Counties in Georgia by covered employment (QCEW)

Fulton County had the highest covered employment (QCEW) of 159 counties in 2017, at 851,423 jobs. Taliaferro County had the lowest, at 189 jobs. The median was 6,329 jobs and the figure for Georgia was 4,346,453 jobs. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest851,423Fulton County
Median6,329159 counties
Georgia4,346,453History

Map of counties, 2017

Appling County: 7,017 jobsAtkinson County: 2,097 jobsBacon County: 3,897 jobsBaker County: 422 jobsBaldwin County: 15,297 jobsBanks County: 4,323 jobsBarrow County: 18,416 jobsBartow County: 36,722 jobsBen Hill County: 5,396 jobsBerrien County: 3,560 jobsBibb County: 82,479 jobsBleckley County: 2,654 jobsBrantley County: 2,247 jobsBrooks County: 3,104 jobsBryan County: 8,257 jobsBulloch County: 25,436 jobsBurke County: 12,231 jobsButts County: 6,329 jobsCalhoun County: 1,052 jobsCamden County: 13,979 jobsCandler County: 2,905 jobsCarroll County: 39,986 jobsCatoosa County: 14,842 jobsCharlton County: 2,061 jobsChatham County: 151,668 jobsChattahoochee County: 2,147 jobsChattooga County: 6,297 jobsCherokee County: 58,741 jobsClarke County: 71,145 jobsClay County: 511 jobsClayton County: 123,044 jobsClinch County: 2,262 jobsCobb County: 357,204 jobsCoffee County: 16,965 jobsColquitt County: 14,974 jobsColumbia County: 33,088 jobsCook County: 4,203 jobsCoweta County: 37,789 jobsCrawford County: 1,274 jobsCrisp County: 8,123 jobsDade County: 3,336 jobsDawson County: 9,035 jobsDecatur County: 8,692 jobsDeKalb County: 297,451 jobsDodge County: 5,059 jobsDooly County: 3,704 jobsDougherty County: 47,527 jobsDouglas County: 42,120 jobsEarly County: 4,421 jobsEchols County: 748 jobsEffingham County: 9,758 jobsElbert County: 5,793 jobsEmanuel County: 6,710 jobsEvans County: 4,487 jobsFannin County: 6,327 jobsFayette County: 43,637 jobsFloyd County: 39,170 jobsForsyth County: 72,778 jobsFranklin County: 7,938 jobsFulton County: 851,423 jobsGilmer County: 6,922 jobsGlascock County: 427 jobsGlynn County: 37,956 jobsGordon County: 21,471 jobsGrady County: 6,064 jobsGreene County: 6,061 jobsGwinnett County: 352,117 jobsHabersham County: 14,331 jobsHall County: 85,486 jobsHancock County: 1,545 jobsHaralson County: 6,534 jobsHarris County: 4,583 jobsHart County: 6,457 jobsHeard County: 2,077 jobsHenry County: 58,470 jobsHouston County: 59,404 jobsIrwin County: 1,905 jobsJackson County: 26,377 jobsJasper County: 2,218 jobsJeff Davis County: 4,172 jobsJefferson County: 4,885 jobsJenkins County: 1,334 jobsJohnson County: 1,514 jobsJones County: 4,605 jobsLamar County: 3,535 jobsLanier County: 1,441 jobsLaurens County: 18,298 jobsLee County: 6,641 jobsLiberty County: 18,526 jobsLincoln County: 1,334 jobsLong County: 977 jobsLowndes County: 48,894 jobsLumpkin County: 7,573 jobsMcDuffie County: 6,835 jobsMcIntosh County: 1,734 jobsMacon County: 2,765 jobsMadison County: 3,079 jobsMarion County: 1,090 jobsMeriwether County: 4,819 jobsMiller County: 1,725 jobsMitchell County: 6,809 jobsMonroe County: 7,326 jobsMontgomery County: 1,535 jobsMorgan County: 7,047 jobsMurray County: 9,179 jobsMuscogee County: 93,428 jobsNewton County: 24,384 jobsOconee County: 11,352 jobsOglethorpe County: 1,658 jobsPaulding County: 23,480 jobsPeach County: 9,394 jobsPickens County: 7,687 jobsPierce County: 4,094 jobsPike County: 2,850 jobsPolk County: 11,047 jobsPulaski County: 2,813 jobsPutnam County: 5,653 jobsQuitman County: 388 jobsRabun County: 5,005 jobsRandolph County: 1,885 jobsRichmond County: 104,793 jobsRockdale County: 31,800 jobsSchley County: 976 jobsScreven County: 3,357 jobsSeminole County: 2,272 jobsSpalding County: 22,633 jobsStephens County: 9,109 jobsStewart County: 1,261 jobsSumter County: 10,899 jobsTalbot County: 736 jobsTaliaferro County: 189 jobsTattnall County: 5,798 jobsTaylor County: 1,581 jobsTelfair County: 3,413 jobsTerrell County: 2,387 jobsThomas County: 20,420 jobsTift County: 19,460 jobsToombs County: 11,577 jobsTowns County: 3,161 jobsTreutlen County: 1,106 jobsTroup County: 39,605 jobsTurner County: 2,114 jobsTwiggs County: 2,229 jobsUnion County: 6,677 jobsUpson County: 6,499 jobsWalker County: 12,957 jobsWalton County: 22,729 jobsWare County: 15,637 jobsWarren County: 1,499 jobsWashington County: 6,743 jobsWayne County: 7,846 jobsWebster County: 474 jobsWheeler County: 1,129 jobsWhite County: 8,498 jobsWhitfield County: 55,327 jobsWilcox County: 1,141 jobsWilkes County: 2,948 jobsWilkinson County: 3,453 jobsWorth County: 3,183 jobs
  • Under 2,000
  • 2,000 to 3,000
  • 3,000 to 6,000
  • 6,000 to 10K
  • 10K to 33K
  • 33K and over
jobs, 2017. 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, 2017

