Counties in Missouri by covered employment (QCEW)

St. Louis County had the highest covered employment (QCEW) of 115 counties in 2019, at 610,438 jobs. Worth County had the lowest, at 355 jobs. The median was 5,325 jobs and the figure for Missouri was 2,812,888 jobs. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest610,438St. Louis County
Lowest355Worth County
Median5,325115 counties
Missouri2,812,888History

Map of counties, 2019

Adair County: 9,950 jobsAndrew County: 2,582 jobsAtchison County: 1,641 jobsAudrain County: 8,855 jobsBarry County: 14,532 jobsBarton County: 3,233 jobsBates County: 3,603 jobsBenton County: 3,493 jobsBollinger County: 1,808 jobsBoone County: 94,526 jobsBuchanan County: 47,005 jobsButler County: 17,991 jobsCaldwell County: 1,834 jobsCallaway County: 14,592 jobsCamden County: 16,440 jobsCape Girardeau County: 41,502 jobsCarroll County: 2,524 jobsCarter County: 1,535 jobsCass County: 27,028 jobsCedar County: 3,166 jobsChariton County: 1,832 jobsChristian County: 17,833 jobsClark County: 1,447 jobsClay County: 104,575 jobsClinton County: 4,029 jobsCole County: 53,392 jobsCooper County: 4,922 jobsCrawford County: 6,770 jobsDade County: 1,699 jobsDallas County: 2,466 jobsDaviess County: 1,581 jobsDeKalb County: 2,949 jobsDent County: 3,897 jobsDouglas County: 2,376 jobsDunklin County: 8,840 jobsFranklin County: 39,539 jobsGasconade County: 5,325 jobsGentry County: 2,230 jobsGreene County: 170,031 jobsGrundy County: 3,051 jobsHarrison County: 2,499 jobsHenry County: 7,247 jobsHickory County: 1,281 jobsHolt County: 1,246 jobsHoward County: 2,504 jobsHowell County: 15,400 jobsIron County: 3,415 jobsJackson County: 374,684 jobsJasper County: 58,408 jobsJefferson County: 47,947 jobsJohnson County: 15,666 jobsKnox County: 925 jobsLaclede County: 13,925 jobsLafayette County: 8,597 jobsLawrence County: 8,875 jobsLewis County: 2,527 jobsLincoln County: 11,866 jobsLinn County: 3,836 jobsLivingston County: 6,268 jobsMcDonald County: 6,964 jobsMacon County: 5,007 jobsMadison County: 3,664 jobsMaries County: 1,230 jobsMarion County: 13,325 jobsMercer County: 1,713 jobsMiller County: 7,278 jobsMississippi County: 3,633 jobsMoniteau County: 4,215 jobsMonroe County: 1,751 jobsMontgomery County: 2,916 jobsMorgan County: 4,375 jobsNew Madrid County: 7,344 jobsNewton County: 20,330 jobsNodaway County: 7,818 jobsOregon County: 2,287 jobsOsage County: 3,982 jobsOzark County: 1,463 jobsPemiscot County: 5,421 jobsPerry County: 9,559 jobsPettis County: 19,606 jobsPhelps County: 18,331 jobsPike County: 5,325 jobsPlatte County: 48,226 jobsPolk County: 8,557 jobsPulaski County: 13,094 jobsPutnam County: 914 jobsRalls County: 3,534 jobsRandolph County: 9,497 jobsRay County: 4,073 jobsReynolds County: 1,950 jobsRipley County: 2,705 jobsSt. Charles County: 151,936 jobsSt. Clair County: 1,577 jobsSte. Genevieve County: 5,660 jobsSt. Francois County: 23,208 jobsSt. Louis County: 610,438 jobsSaline County: 8,696 jobsSchuyler County: 566 jobsScotland County: 1,158 jobsScott County: 15,492 jobsShannon County: 1,432 jobsShelby County: 1,788 jobsStoddard County: 10,113 jobsStone County: 6,728 jobsSullivan County: 2,369 jobsTaney County: 29,296 jobsTexas County: 5,471 jobsVernon County: 6,787 jobsWarren County: 7,642 jobsWashington County: 4,880 jobsWayne County: 2,485 jobsWebster County: 7,658 jobsWorth County: 355 jobsWright County: 4,057 jobsSt. Louis city: 229,800 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, 2019. 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, 2019

