Counties in Nebraska by covered employment (QCEW)

Douglas County had the highest covered employment (QCEW) of 93 counties in 2020, at 326,831 jobs. McPherson County had the lowest, at 68 jobs. The median was 2,126 jobs and the figure for Nebraska was 948,137 jobs. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest326,831Douglas County
Median2,12693 counties
Nebraska948,137History

Map of counties, 2020

Adams County: 14,968 jobsAntelope County: 2,454 jobsArthur County: 86 jobsBanner County: 116 jobsBlaine County: 127 jobsBoone County: 2,329 jobsBox Butte County: 3,563 jobsBoyd County: 561 jobsBrown County: 1,225 jobsBuffalo County: 26,088 jobsBurt County: 1,799 jobsButler County: 2,461 jobsCass County: 5,595 jobsCedar County: 2,574 jobsChase County: 1,813 jobsCherry County: 2,183 jobsCheyenne County: 3,855 jobsClay County: 2,253 jobsColfax County: 4,999 jobsCuming County: 3,714 jobsCuster County: 4,387 jobsDakota County: 12,018 jobsDawes County: 2,936 jobsDawson County: 11,354 jobsDeuel County: 512 jobsDixon County: 1,723 jobsDodge County: 17,535 jobsDouglas County: 326,831 jobsDundy County: 549 jobsFillmore County: 2,122 jobsFranklin County: 709 jobsFrontier County: 797 jobsFurnas County: 1,870 jobsGage County: 8,546 jobsGarden County: 479 jobsGarfield County: 800 jobsGosper County: 412 jobsGrant County: 285 jobsGreeley County: 618 jobsHall County: 33,035 jobsHamilton County: 3,498 jobsHarlan County: 807 jobsHayes County: 206 jobsHitchcock County: 700 jobsHolt County: 4,279 jobsHooker County: 332 jobsHoward County: 1,528 jobsJefferson County: 3,291 jobsJohnson County: 1,464 jobsKearney County: 2,157 jobsKeith County: 3,199 jobsKeya Paha County: 137 jobsKimball County: 1,368 jobsKnox County: 2,866 jobsLancaster County: 165,194 jobsLincoln County: 13,978 jobsLogan County: 188 jobsLoup County: 115 jobsMcPherson County: 68 jobsMadison County: 21,278 jobsMerrick County: 2,126 jobsMorrill County: 1,471 jobsNance County: 941 jobsNemaha County: 2,932 jobsNuckolls County: 1,499 jobsOtoe County: 6,062 jobsPawnee County: 726 jobsPerkins County: 1,142 jobsPhelps County: 4,601 jobsPierce County: 1,901 jobsPlatte County: 18,729 jobsPolk County: 1,423 jobsRed Willow County: 4,831 jobsRichardson County: 2,399 jobsRock County: 458 jobsSaline County: 6,744 jobsSarpy County: 71,092 jobsSaunders County: 5,376 jobsScotts Bluff County: 15,771 jobsSeward County: 5,678 jobsSheridan County: 1,683 jobsSherman County: 737 jobsSioux County: 158 jobsStanton County: 1,321 jobsThayer County: 2,236 jobsThomas County: 239 jobsThurston County: 2,955 jobsValley County: 1,775 jobsWashington County: 7,511 jobsWayne County: 4,216 jobsWebster County: 1,006 jobsWheeler County: 294 jobsYork County: 7,274 jobs
  • Under 1,000
  • 1,000 to 2,000
  • 2,000 to 3,000
  • 3,000 to 7,000
  • 7,000 and over
jobs, 2020. 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, 2020

