Counties in Massachusetts by covered employment (QCEW)
Middlesex County had the highest covered employment (QCEW) of 14 counties in 2021, at 892,656 jobs. Nantucket County had the lowest, at 7,532 jobs. The median was 193,406 jobs and the figure for Massachusetts was 3,456,005 jobs. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Map of counties, 2021
- Under 44K
- 44K to 110K
- 110K to 210K
- 210K to 330K
- 330K and over
All counties, 2021
Full ranking
| Rank | Counties | 2021 | Change on 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middlesex County | 892,656 | +2.8% |
| 2 | Suffolk County | 663,387 | +2.8% |
| 3 | Worcester County | 337,997 | +3.6% |
| 4 | Norfolk County | 331,059 | +4.5% |
| 5 | Essex County | 309,191 | +4.2% |
| 6 | Bristol County | 217,898 | +4.1% |
| 7 | Hampden County | 200,960 | +4.2% |
| 8 | Plymouth County | 185,851 | +4.9% |
| 9 | Barnstable County | 91,395 | +6.5% |
| 10 | Hampshire County | 62,657 | +4.7% |
| 11 | Berkshire County | 55,999 | +3.9% |
| 12 | Franklin County | 25,426 | +4% |
| 13 | Dukes County | 8,664 | +11.4% |
| 14 | Nantucket County | 7,532 | +14.5% |
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/2021/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.Citation styles
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 Massachusetts by covered employment (QCEW), 2021) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2021/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 Massachusetts by covered employment (QCEW), 2021. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2021/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/massachusetts-counties?period=2021. 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 Massachusetts by covered employment (QCEW), 2021. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2021/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/massachusetts-counties?period=2021.
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 Massachusetts by covered employment (QCEW), 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2021/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/massachusetts-counties?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_massachusetts_by_2021,
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 Massachusetts by covered employment (QCEW), 2021}},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Data set},
url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2021/a/industry/10.csv},
urldate = {2026-10-12},
note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/massachusetts-counties?period=2021. 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/2021/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 Massachusetts by covered employment (QCEW), 2021
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/21
PB - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB - Invokely
UR - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2021/a/industry/10.csv
L2 - https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/massachusetts-counties?period=2021
Y2 - 2026/10/12
N1 - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/massachusetts-counties?period=2021.
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/2021/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER -
Use this data in your AI agent
Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:
Rank Counties in Massachusetts by covered employment (QCEW) using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"covered_employment","level":"province","within":"Massachusetts","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=covered_employment&level=province&within=Massachusetts&limit=10Questions
Which county has the highest covered employment (QCEW)?
Middlesex County, with 892,656 jobs in 2021, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Which county has the lowest covered employment (QCEW)?
Nantucket County, with 7,532 jobs in 2021.
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.