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

Counties in Iowa by covered employment (QCEW), 2025

Polk County had the highest covered employment (QCEW) of 99 counties in 2025, at 314,942 jobs. Adams County had the lowest, at 1,168 jobs. The median was 5,761 jobs and the figure for Iowa was 1,558,465 jobs. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest314,942Polk County
Lowest1,168Adams County
Median5,76199 counties
Iowa1,558,465History

Map of counties, 2025

Adair County: 3,350 jobsAdams County: 1,168 jobsAllamakee County: 4,802 jobsAppanoose County: 4,522 jobsAudubon County: 1,797 jobsBenton County: 6,040 jobsBlack Hawk County: 70,713 jobsBoone County: 8,838 jobsBremer County: 9,525 jobsBuchanan County: 6,767 jobsBuena Vista County: 10,291 jobsButler County: 3,676 jobsCalhoun County: 2,741 jobsCarroll County: 10,938 jobsCass County: 5,700 jobsCedar County: 5,205 jobsCerro Gordo County: 23,463 jobsCherokee County: 4,908 jobsChickasaw County: 5,150 jobsClarke County: 4,770 jobsClay County: 8,536 jobsClayton County: 6,171 jobsClinton County: 18,870 jobsCrawford County: 6,449 jobsDallas County: 56,432 jobsDavis County: 1,981 jobsDecatur County: 2,312 jobsDelaware County: 6,886 jobsDes Moines County: 20,080 jobsDickinson County: 9,794 jobsDubuque County: 57,730 jobsEmmet County: 3,306 jobsFayette County: 6,976 jobsFloyd County: 5,573 jobsFranklin County: 3,877 jobsFremont County: 2,168 jobsGreene County: 3,139 jobsGrundy County: 4,081 jobsGuthrie County: 3,205 jobsHamilton County: 5,703 jobsHancock County: 5,761 jobsHardin County: 6,553 jobsHarrison County: 4,087 jobsHenry County: 8,140 jobsHoward County: 4,358 jobsHumboldt County: 3,713 jobsIda County: 3,654 jobsIowa County: 8,382 jobsJackson County: 5,754 jobsJasper County: 10,688 jobsJefferson County: 7,058 jobsJohnson County: 85,623 jobsJones County: 6,279 jobsKeokuk County: 2,280 jobsKossuth County: 6,481 jobsLee County: 13,598 jobsLinn County: 125,508 jobsLouisa County: 3,697 jobsLucas County: 3,177 jobsLyon County: 4,951 jobsMadison County: 4,194 jobsMahaska County: 8,096 jobsMarion County: 19,508 jobsMarshall County: 15,942 jobsMills County: 3,133 jobsMitchell County: 3,871 jobsMonona County: 2,556 jobsMonroe County: 3,569 jobsMontgomery County: 4,004 jobsMuscatine County: 20,987 jobsO'Brien County: 6,559 jobsOsceola County: 2,641 jobsPage County: 6,243 jobsPalo Alto County: 3,659 jobsPlymouth County: 11,642 jobsPocahontas County: 2,525 jobsPolk County: 314,942 jobsPottawattamie County: 41,804 jobsPoweshiek County: 9,222 jobsRinggold County: 1,393 jobsSac County: 2,954 jobsScott County: 92,986 jobsShelby County: 5,531 jobsSioux County: 23,005 jobsStory County: 47,004 jobsTama County: 5,391 jobsTaylor County: 2,060 jobsUnion County: 5,822 jobsVan Buren County: 1,928 jobsWapello County: 15,248 jobsWarren County: 13,611 jobsWashington County: 8,780 jobsWayne County: 2,023 jobsWebster County: 17,328 jobsWinnebago County: 3,865 jobsWinneshiek County: 10,515 jobsWoodbury County: 50,924 jobsWorth County: 2,284 jobsWright County: 6,325 jobs
  • Under 3,000
  • 3,000 to 4,000
  • 4,000 to 6,000
  • 6,000 to 8,000
  • 8,000 to 17K
  • 17K and over
jobs, 2025. 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, 2025

