Counties in Idaho by covered employment (QCEW)

Ada County had the highest covered employment (QCEW) of 44 counties in 2020, at 250,270 jobs. Clark County had the lowest, at 299 jobs. The median was 4,523 jobs and the figure for Idaho was 748,123 jobs. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest250,270Ada County
Lowest299Clark County
Median4,52344 counties
Idaho748,123History

Map of counties, 2020

Ada County: 250,270 jobsAdams County: 977 jobsBannock County: 33,667 jobsBear Lake County: 1,726 jobsBenewah County: 3,407 jobsBingham County: 14,974 jobsBlaine County: 12,178 jobsBoise County: 1,548 jobsBonner County: 14,336 jobsBonneville County: 53,939 jobsBoundary County: 3,710 jobsButte County: 8,825 jobsCamas County: 316 jobsCanyon County: 72,408 jobsCaribou County: 3,477 jobsCassia County: 11,641 jobsClark County: 299 jobsClearwater County: 2,629 jobsCuster County: 1,491 jobsElmore County: 7,133 jobsFranklin County: 3,658 jobsFremont County: 3,176 jobsGem County: 3,914 jobsGooding County: 6,165 jobsIdaho County: 4,385 jobsJefferson County: 7,217 jobsJerome County: 10,621 jobsKootenai County: 63,335 jobsLatah County: 13,132 jobsLemhi County: 2,519 jobsLewis County: 1,578 jobsLincoln County: 1,665 jobsMadison County: 15,829 jobsMinidoka County: 8,215 jobsNez Perce County: 20,371 jobsOneida County: 1,182 jobsOwyhee County: 3,211 jobsPayette County: 6,496 jobsPower County: 3,451 jobsShoshone County: 4,660 jobsTeton County: 3,529 jobsTwin Falls County: 38,923 jobsValley County: 4,695 jobsWashington County: 2,763 jobs
  • Under 2,000
  • 2,000 to 3,000
  • 3,000 to 5,000
  • 5,000 to 9,000
  • 9,000 to 16K
  • 16K 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.