Fulton County: 851,423 jobsFulton County851,423Cobb County: 357,204 jobsCobb County357,204Gwinnett County: 352,117 jobsGwinnett County352,117DeKalb County: 297,451 jobsDeKalb County297,451Chatham County: 151,668 jobsChatham County151,668Clayton County: 123,044 jobsClayton County123,044Richmond County: 104,793 jobsRichmond County104,793Muscogee County: 93,428 jobsMuscogee County93,428Hall County: 85,486 jobsHall County85,486Bibb County: 82,479 jobsBibb County82,479Forsyth County: 72,778 jobsForsyth County72,778Clarke County: 71,145 jobsClarke County71,145Houston County: 59,404 jobsHouston County59,404Cherokee County: 58,741 jobsCherokee County58,741Henry County: 58,470 jobsHenry County58,470Whitfield County: 55,327 jobsWhitfield County55,327Lowndes County: 48,894 jobsLowndes County48,894Dougherty County: 47,527 jobsDougherty County47,527Fayette County: 43,637 jobsFayette County43,637Douglas County: 42,120 jobsDouglas County42,120Carroll County: 39,986 jobsCarroll County39,986Troup County: 39,605 jobsTroup County39,605Floyd County: 39,170 jobsFloyd County39,170Glynn County: 37,956 jobsGlynn County37,956Coweta County: 37,789 jobsCoweta County37,789Bartow County: 36,722 jobsBartow County36,722Columbia County: 33,088 jobsColumbia County33,088Rockdale County: 31,800 jobsRockdale County31,800Jackson County: 26,377 jobsJackson County26,377Bulloch County: 25,436 jobsBulloch County25,436Newton County: 24,384 jobsNewton County24,384Paulding County: 23,480 jobsPaulding County23,480Walton County: 22,729 jobsWalton County22,729Spalding County: 22,633 jobsSpalding County22,633Gordon County: 21,471 jobsGordon County21,471Thomas County: 20,420 jobsThomas County20,420Tift County: 19,460 jobsTift County19,460Liberty County: 18,526 jobsLiberty County18,526Barrow County: 18,416 jobsBarrow County18,416Laurens County: 18,298 jobsLaurens County18,298Fulton County: 851,423 jobsFulton County851,423Cobb County: 357,204 jobsCobb County357,204Gwinnett County: 352,117 jobsGwinnett County352,117DeKalb County: 297,451 jobsDeKalb County297,451Chatham County: 151,668 jobsChatham County151,668Clayton County: 123,044 jobsClayton County123,044Richmond County: 104,793 jobsRichmond County104,793Muscogee County: 93,428 jobsMuscogee County93,428Hall County: 85,486 jobsHall County85,486Bibb County: 82,479 jobsBibb County82,479Forsyth County: 72,778 jobsForsyth County72,778Clarke County: 71,145 jobsClarke County71,145Houston County: 59,404 jobsHouston County59,404Cherokee County: 58,741 jobsCherokee County58,741Henry County: 58,470 jobsHenry County58,470Whitfield County: 55,327 jobsWhitfield County55,327Lowndes County: 48,894 jobsLowndes County48,894Dougherty County: 47,527 jobsDougherty County47,527Fayette County: 43,637 jobsFayette County43,637Douglas County: 42,120 jobsDouglas County42,120Carroll County: 39,986 jobsCarroll County39,986Troup County: 39,605 jobsTroup County39,605Floyd County: 39,170 jobsFloyd County39,170Glynn County: 37,956 jobsGlynn County37,956Coweta County: 37,789 jobsCoweta County37,789Bartow County: 36,722 jobsBartow County36,722Columbia County: 33,088 jobsColumbia County33,088Rockdale County: 31,800 jobsRockdale County31,800Jackson County: 26,377 jobsJackson County26,377Bulloch County: 25,436 jobsBulloch County25,436Newton County: 24,384 jobsNewton County24,384Paulding County: 23,480 jobsPaulding County23,480Walton County: 22,729 jobsWalton County22,729Spalding County: 22,633 jobsSpalding County22,633Gordon County: 21,471 jobsGordon County21,471Thomas County: 20,420 jobsThomas County20,420Tift County: 19,460 jobsTift County19,460Liberty County: 18,526 jobsLiberty County18,526Barrow County: 18,416 jobsBarrow County18,416Laurens County: 18,298 jobsLaurens County18,298
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

