Counties in Missouri by covered employment (QCEW)

St. Louis County had the highest covered employment (QCEW) of 115 counties in 2015, at 591,168 jobs. Worth County had the lowest, at 379 jobs. The median was 5,251 jobs and the figure for Missouri was 2,715,579 jobs. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest591,168St. Louis County
Lowest379Worth County
Median5,251115 counties
Missouri2,715,579History

Map of counties, 2015

Adair County: 9,698 jobsAndrew County: 2,435 jobsAtchison County: 1,624 jobsAudrain County: 9,486 jobsBarry County: 13,676 jobsBarton County: 3,217 jobsBates County: 3,597 jobsBenton County: 3,460 jobsBollinger County: 1,810 jobsBoone County: 91,449 jobsBuchanan County: 47,091 jobsButler County: 18,959 jobsCaldwell County: 1,622 jobsCallaway County: 14,178 jobsCamden County: 16,245 jobsCape Girardeau County: 40,333 jobsCarroll County: 2,410 jobsCarter County: 1,404 jobsCass County: 25,169 jobsCedar County: 3,220 jobsChariton County: 1,854 jobsChristian County: 16,608 jobsClark County: 1,421 jobsClay County: 97,566 jobsClinton County: 3,885 jobsCole County: 51,638 jobsCooper County: 5,002 jobsCrawford County: 6,583 jobsDade County: 1,677 jobsDallas County: 2,406 jobsDaviess County: 1,489 jobsDeKalb County: 3,543 jobsDent County: 3,843 jobsDouglas County: 2,281 jobsDunklin County: 9,944 jobsFranklin County: 37,628 jobsGasconade County: 5,251 jobsGentry County: 2,247 jobsGreene County: 161,264 jobsGrundy County: 3,483 jobsHarrison County: 2,569 jobsHenry County: 7,563 jobsHickory County: 1,228 jobsHolt County: 1,299 jobsHoward County: 2,623 jobsHowell County: 14,996 jobsIron County: 3,816 jobsJackson County: 358,270 jobsJasper County: 59,788 jobsJefferson County: 46,655 jobsJohnson County: 15,256 jobsKnox County: 1,082 jobsLaclede County: 12,857 jobsLafayette County: 8,491 jobsLawrence County: 8,998 jobsLewis County: 2,666 jobsLincoln County: 11,093 jobsLinn County: 3,844 jobsLivingston County: 6,187 jobsMcDonald County: 6,994 jobsMacon County: 4,872 jobsMadison County: 3,625 jobsMaries County: 1,230 jobsMarion County: 13,516 jobsMercer County: 1,744 jobsMiller County: 6,455 jobsMississippi County: 4,001 jobsMoniteau County: 4,121 jobsMonroe County: 2,047 jobsMontgomery County: 2,822 jobsMorgan County: 4,222 jobsNew Madrid County: 7,504 jobsNewton County: 17,032 jobsNodaway County: 7,695 jobsOregon County: 2,327 jobsOsage County: 3,569 jobsOzark County: 1,550 jobsPemiscot County: 5,875 jobsPerry County: 9,679 jobsPettis County: 19,370 jobsPhelps County: 17,684 jobsPike County: 6,018 jobsPlatte County: 41,520 jobsPolk County: 7,972 jobsPulaski County: 13,169 jobsPutnam County: 1,033 jobsRalls County: 3,488 jobsRandolph County: 9,484 jobsRay County: 4,287 jobsReynolds County: 1,673 jobsRipley County: 2,813 jobsSt. Charles County: 139,552 jobsSt. Clair County: 1,653 jobsSte. Genevieve County: 5,412 jobsSt. Francois County: 22,745 jobsSt. Louis County: 591,168 jobsSaline County: 8,831 jobsSchuyler County: 631 jobsScotland County: 1,190 jobsScott County: 15,305 jobsShannon County: 1,425 jobsShelby County: 1,741 jobsStoddard County: 10,062 jobsStone County: 5,387 jobsSullivan County: 2,374 jobsTaney County: 28,554 jobsTexas County: 5,682 jobsVernon County: 7,012 jobsWarren County: 7,018 jobsWashington County: 5,106 jobsWayne County: 2,744 jobsWebster County: 6,701 jobsWorth County: 379 jobsWright County: 4,187 jobsSt. Louis city: 225,947 jobs
  • Under 2,000
  • 2,000 to 3,000
  • 3,000 to 5,000
  • 5,000 to 9,000
  • 9,000 to 18K
  • 18K and over
jobs, 2015. 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

