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

Counties in Arkansas by covered employment (QCEW)

Pulaski County had the highest covered employment (QCEW) of 75 counties in 2019, at 251,743 jobs. Cleveland County had the lowest, at 1,033 jobs. The median was 5,859 jobs and the figure for Arkansas was 1,218,106 jobs. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest251,743Pulaski County
Lowest1,033Cleveland County
Median5,85975 counties
Arkansas1,218,106History

Map of counties, 2019

Arkansas County: 10,300 jobsAshley County: 6,562 jobsBaxter County: 14,824 jobsBenton County: 122,478 jobsBoone County: 14,208 jobsBradley County: 3,809 jobsCalhoun County: 3,134 jobsCarroll County: 10,843 jobsChicot County: 2,979 jobsClark County: 9,302 jobsClay County: 3,141 jobsCleburne County: 6,392 jobsCleveland County: 1,033 jobsColumbia County: 8,118 jobsConway County: 6,526 jobsCraighead County: 52,105 jobsCrawford County: 19,692 jobsCrittenden County: 16,347 jobsCross County: 4,798 jobsDallas County: 2,664 jobsDesha County: 4,677 jobsDrew County: 6,438 jobsFaulkner County: 41,158 jobsFranklin County: 4,805 jobsFulton County: 2,082 jobsGarland County: 37,761 jobsGrant County: 4,235 jobsGreene County: 15,607 jobsHempstead County: 7,783 jobsHot Spring County: 8,220 jobsHoward County: 6,653 jobsIndependence County: 16,200 jobsIzard County: 3,095 jobsJackson County: 5,153 jobsJefferson County: 27,065 jobsJohnson County: 8,433 jobsLafayette County: 1,162 jobsLawrence County: 3,912 jobsLee County: 1,848 jobsLincoln County: 2,823 jobsLittle River County: 3,444 jobsLogan County: 5,114 jobsLonoke County: 13,975 jobsMadison County: 3,391 jobsMarion County: 3,908 jobsMiller County: 13,213 jobsMississippi County: 17,814 jobsMonroe County: 2,029 jobsMontgomery County: 1,274 jobsNevada County: 2,509 jobsNewton County: 1,054 jobsOuachita County: 6,788 jobsPerry County: 1,112 jobsPhillips County: 5,337 jobsPike County: 2,623 jobsPoinsett County: 5,232 jobsPolk County: 5,892 jobsPope County: 25,904 jobsPrairie County: 1,465 jobsPulaski County: 251,743 jobsRandolph County: 5,859 jobsSt. Francis County: 7,236 jobsSaline County: 24,731 jobsScott County: 3,028 jobsSearcy County: 1,525 jobsSebastian County: 64,509 jobsSevier County: 4,756 jobsSharp County: 3,511 jobsStone County: 2,630 jobsUnion County: 17,187 jobsVan Buren County: 3,412 jobsWashington County: 109,670 jobsWhite County: 23,914 jobsWoodruff County: 1,718 jobsYell County: 6,506 jobs
  • Under 3,000
  • 3,000 to 4,000
  • 4,000 to 6,000
  • 6,000 to 8,000
  • 8,000 to 18K
  • 18K and over
jobs, 2019. 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, 2019

Pulaski County: 251,743 jobsPulaski County251,743Benton County: 122,478 jobsBenton County122,478Washington County: 109,670 jobsWashington County109,670Sebastian County: 64,509 jobsSebastian County64,509Craighead County: 52,105 jobsCraighead County52,105Faulkner County: 41,158 jobsFaulkner County41,158Garland County: 37,761 jobsGarland County37,761Jefferson County: 27,065 jobsJefferson County27,065Pope County: 25,904 jobsPope County25,904Saline County: 24,731 jobsSaline County24,731White County: 23,914 jobsWhite County23,914Crawford County: 19,692 jobsCrawford County19,692Mississippi County: 17,814 jobsMississippi County17,814Union County: 17,187 jobsUnion County17,187Crittenden County: 16,347 jobsCrittenden County16,347Independence County: 16,200 jobsIndependence County16,200Greene County: 15,607 jobsGreene County15,607Baxter County: 14,824 jobsBaxter County14,824Boone County: 14,208 jobsBoone County14,208Lonoke County: 13,975 jobsLonoke County13,975Miller County: 13,213 jobsMiller County13,213Carroll County: 10,843 jobsCarroll County10,843Arkansas County: 10,300 jobsArkansas County10,300Clark County: 9,302 jobsClark County9,302Johnson County: 8,433 jobsJohnson County8,433Hot Spring County: 8,220 jobsHot Spring County8,220Columbia County: 8,118 jobsColumbia County8,118Hempstead County: 7,783 jobsHempstead County7,783St. Francis County: 7,236 jobsSt. Francis County7,236Ouachita County: 6,788 jobsOuachita County6,788Howard County: 6,653 jobsHoward County6,653Ashley County: 6,562 jobsAshley County6,562Conway County: 6,526 jobsConway County6,526Yell County: 6,506 jobsYell County6,506Drew County: 6,438 jobsDrew County6,438Cleburne County: 6,392 jobsCleburne County6,392Polk County: 5,892 jobsPolk County5,892Randolph County: 5,859 jobsRandolph County5,859Phillips County: 5,337 jobsPhillips County5,337Poinsett County: 5,232 jobsPoinsett County5,232Pulaski County: 251,743 jobsPulaski County251,743Benton County: 122,478 jobsBenton County122,478Washington County: 109,670 jobsWashington County109,670Sebastian County: 64,509 jobsSebastian County64,509Craighead County: 52,105 jobsCraighead County52,105Faulkner County: 41,158 jobsFaulkner County41,158Garland County: 37,761 jobsGarland County37,761Jefferson County: 27,065 jobsJefferson County27,065Pope County: 25,904 jobsPope County25,904Saline County: 24,731 jobsSaline County24,731White County: 23,914 jobsWhite County23,914Crawford County: 19,692 jobsCrawford County19,692Mississippi County: 17,814 jobsMississippi County17,814Union County: 17,187 jobsUnion County17,187Crittenden County: 16,347 jobsCrittenden County16,347Independence County: 16,200 jobsIndependence County16,200Greene County: 15,607 jobsGreene County15,607Baxter County: 14,824 jobsBaxter County14,824Boone County: 14,208 jobsBoone County14,208Lonoke County: 13,975 jobsLonoke County13,975Miller County: 13,213 jobsMiller County13,213Carroll County: 10,843 jobsCarroll County10,843Arkansas County: 10,300 jobsArkansas County10,300Clark County: 9,302 jobsClark County9,302Johnson County: 8,433 jobsJohnson County8,433Hot Spring County: 8,220 jobsHot Spring County8,220Columbia County: 8,118 jobsColumbia County8,118Hempstead County: 7,783 jobsHempstead County7,783St. Francis County: 7,236 jobsSt. Francis County7,236Ouachita County: 6,788 jobsOuachita County6,788Howard County: 6,653 jobsHoward County6,653Ashley County: 6,562 jobsAshley County6,562Conway County: 6,526 jobsConway County6,526Yell County: 6,506 jobsYell County6,506Drew County: 6,438 jobsDrew County6,438Cleburne County: 6,392 jobsCleburne County6,392Polk County: 5,892 jobsPolk County5,892Randolph County: 5,859 jobsRandolph County5,859Phillips County: 5,337 jobsPhillips County5,337Poinsett County: 5,232 jobsPoinsett County5,232
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

