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 2022, at 306,109 jobs. Adams County had the lowest, at 1,242 jobs. The median was 5,816 jobs and the figure for Iowa was 1,536,997 jobs. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest306,109Polk County
Lowest1,242Adams County
Median5,81699 counties
Iowa1,536,997History

Map of counties, 2022

Adair County: 2,940 jobsAdams County: 1,242 jobsAllamakee County: 4,853 jobsAppanoose County: 4,554 jobsAudubon County: 1,801 jobsBenton County: 5,880 jobsBlack Hawk County: 71,550 jobsBoone County: 8,721 jobsBremer County: 9,775 jobsBuchanan County: 6,671 jobsBuena Vista County: 10,826 jobsButler County: 3,854 jobsCalhoun County: 2,770 jobsCarroll County: 11,133 jobsCass County: 5,742 jobsCedar County: 5,042 jobsCerro Gordo County: 23,169 jobsCherokee County: 4,810 jobsChickasaw County: 5,006 jobsClarke County: 4,564 jobsClay County: 8,526 jobsClayton County: 6,258 jobsClinton County: 19,495 jobsCrawford County: 6,405 jobsDallas County: 49,900 jobsDavis County: 2,155 jobsDecatur County: 2,385 jobsDelaware County: 6,573 jobsDes Moines County: 19,801 jobsDickinson County: 10,391 jobsDubuque County: 58,032 jobsEmmet County: 3,337 jobsFayette County: 6,909 jobsFloyd County: 5,702 jobsFranklin County: 3,846 jobsFremont County: 2,235 jobsGreene County: 3,299 jobsGrundy County: 4,120 jobsGuthrie County: 3,041 jobsHamilton County: 5,665 jobsHancock County: 6,095 jobsHardin County: 6,539 jobsHarrison County: 4,039 jobsHenry County: 8,931 jobsHoward County: 4,245 jobsHumboldt County: 3,659 jobsIda County: 3,653 jobsIowa County: 9,069 jobsJackson County: 5,953 jobsJasper County: 10,088 jobsJefferson County: 7,489 jobsJohnson County: 82,312 jobsJones County: 6,119 jobsKeokuk County: 2,221 jobsKossuth County: 6,532 jobsLee County: 13,840 jobsLinn County: 126,890 jobsLouisa County: 3,757 jobsLucas County: 3,597 jobsLyon County: 4,566 jobsMadison County: 4,082 jobsMahaska County: 7,980 jobsMarion County: 18,867 jobsMarshall County: 15,730 jobsMills County: 3,490 jobsMitchell County: 3,964 jobsMonona County: 2,572 jobsMonroe County: 3,577 jobsMontgomery County: 4,104 jobsMuscatine County: 21,937 jobsO'Brien County: 6,408 jobsOsceola County: 2,540 jobsPage County: 6,316 jobsPalo Alto County: 3,531 jobsPlymouth County: 11,710 jobsPocahontas County: 2,985 jobsPolk County: 306,109 jobsPottawattamie County: 39,296 jobsPoweshiek County: 9,619 jobsRinggold County: 1,345 jobsSac County: 2,984 jobsScott County: 88,383 jobsShelby County: 5,485 jobsSioux County: 21,907 jobsStory County: 46,766 jobsTama County: 5,315 jobsTaylor County: 1,944 jobsUnion County: 5,816 jobsVan Buren County: 1,892 jobsWapello County: 15,179 jobsWarren County: 12,405 jobsWashington County: 8,288 jobsWayne County: 1,983 jobsWebster County: 17,477 jobsWinnebago County: 4,131 jobsWinneshiek County: 10,111 jobsWoodbury County: 50,972 jobsWorth County: 2,195 jobsWright County: 5,714 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, 2022. 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, 2022