Douglas County: 326,831 jobsDouglas County326,831Lancaster County: 165,194 jobsLancaster County165,194Sarpy County: 71,092 jobsSarpy County71,092Hall County: 33,035 jobsHall County33,035Buffalo County: 26,088 jobsBuffalo County26,088Madison County: 21,278 jobsMadison County21,278Platte County: 18,729 jobsPlatte County18,729Dodge County: 17,535 jobsDodge County17,535Scotts Bluff County: 15,771 jobsScotts Bluff County15,771Adams County: 14,968 jobsAdams County14,968Lincoln County: 13,978 jobsLincoln County13,978Dakota County: 12,018 jobsDakota County12,018Dawson County: 11,354 jobsDawson County11,354Gage County: 8,546 jobsGage County8,546Washington County: 7,511 jobsWashington County7,511York County: 7,274 jobsYork County7,274Saline County: 6,744 jobsSaline County6,744Otoe County: 6,062 jobsOtoe County6,062Seward County: 5,678 jobsSeward County5,678Cass County: 5,595 jobsCass County5,595Saunders County: 5,376 jobsSaunders County5,376Colfax County: 4,999 jobsColfax County4,999Red Willow County: 4,831 jobsRed Willow County4,831Phelps County: 4,601 jobsPhelps County4,601Custer County: 4,387 jobsCuster County4,387Holt County: 4,279 jobsHolt County4,279Wayne County: 4,216 jobsWayne County4,216Cheyenne County: 3,855 jobsCheyenne County3,855Cuming County: 3,714 jobsCuming County3,714Box Butte County: 3,563 jobsBox Butte County3,563Hamilton County: 3,498 jobsHamilton County3,498Jefferson County: 3,291 jobsJefferson County3,291Keith County: 3,199 jobsKeith County3,199Thurston County: 2,955 jobsThurston County2,955Dawes County: 2,936 jobsDawes County2,936Nemaha County: 2,932 jobsNemaha County2,932Knox County: 2,866 jobsKnox County2,866Cedar County: 2,574 jobsCedar County2,574Butler County: 2,461 jobsButler County2,461Antelope County: 2,454 jobsAntelope County2,454Douglas County: 326,831 jobsDouglas County326,831Lancaster County: 165,194 jobsLancaster County165,194Sarpy County: 71,092 jobsSarpy County71,092Hall County: 33,035 jobsHall County33,035Buffalo County: 26,088 jobsBuffalo County26,088Madison County: 21,278 jobsMadison County21,278Platte County: 18,729 jobsPlatte County18,729Dodge County: 17,535 jobsDodge County17,535Scotts Bluff County: 15,771 jobsScotts Bluff County15,771Adams County: 14,968 jobsAdams County14,968Lincoln County: 13,978 jobsLincoln County13,978Dakota County: 12,018 jobsDakota County12,018Dawson County: 11,354 jobsDawson County11,354Gage County: 8,546 jobsGage County8,546Washington County: 7,511 jobsWashington County7,511York County: 7,274 jobsYork County7,274Saline County: 6,744 jobsSaline County6,744Otoe County: 6,062 jobsOtoe County6,062Seward County: 5,678 jobsSeward County5,678Cass County: 5,595 jobsCass County5,595Saunders County: 5,376 jobsSaunders County5,376Colfax County: 4,999 jobsColfax County4,999Red Willow County: 4,831 jobsRed Willow County4,831Phelps County: 4,601 jobsPhelps County4,601Custer County: 4,387 jobsCuster County4,387Holt County: 4,279 jobsHolt County4,279Wayne County: 4,216 jobsWayne County4,216Cheyenne County: 3,855 jobsCheyenne County3,855Cuming County: 3,714 jobsCuming County3,714Box Butte County: 3,563 jobsBox Butte County3,563Hamilton County: 3,498 jobsHamilton County3,498Jefferson County: 3,291 jobsJefferson County3,291Keith County: 3,199 jobsKeith County3,199Thurston County: 2,955 jobsThurston County2,955Dawes County: 2,936 jobsDawes County2,936Nemaha County: 2,932 jobsNemaha County2,932Knox County: 2,866 jobsKnox County2,866Cedar County: 2,574 jobsCedar County2,574Butler County: 2,461 jobsButler County2,461Antelope County: 2,454 jobsAntelope County2,454
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