All counties, 2020

Ada County: 250,270 jobsAda County250,270Canyon County: 72,408 jobsCanyon County72,408Kootenai County: 63,335 jobsKootenai County63,335Bonneville County: 53,939 jobsBonneville County53,939Twin Falls County: 38,923 jobsTwin Falls County38,923Bannock County: 33,667 jobsBannock County33,667Nez Perce County: 20,371 jobsNez Perce County20,371Madison County: 15,829 jobsMadison County15,829Bingham County: 14,974 jobsBingham County14,974Bonner County: 14,336 jobsBonner County14,336Latah County: 13,132 jobsLatah County13,132Blaine County: 12,178 jobsBlaine County12,178Cassia County: 11,641 jobsCassia County11,641Jerome County: 10,621 jobsJerome County10,621Butte County: 8,825 jobsButte County8,825Minidoka County: 8,215 jobsMinidoka County8,215Jefferson County: 7,217 jobsJefferson County7,217Elmore County: 7,133 jobsElmore County7,133Payette County: 6,496 jobsPayette County6,496Gooding County: 6,165 jobsGooding County6,165Valley County: 4,695 jobsValley County4,695Shoshone County: 4,660 jobsShoshone County4,660Idaho County: 4,385 jobsIdaho County4,385Gem County: 3,914 jobsGem County3,914Boundary County: 3,710 jobsBoundary County3,710Franklin County: 3,658 jobsFranklin County3,658Teton County: 3,529 jobsTeton County3,529Caribou County: 3,477 jobsCaribou County3,477Power County: 3,451 jobsPower County3,451Benewah County: 3,407 jobsBenewah County3,407Owyhee County: 3,211 jobsOwyhee County3,211Fremont County: 3,176 jobsFremont County3,176Washington County: 2,763 jobsWashington County2,763Clearwater County: 2,629 jobsClearwater County2,629Lemhi County: 2,519 jobsLemhi County2,519Bear Lake County: 1,726 jobsBear Lake County1,726Lincoln County: 1,665 jobsLincoln County1,665Lewis County: 1,578 jobsLewis County1,578Boise County: 1,548 jobsBoise County1,548Custer County: 1,491 jobsCuster County1,491Oneida County: 1,182 jobsOneida County1,182Adams County: 977 jobsAdams County977Camas County: 316 jobsCamas County316Clark County: 299 jobsClark County299Ada County: 250,270 jobsAda County250,270Canyon County: 72,408 jobsCanyon County72,408Kootenai County: 63,335 jobsKootenai County63,335Bonneville County: 53,939 jobsBonneville County53,939Twin Falls County: 38,923 jobsTwin Falls County38,923Bannock County: 33,667 jobsBannock County33,667Nez Perce County: 20,371 jobsNez Perce County20,371Madison County: 15,829 jobsMadison County15,829Bingham County: 14,974 jobsBingham County14,974Bonner County: 14,336 jobsBonner County14,336Latah County: 13,132 jobsLatah County13,132Blaine County: 12,178 jobsBlaine County12,178Cassia County: 11,641 jobsCassia County11,641Jerome County: 10,621 jobsJerome County10,621Butte County: 8,825 jobsButte County8,825Minidoka County: 8,215 jobsMinidoka County8,215Jefferson County: 7,217 jobsJefferson County7,217Elmore County: 7,133 jobsElmore County7,133Payette County: 6,496 jobsPayette County6,496Gooding County: 6,165 jobsGooding County6,165Valley County: 4,695 jobsValley County4,695Shoshone County: 4,660 jobsShoshone County4,660Idaho County: 4,385 jobsIdaho County4,385Gem County: 3,914 jobsGem County3,914Boundary County: 3,710 jobsBoundary County3,710Franklin County: 3,658 jobsFranklin County3,658Teton County: 3,529 jobsTeton County3,529Caribou County: 3,477 jobsCaribou County3,477Power County: 3,451 jobsPower County3,451Benewah County: 3,407 jobsBenewah County3,407Owyhee County: 3,211 jobsOwyhee County3,211Fremont County: 3,176 jobsFremont County3,176Washington County: 2,763 jobsWashington County2,763Clearwater County: 2,629 jobsClearwater County2,629Lemhi County: 2,519 jobsLemhi County2,519Bear Lake County: 1,726 jobsBear Lake County1,726Lincoln County: 1,665 jobsLincoln County1,665Lewis County: 1,578 jobsLewis County1,578Boise County: 1,548 jobsBoise County1,548Custer County: 1,491 jobsCuster County1,491Oneida County: 1,182 jobsOneida County1,182Adams County: 977 jobsAdams County977Camas County: 316 jobsCamas County316Clark County: 299 jobsClark County299
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
1Ada County250,270-1.1%
2Canyon County72,408+1.2%
3Kootenai County63,335-1.2%
4Bonneville County53,939+0.7%
5Twin Falls County38,923-2.6%
6Bannock County33,667-2.5%
7Nez Perce County20,371-2.7%
8Madison County15,829+0.4%
9Bingham County14,974-3.4%
10Bonner County14,336-1.2%
11Latah County13,132-5.5%
12Blaine County12,178-5.7%
13Cassia County11,641-0.1%
14Jerome County10,621+1.4%
15Butte County8,825+5.7%
16Minidoka County8,2150%
17Jefferson County7,217+2.8%
18Elmore County7,133-0.2%
19Payette County6,496+1%
20Gooding County6,165+0.9%
21Valley County4,695-5%
22Shoshone County4,660+2.8%
23Idaho County4,385+0.5%
24Gem County3,914+2.4%
25Boundary County3,710-0.5%
26Franklin County3,658+1.6%
27Teton County3,529-0.5%
28Caribou County3,477-3.1%
29Power County3,451+3.3%
30Benewah County3,407-2.4%
31Owyhee County3,211+1.7%
32Fremont County3,176+1.4%
33Washington County2,763+1.1%
34Clearwater County2,629+1.3%
35Lemhi County2,519-1.8%
36Bear Lake County1,726+1.3%
37Lincoln County1,665-2.3%
38Lewis County1,578-7.1%
39Boise County1,548-10.9%
40Custer County1,491-1.5%
41Oneida County1,182-3.4%
42Adams County977-0.7%
43Camas County316-0.9%
44Clark County299-9.1%

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/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 Idaho 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 Idaho 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/idaho-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 Idaho 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/idaho-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 Idaho 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/idaho-counties?period=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_idaho_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 Idaho 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/idaho-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 Idaho 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/idaho-counties?period=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/idaho-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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Rank Counties in Idaho by covered employment (QCEW) using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which county has the highest covered employment (QCEW)?

Ada County, with 250,270 jobs in 2020, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest covered employment (QCEW)?

Clark County, with 299 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 Idaho: more rankings