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

Counties in Iowa by covered employment (QCEW)

Polk County had the highest covered employment (QCEW) of 98 counties in 2015, at 288,727 jobs. Ringgold County had the lowest, at 1,392 jobs. The median was 6,218 jobs and the figure for Iowa was 1,530,234 jobs. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest288,727Polk County
Lowest1,392Ringgold County
Median6,21898 counties
Iowa1,530,234History

Map of counties, 2015

Adair County: 2,805 jobsAllamakee County: 5,151 jobsAppanoose County: 4,636 jobsAudubon County: 1,745 jobsBenton County: 5,775 jobsBlack Hawk County: 74,232 jobsBoone County: 9,624 jobsBremer County: 10,009 jobsBuchanan County: 6,472 jobsBuena Vista County: 10,930 jobsButler County: 3,629 jobsCalhoun County: 2,871 jobsCarroll County: 11,666 jobsCass County: 6,240 jobsCedar County: 5,511 jobsCerro Gordo County: 23,853 jobsCherokee County: 4,759 jobsChickasaw County: 4,739 jobsClarke County: 4,360 jobsClay County: 8,755 jobsClayton County: 6,739 jobsClinton County: 21,906 jobsCrawford County: 7,300 jobsDallas County: 40,159 jobsDavis County: 1,953 jobsDecatur County: 2,338 jobsDelaware County: 6,578 jobsDes Moines County: 22,875 jobsDickinson County: 9,781 jobsDubuque County: 58,196 jobsEmmet County: 4,052 jobsFayette County: 7,205 jobsFloyd County: 5,931 jobsFranklin County: 3,983 jobsFremont County: 2,714 jobsGreene County: 3,424 jobsGrundy County: 3,986 jobsGuthrie County: 3,191 jobsHamilton County: 5,905 jobsHancock County: 6,902 jobsHardin County: 7,290 jobsHarrison County: 4,278 jobsHenry County: 9,266 jobsHoward County: 4,166 jobsHumboldt County: 4,005 jobsIda County: 3,537 jobsIowa County: 9,747 jobsJackson County: 6,308 jobsJasper County: 11,151 jobsJefferson County: 7,467 jobsJohnson County: 81,551 jobsJones County: 6,506 jobsKeokuk County: 2,319 jobsKossuth County: 6,933 jobsLee County: 17,323 jobsLinn County: 129,160 jobsLouisa County: 3,689 jobsLucas County: 3,347 jobsLyon County: 4,569 jobsMadison County: 3,788 jobsMahaska County: 7,958 jobsMarion County: 16,804 jobsMarshall County: 17,893 jobsMills County: 3,853 jobsMitchell County: 3,536 jobsMonona County: 2,793 jobsMonroe County: 3,554 jobsMontgomery County: 4,252 jobsMuscatine County: 23,136 jobsO'Brien County: 6,723 jobsOsceola County: 2,257 jobsPage County: 6,263 jobsPalo Alto County: 3,755 jobsPlymouth County: 10,990 jobsPocahontas County: 2,923 jobsPolk County: 288,727 jobsPottawattamie County: 39,118 jobsPoweshiek County: 9,772 jobsRinggold County: 1,392 jobsSac County: 3,223 jobsScott County: 90,943 jobsShelby County: 6,056 jobsSioux County: 20,466 jobsStory County: 45,601 jobsTama County: 5,467 jobsTaylor County: 1,979 jobsUnion County: 6,196 jobsVan Buren County: 2,040 jobsWapello County: 16,077 jobsWarren County: 10,744 jobsWashington County: 8,293 jobsWayne County: 1,867 jobsWebster County: 18,945 jobsWinnebago County: 4,306 jobsWinneshiek County: 10,365 jobsWoodbury County: 53,332 jobsWorth County: 2,305 jobsWright County: 5,738 jobs
  • Under 3,000
  • 3,000 to 4,000
  • 4,000 to 6,000
  • 6,000 to 9,000
  • 9,000 to 18K
  • 18K and over
  • No data
jobs, 2015. Hatched areas have no value for this period. 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