St. Louis County: 591,168 jobsSt. Louis County591,168Jackson County: 358,270 jobsJackson County358,270St. Louis city: 225,947 jobsSt. Louis city225,947Greene County: 161,264 jobsGreene County161,264St. Charles County: 139,552 jobsSt. Charles County139,552Clay County: 97,566 jobsClay County97,566Boone County: 91,449 jobsBoone County91,449Jasper County: 59,788 jobsJasper County59,788Cole County: 51,638 jobsCole County51,638Buchanan County: 47,091 jobsBuchanan County47,091Jefferson County: 46,655 jobsJefferson County46,655Platte County: 41,520 jobsPlatte County41,520Cape Girardeau County: 40,333 jobsCape Girardeau County40,333Franklin County: 37,628 jobsFranklin County37,628Taney County: 28,554 jobsTaney County28,554Cass County: 25,169 jobsCass County25,169St. Francois County: 22,745 jobsSt. Francois County22,745Pettis County: 19,370 jobsPettis County19,370Butler County: 18,959 jobsButler County18,959Phelps County: 17,684 jobsPhelps County17,684Newton County: 17,032 jobsNewton County17,032Christian County: 16,608 jobsChristian County16,608Camden County: 16,245 jobsCamden County16,245Scott County: 15,305 jobsScott County15,305Johnson County: 15,256 jobsJohnson County15,256Howell County: 14,996 jobsHowell County14,996Callaway County: 14,178 jobsCallaway County14,178Barry County: 13,676 jobsBarry County13,676Marion County: 13,516 jobsMarion County13,516Pulaski County: 13,169 jobsPulaski County13,169Laclede County: 12,857 jobsLaclede County12,857Lincoln County: 11,093 jobsLincoln County11,093Stoddard County: 10,062 jobsStoddard County10,062Dunklin County: 9,944 jobsDunklin County9,944Adair County: 9,698 jobsAdair County9,698Perry County: 9,679 jobsPerry County9,679Audrain County: 9,486 jobsAudrain County9,486Randolph County: 9,484 jobsRandolph County9,484Lawrence County: 8,998 jobsLawrence County8,998Saline County: 8,831 jobsSaline County8,831St. Louis County: 591,168 jobsSt. Louis County591,168Jackson County: 358,270 jobsJackson County358,270St. Louis city: 225,947 jobsSt. Louis city225,947Greene County: 161,264 jobsGreene County161,264St. Charles County: 139,552 jobsSt. Charles County139,552Clay County: 97,566 jobsClay County97,566Boone County: 91,449 jobsBoone County91,449Jasper County: 59,788 jobsJasper County59,788Cole County: 51,638 jobsCole County51,638Buchanan County: 47,091 jobsBuchanan County47,091Jefferson County: 46,655 jobsJefferson County46,655Platte County: 41,520 jobsPlatte County41,520Cape Girardeau County: 40,333 jobsCape Girardeau County40,333Franklin County: 37,628 jobsFranklin County37,628Taney County: 28,554 jobsTaney County28,554Cass County: 25,169 jobsCass County25,169St. Francois County: 22,745 jobsSt. Francois County22,745Pettis County: 19,370 jobsPettis County19,370Butler County: 18,959 jobsButler County18,959Phelps County: 17,684 jobsPhelps County17,684Newton County: 17,032 jobsNewton County17,032Christian County: 16,608 jobsChristian County16,608Camden County: 16,245 jobsCamden County16,245Scott County: 15,305 jobsScott County15,305Johnson County: 15,256 jobsJohnson County15,256Howell County: 14,996 jobsHowell County14,996Callaway County: 14,178 jobsCallaway County14,178Barry County: 13,676 jobsBarry County13,676Marion County: 13,516 jobsMarion County13,516Pulaski County: 13,169 jobsPulaski County13,169Laclede County: 12,857 jobsLaclede County12,857Lincoln County: 11,093 jobsLincoln County11,093Stoddard County: 10,062 jobsStoddard County10,062Dunklin County: 9,944 jobsDunklin County9,944Adair County: 9,698 jobsAdair County9,698Perry County: 9,679 jobsPerry County9,679Audrain County: 9,486 jobsAudrain County9,486Randolph County: 9,484 jobsRandolph County9,484Lawrence County: 8,998 jobsLawrence County8,998Saline County: 8,831 jobsSaline County8,831
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
1St. Louis County591,168+1.7%
2Jackson County358,270+2.3%
3St. Louis city225,947+1.5%
4Greene County161,264+2.2%
5St. Charles County139,552+5.2%
6Clay County97,566+4.7%
7Boone County91,449+1.8%
8Jasper County59,788+1.6%
9Cole County51,638+0.7%
10Buchanan County47,091+0.8%
