Counties in Nebraska by covered employment (QCEW)

Douglas County had the highest covered employment (QCEW) of 93 counties in 2019, at 341,763 jobs. McPherson County had the lowest, at 70 jobs. The median was 2,193 jobs and the figure for Nebraska was 982,504 jobs. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest341,763Douglas County
Median2,19393 counties
Nebraska982,504History

Map of counties, 2019

Adams County: 15,394 jobsAntelope County: 2,193 jobsArthur County: 89 jobsBanner County: 107 jobsBlaine County: 125 jobsBoone County: 2,382 jobsBox Butte County: 3,754 jobsBoyd County: 596 jobsBrown County: 1,238 jobsBuffalo County: 27,159 jobsBurt County: 1,786 jobsButler County: 2,571 jobsCass County: 5,811 jobsCedar County: 2,645 jobsChase County: 1,831 jobsCherry County: 2,289 jobsCheyenne County: 4,166 jobsClay County: 2,359 jobsColfax County: 5,053 jobsCuming County: 3,721 jobsCuster County: 4,508 jobsDakota County: 12,479 jobsDawes County: 3,043 jobsDawson County: 11,435 jobsDeuel County: 525 jobsDixon County: 1,746 jobsDodge County: 17,378 jobsDouglas County: 341,763 jobsDundy County: 565 jobsFillmore County: 2,186 jobsFranklin County: 735 jobsFrontier County: 872 jobsFurnas County: 1,917 jobsGage County: 8,976 jobsGarden County: 500 jobsGarfield County: 808 jobsGosper County: 417 jobsGrant County: 287 jobsGreeley County: 615 jobsHall County: 34,721 jobsHamilton County: 3,559 jobsHarlan County: 854 jobsHayes County: 209 jobsHitchcock County: 659 jobsHolt County: 4,434 jobsHooker County: 346 jobsHoward County: 1,561 jobsJefferson County: 3,286 jobsJohnson County: 1,508 jobsKearney County: 2,219 jobsKeith County: 3,284 jobsKeya Paha County: 136 jobsKimball County: 1,441 jobsKnox County: 2,892 jobsLancaster County: 172,990 jobsLincoln County: 14,340 jobsLogan County: 191 jobsLoup County: 122 jobsMcPherson County: 70 jobsMadison County: 22,082 jobsMerrick County: 2,271 jobsMorrill County: 1,522 jobsNance County: 1,002 jobsNemaha County: 3,016 jobsNuckolls County: 1,487 jobsOtoe County: 6,268 jobsPawnee County: 733 jobsPerkins County: 1,146 jobsPhelps County: 4,739 jobsPierce County: 1,917 jobsPlatte County: 19,211 jobsPolk County: 1,473 jobsRed Willow County: 4,999 jobsRichardson County: 2,463 jobsRock County: 459 jobsSaline County: 7,009 jobsSarpy County: 73,183 jobsSaunders County: 5,502 jobsScotts Bluff County: 16,287 jobsSeward County: 6,083 jobsSheridan County: 1,696 jobsSherman County: 777 jobsSioux County: 151 jobsStanton County: 1,305 jobsThayer County: 2,287 jobsThomas County: 247 jobsThurston County: 3,036 jobsValley County: 1,825 jobsWashington County: 7,721 jobsWayne County: 4,295 jobsWebster County: 1,048 jobsWheeler County: 302 jobsYork County: 7,650 jobs
  • Under 1,000
  • 1,000 to 2,000
  • 2,000 to 3,000
  • 3,000 to 7,000
  • 7,000 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

