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

Counties in Iowa by covered employment (QCEW)

Polk County had the highest covered employment (QCEW) of 99 counties in 2016, at 294,984 jobs. Adams County had the lowest, at 1,272 jobs. The median was 6,122 jobs and the figure for Iowa was 1,539,752 jobs. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest294,984Polk County
Lowest1,272Adams County
Median6,12299 counties
Iowa1,539,752History

Map of counties, 2016

Adair County: 2,828 jobsAdams County: 1,272 jobsAllamakee County: 5,126 jobsAppanoose County: 4,599 jobsAudubon County: 1,789 jobsBenton County: 5,845 jobsBlack Hawk County: 73,740 jobsBoone County: 9,588 jobsBremer County: 9,969 jobsBuchanan County: 6,464 jobsBuena Vista County: 10,854 jobsButler County: 3,434 jobsCalhoun County: 2,946 jobsCarroll County: 11,684 jobsCass County: 6,146 jobsCedar County: 5,439 jobsCerro Gordo County: 24,377 jobsCherokee County: 4,843 jobsChickasaw County: 4,741 jobsClarke County: 4,477 jobsClay County: 8,610 jobsClayton County: 6,744 jobsClinton County: 21,516 jobsCrawford County: 6,878 jobsDallas County: 42,222 jobsDavis County: 2,069 jobsDecatur County: 2,338 jobsDelaware County: 6,653 jobsDes Moines County: 22,407 jobsDickinson County: 9,921 jobsDubuque County: 57,869 jobsEmmet County: 3,961 jobsFayette County: 7,176 jobsFloyd County: 5,907 jobsFranklin County: 3,952 jobsFremont County: 2,519 jobsGreene County: 3,503 jobsGrundy County: 3,983 jobsGuthrie County: 3,097 jobsHamilton County: 5,917 jobsHancock County: 6,952 jobsHardin County: 7,081 jobsHarrison County: 4,281 jobsHenry County: 9,350 jobsHoward County: 4,106 jobsHumboldt County: 4,074 jobsIda County: 3,631 jobsIowa County: 10,114 jobsJackson County: 6,308 jobsJasper County: 11,383 jobsJefferson County: 7,565 jobsJohnson County: 83,102 jobsJones County: 6,259 jobsKeokuk County: 2,237 jobsKossuth County: 6,976 jobsLee County: 16,602 jobsLinn County: 129,649 jobsLouisa County: 3,747 jobsLucas County: 3,361 jobsLyon County: 4,574 jobsMadison County: 3,852 jobsMahaska County: 8,058 jobsMarion County: 17,063 jobsMarshall County: 17,884 jobsMills County: 3,989 jobsMitchell County: 3,883 jobsMonona County: 2,763 jobsMonroe County: 3,396 jobsMontgomery County: 4,197 jobsMuscatine County: 23,949 jobsO'Brien County: 6,673 jobsOsceola County: 2,421 jobsPage County: 6,122 jobsPalo Alto County: 3,873 jobsPlymouth County: 11,185 jobsPocahontas County: 2,955 jobsPolk County: 294,984 jobsPottawattamie County: 38,401 jobsPoweshiek County: 9,913 jobsRinggold County: 1,415 jobsSac County: 3,095 jobsScott County: 90,642 jobsShelby County: 5,850 jobsSioux County: 20,446 jobsStory County: 45,619 jobsTama County: 5,625 jobsTaylor County: 1,978 jobsUnion County: 6,207 jobsVan Buren County: 2,098 jobsWapello County: 16,135 jobsWarren County: 11,000 jobsWashington County: 8,252 jobsWayne County: 1,854 jobsWebster County: 19,307 jobsWinnebago County: 4,358 jobsWinneshiek County: 10,221 jobsWoodbury County: 53,369 jobsWorth County: 2,359 jobsWright County: 5,608 jobs
  • Under 3,000
  • 3,000 to 4,000
  • 4,000 to 6,000
  • 6,000 to 8,000
  • 8,000 to 18K
  • 18K and over
jobs, 2016. 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, 2016