RankCounties2017
jobs
Change on 2016
1Fulton County851,423+3.4%
2Cobb County357,204+3.3%
3Gwinnett County352,117+2.7%
4DeKalb County297,451+1%
5Chatham County151,668+1.7%
6Clayton County123,044+2.1%
7Richmond County104,793+0.5%
8Muscogee County93,428+0.4%
9Hall County85,486+4%
10Bibb County82,479+1.3%
11Forsyth County72,778+2.1%
12Clarke County71,145+3.5%
13Houston County59,404+1.1%
14Cherokee County58,741+4.9%
15Henry County58,470+2.9%
16Whitfield County55,327-2.4%
17Lowndes County48,894-0.3%
18Dougherty County47,527+1.1%
19Fayette County43,637+3%
20Douglas County42,120+1.4%
21Carroll County39,986+2.4%
22Troup County39,605+0.8%
23Floyd County39,170+1.1%
24Glynn County37,956+0.9%
25Coweta County37,789+1.7%
26Bartow County36,722+4%
27Columbia County33,088+2.8%
28Rockdale County31,800-0.8%
29Jackson County26,377+6.8%
30Bulloch County25,436+1%
31Newton County24,384+3.7%
32Paulding County23,480+3.2%
33Walton County22,729+4.1%
34Spalding County22,633+1.5%
35Gordon County21,471+7.1%
36Thomas County20,420-3.2%
37Tift County19,460+2.1%
38Liberty County18,526+2.7%
39Barrow County18,416+4%
40Laurens County18,298+1.6%
41Coffee County16,965+1.5%
42Ware County15,637+1.4%
43Baldwin County15,297-0.4%
44Colquitt County14,974+2%
45Catoosa County14,842+5.3%
46Habersham County14,331-1.6%
47Camden County13,979+1.6%
48Walker County12,957-0.1%
49Burke County12,231+19.2%
50Toombs County11,577-0.2%
51Oconee County11,352+6%
52Polk County11,047+1.6%
53Sumter County10,899+1%
54Effingham County9,758+2.3%
55Peach County9,394+3.3%
56Murray County9,179-8.9%
57Stephens County9,109-1.2%
58Dawson County9,035+8.7%
59Decatur County8,692+3.7%
60White County8,498+12.4%
61Bryan County8,257+6.1%
62Crisp County8,123+1.4%
63Franklin County7,938+1.6%
64Wayne County7,846+0.6%
65Pickens County7,687+2%
66Lumpkin County7,573+4%
67Monroe County7,326-3.5%
68Morgan County7,047+4.9%
69Appling County7,017-0.9%
70Gilmer County6,922-1.5%
71McDuffie County6,835+0.5%
72Mitchell County6,809-4.6%
73Washington County6,743+1.5%
74Emanuel County6,710+0.4%
75Union County6,677-5.8%
76Lee County6,641+4%
77Haralson County6,534+2.1%
78Upson County6,499-0.3%
79Hart County6,457+1.2%
80Butts County6,329+3.9%
81Fannin County6,327+0.1%
82Chattooga County6,297+1.6%
83Grady County6,064+9.3%
84Greene County6,061+4.9%
85Tattnall County5,798+0.5%
86Elbert County5,793+1.4%
87Putnam County5,653+2.5%
88Ben Hill County5,396-3.9%
89Dodge County5,059+0.7%
90Rabun County5,005+2.8%
91Jefferson County4,885+2.4%
92Meriwether County4,819+3%
93Jones County4,605-0.5%
94Harris County4,583-0.3%
95Evans County4,487+0.7%
96Early County4,421+3.2%
97Banks County4,323+6.7%
98Cook County4,203+2.1%
99Jeff Davis County4,172-4.1%
100Pierce County4,094+0.4%
101Bacon County3,897-2.8%
102Dooly County3,704+1.4%
103Berrien County3,560+0.3%
104Lamar County3,535-4.5%
105Wilkinson County3,453+6.7%
106Telfair County3,413-1.6%
107Screven County3,357-0.9%
108Dade County3,336+1%
109Worth County3,183+2.8%
110Towns County3,161-11.6%
111Brooks County3,104+0.9%
112Madison County3,079-7.8%
113Wilkes County2,948-2.8%
114Candler County2,905+0.8%
115Pike County2,850-1%
116Pulaski County2,813-0.4%
117Macon County2,765+0.1%
118Bleckley County2,654+1%