Polk County: 306,109 jobsPolk County306,109Linn County: 126,890 jobsLinn County126,890Scott County: 88,383 jobsScott County88,383Johnson County: 82,312 jobsJohnson County82,312Black Hawk County: 71,550 jobsBlack Hawk County71,550Dubuque County: 58,032 jobsDubuque County58,032Woodbury County: 50,972 jobsWoodbury County50,972Dallas County: 49,900 jobsDallas County49,900Story County: 46,766 jobsStory County46,766Pottawattamie County: 39,296 jobsPottawattamie County39,296Cerro Gordo County: 23,169 jobsCerro Gordo County23,169Muscatine County: 21,937 jobsMuscatine County21,937Sioux County: 21,907 jobsSioux County21,907Des Moines County: 19,801 jobsDes Moines County19,801Clinton County: 19,495 jobsClinton County19,495Marion County: 18,867 jobsMarion County18,867Webster County: 17,477 jobsWebster County17,477Marshall County: 15,730 jobsMarshall County15,730Wapello County: 15,179 jobsWapello County15,179Lee County: 13,840 jobsLee County13,840Warren County: 12,405 jobsWarren County12,405Plymouth County: 11,710 jobsPlymouth County11,710Carroll County: 11,133 jobsCarroll County11,133Buena Vista County: 10,826 jobsBuena Vista County10,826Dickinson County: 10,391 jobsDickinson County10,391Winneshiek County: 10,111 jobsWinneshiek County10,111Jasper County: 10,088 jobsJasper County10,088Bremer County: 9,775 jobsBremer County9,775Poweshiek County: 9,619 jobsPoweshiek County9,619Iowa County: 9,069 jobsIowa County9,069Henry County: 8,931 jobsHenry County8,931Boone County: 8,721 jobsBoone County8,721Clay County: 8,526 jobsClay County8,526Washington County: 8,288 jobsWashington County8,288Mahaska County: 7,980 jobsMahaska County7,980Jefferson County: 7,489 jobsJefferson County7,489Fayette County: 6,909 jobsFayette County6,909Buchanan County: 6,671 jobsBuchanan County6,671Delaware County: 6,573 jobsDelaware County6,573Hardin County: 6,539 jobsHardin County6,539Polk County: 306,109 jobsPolk County306,109Linn County: 126,890 jobsLinn County126,890Scott County: 88,383 jobsScott County88,383Johnson County: 82,312 jobsJohnson County82,312Black Hawk County: 71,550 jobsBlack Hawk County71,550Dubuque County: 58,032 jobsDubuque County58,032Woodbury County: 50,972 jobsWoodbury County50,972Dallas County: 49,900 jobsDallas County49,900Story County: 46,766 jobsStory County46,766Pottawattamie County: 39,296 jobsPottawattamie County39,296Cerro Gordo County: 23,169 jobsCerro Gordo County23,169Muscatine County: 21,937 jobsMuscatine County21,937Sioux County: 21,907 jobsSioux County21,907Des Moines County: 19,801 jobsDes Moines County19,801Clinton County: 19,495 jobsClinton County19,495Marion County: 18,867 jobsMarion County18,867Webster County: 17,477 jobsWebster County17,477Marshall County: 15,730 jobsMarshall County15,730Wapello County: 15,179 jobsWapello County15,179Lee County: 13,840 jobsLee County13,840Warren County: 12,405 jobsWarren County12,405Plymouth County: 11,710 jobsPlymouth County11,710Carroll County: 11,133 jobsCarroll County11,133Buena Vista County: 10,826 jobsBuena Vista County10,826Dickinson County: 10,391 jobsDickinson County10,391Winneshiek County: 10,111 jobsWinneshiek County10,111Jasper County: 10,088 jobsJasper County10,088Bremer County: 9,775 jobsBremer County9,775Poweshiek County: 9,619 jobsPoweshiek County9,619Iowa County: 9,069 jobsIowa County9,069Henry County: 8,931 jobsHenry County8,931Boone County: 8,721 jobsBoone County8,721Clay County: 8,526 jobsClay County8,526Washington County: 8,288 jobsWashington County8,288Mahaska County: 7,980 jobsMahaska County7,980Jefferson County: 7,489 jobsJefferson County7,489Fayette County: 6,909 jobsFayette County6,909Buchanan County: 6,671 jobsBuchanan County6,671Delaware County: 6,573 jobsDelaware County6,573Hardin County: 6,539 jobsHardin County6,539
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

