Counties in Nebraska by covered employment (QCEW), 2025

Douglas County had the highest covered employment (QCEW) of 93 counties in 2025, at 341,754 jobs. McPherson County had the lowest, at 56 jobs. The median was 2,060 jobs and the figure for Nebraska was 1,021,306 jobs. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Highest341,754Douglas County
Median2,06093 counties
Nebraska1,021,306History

Top 40 counties, 2025

Douglas County: 341,754 jobsDouglas County341,754Lancaster County: 176,943 jobsLancaster County176,943Sarpy County: 83,436 jobsSarpy County83,436Hall County: 35,892 jobsHall County35,892Buffalo County: 28,130 jobsBuffalo County28,130Madison County: 21,946 jobsMadison County21,946Platte County: 19,915 jobsPlatte County19,915Dodge County: 18,382 jobsDodge County18,382Scotts Bluff County: 15,915 jobsScotts Bluff County15,915Adams County: 15,654 jobsAdams County15,654Lincoln County: 15,243 jobsLincoln County15,243Dakota County: 13,970 jobsDakota County13,970Dawson County: 11,738 jobsDawson County11,738Gage County: 8,780 jobsGage County8,780Washington County: 8,496 jobsWashington County8,496York County: 7,682 jobsYork County7,682Saline County: 6,630 jobsSaline County6,630Otoe County: 6,278 jobsOtoe County6,278Cass County: 6,206 jobsCass County6,206Saunders County: 6,040 jobsSaunders County6,040Seward County: 6,002 jobsSeward County6,002Colfax County: 4,989 jobsColfax County4,989Red Willow County: 4,879 jobsRed Willow County4,879Phelps County: 4,856 jobsPhelps County4,856Custer County: 4,544 jobsCuster County4,544Holt County: 4,344 jobsHolt County4,344Wayne County: 4,042 jobsWayne County4,042Hamilton County: 3,974 jobsHamilton County3,974Cheyenne County: 3,963 jobsCheyenne County3,963Cuming County: 3,865 jobsCuming County3,865Box Butte County: 3,726 jobsBox Butte County3,726Jefferson County: 3,419 jobsJefferson County3,419Thurston County: 3,331 jobsThurston County3,331Keith County: 3,237 jobsKeith County3,237Dawes County: 3,088 jobsDawes County3,088Nemaha County: 2,905 jobsNemaha County2,905Knox County: 2,900 jobsKnox County2,900Cedar County: 2,707 jobsCedar County2,707Butler County: 2,644 jobsButler County2,644Boone County: 2,439 jobsBoone County2,439
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

RankCounties2025
jobs
Change on 2024
1Douglas County341,754+0.3%
2Lancaster County176,943+0.9%
3Sarpy County83,436+3.2%
4Hall County35,892-0.3%
5Buffalo County28,130-0.1%
6Madison County21,946-0.3%
7Platte County19,915-0.5%
8Dodge County18,382-1.1%
9Scotts Bluff County15,915-0.4%
10Adams County15,654-1.3%
11Lincoln County15,243+3.4%
12Dakota County13,970+1.8%
13Dawson County11,738-1.1%
14Gage County8,780+1.2%
15Washington County8,496-0.6%
16York County7,682+0.5%
17Saline County6,630-0.3%
18Otoe County6,278+0.9%
19Cass County6,206+1%
20Saunders County6,040+2.1%
21Seward County6,002+0.2%
22Colfax County4,989-3.2%
23Red Willow County4,879-1.7%
24Phelps County4,856+0.6%
25Custer County4,544+0.2%
26Holt County4,344-1.3%
27Wayne County4,042-3.5%
28Hamilton County3,974-0.2%
29Cheyenne County3,963+0.6%
30Cuming County3,865+2.3%
31Box Butte County3,726+0.2%
32Jefferson County3,419+1.4%
33Thurston County3,331-4%
34Keith County3,237-3.2%
35Dawes County3,088-2.2%
36Nemaha County2,905-2.1%
37Knox County2,900+0.2%
38Cedar County2,707-2.9%
39Butler County2,644+0.6%
40Boone County2,439-0.5%
41Fillmore County2,378+0.2%
42Merrick County2,349-4.2%
43Richardson County2,318-1.2%
44Cherry County2,263-2.6%
45Thayer County2,208+0.8%
46Antelope County2,198+0.2%
47Kearney County2,060+3.1%
48Clay County2,036-2%
49Pierce County1,968+0.1%
50Valley County1,768+0.8%
51Furnas County1,758+0.6%
52Sheridan County1,743+1.3%
53Chase County1,738-2.3%
54Burt County1,734-2.6%
55Dixon County1,692-9%
56Nuckolls County1,636+4.9%
57Howard County1,584+0.9%
58Kimball County1,575+5.2%
59Morrill County1,495-3.5%
60Johnson County1,469+5.4%
61Polk County1,418-1.4%
62Brown County1,402+1%
63Stanton County1,284+1.6%
64Perkins County1,145+2%
65Webster County1,066+0.8%
66Nance County921-0.9%
67Harlan County869+1.9%
68Franklin County784+0.3%
69Garfield County780+1%
70Frontier County764-6.1%
71Pawnee County683-3.4%
72Sherman County679-6.2%
73Hitchcock County656+2.5%
74Dundy County650+10.2%
75Greeley County628+2.4%
76Deuel County558-0.4%
77Boyd County537-4.1%
78Garden County487-1.8%
79Rock County462+0.2%
80Gosper County426-5.8%
81Wheeler County303-0.3%
82Grant County293+3.5%
83Hooker County262-0.8%
84Thomas County225-4.7%
85Hayes County1900%
86Sioux County176-1.7%
87Logan County166+1.2%
88Keya Paha County1400%
89Blaine County134+5.5%
90Banner County129+4%
91Loup County121+8%
92Arthur County80-10.1%
93McPherson County56+7.7%

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/2025/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 Nebraska by covered employment (QCEW), 2025) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/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 Nebraska by covered employment (QCEW), 2025. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/nebraska-counties. 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 Nebraska by covered employment (QCEW), 2025. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/nebraska-counties.

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 Nebraska by covered employment (QCEW), 2025 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/nebraska-counties (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_nebraska_by_2025,
  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 Nebraska by covered employment (QCEW), 2025}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/nebraska-counties. 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/2025/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 Nebraska by covered employment (QCEW), 2025
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/nebraska-counties
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/nebraska-counties.
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/2025/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
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Questions

Which county has the highest covered employment (QCEW)?

Douglas County, with 341,754 jobs in 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest covered employment (QCEW)?

McPherson County, with 56 jobs in 2025.

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 Nebraska: more rankings