Polk County: 288,727 jobsPolk County288,727Linn County: 129,160 jobsLinn County129,160Scott County: 90,943 jobsScott County90,943Johnson County: 81,551 jobsJohnson County81,551Black Hawk County: 74,232 jobsBlack Hawk County74,232Dubuque County: 58,196 jobsDubuque County58,196Woodbury County: 53,332 jobsWoodbury County53,332Story County: 45,601 jobsStory County45,601Dallas County: 40,159 jobsDallas County40,159Pottawattamie County: 39,118 jobsPottawattamie County39,118Cerro Gordo County: 23,853 jobsCerro Gordo County23,853Muscatine County: 23,136 jobsMuscatine County23,136Des Moines County: 22,875 jobsDes Moines County22,875Clinton County: 21,906 jobsClinton County21,906Sioux County: 20,466 jobsSioux County20,466Webster County: 18,945 jobsWebster County18,945Marshall County: 17,893 jobsMarshall County17,893Lee County: 17,323 jobsLee County17,323Marion County: 16,804 jobsMarion County16,804Wapello County: 16,077 jobsWapello County16,077Carroll County: 11,666 jobsCarroll County11,666Jasper County: 11,151 jobsJasper County11,151Plymouth County: 10,990 jobsPlymouth County10,990Buena Vista County: 10,930 jobsBuena Vista County10,930Warren County: 10,744 jobsWarren County10,744Winneshiek County: 10,365 jobsWinneshiek County10,365Bremer County: 10,009 jobsBremer County10,009Dickinson County: 9,781 jobsDickinson County9,781Poweshiek County: 9,772 jobsPoweshiek County9,772Iowa County: 9,747 jobsIowa County9,747Boone County: 9,624 jobsBoone County9,624Henry County: 9,266 jobsHenry County9,266Clay County: 8,755 jobsClay County8,755Washington County: 8,293 jobsWashington County8,293Mahaska County: 7,958 jobsMahaska County7,958Jefferson County: 7,467 jobsJefferson County7,467Crawford County: 7,300 jobsCrawford County7,300Hardin County: 7,290 jobsHardin County7,290Fayette County: 7,205 jobsFayette County7,205Kossuth County: 6,933 jobsKossuth County6,933Polk County: 288,727 jobsPolk County288,727Linn County: 129,160 jobsLinn County129,160Scott County: 90,943 jobsScott County90,943Johnson County: 81,551 jobsJohnson County81,551Black Hawk County: 74,232 jobsBlack Hawk County74,232Dubuque County: 58,196 jobsDubuque County58,196Woodbury County: 53,332 jobsWoodbury County53,332Story County: 45,601 jobsStory County45,601Dallas County: 40,159 jobsDallas County40,159Pottawattamie County: 39,118 jobsPottawattamie County39,118Cerro Gordo County: 23,853 jobsCerro Gordo County23,853Muscatine County: 23,136 jobsMuscatine County23,136Des Moines County: 22,875 jobsDes Moines County22,875Clinton County: 21,906 jobsClinton County21,906Sioux County: 20,466 jobsSioux County20,466Webster County: 18,945 jobsWebster County18,945Marshall County: 17,893 jobsMarshall County17,893Lee County: 17,323 jobsLee County17,323Marion County: 16,804 jobsMarion County16,804Wapello County: 16,077 jobsWapello County16,077Carroll County: 11,666 jobsCarroll County11,666Jasper County: 11,151 jobsJasper County11,151Plymouth County: 10,990 jobsPlymouth County10,990Buena Vista County: 10,930 jobsBuena Vista County10,930Warren County: 10,744 jobsWarren County10,744Winneshiek County: 10,365 jobsWinneshiek County10,365Bremer County: 10,009 jobsBremer County10,009Dickinson County: 9,781 jobsDickinson County9,781Poweshiek County: 9,772 jobsPoweshiek County9,772Iowa County: 9,747 jobsIowa County9,747Boone County: 9,624 jobsBoone County9,624Henry County: 9,266 jobsHenry County9,266Clay County: 8,755 jobsClay County8,755Washington County: 8,293 jobsWashington County8,293Mahaska County: 7,958 jobsMahaska County7,958Jefferson County: 7,467 jobsJefferson County7,467Crawford County: 7,300 jobsCrawford County7,300Hardin County: 7,290 jobsHardin County7,290Fayette County: 7,205 jobsFayette County7,205Kossuth County: 6,933 jobsKossuth County6,933
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
1Polk County288,727+1%
2Linn County129,160+1%
3Scott County90,943+1.2%
4Johnson County81,551+1.6%
5Black Hawk County74,232-1.4%
6Dubuque County58,196+1.7%
