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 2023, at 313,794 jobs. Adams County had the lowest, at 1,246 jobs. The median was 5,913 jobs and the figure for Iowa was 1,556,484 jobs. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest313,794Polk County
Lowest1,246Adams County
Median5,91399 counties
Iowa1,556,484History

Map of counties, 2023

Adair County: 3,034 jobsAdams County: 1,246 jobsAllamakee County: 4,875 jobsAppanoose County: 4,585 jobsAudubon County: 1,839 jobsBenton County: 5,887 jobsBlack Hawk County: 72,075 jobsBoone County: 8,871 jobsBremer County: 9,780 jobsBuchanan County: 6,638 jobsBuena Vista County: 11,015 jobsButler County: 3,814 jobsCalhoun County: 2,766 jobsCarroll County: 10,981 jobsCass County: 5,913 jobsCedar County: 5,023 jobsCerro Gordo County: 23,176 jobsCherokee County: 4,842 jobsChickasaw County: 5,066 jobsClarke County: 4,666 jobsClay County: 8,631 jobsClayton County: 6,269 jobsClinton County: 19,385 jobsCrawford County: 6,407 jobsDallas County: 52,777 jobsDavis County: 2,188 jobsDecatur County: 2,384 jobsDelaware County: 6,514 jobsDes Moines County: 19,789 jobsDickinson County: 10,284 jobsDubuque County: 58,552 jobsEmmet County: 3,264 jobsFayette County: 7,007 jobsFloyd County: 5,795 jobsFranklin County: 3,968 jobsFremont County: 2,214 jobsGreene County: 3,243 jobsGrundy County: 4,145 jobsGuthrie County: 3,187 jobsHamilton County: 5,822 jobsHancock County: 5,977 jobsHardin County: 6,621 jobsHarrison County: 3,924 jobsHenry County: 8,520 jobsHoward County: 4,318 jobsHumboldt County: 3,756 jobsIda County: 3,635 jobsIowa County: 9,093 jobsJackson County: 5,961 jobsJasper County: 10,192 jobsJefferson County: 7,419 jobsJohnson County: 83,209 jobsJones County: 6,285 jobsKeokuk County: 2,282 jobsKossuth County: 6,506 jobsLee County: 13,815 jobsLinn County: 126,778 jobsLouisa County: 3,893 jobsLucas County: 3,424 jobsLyon County: 4,701 jobsMadison County: 4,153 jobsMahaska County: 7,797 jobsMarion County: 19,409 jobsMarshall County: 15,755 jobsMills County: 3,447 jobsMitchell County: 4,073 jobsMonona County: 2,561 jobsMonroe County: 3,805 jobsMontgomery County: 4,084 jobsMuscatine County: 21,766 jobsO'Brien County: 6,528 jobsOsceola County: 2,695 jobsPage County: 6,484 jobsPalo Alto County: 3,549 jobsPlymouth County: 11,802 jobsPocahontas County: 2,764 jobsPolk County: 313,794 jobsPottawattamie County: 39,921 jobsPoweshiek County: 9,519 jobsRinggold County: 1,365 jobsSac County: 3,017 jobsScott County: 89,846 jobsShelby County: 5,488 jobsSioux County: 22,465 jobsStory County: 47,693 jobsTama County: 5,363 jobsTaylor County: 1,987 jobsUnion County: 5,743 jobsVan Buren County: 1,886 jobsWapello County: 15,210 jobsWarren County: 12,721 jobsWashington County: 8,324 jobsWayne County: 2,087 jobsWebster County: 17,504 jobsWinnebago County: 4,016 jobsWinneshiek County: 10,304 jobsWoodbury County: 51,405 jobsWorth County: 2,251 jobsWright County: 5,974 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, 2023. 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, 2023