Polk County: 294,984 jobsPolk County294,984Linn County: 129,649 jobsLinn County129,649Scott County: 90,642 jobsScott County90,642Johnson County: 83,102 jobsJohnson County83,102Black Hawk County: 73,740 jobsBlack Hawk County73,740Dubuque County: 57,869 jobsDubuque County57,869Woodbury County: 53,369 jobsWoodbury County53,369Story County: 45,619 jobsStory County45,619Dallas County: 42,222 jobsDallas County42,222Pottawattamie County: 38,401 jobsPottawattamie County38,401Cerro Gordo County: 24,377 jobsCerro Gordo County24,377Muscatine County: 23,949 jobsMuscatine County23,949Des Moines County: 22,407 jobsDes Moines County22,407Clinton County: 21,516 jobsClinton County21,516Sioux County: 20,446 jobsSioux County20,446Webster County: 19,307 jobsWebster County19,307Marshall County: 17,884 jobsMarshall County17,884Marion County: 17,063 jobsMarion County17,063Lee County: 16,602 jobsLee County16,602Wapello County: 16,135 jobsWapello County16,135Carroll County: 11,684 jobsCarroll County11,684Jasper County: 11,383 jobsJasper County11,383Plymouth County: 11,185 jobsPlymouth County11,185Warren County: 11,000 jobsWarren County11,000Buena Vista County: 10,854 jobsBuena Vista County10,854Winneshiek County: 10,221 jobsWinneshiek County10,221Iowa County: 10,114 jobsIowa County10,114Bremer County: 9,969 jobsBremer County9,969Dickinson County: 9,921 jobsDickinson County9,921Poweshiek County: 9,913 jobsPoweshiek County9,913Boone County: 9,588 jobsBoone County9,588Henry County: 9,350 jobsHenry County9,350Clay County: 8,610 jobsClay County8,610Washington County: 8,252 jobsWashington County8,252Mahaska County: 8,058 jobsMahaska County8,058Jefferson County: 7,565 jobsJefferson County7,565Fayette County: 7,176 jobsFayette County7,176Hardin County: 7,081 jobsHardin County7,081Kossuth County: 6,976 jobsKossuth County6,976Hancock County: 6,952 jobsHancock County6,952Polk County: 294,984 jobsPolk County294,984Linn County: 129,649 jobsLinn County129,649Scott County: 90,642 jobsScott County90,642Johnson County: 83,102 jobsJohnson County83,102Black Hawk County: 73,740 jobsBlack Hawk County73,740Dubuque County: 57,869 jobsDubuque County57,869Woodbury County: 53,369 jobsWoodbury County53,369Story County: 45,619 jobsStory County45,619Dallas County: 42,222 jobsDallas County42,222Pottawattamie County: 38,401 jobsPottawattamie County38,401Cerro Gordo County: 24,377 jobsCerro Gordo County24,377Muscatine County: 23,949 jobsMuscatine County23,949Des Moines County: 22,407 jobsDes Moines County22,407Clinton County: 21,516 jobsClinton County21,516Sioux County: 20,446 jobsSioux County20,446Webster County: 19,307 jobsWebster County19,307Marshall County: 17,884 jobsMarshall County17,884Marion County: 17,063 jobsMarion County17,063Lee County: 16,602 jobsLee County16,602Wapello County: 16,135 jobsWapello County16,135Carroll County: 11,684 jobsCarroll County11,684Jasper County: 11,383 jobsJasper County11,383Plymouth County: 11,185 jobsPlymouth County11,185Warren County: 11,000 jobsWarren County11,000Buena Vista County: 10,854 jobsBuena Vista County10,854Winneshiek County: 10,221 jobsWinneshiek County10,221Iowa County: 10,114 jobsIowa County10,114Bremer County: 9,969 jobsBremer County9,969Dickinson County: 9,921 jobsDickinson County9,921Poweshiek County: 9,913 jobsPoweshiek County9,913Boone County: 9,588 jobsBoone County9,588Henry County: 9,350 jobsHenry County9,350Clay County: 8,610 jobsClay County8,610Washington County: 8,252 jobsWashington County8,252Mahaska County: 8,058 jobsMahaska County8,058Jefferson County: 7,565 jobsJefferson County7,565Fayette County: 7,176 jobsFayette County7,176Hardin County: 7,081 jobsHardin County7,081Kossuth County: 6,976 jobsKossuth County6,976Hancock County: 6,952 jobsHancock County6,952
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

