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 2023, at 362,788 jobs. Coosa County had the lowest, at 1,526 jobs. The median was 10,661 jobs and the figure for Alabama was 2,075,785 jobs. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest362,788Jefferson County
Lowest1,526Coosa County
Median10,66167 counties
Alabama2,075,785History

Map of counties, 2023

Autauga County: 11,871 jobsBaldwin County: 82,764 jobsBarbour County: 7,702 jobsBibb County: 4,815 jobsBlount County: 8,857 jobsBullock County: 2,739 jobsButler County: 6,948 jobsCalhoun County: 43,640 jobsChambers County: 8,705 jobsCherokee County: 5,303 jobsChilton County: 9,227 jobsChoctaw County: 3,322 jobsClarke County: 8,152 jobsClay County: 4,233 jobsCleburne County: 2,566 jobsCoffee County: 16,894 jobsColbert County: 24,177 jobsConecuh County: 3,252 jobsCoosa County: 1,526 jobsCovington County: 11,983 jobsCrenshaw County: 3,547 jobsCullman County: 30,706 jobsDale County: 17,991 jobsDallas County: 11,404 jobsDeKalb County: 22,776 jobsElmore County: 20,484 jobsEscambia County: 12,859 jobsEtowah County: 32,651 jobsFayette County: 3,909 jobsFranklin County: 10,661 jobsGeneva County: 5,461 jobsGreene County: 1,791 jobsHale County: 2,614 jobsHenry County: 3,922 jobsHouston County: 50,597 jobsJackson County: 15,461 jobsJefferson County: 362,788 jobsLamar County: 3,446 jobsLauderdale County: 30,696 jobsLawrence County: 5,397 jobsLee County: 65,362 jobsLimestone County: 32,474 jobsLowndes County: 2,971 jobsMacon County: 4,654 jobsMadison County: 224,952 jobsMarengo County: 7,256 jobsMarion County: 10,913 jobsMarshall County: 40,154 jobsMobile County: 171,453 jobsMonroe County: 6,015 jobsMontgomery County: 131,103 jobsMorgan County: 51,739 jobsPerry County: 1,772 jobsPickens County: 3,733 jobsPike County: 15,356 jobsRandolph County: 4,882 jobsRussell County: 14,071 jobsSt. Clair County: 21,121 jobsShelby County: 85,595 jobsSumter County: 2,946 jobsTalladega County: 31,636 jobsTallapoosa County: 12,705 jobsTuscaloosa County: 97,726 jobsWalker County: 18,468 jobsWashington County: 6,079 jobsWilcox County: 2,602 jobsWinston County: 7,875 jobs
  • Under 3,000
  • 3,000 to 5,000
  • 5,000 to 11K
  • 11K to 18K
  • 18K to 40K
  • 40K and over
jobs, 2023. 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, 2023

Jefferson County: 362,788 jobsJefferson County362,788Madison County: 224,952 jobsMadison County224,952Mobile County: 171,453 jobsMobile County171,453Montgomery County: 131,103 jobsMontgomery County131,103Tuscaloosa County: 97,726 jobsTuscaloosa County97,726Shelby County: 85,595 jobsShelby County85,595Baldwin County: 82,764 jobsBaldwin County82,764Lee County: 65,362 jobsLee County65,362Morgan County: 51,739 jobsMorgan County51,739Houston County: 50,597 jobsHouston County50,597Calhoun County: 43,640 jobsCalhoun County43,640Marshall County: 40,154 jobsMarshall County40,154Etowah County: 32,651 jobsEtowah County32,651Limestone County: 32,474 jobsLimestone County32,474Talladega County: 31,636 jobsTalladega County31,636Cullman County: 30,706 jobsCullman County30,706Lauderdale County: 30,696 jobsLauderdale County30,696Colbert County: 24,177 jobsColbert County24,177DeKalb County: 22,776 jobsDeKalb County22,776St. Clair County: 21,121 jobsSt. Clair County21,121Elmore County: 20,484 jobsElmore County20,484Walker County: 18,468 jobsWalker County18,468Dale County: 17,991 jobsDale County17,991Coffee County: 16,894 jobsCoffee County16,894Jackson County: 15,461 jobsJackson County15,461Pike County: 15,356 jobsPike County15,356Russell County: 14,071 jobsRussell County14,071Escambia County: 12,859 jobsEscambia County12,859Tallapoosa County: 12,705 jobsTallapoosa County12,705Covington County: 11,983 jobsCovington County11,983Autauga County: 11,871 jobsAutauga County11,871Dallas County: 11,404 jobsDallas County11,404Marion County: 10,913 jobsMarion County10,913Franklin County: 10,661 jobsFranklin County10,661Chilton County: 9,227 jobsChilton County9,227Blount County: 8,857 jobsBlount County8,857Chambers County: 8,705 jobsChambers County8,705Clarke County: 8,152 jobsClarke County8,152Winston County: 7,875 jobsWinston County7,875Barbour County: 7,702 jobsBarbour County7,702Jefferson County: 362,788 jobsJefferson County362,788Madison County: 224,952 jobsMadison County224,952Mobile County: 171,453 jobsMobile County171,453Montgomery County: 131,103 jobsMontgomery County131,103Tuscaloosa County: 97,726 jobsTuscaloosa County97,726Shelby County: 85,595 jobsShelby County85,595Baldwin County: 82,764 jobsBaldwin County82,764Lee County: 65,362 jobsLee County65,362Morgan County: 51,739 jobsMorgan County51,739Houston County: 50,597 jobsHouston County50,597Calhoun County: 43,640 jobsCalhoun County43,640Marshall County: 40,154 jobsMarshall County40,154Etowah County: 32,651 jobsEtowah County32,651Limestone County: 32,474 jobsLimestone County32,474Talladega County: 31,636 jobsTalladega County31,636Cullman County: 30,706 jobsCullman County30,706Lauderdale County: 30,696 jobsLauderdale County30,696Colbert County: 24,177 jobsColbert County24,177DeKalb County: 22,776 jobsDeKalb County22,776St. Clair County: 21,121 jobsSt. Clair County21,121Elmore County: 20,484 jobsElmore County20,484Walker County: 18,468 jobsWalker County18,468Dale County: 17,991 jobsDale County17,991Coffee County: 16,894 jobsCoffee County16,894Jackson County: 15,461 jobsJackson County15,461Pike County: 15,356 jobsPike County15,356Russell County: 14,071 jobsRussell County14,071Escambia County: 12,859 jobsEscambia County12,859Tallapoosa County: 12,705 jobsTallapoosa County12,705Covington County: 11,983 jobsCovington County11,983Autauga County: 11,871 jobsAutauga County11,871Dallas County: 11,404 jobsDallas County11,404Marion County: 10,913 jobsMarion County10,913Franklin County: 10,661 jobsFranklin County10,661Chilton County: 9,227 jobsChilton County9,227Blount County: 8,857 jobsBlount County8,857Chambers County: 8,705 jobsChambers County8,705Clarke County: 8,152 jobsClarke County8,152Winston County: 7,875 jobsWinston County7,875Barbour County: 7,702 jobsBarbour County7,702
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