Douglas County: 341,763 jobsDouglas County341,763Lancaster County: 172,990 jobsLancaster County172,990Sarpy County: 73,183 jobsSarpy County73,183Hall County: 34,721 jobsHall County34,721Buffalo County: 27,159 jobsBuffalo County27,159Madison County: 22,082 jobsMadison County22,082Platte County: 19,211 jobsPlatte County19,211Dodge County: 17,378 jobsDodge County17,378Scotts Bluff County: 16,287 jobsScotts Bluff County16,287Adams County: 15,394 jobsAdams County15,394Lincoln County: 14,340 jobsLincoln County14,340Dakota County: 12,479 jobsDakota County12,479Dawson County: 11,435 jobsDawson County11,435Gage County: 8,976 jobsGage County8,976Washington County: 7,721 jobsWashington County7,721York County: 7,650 jobsYork County7,650Saline County: 7,009 jobsSaline County7,009Otoe County: 6,268 jobsOtoe County6,268Seward County: 6,083 jobsSeward County6,083Cass County: 5,811 jobsCass County5,811Saunders County: 5,502 jobsSaunders County5,502Colfax County: 5,053 jobsColfax County5,053Red Willow County: 4,999 jobsRed Willow County4,999Phelps County: 4,739 jobsPhelps County4,739Custer County: 4,508 jobsCuster County4,508Holt County: 4,434 jobsHolt County4,434Wayne County: 4,295 jobsWayne County4,295Cheyenne County: 4,166 jobsCheyenne County4,166Box Butte County: 3,754 jobsBox Butte County3,754Cuming County: 3,721 jobsCuming County3,721Hamilton County: 3,559 jobsHamilton County3,559Jefferson County: 3,286 jobsJefferson County3,286Keith County: 3,284 jobsKeith County3,284Dawes County: 3,043 jobsDawes County3,043Thurston County: 3,036 jobsThurston County3,036Nemaha County: 3,016 jobsNemaha County3,016Knox County: 2,892 jobsKnox County2,892Cedar County: 2,645 jobsCedar County2,645Butler County: 2,571 jobsButler County2,571Richardson County: 2,463 jobsRichardson County2,463Douglas County: 341,763 jobsDouglas County341,763Lancaster County: 172,990 jobsLancaster County172,990Sarpy County: 73,183 jobsSarpy County73,183Hall County: 34,721 jobsHall County34,721Buffalo County: 27,159 jobsBuffalo County27,159Madison County: 22,082 jobsMadison County22,082Platte County: 19,211 jobsPlatte County19,211Dodge County: 17,378 jobsDodge County17,378Scotts Bluff County: 16,287 jobsScotts Bluff County16,287Adams County: 15,394 jobsAdams County15,394Lincoln County: 14,340 jobsLincoln County14,340Dakota County: 12,479 jobsDakota County12,479Dawson County: 11,435 jobsDawson County11,435Gage County: 8,976 jobsGage County8,976Washington County: 7,721 jobsWashington County7,721York County: 7,650 jobsYork County7,650Saline County: 7,009 jobsSaline County7,009Otoe County: 6,268 jobsOtoe County6,268Seward County: 6,083 jobsSeward County6,083Cass County: 5,811 jobsCass County5,811Saunders County: 5,502 jobsSaunders County5,502Colfax County: 5,053 jobsColfax County5,053Red Willow County: 4,999 jobsRed Willow County4,999Phelps County: 4,739 jobsPhelps County4,739Custer County: 4,508 jobsCuster County4,508Holt County: 4,434 jobsHolt County4,434Wayne County: 4,295 jobsWayne County4,295Cheyenne County: 4,166 jobsCheyenne County4,166Box Butte County: 3,754 jobsBox Butte County3,754Cuming County: 3,721 jobsCuming County3,721Hamilton County: 3,559 jobsHamilton County3,559Jefferson County: 3,286 jobsJefferson County3,286Keith County: 3,284 jobsKeith County3,284Dawes County: 3,043 jobsDawes County3,043Thurston County: 3,036 jobsThurston County3,036Nemaha County: 3,016 jobsNemaha County3,016Knox County: 2,892 jobsKnox County2,892Cedar County: 2,645 jobsCedar County2,645Butler County: 2,571 jobsButler County2,571Richardson County: 2,463 jobsRichardson County2,463
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
1Douglas County341,763+0.6%
2Lancaster County172,990+1%
3Sarpy County73,183+2.4%
4Hall County34,721-0.5%
5Buffalo County27,159-0.8%
6Madison County22,082+1.6%
7Platte County19,211+1%
8Dodge County17,378+0.4%
9Scotts Bluff County16,287-2%
10Adams County15,394+0.4%
11Lincoln County14,340-1.3%