RankCounties2016
jobs		Change on 2015
1Polk County294,984+2.2%
2Linn County129,649+0.4%
3Scott County90,642-0.3%
4Johnson County83,102+1.9%
5Black Hawk County73,740-0.7%
6Dubuque County57,869-0.6%
7Woodbury County53,369+0.1%
8Story County45,6190%
9Dallas County42,222+5.1%
10Pottawattamie County38,401-1.8%
11Cerro Gordo County24,377+2.2%
12Muscatine County23,949+3.5%
13Des Moines County22,407-2%
14Clinton County21,516-1.8%
15Sioux County20,446-0.1%
16Webster County19,307+1.9%
17Marshall County17,884-0.1%
18Marion County17,063+1.5%
19Lee County16,602-4.2%
20Wapello County16,135+0.4%
21Carroll County11,684+0.2%
22Jasper County11,383+2.1%
23Plymouth County11,185+1.8%
24Warren County11,000+2.4%
25Buena Vista County10,854-0.7%
26Winneshiek County10,221-1.4%
27Iowa County10,114+3.8%
28Bremer County9,969-0.4%
29Dickinson County9,921+1.4%
30Poweshiek County9,913+1.4%
31Boone County9,588-0.4%
32Henry County9,350+0.9%
33Clay County8,610-1.7%
34Washington County8,252-0.5%
35Mahaska County8,058+1.3%
36Jefferson County7,565+1.3%
37Fayette County7,176-0.4%
38Hardin County7,081-2.9%
39Kossuth County6,976+0.6%
40Hancock County6,952+0.7%
41Crawford County6,878-5.8%
42Clayton County6,744+0.1%
43O'Brien County6,673-0.7%
44Delaware County6,653+1.1%
45Buchanan County6,464-0.1%
46Jackson County6,3080%
47Jones County6,259-3.8%
48Union County6,207+0.2%
49Cass County6,146-1.5%
50Page County6,122-2.3%
51Hamilton County5,917+0.2%
52Floyd County5,907-0.4%
53Shelby County5,850-3.4%
54Benton County5,845+1.2%
55Tama County5,625+2.9%
56Wright County5,608-2.3%
57Cedar County5,439-1.3%
58Allamakee County5,126-0.5%
59Cherokee County4,843+1.8%
60Chickasaw County4,7410%
61Appanoose County4,599-0.8%
62Lyon County4,574+0.1%
63Clarke County4,477+2.7%
64Winnebago County4,358+1.2%
65Harrison County4,281+0.1%
66Montgomery County4,197-1.3%
67Howard County4,106-1.4%
68Humboldt County4,074+1.7%
69Mills County3,989+3.5%
70Grundy County3,983-0.1%
71Emmet County3,961-2.2%
72Franklin County3,952-0.8%
73Mitchell County3,883+9.8%
74Palo Alto County3,873+3.1%
75Madison County3,852+1.7%
76Louisa County3,747+1.6%
77Ida County3,631+2.7%
78Greene County3,503+2.3%
79Butler County3,434-5.4%
80Monroe County3,396-4.4%
81Lucas County3,361+0.4%
82Guthrie County3,097-2.9%
83Sac County3,095-4%
84Pocahontas County2,955+1.1%
85Calhoun County2,946+2.6%
86Adair County2,828+0.8%
87Monona County2,763-1.1%
88Fremont County2,519-7.2%
89Osceola County2,421+7.3%
90Worth County2,359+2.3%
91Decatur County2,3380%
92Keokuk County2,237-3.5%
93Van Buren County2,098+2.8%
94Davis County2,069+5.9%
95Taylor County1,978-0.1%
96Wayne County1,854-0.7%
97Audubon County1,789+2.5%
98Ringgold County1,415+1.7%
99Adams County1,272n/a

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/2016/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), 2016) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2016/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), 2016. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2016/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/iowa-counties?period=2016. 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), 2016. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2016/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/iowa-counties?period=2016.

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), 2016 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2016/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/iowa-counties?period=2016 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_iowa_by_2016,
  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), 2016}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2016/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/iowa-counties?period=2016. 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/2016/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), 2016
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2016/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/iowa-counties?period=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/iowa-counties?period=2016.
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/2016/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 294,984 jobs in 2016, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest covered employment (QCEW)?

Adams County, with 1,272 jobs in 2016.

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