Polk County: 313,794 jobsPolk County313,794Linn County: 126,778 jobsLinn County126,778Scott County: 89,846 jobsScott County89,846Johnson County: 83,209 jobsJohnson County83,209Black Hawk County: 72,075 jobsBlack Hawk County72,075Dubuque County: 58,552 jobsDubuque County58,552Dallas County: 52,777 jobsDallas County52,777Woodbury County: 51,405 jobsWoodbury County51,405Story County: 47,693 jobsStory County47,693Pottawattamie County: 39,921 jobsPottawattamie County39,921Cerro Gordo County: 23,176 jobsCerro Gordo County23,176Sioux County: 22,465 jobsSioux County22,465Muscatine County: 21,766 jobsMuscatine County21,766Des Moines County: 19,789 jobsDes Moines County19,789Marion County: 19,409 jobsMarion County19,409Clinton County: 19,385 jobsClinton County19,385Webster County: 17,504 jobsWebster County17,504Marshall County: 15,755 jobsMarshall County15,755Wapello County: 15,210 jobsWapello County15,210Lee County: 13,815 jobsLee County13,815Warren County: 12,721 jobsWarren County12,721Plymouth County: 11,802 jobsPlymouth County11,802Buena Vista County: 11,015 jobsBuena Vista County11,015Carroll County: 10,981 jobsCarroll County10,981Winneshiek County: 10,304 jobsWinneshiek County10,304Dickinson County: 10,284 jobsDickinson County10,284Jasper County: 10,192 jobsJasper County10,192Bremer County: 9,780 jobsBremer County9,780Poweshiek County: 9,519 jobsPoweshiek County9,519Iowa County: 9,093 jobsIowa County9,093Boone County: 8,871 jobsBoone County8,871Clay County: 8,631 jobsClay County8,631Henry County: 8,520 jobsHenry County8,520Washington County: 8,324 jobsWashington County8,324Mahaska County: 7,797 jobsMahaska County7,797Jefferson County: 7,419 jobsJefferson County7,419Fayette County: 7,007 jobsFayette County7,007Buchanan County: 6,638 jobsBuchanan County6,638Hardin County: 6,621 jobsHardin County6,621O'Brien County: 6,528 jobsO'Brien County6,528Polk County: 313,794 jobsPolk County313,794Linn County: 126,778 jobsLinn County126,778Scott County: 89,846 jobsScott County89,846Johnson County: 83,209 jobsJohnson County83,209Black Hawk County: 72,075 jobsBlack Hawk County72,075Dubuque County: 58,552 jobsDubuque County58,552Dallas County: 52,777 jobsDallas County52,777Woodbury County: 51,405 jobsWoodbury County51,405Story County: 47,693 jobsStory County47,693Pottawattamie County: 39,921 jobsPottawattamie County39,921Cerro Gordo County: 23,176 jobsCerro Gordo County23,176Sioux County: 22,465 jobsSioux County22,465Muscatine County: 21,766 jobsMuscatine County21,766Des Moines County: 19,789 jobsDes Moines County19,789Marion County: 19,409 jobsMarion County19,409Clinton County: 19,385 jobsClinton County19,385Webster County: 17,504 jobsWebster County17,504Marshall County: 15,755 jobsMarshall County15,755Wapello County: 15,210 jobsWapello County15,210Lee County: 13,815 jobsLee County13,815Warren County: 12,721 jobsWarren County12,721Plymouth County: 11,802 jobsPlymouth County11,802Buena Vista County: 11,015 jobsBuena Vista County11,015Carroll County: 10,981 jobsCarroll County10,981Winneshiek County: 10,304 jobsWinneshiek County10,304Dickinson County: 10,284 jobsDickinson County10,284Jasper County: 10,192 jobsJasper County10,192Bremer County: 9,780 jobsBremer County9,780Poweshiek County: 9,519 jobsPoweshiek County9,519Iowa County: 9,093 jobsIowa County9,093Boone County: 8,871 jobsBoone County8,871Clay County: 8,631 jobsClay County8,631Henry County: 8,520 jobsHenry County8,520Washington County: 8,324 jobsWashington County8,324Mahaska County: 7,797 jobsMahaska County7,797Jefferson County: 7,419 jobsJefferson County7,419Fayette County: 7,007 jobsFayette County7,007Buchanan County: 6,638 jobsBuchanan County6,638Hardin County: 6,621 jobsHardin County6,621O'Brien County: 6,528 jobsO'Brien County6,528
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