RankCounties2020
jobs
Change on 2019
1Douglas County326,831-4.4%
2Lancaster County165,194-4.5%
3Sarpy County71,092-2.9%
4Hall County33,035-4.9%
5Buffalo County26,088-3.9%
6Madison County21,278-3.6%
7Platte County18,729-2.5%
8Dodge County17,535+0.9%
9Scotts Bluff County15,771-3.2%
10Adams County14,968-2.8%
11Lincoln County13,978-2.5%
12Dakota County12,018-3.7%
13Dawson County11,354-0.7%
14Gage County8,546-4.8%
15Washington County7,511-2.7%
16York County7,274-4.9%
17Saline County6,744-3.8%
18Otoe County6,062-3.3%
19Seward County5,678-6.7%
20Cass County5,595-3.7%
21Saunders County5,376-2.3%
22Colfax County4,999-1.1%
23Red Willow County4,831-3.4%
24Phelps County4,601-2.9%
25Custer County4,387-2.7%
26Holt County4,279-3.5%
27Wayne County4,216-1.8%
28Cheyenne County3,855-7.5%
29Cuming County3,714-0.2%
30Box Butte County3,563-5.1%
31Hamilton County3,498-1.7%
32Jefferson County3,291+0.2%
33Keith County3,199-2.6%
34Thurston County2,955-2.7%
35Dawes County2,936-3.5%
36Nemaha County2,932-2.8%
37Knox County2,866-0.9%
38Cedar County2,574-2.7%
39Butler County2,461-4.3%
40Antelope County2,454+11.9%
41Richardson County2,399-2.6%
42Boone County2,329-2.2%
43Clay County2,253-4.5%
44Thayer County2,236-2.2%
45Cherry County2,183-4.6%
46Kearney County2,157-2.8%
47Merrick County2,126-6.4%
48Fillmore County2,122-2.9%
49Pierce County1,901-0.8%
50Furnas County1,870-2.5%
51Chase County1,813-1%
52Burt County1,799+0.7%
53Valley County1,775-2.7%
54Dixon County1,723-1.3%
55Sheridan County1,683-0.8%
56Howard County1,528-2.1%
57Nuckolls County1,499+0.8%
58Morrill County1,471-3.4%
59Johnson County1,464-2.9%
60Polk County1,423-3.4%
61Kimball County1,368-5.1%
62Stanton County1,321+1.2%
63Brown County1,225-1.1%
64Perkins County1,142-0.3%
65Webster County1,006-4%
66Nance County941-6.1%
67Harlan County807-5.5%
68Garfield County800-1%
69Frontier County797-8.6%
70Sherman County737-5.1%
71Pawnee County726-1%
72Franklin County709-3.5%
73Hitchcock County700+6.2%
74Greeley County618+0.5%
75Boyd County561-5.9%
76Dundy County549-2.8%
77Deuel County512-2.5%
78Garden County479-4.2%
79Rock County458-0.2%
80Gosper County412-1.2%
81Hooker County332-4%
82Wheeler County294-2.6%
83Grant County285-0.7%
84Thomas County239-3.2%
85Hayes County206-1.4%
86Logan County188-1.6%
87Sioux County158+4.6%
88Keya Paha County137+0.7%
89Blaine County127+1.6%
90Banner County116+8.4%
91Loup County115-5.7%
92Arthur County86-3.4%
93McPherson County68-2.9%

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/2020/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), 2020) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2020/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), 2020. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2020/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/nebraska-counties?period=2020. 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), 2020. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2020/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/nebraska-counties?period=2020.

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), 2020 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2020/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/nebraska-counties?period=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_nebraska_by_2020,
  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), 2020}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2020/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/nebraska-counties?period=2020. 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/2020/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), 2020
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2020/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/nebraska-counties?period=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/nebraska-counties?period=2020.
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/2020/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 326,831 jobs in 2020, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest covered employment (QCEW)?

McPherson County, with 68 jobs in 2020.

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