12Dakota County12,479-2.2%
13Dawson County11,435+0.1%
14Gage County8,976-0.6%
15Washington County7,721-1.5%
16York County7,650-1.4%
17Saline County7,009-2.1%
18Otoe County6,268+3.2%
19Seward County6,083-1.3%
20Cass County5,811-0.1%
21Saunders County5,502+1.7%
22Colfax County5,053-1.1%
23Red Willow County4,999-0.5%
24Phelps County4,739+0.4%
25Custer County4,508-1.6%
26Holt County4,434-1.2%
27Wayne County4,295+2.6%
28Cheyenne County4,166-9.1%
29Box Butte County3,754-1.4%
30Cuming County3,721+0.6%
31Hamilton County3,559-2.1%
32Jefferson County3,286-0.8%
33Keith County3,284+0.2%
34Dawes County3,043-3.7%
35Thurston County3,036+3.5%
36Nemaha County3,016-1.5%
37Knox County2,892-1.1%
38Cedar County2,645+1.2%
39Butler County2,571+1.3%
40Richardson County2,463-0.8%
41Boone County2,382+0.4%
42Clay County2,359+0.8%
43Cherry County2,289-0.2%
44Thayer County2,287-4.7%
45Merrick County2,271-2.2%
46Kearney County2,219+0.5%
47Antelope County2,193-0.4%
48Fillmore County2,186-0%
49Furnas County1,917-3.4%
49Pierce County1,917-2.3%
51Chase County1,831-0.8%
52Valley County1,825+2.2%
53Burt County1,786-0.8%
54Dixon County1,746+2.6%
55Sheridan County1,696-2.8%
56Howard County1,561-3%
57Morrill County1,522-0.8%
58Johnson County1,508-2.8%
59Nuckolls County1,487+0.9%
60Polk County1,4730%
61Kimball County1,4410%
62Stanton County1,305-2%
63Brown County1,2380%
64Perkins County1,146+0.1%
65Webster County1,048+0.5%
66Nance County1,002-5.7%
67Frontier County872+9.3%
68Harlan County854-0.6%
69Garfield County808-3.1%
70Sherman County777-4.3%
71Franklin County735-0.3%
72Pawnee County733-1.1%
73Hitchcock County659+1.4%
74Greeley County615-0.3%
75Boyd County596-0.7%
76Dundy County565+0.9%
77Deuel County5250%
78Garden County500-11%
79Rock County459-5.6%
80Gosper County417+8%
81Hooker County346+7.5%
82Wheeler County302-1.3%
83Grant County287-2.4%
84Thomas County247-6.4%
85Hayes County209+4%
86Logan County191-1%
87Sioux County151-1.3%
88Keya Paha County136-4.9%
89Blaine County125-3.1%
90Loup County122+0.8%
91Banner County107-2.7%
92Arthur County89+6%
93McPherson County70+1.4%

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 Nebraska 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 Nebraska 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/nebraska-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 Nebraska 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/nebraska-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 Nebraska 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/nebraska-counties?period=2019 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_nebraska_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 Nebraska 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/nebraska-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 Nebraska 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/nebraska-counties?period=2019
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/nebraska-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  - 
Embed this chart

Paste this code into a web page or a blog post. The chart shows the latest figures as they are published, with the source and a link back to this page.

Sites that read oEmbed links, such as WordPress, can show the chart when you paste the link to this page.

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 Nebraska by covered employment (QCEW) using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"covered_employment","level":"province","within":"Nebraska","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=covered_employment&level=province&within=Nebraska&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which county has the highest covered employment (QCEW)?

Douglas County, with 341,763 jobs in 2019, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest covered employment (QCEW)?

McPherson County, with 70 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 Nebraska: more rankings