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 2020, at 238,460 jobs. Cleveland County had the lowest, at 1,006 jobs. The median was 5,660 jobs and the figure for Arkansas was 1,174,632 jobs. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest238,460Pulaski County
Lowest1,006Cleveland County
Median5,66075 counties
Arkansas1,174,632History

Map of counties, 2020

Arkansas County: 10,162 jobsAshley County: 5,772 jobsBaxter County: 14,753 jobsBenton County: 123,031 jobsBoone County: 13,595 jobsBradley County: 3,625 jobsCalhoun County: 3,373 jobsCarroll County: 10,529 jobsChicot County: 2,807 jobsClark County: 8,617 jobsClay County: 3,049 jobsCleburne County: 6,124 jobsCleveland County: 1,006 jobsColumbia County: 7,735 jobsConway County: 6,624 jobsCraighead County: 50,501 jobsCrawford County: 19,352 jobsCrittenden County: 15,187 jobsCross County: 4,622 jobsDallas County: 2,640 jobsDesha County: 4,489 jobsDrew County: 6,222 jobsFaulkner County: 39,916 jobsFranklin County: 4,638 jobsFulton County: 2,047 jobsGarland County: 35,679 jobsGrant County: 4,040 jobsGreene County: 14,674 jobsHempstead County: 7,411 jobsHot Spring County: 8,196 jobsHoward County: 6,363 jobsIndependence County: 16,047 jobsIzard County: 2,757 jobsJackson County: 5,188 jobsJefferson County: 26,254 jobsJohnson County: 8,127 jobsLafayette County: 1,081 jobsLawrence County: 3,780 jobsLee County: 1,736 jobsLincoln County: 2,706 jobsLittle River County: 3,151 jobsLogan County: 5,116 jobsLonoke County: 13,572 jobsMadison County: 3,389 jobsMarion County: 3,398 jobsMiller County: 12,084 jobsMississippi County: 16,902 jobsMonroe County: 1,935 jobsMontgomery County: 1,217 jobsNevada County: 2,374 jobsNewton County: 1,016 jobsOuachita County: 6,486 jobsPerry County: 1,130 jobsPhillips County: 5,110 jobsPike County: 2,599 jobsPoinsett County: 5,057 jobsPolk County: 5,660 jobsPope County: 23,903 jobsPrairie County: 1,491 jobsPulaski County: 238,460 jobsRandolph County: 5,866 jobsSt. Francis County: 6,837 jobsSaline County: 24,628 jobsScott County: 3,032 jobsSearcy County: 1,465 jobsSebastian County: 61,302 jobsSevier County: 4,722 jobsSharp County: 3,363 jobsStone County: 2,468 jobsUnion County: 16,360 jobsVan Buren County: 3,329 jobsWashington County: 106,463 jobsWhite County: 23,652 jobsWoodruff County: 1,762 jobsYell County: 6,415 jobs
  • Under 3,000
  • 3,000 to 6,000
  • 6,000 to 8,000
  • 8,000 to 17K
  • 17K and over
jobs, 2020. 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, 2020

Pulaski County: 238,460 jobsPulaski County238,460Benton County: 123,031 jobsBenton County123,031Washington County: 106,463 jobsWashington County106,463Sebastian County: 61,302 jobsSebastian County61,302Craighead County: 50,501 jobsCraighead County50,501Faulkner County: 39,916 jobsFaulkner County39,916Garland County: 35,679 jobsGarland County35,679Jefferson County: 26,254 jobsJefferson County26,254Saline County: 24,628 jobsSaline County24,628Pope County: 23,903 jobsPope County23,903White County: 23,652 jobsWhite County23,652Crawford County: 19,352 jobsCrawford County19,352Mississippi County: 16,902 jobsMississippi County16,902Union County: 16,360 jobsUnion County16,360Independence County: 16,047 jobsIndependence County16,047Crittenden County: 15,187 jobsCrittenden County15,187Baxter County: 14,753 jobsBaxter County14,753Greene County: 14,674 jobsGreene County14,674Boone County: 13,595 jobsBoone County13,595Lonoke County: 13,572 jobsLonoke County13,572Miller County: 12,084 jobsMiller County12,084Carroll County: 10,529 jobsCarroll County10,529Arkansas County: 10,162 jobsArkansas County10,162Clark County: 8,617 jobsClark County8,617Hot Spring County: 8,196 jobsHot Spring County8,196Johnson County: 8,127 jobsJohnson County8,127Columbia County: 7,735 jobsColumbia County7,735Hempstead County: 7,411 jobsHempstead County7,411St. Francis County: 6,837 jobsSt. Francis County6,837Conway County: 6,624 jobsConway County6,624Ouachita County: 6,486 jobsOuachita County6,486Yell County: 6,415 jobsYell County6,415Howard County: 6,363 jobsHoward County6,363Drew County: 6,222 jobsDrew County6,222Cleburne County: 6,124 jobsCleburne County6,124Randolph County: 5,866 jobsRandolph County5,866Ashley County: 5,772 jobsAshley County5,772Polk County: 5,660 jobsPolk County5,660Jackson County: 5,188 jobsJackson County5,188Logan County: 5,116 jobsLogan County5,116Pulaski County: 238,460 jobsPulaski County238,460Benton County: 123,031 jobsBenton County123,031Washington County: 106,463 jobsWashington County106,463Sebastian County: 61,302 jobsSebastian County61,302Craighead County: 50,501 jobsCraighead County50,501Faulkner County: 39,916 jobsFaulkner County39,916Garland County: 35,679 jobsGarland County35,679Jefferson County: 26,254 jobsJefferson County26,254Saline County: 24,628 jobsSaline County24,628Pope County: 23,903 jobsPope County23,903White County: 23,652 jobsWhite County23,652Crawford County: 19,352 jobsCrawford County19,352Mississippi County: 16,902 jobsMississippi County16,902Union County: 16,360 jobsUnion County16,360Independence County: 16,047 jobsIndependence County16,047Crittenden County: 15,187 jobsCrittenden County15,187Baxter County: 14,753 jobsBaxter County14,753Greene County: 14,674 jobsGreene County14,674Boone County: 13,595 jobsBoone County13,595Lonoke County: 13,572 jobsLonoke County13,572Miller County: 12,084 jobsMiller County12,084Carroll County: 10,529 jobsCarroll County10,529Arkansas County: 10,162 jobsArkansas County10,162Clark County: 8,617 jobsClark County8,617Hot Spring County: 8,196 jobsHot Spring County8,196Johnson County: 8,127 jobsJohnson County8,127Columbia County: 7,735 jobsColumbia County7,735Hempstead County: 7,411 jobsHempstead County7,411St. Francis County: 6,837 jobsSt. Francis County6,837Conway County: 6,624 jobsConway County6,624Ouachita County: 6,486 jobsOuachita County6,486Yell County: 6,415 jobsYell County6,415Howard County: 6,363 jobsHoward County6,363Drew County: 6,222 jobsDrew County6,222Cleburne County: 6,124 jobsCleburne County6,124Randolph County: 5,866 jobsRandolph County5,866Ashley County: 5,772 jobsAshley County5,772Polk County: 5,660 jobsPolk County5,660Jackson County: 5,188 jobsJackson County5,188Logan County: 5,116 jobsLogan County5,116
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