119Terrell County2,387+1.4%
120Seminole County2,272-1.4%
121Clinch County2,262-5.4%
122Brantley County2,247-0.1%
123Twiggs County2,229+4.9%
124Jasper County2,218+8.5%
125Chattahoochee County2,147-3.9%
126Turner County2,114-2.9%
127Atkinson County2,097+4.6%
128Heard County2,077-1.2%
129Charlton County2,061-4.2%
130Irwin County1,905+1.2%
131Randolph County1,885+1.9%
132McIntosh County1,734+2.2%
133Miller County1,725+2.3%
134Oglethorpe County1,658+0.7%
135Taylor County1,581-31%
136Hancock County1,545+0.5%
137Montgomery County1,535-2.6%
138Johnson County1,514-3.8%
139Warren County1,499-0.7%
140Lanier County1,441-9.8%
141Jenkins County1,334-3.1%
141Lincoln County1,334-1.8%
143Crawford County1,274-7.6%
144Stewart County1,261+9.1%
145Wilcox County1,141+2%
146Wheeler County1,129-3.8%
147Treutlen County1,106-2.4%
148Marion County1,090-3.1%
149Calhoun County1,052-0.5%
150Long County977+5.6%
151Schley County976+1.9%
152Echols County748-3.9%
153Talbot County736-2%
154Clay County511-5.7%
155Webster County474+2.2%
156Glascock County427+0.5%
157Baker County422-3%
158Quitman County388+3.5%
159Taliaferro County1890%

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/2017/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 Georgia by covered employment (QCEW), 2017) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2017/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 Georgia by covered employment (QCEW), 2017. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2017/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/georgia-counties?period=2017. 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 Georgia by covered employment (QCEW), 2017. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2017/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/georgia-counties?period=2017.

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 Georgia by covered employment (QCEW), 2017 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2017/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/georgia-counties?period=2017 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_georgia_by_2017,
  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 Georgia by covered employment (QCEW), 2017}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2017/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/georgia-counties?period=2017. 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/2017/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 Georgia by covered employment (QCEW), 2017
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2017/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/georgia-counties?period=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/georgia-counties?period=2017.
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/2017/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
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Questions

Which county has the highest covered employment (QCEW)?

Fulton County, with 851,423 jobs in 2017, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest covered employment (QCEW)?

Taliaferro County, with 189 jobs in 2017.

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 Georgia: more rankings