7Woodbury County53,332+1.1%
8Story County45,601+1.9%
9Dallas County40,159+5.4%
10Pottawattamie County39,118+0.8%
11Cerro Gordo County23,853+0.3%
12Muscatine County23,136+1.3%
13Des Moines County22,875+1%
14Clinton County21,906-1.1%
15Sioux County20,466+2.2%
16Webster County18,945+3.8%
17Marshall County17,893-1.9%
18Lee County17,323+4.6%
19Marion County16,804+0.9%
20Wapello County16,077-0%
21Carroll County11,666+0.2%
22Jasper County11,151-1.4%
23Plymouth County10,990+1.2%
24Buena Vista County10,930+0.1%
25Warren County10,744+4%
26Winneshiek County10,365+1%
27Bremer County10,009-0.4%
28Dickinson County9,781+7.2%
29Poweshiek County9,772+1.6%
30Iowa County9,747+2.2%
31Boone County9,624+0.5%
32Henry County9,266+1.1%
33Clay County8,755-1.6%
34Washington County8,293-0.9%
35Mahaska County7,958-0.2%
36Jefferson County7,467+2.1%
37Crawford County7,300-1.3%
38Hardin County7,290+0.1%
39Fayette County7,205+0.4%
40Kossuth County6,933+0.8%
41Hancock County6,902+1.4%
42Clayton County6,739+1.5%
43O'Brien County6,723+3.4%
44Delaware County6,578+1.3%
45Jones County6,506+0.4%
46Buchanan County6,472-1.8%
47Jackson County6,308+2.4%
48Page County6,263-0.8%
49Cass County6,240+2%
50Union County6,196-4%
51Shelby County6,056-0.6%
52Floyd County5,931+6.4%
53Hamilton County5,905+1.3%
54Benton County5,775+2%
55Wright County5,738-1.6%
56Cedar County5,511+1.3%
57Tama County5,467+10.1%
58Allamakee County5,151-1%
59Cherokee County4,759-6.8%
60Chickasaw County4,739-1.5%
61Appanoose County4,636+2.6%
62Lyon County4,569-2.3%
63Clarke County4,360+2.1%
64Winnebago County4,306-0.7%
65Harrison County4,278+0.6%
66Montgomery County4,252+0.2%
67Howard County4,166+0.6%
68Emmet County4,052-2.6%
69Humboldt County4,005+0.4%
70Grundy County3,986-0.4%
71Franklin County3,983-3%
72Mills County3,853-4.5%
73Madison County3,788+4.3%
74Palo Alto County3,755+0.3%
75Louisa County3,689+1.8%
76Butler County3,629-3.4%
77Monroe County3,554-1.2%
78Ida County3,537+1.1%
79Mitchell County3,536-2%
80Greene County3,424+6.7%
81Lucas County3,347+3.6%
82Sac County3,223+0.6%
83Guthrie County3,191+0.5%
84Pocahontas County2,923-2.7%
85Calhoun County2,871-1.8%
86Adair County2,805+1.4%
87Monona County2,793-2.3%
88Fremont County2,714-1.3%
89Decatur County2,338-0.1%
90Keokuk County2,319-3.5%
91Worth County2,305-1%
92Osceola County2,257-0.6%
93Van Buren County2,040-2.9%
94Taylor County1,979-1.3%
95Davis County1,953+2.6%
96Wayne County1,867-2%
97Audubon County1,745-6.4%
98Ringgold County1,392-0.2%

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. 1 counties with data in other periods have no value for 2015 and are left out rather than filled from another source. 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 Iowa 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 Iowa 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/iowa-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 Iowa 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/iowa-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 Iowa 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/iowa-counties?period=2015 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_iowa_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 Iowa 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/iowa-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 Iowa 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/iowa-counties?period=2015
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/iowa-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  -
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Questions

Which county has the highest covered employment (QCEW)?

Polk County, with 288,727 jobs in 2015, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest covered employment (QCEW)?

Ringgold County, with 1,392 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. 1 counties have no value for 2015 and are not ranked.

Covered employment (QCEW): other rankings

Counties in Iowa: more rankings