19,970Walker County: 17,790 jobsWalker County17,790Dale County: 17,619 jobsDale County17,619Coffee County: 16,566 jobsCoffee County16,566Jackson County: 15,231 jobsJackson County15,231Pike County: 15,090 jobsPike County15,090Russell County: 13,682 jobsRussell County13,682Tallapoosa County: 12,586 jobsTallapoosa County12,586Escambia County: 12,510 jobsEscambia County12,510Covington County: 11,925 jobsCovington County11,925Autauga County: 11,535 jobsAutauga County11,535Dallas County: 11,479 jobsDallas County11,479Marion County: 11,023 jobsMarion County11,023Franklin County: 11,002 jobsFranklin County11,002Chilton County: 9,047 jobsChilton County9,047Blount County: 8,726 jobsBlount County8,726Chambers County: 8,533 jobsChambers County8,533Winston County: 8,211 jobsWinston County8,211Clarke County: 8,180 jobsClarke County8,180Barbour County: 7,823 jobsBarbour County7,823
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

RankCounties2022
jobs		Change on 2021
1Jefferson County356,742+2.7%
2Madison County217,074+3.3%
3Mobile County172,206+1.3%
4Montgomery County128,398+1.3%
5Tuscaloosa County93,942+3.7%
6Shelby County86,332+3.2%
7Baldwin County79,972+4.5%
8Lee County62,001+4.4%
9Morgan County50,750+2.4%
10Houston County49,495+2.8%
11Calhoun County43,846+0.7%
12Marshall County38,984+2.6%
13Etowah County32,084+1.2%
14Talladega County30,716+3.9%
15Cullman County30,056+3.2%
16Lauderdale County29,630+2.5%
17Limestone County28,946+12.3%
18Colbert County24,107+2.9%
19DeKalb County22,347+1.1%
20Elmore County19,977+0.9%
21St. Clair County19,970+3.6%
22Walker County17,790+0.9%
23Dale County17,619+1.7%
24Coffee County16,566+0.8%
25Jackson County15,231+1.4%
26Pike County15,090+1%
27Russell County13,682+0.9%
28Tallapoosa County12,586-0.4%
29Escambia County12,510+2.7%
30Covington County11,925+0.5%
31Autauga County11,535+3.7%
32Dallas County11,479+2%
33Marion County11,023+4.3%
34Franklin County11,002+2.8%
35Chilton County9,047-0.3%
36Blount County8,726+2.7%
37Chambers County8,533+2%
38Winston County8,211+1.4%
39Clarke County8,180+1.5%
40Barbour County7,823+1.3%
41Marengo County7,207+2.1%
42Butler County6,633+3.3%
43Monroe County6,248+1.3%
44Geneva County5,356+4.7%
45Cherokee County5,233+0.6%
46Lawrence County5,051+1.6%
47Bibb County4,836+1.7%
48Randolph County4,810+2.6%
49Macon County4,467-0.5%
50Clay County4,359+2.7%
51Fayette County3,924-2%
52Henry County3,722+3.4%
53Pickens County3,645+2.1%
54Washington County3,482+1.5%
55Choctaw County3,401-4.3%
56Lamar County3,341+0.5%
57Crenshaw County3,244-3%
58Conecuh County3,150-2.7%
59Sumter County2,887+2.9%
60Lowndes County2,753+27.2%
61Bullock County2,713-3.5%
62Hale County2,547+0.6%
63Wilcox County2,531-0.4%
64Cleburne County2,440+9.7%
65Perry County1,800-2.4%
66Greene County1,674-6.6%
67Coosa County1,448+9.9%

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/2022/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), 2022) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2022/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), 2022. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2022/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/alabama-counties?period=2022. 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), 2022. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2022/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/alabama-counties?period=2022.

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), 2022 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2022/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/alabama-counties?period=2022 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_alabama_by_2022,
  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), 2022}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2022/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/alabama-counties?period=2022. 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/2022/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), 2022
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2022/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/alabama-counties?period=2022
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/alabama-counties?period=2022.
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/2022/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 356,742 jobs in 2022, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest covered employment (QCEW)?

Coosa County, with 1,448 jobs in 2022.

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