Counties in Colorado by covered employment (QCEW)

Denver County had the highest covered employment (QCEW) of 64 counties in 2015, at 478,275 jobs. Hinsdale County had the lowest, at 274 jobs. The median was 4,895 jobs and the figure for Colorado was 2,494,450 jobs. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest478,275Denver County
Median4,89564 counties
Colorado2,494,450History

Map of counties, 2015

Adams County: 191,869 jobsAlamosa County: 7,845 jobsArapahoe County: 316,514 jobsArchuleta County: 3,874 jobsBaca County: 1,089 jobsBent County: 1,170 jobsBoulder County: 172,735 jobsBroomfield County: 35,983 jobsChaffee County: 7,256 jobsCheyenne County: 694 jobsClear Creek County: 3,062 jobsConejos County: 1,428 jobsCostilla County: 811 jobsCrowley County: 1,047 jobsCuster County: 886 jobsDelta County: 8,226 jobsDenver County: 478,275 jobsDolores County: 758 jobsDouglas County: 112,868 jobsEagle County: 30,993 jobsElbert County: 3,404 jobsEl Paso County: 256,706 jobsFremont County: 13,249 jobsGarfield County: 25,626 jobsGilpin County: 4,987 jobsGrand County: 7,305 jobsGunnison County: 7,985 jobsHinsdale County: 274 jobsHuerfano County: 1,647 jobsJackson County: 535 jobsJefferson County: 228,335 jobsKiowa County: 413 jobsKit Carson County: 3,051 jobsLake County: 2,263 jobsLa Plata County: 25,501 jobsLarimer County: 147,455 jobsLas Animas County: 4,803 jobsLincoln County: 2,126 jobsLogan County: 8,358 jobsMesa County: 59,801 jobsMineral County: 534 jobsMoffat County: 4,749 jobsMontezuma County: 8,877 jobsMontrose County: 14,066 jobsMorgan County: 11,981 jobsOtero County: 5,964 jobsOuray County: 1,716 jobsPark County: 2,316 jobsPhillips County: 1,669 jobsPitkin County: 15,826 jobsProwers County: 4,408 jobsPueblo County: 58,592 jobsRio Blanco County: 2,925 jobsRio Grande County: 3,890 jobsRoutt County: 14,093 jobsSaguache County: 1,635 jobsSan Juan County: 291 jobsSan Miguel County: 5,094 jobsSedgwick County: 807 jobsSummit County: 20,386 jobsTeller County: 6,912 jobsWashington County: 1,243 jobsWeld County: 101,497 jobsYuma County: 3,954 jobs
  • Under 1,000
  • 1,000 to 2,000
  • 2,000 to 5,000
  • 5,000 to 9,000
  • 9,000 to 47K
  • 47K and over
jobs, 2015. 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, 2015

Denver County: 478,275 jobsDenver County478,275Arapahoe County: 316,514 jobsArapahoe County316,514El Paso County: 256,706 jobsEl Paso County256,706Jefferson County: 228,335 jobsJefferson County228,335Adams County: 191,869 jobsAdams County191,869Boulder County: 172,735 jobsBoulder County172,735Larimer County: 147,455 jobsLarimer County147,455Douglas County: 112,868 jobsDouglas County112,868Weld County: 101,497 jobsWeld County101,497Mesa County: 59,801 jobsMesa County59,801Pueblo County: 58,592 jobsPueblo County58,592Broomfield County: 35,983 jobsBroomfield County35,983Eagle County: 30,993 jobsEagle County30,993Garfield County: 25,626 jobsGarfield County25,626La Plata County: 25,501 jobsLa Plata County25,501Summit County: 20,386 jobsSummit County20,386Pitkin County: 15,826 jobsPitkin County15,826Routt County: 14,093 jobsRoutt County14,093Montrose County: 14,066 jobsMontrose County14,066Fremont County: 13,249 jobsFremont County13,249Morgan County: 11,981 jobsMorgan County11,981Montezuma County: 8,877 jobsMontezuma County8,877Logan County: 8,358 jobsLogan County8,358Delta County: 8,226 jobsDelta County8,226Gunnison County: 7,985 jobsGunnison County7,985Alamosa County: 7,845 jobsAlamosa County7,845Grand County: 7,305 jobsGrand County7,305Chaffee County: 7,256 jobsChaffee County7,256Teller County: 6,912 jobsTeller County6,912Otero County: 5,964 jobsOtero County5,964San Miguel County: 5,094 jobsSan Miguel County5,094Gilpin County: 4,987 jobsGilpin County4,987Las Animas County: 4,803 jobsLas Animas County4,803Moffat County: 4,749 jobsMoffat County4,749Prowers County: 4,408 jobsProwers County4,408Yuma County: 3,954 jobsYuma County3,954Rio Grande County: 3,890 jobsRio Grande County3,890Archuleta County: 3,874 jobsArchuleta County3,874Elbert County: 3,404 jobsElbert County3,404Clear Creek County: 3,062 jobsClear Creek County3,062Denver County: 478,275 jobsDenver County478,275Arapahoe County: 316,514 jobsArapahoe County316,514El Paso County: 256,706 jobsEl Paso County256,706Jefferson County: 228,335 jobsJefferson County228,335Adams County: 191,869 jobsAdams County191,869Boulder County: 172,735 jobsBoulder County172,735Larimer County: 147,455 jobsLarimer County147,455Douglas County: 112,868 jobsDouglas County112,868Weld County: 101,497 jobsWeld County101,497Mesa County: 59,801 jobsMesa County59,801Pueblo County: 58,592 jobsPueblo County58,592Broomfield County: 35,983 jobsBroomfield County35,983Eagle County: 30,993 jobsEagle County30,993Garfield County: 25,626 jobsGarfield County25,626La Plata County: 25,501 jobsLa Plata County25,501Summit County: 20,386 jobsSummit County20,386Pitkin County: 15,826 jobsPitkin County15,826Routt County: 14,093 jobsRoutt County14,093Montrose County: 14,066 jobsMontrose County14,066Fremont County: 13,249 jobsFremont County13,249Morgan County: 11,981 jobsMorgan County11,981Montezuma County: 8,877 jobsMontezuma County8,877Logan County: 8,358 jobsLogan County8,358Delta County: 8,226 jobsDelta County8,226Gunnison County: 7,985 jobsGunnison County7,985Alamosa County: 7,845 jobsAlamosa County7,845Grand County: 7,305 jobsGrand County7,305Chaffee County: 7,256 jobsChaffee County7,256Teller County: 6,912 jobsTeller County6,912Otero County: 5,964 jobsOtero County5,964San Miguel County: 5,094 jobsSan Miguel County5,094Gilpin County: 4,987 jobsGilpin County4,987Las Animas County: 4,803 jobsLas Animas County4,803Moffat County: 4,749 jobsMoffat County4,749Prowers County: 4,408 jobsProwers County4,408Yuma County: 3,954 jobsYuma County3,954Rio Grande County: 3,890 jobsRio Grande County3,890Archuleta County: 3,874 jobsArchuleta County3,874Elbert County: 3,404 jobsElbert County3,404Clear Creek County: 3,062 jobsClear Creek County3,062
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