RankCounties2019
jobs		Change on 2018
1Pulaski County251,743+0.3%
2Benton County122,478+2.3%
3Washington County109,670+1.6%
4Sebastian County64,509-1.4%
5Craighead County52,105+2.1%
6Faulkner County41,158+1.5%
7Garland County37,761+1.5%
8Jefferson County27,065-2%
9Pope County25,904-0.3%
10Saline County24,731+0.1%
11White County23,914+0.1%
12Crawford County19,692+0.8%
13Mississippi County17,814+0.6%
14Union County17,187-1.3%
15Crittenden County16,347+1.5%
16Independence County16,200+1.8%
17Greene County15,607+0.7%
18Baxter County14,824-1%
19Boone County14,208+1%
20Lonoke County13,975-0.3%
21Miller County13,213+2.3%
22Carroll County10,843+1.7%
23Arkansas County10,300+5.3%
24Clark County9,302-0.9%
25Johnson County8,433-1.5%
26Hot Spring County8,220-0.3%
27Columbia County8,118+2.1%
28Hempstead County7,783-1.2%
29St. Francis County7,236-1.9%
30Ouachita County6,788-1.7%
31Howard County6,653-4.1%
32Ashley County6,562-1.8%
33Conway County6,526+2.2%
34Yell County6,506-0.6%
35Drew County6,438-0.1%
36Cleburne County6,392+1.1%
37Polk County5,892+0.1%
38Randolph County5,859+2.7%
39Phillips County5,337-2.9%
40Poinsett County5,232-0.4%
41Jackson County5,153-0.1%
42Logan County5,114-3.9%
43Franklin County4,805+2.9%
44Cross County4,798-0.5%
45Sevier County4,756-2.1%
46Desha County4,677-0.5%
47Grant County4,235+1.6%
48Lawrence County3,912-1.4%
49Marion County3,908+4.1%
50Bradley County3,809-0.2%
51Sharp County3,511-2.4%
52Little River County3,444+2.5%
53Van Buren County3,412-3.5%
54Madison County3,391+1.6%
55Clay County3,141-5%
56Calhoun County3,134+3.4%
57Izard County3,095+0.6%
58Scott County3,028-1%
59Chicot County2,979-2.4%
60Lincoln County2,823+0.1%
61Dallas County2,664-1%
62Stone County2,630-1.8%
63Pike County2,6230%
64Nevada County2,509+1.5%
65Fulton County2,082+5.1%
66Monroe County2,029-0.8%
67Lee County1,848-3.8%
68Woodruff County1,718+0.4%
69Searcy County1,525-0.4%
70Prairie County1,465-0.2%
71Montgomery County1,274-5.1%
72Lafayette County1,162-2.6%
73Perry County1,112-3.5%
74Newton County1,054-0.2%
75Cleveland County1,033-3.1%

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/2019/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 Arkansas by covered employment (QCEW), 2019) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2019/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 Arkansas by covered employment (QCEW), 2019. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2019/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/arkansas-counties?period=2019. 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 Arkansas by covered employment (QCEW), 2019. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2019/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/arkansas-counties?period=2019.

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 Arkansas by covered employment (QCEW), 2019 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2019/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/arkansas-counties?period=2019 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_arkansas_by_2019,
  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 Arkansas by covered employment (QCEW), 2019}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2019/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/arkansas-counties?period=2019. 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/2019/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 Arkansas by covered employment (QCEW), 2019
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2019/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/arkansas-counties?period=2019
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/arkansas-counties?period=2019.
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/2019/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which county has the highest covered employment (QCEW)?

Pulaski County, with 251,743 jobs in 2019, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest covered employment (QCEW)?

Cleveland County, with 1,033 jobs in 2019.

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 Arkansas: more rankings