RankCounties2023
jobs		Change on 2022
1Jefferson County362,788+1.7%
2Madison County224,952+3.6%
3Mobile County171,453-0.4%
4Montgomery County131,103+2.1%
5Tuscaloosa County97,726+4%
6Shelby County85,595-0.9%
7Baldwin County82,764+3.5%
8Lee County65,362+5.4%
9Morgan County51,739+1.9%
10Houston County50,597+2.2%
11Calhoun County43,640-0.5%
12Marshall County40,154+3%
13Etowah County32,651+1.8%
14Limestone County32,474+12.2%
15Talladega County31,636+3%
16Cullman County30,706+2.2%
17Lauderdale County30,696+3.6%
18Colbert County24,177+0.3%
19DeKalb County22,776+1.9%
20St. Clair County21,121+5.8%
21Elmore County20,484+2.5%
22Walker County18,468+3.8%
23Dale County17,991+2.1%
24Coffee County16,894+2%
25Jackson County15,461+1.5%
26Pike County15,356+1.8%
27Russell County14,071+2.8%
28Escambia County12,859+2.8%
29Tallapoosa County12,705+0.9%
30Covington County11,983+0.5%
31Autauga County11,871+2.9%
32Dallas County11,404-0.7%
33Marion County10,913-1%
34Franklin County10,661-3.1%
35Chilton County9,227+2%
36Blount County8,857+1.5%
37Chambers County8,705+2%
38Clarke County8,152-0.3%
39Winston County7,875-4.1%
40Barbour County7,702-1.5%
41Marengo County7,256+0.7%
42Butler County6,948+4.7%
43Washington County6,079+74.6%
44Monroe County6,015-3.7%
45Geneva County5,461+2%
46Lawrence County5,397+6.9%
47Cherokee County5,303+1.3%
48Randolph County4,882+1.5%
49Bibb County4,815-0.4%
50Macon County4,654+4.2%
51Clay County4,233-2.9%
52Henry County3,922+5.4%
53Fayette County3,909-0.4%
54Pickens County3,733+2.4%
55Crenshaw County3,547+9.3%
56Lamar County3,446+3.1%
57Choctaw County3,322-2.3%
58Conecuh County3,252+3.2%
59Lowndes County2,971+7.9%
60Sumter County2,946+2%
61Bullock County2,739+1%
62Hale County2,614+2.6%
63Wilcox County2,602+2.8%
64Cleburne County2,566+5.2%
65Greene County1,791+7%
66Perry County1,772-1.6%
67Coosa County1,526+5.4%

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/2023/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), 2023) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2023/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), 2023. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2023/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/alabama-counties?period=2023. 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), 2023. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2023/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/alabama-counties?period=2023.

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), 2023 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2023/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/alabama-counties?period=2023 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_alabama_by_2023,
  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), 2023}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2023/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/alabama-counties?period=2023. 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/2023/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), 2023
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2023/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/alabama-counties?period=2023
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/alabama-counties?period=2023.
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/2023/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 362,788 jobs in 2023, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest covered employment (QCEW)?

Coosa County, with 1,526 jobs in 2023.

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