11Jefferson County46,655+0.6%
12Platte County41,520+1.7%
13Cape Girardeau County40,333+0.9%
14Franklin County37,628+2.4%
15Taney County28,554+1.9%
16Cass County25,169+4.5%
17St. Francois County22,745+1.3%
18Pettis County19,370+1.8%
19Butler County18,959-0.3%
20Phelps County17,684+1.9%
21Newton County17,032-2.9%
22Christian County16,608+4.5%
23Camden County16,245+0.9%
24Scott County15,305+2.3%
25Johnson County15,256+2.7%
26Howell County14,996+0.7%
27Callaway County14,178+0.5%
28Barry County13,676+1.4%
29Marion County13,516+2.1%
30Pulaski County13,169-1.2%
31Laclede County12,857+1.8%
32Lincoln County11,093+3.7%
33Stoddard County10,062+0.9%
34Dunklin County9,944-0.3%
35Adair County9,698-0.9%
36Perry County9,679-0.1%
37Audrain County9,486+1.5%
38Randolph County9,484-0.4%
39Lawrence County8,998+3.5%
40Saline County8,831-2.3%
41Lafayette County8,491+1.8%
42Polk County7,972+2.4%
43Nodaway County7,695+1.2%
44Henry County7,563+0.2%
45New Madrid County7,504+2%
46Warren County7,018+2.5%
47Vernon County7,012-0.5%
48McDonald County6,994-0.9%
49Webster County6,701+3.3%
50Crawford County6,583+2.3%
51Miller County6,455+2.2%
52Livingston County6,187+0.7%
53Pike County6,018-0.1%
54Pemiscot County5,875-0.8%
55Texas County5,682-0.1%
56Ste. Genevieve County5,412+0.1%
57Stone County5,387+8.6%
58Gasconade County5,251+1.1%
59Washington County5,106+2.8%
60Cooper County5,002-2.2%
61Macon County4,872+0.7%
62Ray County4,287+6.3%
63Morgan County4,222+4%
64Wright County4,187-0.7%
65Moniteau County4,121+2.8%
66Mississippi County4,001-1.8%
67Clinton County3,885+2.2%
68Linn County3,844+1.2%
69Dent County3,843+0.9%
70Iron County3,816-0.8%
71Madison County3,625+0.4%
72Bates County3,597+1.3%
73Osage County3,569+1.2%
74DeKalb County3,543+6.3%
75Ralls County3,488-1.3%
76Grundy County3,483+0.9%
77Benton County3,460+0.9%
78Cedar County3,220+1.2%
79Barton County3,217-4.8%
80Montgomery County2,822+0.1%
81Ripley County2,813-7.1%
82Wayne County2,744+3.6%
83Lewis County2,666+0.7%
84Howard County2,623+2.2%
85Harrison County2,569+1.7%
86Andrew County2,435+0.6%
87Carroll County2,410+2.3%
88Dallas County2,406-0%
89Sullivan County2,374+1.2%
90Oregon County2,327+0.1%
91Douglas County2,281+0.6%
92Gentry County2,247-0.4%
93Monroe County2,047+3.8%
94Chariton County1,854+0.5%
95Bollinger County1,810-0.8%
96Mercer County1,744+1.4%
97Shelby County1,741+1.3%
98Dade County1,677+2.4%
99Reynolds County1,673+2.1%
100St. Clair County1,653-1.3%
101Atchison County1,624-2.1%
102Caldwell County1,622+7.2%
103Ozark County1,550+0.2%
104Daviess County1,489+0.9%
105Shannon County1,425-4.2%
106Clark County1,421-4.4%
107Carter County1,404-1.2%
108Holt County1,299+0.4%
109Maries County1,230-2.3%
110Hickory County1,228+2%
111Scotland County1,1900%
112Knox County1,082-0.6%
113Putnam County1,033-0.5%
114Schuyler County631+4.3%
115Worth County379-14.1%

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/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 Missouri 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 Missouri 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/missouri-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 Missouri 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/missouri-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 Missouri 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/missouri-counties?period=2015 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_missouri_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 Missouri 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/missouri-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 Missouri 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/missouri-counties?period=2015
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/missouri-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)?

St. Louis County, with 591,168 jobs in 2015, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest covered employment (QCEW)?

Worth County, with 379 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.

Covered employment (QCEW): other rankings

Counties in Missouri: more rankings