RankCounties2022
jobs		Change on 2021
1Polk County306,109+3.3%
2Linn County126,890+1.6%
3Scott County88,383+2.4%
4Johnson County82,312+2.8%
5Black Hawk County71,550+0.6%
6Dubuque County58,032+2.5%
7Woodbury County50,972+1.7%
8Dallas County49,900+5.8%
9Story County46,766+3.2%
10Pottawattamie County39,296+2.4%
11Cerro Gordo County23,169-1%
12Muscatine County21,937+0.7%
13Sioux County21,907+2.7%
14Des Moines County19,801-1.1%
15Clinton County19,495+1.5%
16Marion County18,867+3.4%
17Webster County17,477+1.9%
18Marshall County15,730-0.3%
19Wapello County15,179+0.7%
20Lee County13,840-2.9%
21Warren County12,405+1.9%
22Plymouth County11,710+1.8%
23Carroll County11,133+1.5%
24Buena Vista County10,826+0.2%
25Dickinson County10,391+5.7%
26Winneshiek County10,111+1.1%
27Jasper County10,088-6.9%
28Bremer County9,775+2.7%
29Poweshiek County9,619+1.6%
30Iowa County9,069-3.7%
31Henry County8,931-0.1%
32Boone County8,721-0%
33Clay County8,526+0.7%
34Washington County8,288+2.7%
35Mahaska County7,980+1.7%
36Jefferson County7,489+1.6%
37Fayette County6,909+2.1%
38Buchanan County6,671-0.2%
39Delaware County6,573-0.4%
40Hardin County6,539-0.4%
41Kossuth County6,532+2.1%
42O'Brien County6,408+0.4%
43Crawford County6,405-0.1%
44Page County6,316+3.7%
45Clayton County6,258-0.4%
46Jones County6,119+2.3%
47Hancock County6,095+0.7%
48Jackson County5,953+1.4%
49Benton County5,880-0.5%
50Union County5,816+0.7%
51Cass County5,742+1.1%
52Wright County5,714+0.4%
53Floyd County5,702+2.8%
54Hamilton County5,665+1.5%
55Shelby County5,485+1.7%
56Tama County5,315+0.7%
57Cedar County5,042+0.3%
58Chickasaw County5,006+3.4%
59Allamakee County4,853+0.4%
60Cherokee County4,810-0.2%
61Lyon County4,566+1%
62Clarke County4,564+0.8%
63Appanoose County4,554+1.5%
64Howard County4,245+2.4%
65Winnebago County4,131+1.5%
66Grundy County4,120+1.4%
67Montgomery County4,104+3.7%
68Madison County4,082+3.6%
69Harrison County4,039+1.5%
70Mitchell County3,964+1%
71Butler County3,854+7.1%
72Franklin County3,846+0.5%
73Louisa County3,757+0.1%
74Humboldt County3,659-1.1%
75Ida County3,653-0%
76Lucas County3,597-0.2%
77Monroe County3,577+3.4%
78Palo Alto County3,531-0.1%
79Mills County3,490-1.6%
80Emmet County3,337-1.7%
81Greene County3,299+1%
82Guthrie County3,041+0.9%
83Pocahontas County2,985+1%
84Sac County2,984+0.7%
85Adair County2,940-1.7%
86Calhoun County2,770+2.8%
87Monona County2,572+0.2%
88Osceola County2,540+3.5%
89Decatur County2,385-0.6%
90Fremont County2,235-3.5%
91Keokuk County2,221+0.5%
92Worth County2,195+1.2%
93Davis County2,155+4.9%
94Wayne County1,983+4.4%
95Taylor County1,944+0.6%
96Van Buren County1,892+0.9%
97Audubon County1,801+1.3%
98Ringgold County1,345-0.8%
99Adams County1,242+4.7%

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/2022/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), 2022) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2022/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), 2022. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2022/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/iowa-counties?period=2022. 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), 2022. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2022/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/iowa-counties?period=2022.

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), 2022 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2022/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/iowa-counties?period=2022 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_iowa_by_2022,
  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), 2022}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2022/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/iowa-counties?period=2022. 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/2022/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), 2022
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2022/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/iowa-counties?period=2022
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/iowa-counties?period=2022.
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/2022/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 306,109 jobs in 2022, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest covered employment (QCEW)?

Adams County, with 1,242 jobs in 2022.

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