Polk County: 314,942 jobsPolk County314,942Linn County: 125,508 jobsLinn County125,508Scott County: 92,986 jobsScott County92,986Johnson County: 85,623 jobsJohnson County85,623Black Hawk County: 70,713 jobsBlack Hawk County70,713Dubuque County: 57,730 jobsDubuque County57,730Dallas County: 56,432 jobsDallas County56,432Woodbury County: 50,924 jobsWoodbury County50,924Story County: 47,004 jobsStory County47,004Pottawattamie County: 41,804 jobsPottawattamie County41,804Cerro Gordo County: 23,463 jobsCerro Gordo County23,463Sioux County: 23,005 jobsSioux County23,005Muscatine County: 20,987 jobsMuscatine County20,987Des Moines County: 20,080 jobsDes Moines County20,080Marion County: 19,508 jobsMarion County19,508Clinton County: 18,870 jobsClinton County18,870Webster County: 17,328 jobsWebster County17,328Marshall County: 15,942 jobsMarshall County15,942Wapello County: 15,248 jobsWapello County15,248Warren County: 13,611 jobsWarren County13,611Lee County: 13,598 jobsLee County13,598Plymouth County: 11,642 jobsPlymouth County11,642Carroll County: 10,938 jobsCarroll County10,938Jasper County: 10,688 jobsJasper County10,688Winneshiek County: 10,515 jobsWinneshiek County10,515Buena Vista County: 10,291 jobsBuena Vista County10,291Dickinson County: 9,794 jobsDickinson County9,794Bremer County: 9,525 jobsBremer County9,525Poweshiek County: 9,222 jobsPoweshiek County9,222Boone County: 8,838 jobsBoone County8,838Washington County: 8,780 jobsWashington County8,780Clay County: 8,536 jobsClay County8,536Iowa County: 8,382 jobsIowa County8,382Henry County: 8,140 jobsHenry County8,140Mahaska County: 8,096 jobsMahaska County8,096Jefferson County: 7,058 jobsJefferson County7,058Fayette County: 6,976 jobsFayette County6,976Delaware County: 6,886 jobsDelaware County6,886Buchanan County: 6,767 jobsBuchanan County6,767O'Brien County: 6,559 jobsO'Brien County6,559Polk County: 314,942 jobsPolk County314,942Linn County: 125,508 jobsLinn County125,508Scott County: 92,986 jobsScott County92,986Johnson County: 85,623 jobsJohnson County85,623Black Hawk County: 70,713 jobsBlack Hawk County70,713Dubuque County: 57,730 jobsDubuque County57,730Dallas County: 56,432 jobsDallas County56,432Woodbury County: 50,924 jobsWoodbury County50,924Story County: 47,004 jobsStory County47,004Pottawattamie County: 41,804 jobsPottawattamie County41,804Cerro Gordo County: 23,463 jobsCerro Gordo County23,463Sioux County: 23,005 jobsSioux County23,005Muscatine County: 20,987 jobsMuscatine County20,987Des Moines County: 20,080 jobsDes Moines County20,080Marion County: 19,508 jobsMarion County19,508Clinton County: 18,870 jobsClinton County18,870Webster County: 17,328 jobsWebster County17,328Marshall County: 15,942 jobsMarshall County15,942Wapello County: 15,248 jobsWapello County15,248Warren County: 13,611 jobsWarren County13,611Lee County: 13,598 jobsLee County13,598Plymouth County: 11,642 jobsPlymouth County11,642Carroll County: 10,938 jobsCarroll County10,938Jasper County: 10,688 jobsJasper County10,688Winneshiek County: 10,515 jobsWinneshiek County10,515Buena Vista County: 10,291 jobsBuena Vista County10,291Dickinson County: 9,794 jobsDickinson County9,794Bremer County: 9,525 jobsBremer County9,525Poweshiek County: 9,222 jobsPoweshiek County9,222Boone County: 8,838 jobsBoone County8,838Washington County: 8,780 jobsWashington County8,780Clay County: 8,536 jobsClay County8,536Iowa County: 8,382 jobsIowa County8,382Henry County: 8,140 jobsHenry County8,140Mahaska County: 8,096 jobsMahaska County8,096Jefferson County: 7,058 jobsJefferson County7,058Fayette County: 6,976 jobsFayette County6,976Delaware County: 6,886 jobsDelaware County6,886Buchanan County: 6,767 jobsBuchanan County6,767O'Brien County: 6,559 jobsO'Brien County6,559
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