St. Louis County: 610,438 jobsSt. Louis County610,438Jackson County: 374,684 jobsJackson County374,684St. Louis city: 229,800 jobsSt. Louis city229,800Greene County: 170,031 jobsGreene County170,031St. Charles County: 151,936 jobsSt. Charles County151,936Clay County: 104,575 jobsClay County104,575Boone County: 94,526 jobsBoone County94,526Jasper County: 58,408 jobsJasper County58,408Cole County: 53,392 jobsCole County53,392Platte County: 48,226 jobsPlatte County48,226Jefferson County: 47,947 jobsJefferson County47,947Buchanan County: 47,005 jobsBuchanan County47,005Cape Girardeau County: 41,502 jobsCape Girardeau County41,502Franklin County: 39,539 jobsFranklin County39,539Taney County: 29,296 jobsTaney County29,296Cass County: 27,028 jobsCass County27,028St. Francois County: 23,208 jobsSt. Francois County23,208Newton County: 20,330 jobsNewton County20,330Pettis County: 19,606 jobsPettis County19,606Phelps County: 18,331 jobsPhelps County18,331Butler County: 17,991 jobsButler County17,991Christian County: 17,833 jobsChristian County17,833Camden County: 16,440 jobsCamden County16,440Johnson County: 15,666 jobsJohnson County15,666Scott County: 15,492 jobsScott County15,492Howell County: 15,400 jobsHowell County15,400Callaway County: 14,592 jobsCallaway County14,592Barry County: 14,532 jobsBarry County14,532Laclede County: 13,925 jobsLaclede County13,925Marion County: 13,325 jobsMarion County13,325Pulaski County: 13,094 jobsPulaski County13,094Lincoln County: 11,866 jobsLincoln County11,866Stoddard County: 10,113 jobsStoddard County10,113Adair County: 9,950 jobsAdair County9,950Perry County: 9,559 jobsPerry County9,559Randolph County: 9,497 jobsRandolph County9,497Lawrence County: 8,875 jobsLawrence County8,875Audrain County: 8,855 jobsAudrain County8,855Dunklin County: 8,840 jobsDunklin County8,840Saline County: 8,696 jobsSaline County8,696St. Louis County: 610,438 jobsSt. Louis County610,438Jackson County: 374,684 jobsJackson County374,684St. Louis city: 229,800 jobsSt. Louis city229,800Greene County: 170,031 jobsGreene County170,031St. Charles County: 151,936 jobsSt. Charles County151,936Clay County: 104,575 jobsClay County104,575Boone County: 94,526 jobsBoone County94,526Jasper County: 58,408 jobsJasper County58,408Cole County: 53,392 jobsCole County53,392Platte County: 48,226 jobsPlatte County48,226Jefferson County: 47,947 jobsJefferson County47,947Buchanan County: 47,005 jobsBuchanan County47,005Cape Girardeau County: 41,502 jobsCape Girardeau County41,502Franklin County: 39,539 jobsFranklin County39,539Taney County: 29,296 jobsTaney County29,296Cass County: 27,028 jobsCass County27,028St. Francois County: 23,208 jobsSt. Francois County23,208Newton County: 20,330 jobsNewton County20,330Pettis County: 19,606 jobsPettis County19,606Phelps County: 18,331 jobsPhelps County18,331Butler County: 17,991 jobsButler County17,991Christian County: 17,833 jobsChristian County17,833Camden County: 16,440 jobsCamden County16,440Johnson County: 15,666 jobsJohnson County15,666Scott County: 15,492 jobsScott County15,492Howell County: 15,400 jobsHowell County15,400Callaway County: 14,592 jobsCallaway County14,592Barry County: 14,532 jobsBarry County14,532Laclede County: 13,925 jobsLaclede County13,925Marion County: 13,325 jobsMarion County13,325Pulaski County: 13,094 jobsPulaski County13,094Lincoln County: 11,866 jobsLincoln County11,866Stoddard County: 10,113 jobsStoddard County10,113Adair County: 9,950 jobsAdair County9,950Perry County: 9,559 jobsPerry County9,559Randolph County: 9,497 jobsRandolph County9,497Lawrence County: 8,875 jobsLawrence County8,875Audrain County: 8,855 jobsAudrain County8,855Dunklin County: 8,840 jobsDunklin County8,840Saline County: 8,696 jobsSaline County8,696
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