RankCounties2020
jobs		Change on 2019
1Pulaski County238,460-5.3%
2Benton County123,031+0.5%
3Washington County106,463-2.9%
4Sebastian County61,302-5%
5Craighead County50,501-3.1%
6Faulkner County39,916-3%
7Garland County35,679-5.5%
8Jefferson County26,254-3%
9Saline County24,628-0.4%
10Pope County23,903-7.7%
11White County23,652-1.1%
12Crawford County19,352-1.7%
13Mississippi County16,902-5.1%
14Union County16,360-4.8%
15Independence County16,047-0.9%
16Crittenden County15,187-7.1%
17Baxter County14,753-0.5%
18Greene County14,674-6%
19Boone County13,595-4.3%
20Lonoke County13,572-2.9%
21Miller County12,084-8.5%
22Carroll County10,529-2.9%
23Arkansas County10,162-1.3%
24Clark County8,617-7.4%
25Hot Spring County8,196-0.3%
26Johnson County8,127-3.6%
27Columbia County7,735-4.7%
28Hempstead County7,411-4.8%
29St. Francis County6,837-5.5%
30Conway County6,624+1.5%
31Ouachita County6,486-4.4%
32Yell County6,415-1.4%
33Howard County6,363-4.4%
34Drew County6,222-3.4%
35Cleburne County6,124-4.2%
36Randolph County5,866+0.1%
37Ashley County5,772-12%
38Polk County5,660-3.9%
39Jackson County5,188+0.7%
40Logan County5,1160%
41Phillips County5,110-4.3%
42Poinsett County5,057-3.3%
43Sevier County4,722-0.7%
44Franklin County4,638-3.5%
45Cross County4,622-3.7%
46Desha County4,489-4%
47Grant County4,040-4.6%
48Lawrence County3,780-3.4%
49Bradley County3,625-4.8%
50Marion County3,398-13.1%
51Madison County3,389-0.1%
52Calhoun County3,373+7.6%
53Sharp County3,363-4.2%
54Van Buren County3,329-2.4%
55Little River County3,151-8.5%
56Clay County3,049-2.9%
57Scott County3,032+0.1%
58Chicot County2,807-5.8%
59Izard County2,757-10.9%
60Lincoln County2,706-4.1%
61Dallas County2,640-0.9%
62Pike County2,599-0.9%
63Stone County2,468-6.2%
64Nevada County2,374-5.4%
65Fulton County2,047-1.7%
66Monroe County1,935-4.6%
67Woodruff County1,762+2.6%
68Lee County1,736-6.1%
69Prairie County1,491+1.8%
70Searcy County1,465-3.9%
71Montgomery County1,217-4.5%
72Perry County1,130+1.6%
73Lafayette County1,081-7%
74Newton County1,016-3.6%
75Cleveland County1,006-2.6%

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/2020/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), 2020) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2020/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), 2020. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2020/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/arkansas-counties?period=2020. 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), 2020. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2020/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/arkansas-counties?period=2020.

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), 2020 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2020/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/arkansas-counties?period=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_arkansas_by_2020,
  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), 2020}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2020/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/arkansas-counties?period=2020. 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/2020/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), 2020
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2020/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/arkansas-counties?period=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/arkansas-counties?period=2020.
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/2020/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 238,460 jobs in 2020, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest covered employment (QCEW)?

Cleveland County, with 1,006 jobs in 2020.

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