RankCounties2023
jobs		Change on 2022
1Polk County313,794+2.5%
2Linn County126,778-0.1%
3Scott County89,846+1.7%
4Johnson County83,209+1.1%
5Black Hawk County72,075+0.7%
6Dubuque County58,552+0.9%
7Dallas County52,777+5.8%
8Woodbury County51,405+0.8%
9Story County47,693+2%
10Pottawattamie County39,921+1.6%
11Cerro Gordo County23,1760%
12Sioux County22,465+2.5%
13Muscatine County21,766-0.8%
14Des Moines County19,789-0.1%
15Marion County19,409+2.9%
16Clinton County19,385-0.6%
17Webster County17,504+0.2%
18Marshall County15,755+0.2%
19Wapello County15,210+0.2%
20Lee County13,815-0.2%
21Warren County12,721+2.5%
22Plymouth County11,802+0.8%
23Buena Vista County11,015+1.7%
24Carroll County10,981-1.4%
25Winneshiek County10,304+1.9%
26Dickinson County10,284-1%
27Jasper County10,192+1%
28Bremer County9,780+0.1%
29Poweshiek County9,519-1%
30Iowa County9,093+0.3%
31Boone County8,871+1.7%
32Clay County8,631+1.2%
33Henry County8,520-4.6%
34Washington County8,324+0.4%
35Mahaska County7,797-2.3%
36Jefferson County7,419-0.9%
37Fayette County7,007+1.4%
38Buchanan County6,638-0.5%
39Hardin County6,621+1.3%
40O'Brien County6,528+1.9%
41Delaware County6,514-0.9%
42Kossuth County6,506-0.4%
43Page County6,484+2.7%
44Crawford County6,4070%
45Jones County6,285+2.7%
46Clayton County6,269+0.2%
47Hancock County5,977-1.9%
48Wright County5,974+4.6%
49Jackson County5,961+0.1%
50Cass County5,913+3%
51Benton County5,887+0.1%
52Hamilton County5,822+2.8%
53Floyd County5,795+1.6%
54Union County5,743-1.3%
55Shelby County5,488+0.1%
56Tama County5,363+0.9%
57Chickasaw County5,066+1.2%
58Cedar County5,023-0.4%
59Allamakee County4,875+0.5%
60Cherokee County4,842+0.7%
61Lyon County4,701+3%
62Clarke County4,666+2.2%
63Appanoose County4,585+0.7%
64Howard County4,318+1.7%
65Madison County4,153+1.7%
66Grundy County4,145+0.6%
67Montgomery County4,084-0.5%
68Mitchell County4,073+2.7%
69Winnebago County4,016-2.8%
70Franklin County3,968+3.2%
71Harrison County3,924-2.8%
72Louisa County3,893+3.6%
73Butler County3,814-1%
74Monroe County3,805+6.4%
75Humboldt County3,756+2.7%
76Ida County3,635-0.5%
77Palo Alto County3,549+0.5%
78Mills County3,447-1.2%
79Lucas County3,424-4.8%
80Emmet County3,264-2.2%
81Greene County3,243-1.7%
82Guthrie County3,187+4.8%
83Adair County3,034+3.2%
84Sac County3,017+1.1%
85Calhoun County2,766-0.1%
86Pocahontas County2,764-7.4%
87Osceola County2,695+6.1%
88Monona County2,561-0.4%
89Decatur County2,384-0%
90Keokuk County2,282+2.7%
91Worth County2,251+2.6%
92Fremont County2,214-0.9%
93Davis County2,188+1.5%
94Wayne County2,087+5.2%
95Taylor County1,987+2.2%
96Van Buren County1,886-0.3%
97Audubon County1,839+2.1%
98Ringgold County1,365+1.5%
99Adams County1,246+0.3%

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/2023/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), 2023) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2023/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), 2023. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2023/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/iowa-counties?period=2023. 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), 2023. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2023/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/iowa-counties?period=2023.

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), 2023 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2023/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/iowa-counties?period=2023 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_iowa_by_2023,
  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), 2023}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2023/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/iowa-counties?period=2023. 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/2023/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), 2023
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2023/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/iowa-counties?period=2023
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/iowa-counties?period=2023.
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/2023/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 313,794 jobs in 2023, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest covered employment (QCEW)?

Adams County, with 1,246 jobs in 2023.

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