RankCounties2015
jobs
Change on 2014
1Denver County478,275+3.8%
2Arapahoe County316,514+3.6%
3El Paso County256,706+3.2%
4Jefferson County228,335+2.8%
5Adams County191,869+4.9%
6Boulder County172,735+2.2%
7Larimer County147,455+4%
8Douglas County112,868+5%
9Weld County101,497+3%
10Mesa County59,801-0.2%
11Pueblo County58,592+1.8%
12Broomfield County35,983+4.5%
13Eagle County30,993+4.2%
14Garfield County25,626+2.4%
15La Plata County25,501+1.8%
16Summit County20,386+5.2%
17Pitkin County15,826-3.7%
18Routt County14,093+1%
19Montrose County14,066+2.7%
20Fremont County13,249+3.9%
21Morgan County11,981-1.7%
22Montezuma County8,877-1.4%
23Logan County8,358+0.4%
24Delta County8,226-1.1%
25Gunnison County7,985+4.1%
26Alamosa County7,845+4.5%
27Grand County7,305+3.5%
28Chaffee County7,256+3.7%
29Teller County6,912+4.1%
30Otero County5,964+1%
31San Miguel County5,094+6.8%
32Gilpin County4,987-0.6%
33Las Animas County4,803-2.7%
34Moffat County4,749-0.9%
35Prowers County4,408+0.8%
36Yuma County3,954-1.1%
37Rio Grande County3,890-0.9%
38Archuleta County3,874+9.6%
39Elbert County3,404+4.6%
40Clear Creek County3,062-2.9%
41Kit Carson County3,051-1.7%
42Rio Blanco County2,925-4.8%
43Park County2,316+4.6%
44Lake County2,263+3%
45Lincoln County2,126+0.6%
46Ouray County1,716+4.8%
47Phillips County1,669-1.5%
48Huerfano County1,647-0.8%
49Saguache County1,635+5.1%
50Conejos County1,428+1.9%
51Washington County1,243+3%
52Bent County1,170+1%
53Baca County1,089-1.4%
54Crowley County1,047-3.7%
55Custer County886+1.4%
56Costilla County811+1.4%
57Sedgwick County807+1.8%
58Dolores County758-3.6%
59Cheyenne County694-1.8%
60Jackson County535-2.7%
61Mineral County534+8.3%
62Kiowa County413-1.4%
63San Juan County291+3.2%
64Hinsdale County274+3.8%

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/2015/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 Colorado by covered employment (QCEW), 2015) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2015/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 Colorado by covered employment (QCEW), 2015. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2015/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/colorado-counties?period=2015. 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 Colorado by covered employment (QCEW), 2015. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2015/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/colorado-counties?period=2015.

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 Colorado by covered employment (QCEW), 2015 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2015/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/colorado-counties?period=2015 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_colorado_by_2015,
  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 Colorado by covered employment (QCEW), 2015}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2015/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/colorado-counties?period=2015. 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/2015/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 Colorado by covered employment (QCEW), 2015
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2015/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/colorado-counties?period=2015
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/colorado-counties?period=2015.
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/2015/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
Embed this chart

Paste this code into a web page or a blog post. The chart shows the latest figures as they are published, with the source and a link back to this page.

Sites that read oEmbed links, such as WordPress, can show the chart when you paste the link to this page.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank Counties in Colorado by covered employment (QCEW) using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"covered_employment","level":"province","within":"Colorado","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=covered_employment&level=province&within=Colorado&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which county has the highest covered employment (QCEW)?

Denver County, with 478,275 jobs in 2015, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest covered employment (QCEW)?

Hinsdale County, with 274 jobs in 2015.

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 Colorado: more rankings