RankCounties2025
jobs		Change on 2024
1Polk County314,942-0.9%
2Linn County125,508-0.3%
3Scott County92,986+2.2%
4Johnson County85,623+2.2%
5Black Hawk County70,713-0.2%
6Dubuque County57,730-1.2%
7Dallas County56,432+2.1%
8Woodbury County50,924-0.7%
9Story County47,004-1.1%
10Pottawattamie County41,804+1%
11Cerro Gordo County23,463-0.3%
12Sioux County23,005+0.2%
13Muscatine County20,987-1.2%
14Des Moines County20,080+1.2%
15Marion County19,508-0.9%
16Clinton County18,870-2.1%
17Webster County17,328-1.2%
18Marshall County15,942-0.6%
19Wapello County15,248-0.9%
20Warren County13,611+3.7%
21Lee County13,598-0.9%
22Plymouth County11,642-0.7%
23Carroll County10,938-0.4%
24Jasper County10,688+2.2%
25Winneshiek County10,515+0.3%
26Buena Vista County10,291-3.7%
27Dickinson County9,794-2.1%
28Bremer County9,525-1.7%
29Poweshiek County9,222-3.8%
30Boone County8,838-1%
31Washington County8,780+2.6%
32Clay County8,5360%
33Iowa County8,382-7.3%
34Henry County8,1400%
35Mahaska County8,096+2.6%
36Jefferson County7,058-1.8%
37Fayette County6,976+0.2%
38Delaware County6,886+3.3%
39Buchanan County6,767+2.2%
40O'Brien County6,559-0.7%
41Hardin County6,553+1.1%
42Kossuth County6,481-1.3%
43Crawford County6,449-1.1%
44Wright County6,325+1.4%
45Jones County6,279+0.4%
46Page County6,243-2.1%
47Clayton County6,171-0.9%
48Benton County6,040-0.5%
49Union County5,822-1.5%
50Hancock County5,761-3.7%
51Jackson County5,754-2%
52Hamilton County5,703-1.6%
53Cass County5,700-2.8%
54Floyd County5,573-2.5%
55Shelby County5,531+1.3%
56Tama County5,391+0.7%
57Cedar County5,205+0.7%
58Chickasaw County5,150+0.7%
59Lyon County4,951+3.3%
60Cherokee County4,908+1%
61Allamakee County4,802-0.7%
62Clarke County4,770+1.5%
63Appanoose County4,522-2%
64Howard County4,358-1%
65Madison County4,194-1%
66Harrison County4,087+2.4%
67Grundy County4,081-1.6%
68Montgomery County4,004-2%
69Franklin County3,877-2.6%
70Mitchell County3,871-0.1%
71Winnebago County3,865-4.4%
72Humboldt County3,713-2.5%
73Louisa County3,697-5%
74Butler County3,676-0.4%
75Palo Alto County3,659+1.2%
76Ida County3,654+2%
77Monroe County3,569-4%
78Adair County3,350+10.3%
79Emmet County3,306+0.6%
80Guthrie County3,205-2%
81Lucas County3,177-5.2%
82Greene County3,139-2.1%
83Mills County3,133-6.8%
84Sac County2,954-0.5%
85Calhoun County2,741-1.7%
86Osceola County2,641-1.3%
87Monona County2,556+1%
88Pocahontas County2,525-4.5%
89Decatur County2,312+1.9%
90Worth County2,284-0.8%
91Keokuk County2,280-0.5%
92Fremont County2,168-1.3%
93Taylor County2,060+1.5%
94Wayne County2,023-3.6%
95Davis County1,981-5.9%
96Van Buren County1,928+0.3%
97Audubon County1,797-2%
98Ringgold County1,393-0.1%
99Adams County1,168-1.6%

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/2025/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 Iowa by covered employment (QCEW), 2025) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/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 Iowa by covered employment (QCEW), 2025. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/iowa-counties. 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 Iowa by covered employment (QCEW), 2025. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/iowa-counties.

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 Iowa by covered employment (QCEW), 2025 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/iowa-counties (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_iowa_by_2025,
  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 Iowa by covered employment (QCEW), 2025}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/iowa-counties. 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/2025/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 Iowa by covered employment (QCEW), 2025
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/iowa-counties
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/iowa-counties.
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/2025/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which county has the highest covered employment (QCEW)?

Polk County, with 314,942 jobs in 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest covered employment (QCEW)?

Adams County, with 1,168 jobs in 2025.

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 Iowa: more rankings