RankCounties2019
jobs
Change on 2018
1St. Louis County610,438+0.3%
2Jackson County374,684+1%
3St. Louis city229,800+0.1%
4Greene County170,031+1.7%
5St. Charles County151,936+2.8%
6Clay County104,575+0.3%
7Boone County94,526+0.6%
8Jasper County58,408+1.1%
9Cole County53,392+1%
10Platte County48,226+2%
11Jefferson County47,947-0.5%
12Buchanan County47,005-0.3%
13Cape Girardeau County41,502+0.8%
14Franklin County39,539+1%
15Taney County29,296+0.7%
16Cass County27,028+0.6%
17St. Francois County23,208-0.4%
18Newton County20,330+0.6%
19Pettis County19,606+1.8%
20Phelps County18,331+0.1%
21Butler County17,991-1.1%
22Christian County17,833+2.7%
23Camden County16,440+0.7%
24Johnson County15,666+1.9%
25Scott County15,492-0.9%
26Howell County15,400+0.8%
27Callaway County14,592+1.5%
28Barry County14,532-0.1%
29Laclede County13,9250%
30Marion County13,325+0.3%
31Pulaski County13,094-0.2%
32Lincoln County11,866+0.4%
33Stoddard County10,113+0.3%
34Adair County9,950-3.4%
35Perry County9,559-2.2%
36Randolph County9,497+0.9%
37Lawrence County8,875-2.5%
38Audrain County8,855-1.5%
39Dunklin County8,840-3.5%
40Saline County8,696-0.1%
41Lafayette County8,597+0.3%
42Polk County8,557-0.7%
43Nodaway County7,818+1.8%
44Webster County7,658+2%
45Warren County7,642+1.9%
46New Madrid County7,344+6.6%
47Miller County7,278+1.2%
48Henry County7,247-1.3%
49McDonald County6,964-1.7%
50Vernon County6,787-1.3%
51Crawford County6,770+1.7%
52Stone County6,728-0.4%
53Livingston County6,268-1.8%
54Ste. Genevieve County5,660-0.4%
55Texas County5,471-0.9%
56Pemiscot County5,421+1.9%
57Gasconade County5,325-0.9%
57Pike County5,325-3.7%
59Macon County5,007-2.3%
60Cooper County4,922-0.8%
61Washington County4,880-0.3%
62Morgan County4,375+2.7%
63Moniteau County4,215+3.8%
64Ray County4,073-0.3%
65Wright County4,057+0.2%
66Clinton County4,029+0.7%
67Osage County3,982+2.8%
68Dent County3,897+1%
69Linn County3,836-0.1%
70Madison County3,664+1%
71Mississippi County3,633-4.4%
72Bates County3,603+0.6%
73Ralls County3,534+2%
74Benton County3,493-1%
75Iron County3,415+0.8%
76Barton County3,233+0.6%
77Cedar County3,166+2.6%
78Grundy County3,051-2.9%
79DeKalb County2,949-3.2%
80Montgomery County2,916+1.1%
81Ripley County2,705-1.9%
82Andrew County2,582+1.1%
83Lewis County2,527-2.4%
84Carroll County2,524+6%
85Howard County2,504-3.7%
86Harrison County2,499-0.1%
87Wayne County2,485-1.5%
88Dallas County2,466+2%
89Douglas County2,376+0.4%
90Sullivan County2,369-4%
91Oregon County2,287+1.6%
92Gentry County2,230-1.2%
93Reynolds County1,950-0.9%
94Caldwell County1,834-3.4%
95Chariton County1,832-1.5%
96Bollinger County1,808-0.3%
97Shelby County1,788+4.6%
98Monroe County1,751-7%
99Mercer County1,713+0.7%
100Dade County1,699-0.9%
101Atchison County1,641-0.9%
102Daviess County1,581+7.7%
103St. Clair County1,577-0.4%
104Carter County1,535+3.4%
105Ozark County1,463-0.5%
106Clark County1,447+1.5%
107Shannon County1,432+1.1%
108Hickory County1,281-0.1%
109Holt County1,246-2.6%
110Maries County1,230-0.3%
111Scotland County1,158+0.9%
112Knox County925-12.6%
113Putnam County914-6.2%
114Schuyler County566-4.1%
115Worth County355-0.3%

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/2019/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), 2019) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2019/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), 2019. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2019/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/missouri-counties?period=2019. 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), 2019. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2019/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/missouri-counties?period=2019.

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), 2019 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2019/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/missouri-counties?period=2019 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_missouri_by_2019,
  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), 2019}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2019/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/missouri-counties?period=2019. 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/2019/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), 2019
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2019/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/missouri-counties?period=2019
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/missouri-counties?period=2019.
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/2019/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 610,438 jobs in 2019, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest covered employment (QCEW)?

Worth County, with 355 jobs in 2019.

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