Counties in Nebraska by covered employment (QCEW)

Douglas County had the highest covered employment (QCEW) of 93 counties in 2021, at 331,137 jobs. McPherson County had the lowest, at 64 jobs. The median was 2,160 jobs and the figure for Nebraska was 965,748 jobs. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest331,137Douglas County
Median2,16093 counties
Nebraska965,748History

Map of counties, 2021

Adams County: 15,028 jobsAntelope County: 2,226 jobsArthur County: 95 jobsBanner County: 117 jobsBlaine County: 125 jobsBoone County: 2,337 jobsBox Butte County: 3,631 jobsBoyd County: 539 jobsBrown County: 1,373 jobsBuffalo County: 26,659 jobsBurt County: 1,830 jobsButler County: 2,542 jobsCass County: 5,795 jobsCedar County: 2,665 jobsChase County: 1,763 jobsCherry County: 2,278 jobsCheyenne County: 3,854 jobsClay County: 2,248 jobsColfax County: 4,851 jobsCuming County: 3,764 jobsCuster County: 4,467 jobsDakota County: 12,291 jobsDawes County: 3,094 jobsDawson County: 11,558 jobsDeuel County: 529 jobsDixon County: 1,775 jobsDodge County: 17,799 jobsDouglas County: 331,137 jobsDundy County: 553 jobsFillmore County: 2,230 jobsFranklin County: 740 jobsFrontier County: 813 jobsFurnas County: 1,855 jobsGage County: 8,553 jobsGarden County: 506 jobsGarfield County: 776 jobsGosper County: 488 jobsGrant County: 286 jobsGreeley County: 621 jobsHall County: 34,129 jobsHamilton County: 3,606 jobsHarlan County: 843 jobsHayes County: 196 jobsHitchcock County: 715 jobsHolt County: 4,180 jobsHooker County: 352 jobsHoward County: 1,561 jobsJefferson County: 3,294 jobsJohnson County: 1,355 jobsKearney County: 2,152 jobsKeith County: 3,245 jobsKeya Paha County: 141 jobsKimball County: 1,356 jobsKnox County: 2,863 jobsLancaster County: 167,099 jobsLincoln County: 14,229 jobsLogan County: 186 jobsLoup County: 118 jobsMcPherson County: 64 jobsMadison County: 21,577 jobsMerrick County: 2,160 jobsMorrill County: 1,479 jobsNance County: 931 jobsNemaha County: 2,964 jobsNuckolls County: 1,538 jobsOtoe County: 6,253 jobsPawnee County: 750 jobsPerkins County: 1,149 jobsPhelps County: 4,583 jobsPierce County: 1,897 jobsPlatte County: 19,297 jobsPolk County: 1,436 jobsRed Willow County: 4,841 jobsRichardson County: 2,428 jobsRock County: 462 jobsSaline County: 6,674 jobsSarpy County: 72,081 jobsSaunders County: 5,504 jobsScotts Bluff County: 15,759 jobsSeward County: 5,705 jobsSheridan County: 1,694 jobsSherman County: 753 jobsSioux County: 171 jobsStanton County: 1,359 jobsThayer County: 2,177 jobsThomas County: 247 jobsThurston County: 3,108 jobsValley County: 1,751 jobsWashington County: 7,700 jobsWayne County: 4,278 jobsWebster County: 1,016 jobsWheeler County: 293 jobsYork County: 7,328 jobs
  • Under 1,000
  • 1,000 to 2,000
  • 2,000 to 3,000
  • 3,000 to 7,000
  • 7,000 and over
jobs, 2021. 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, 2021

Douglas County: 331,137 jobsDouglas County331,137Lancaster County: 167,099 jobsLancaster County167,099Sarpy County: 72,081 jobsSarpy County72,081Hall County: 34,129 jobsHall County34,129Buffalo County: 26,659 jobsBuffalo County26,659Madison County: 21,577 jobsMadison County21,577Platte County: 19,297 jobsPlatte County19,297Dodge County: 17,799 jobsDodge County17,799Scotts Bluff County: 15,759 jobsScotts Bluff County15,759Adams County: 15,028 jobsAdams County15,028Lincoln County: 14,229 jobsLincoln County14,229Dakota County: 12,291 jobsDakota County12,291Dawson County: 11,558 jobsDawson County11,558Gage County: 8,553 jobsGage County8,553Washington County: 7,700 jobsWashington County7,700York County: 7,328 jobsYork County7,328Saline County: 6,674 jobsSaline County6,674Otoe County: 6,253 jobsOtoe County6,253Cass County: 5,795 jobsCass County5,795Seward County: 5,705 jobsSeward County5,705Saunders County: 5,504 jobsSaunders County5,504Colfax County: 4,851 jobsColfax County4,851Red Willow County: 4,841 jobsRed Willow County4,841Phelps County: 4,583 jobsPhelps County4,583Custer County: 4,467 jobsCuster County4,467Wayne County: 4,278 jobsWayne County4,278Holt County: 4,180 jobsHolt County4,180Cheyenne County: 3,854 jobsCheyenne County3,854Cuming County: 3,764 jobsCuming County3,764Box Butte County: 3,631 jobsBox Butte County3,631Hamilton County: 3,606 jobsHamilton County3,606Jefferson County: 3,294 jobsJefferson County3,294Keith County: 3,245 jobsKeith County3,245Thurston County: 3,108 jobsThurston County3,108Dawes County: 3,094 jobsDawes County3,094Nemaha County: 2,964 jobsNemaha County2,964Knox County: 2,863 jobsKnox County2,863Cedar County: 2,665 jobsCedar County2,665Butler County: 2,542 jobsButler County2,542Richardson County: 2,428 jobsRichardson County2,428Douglas County: 331,137 jobsDouglas County331,137Lancaster County: 167,099 jobsLancaster County167,099Sarpy County: 72,081 jobsSarpy County72,081Hall County: 34,129 jobsHall County34,129Buffalo County: 26,659 jobsBuffalo County26,659Madison County: 21,577 jobsMadison County21,577Platte County: 19,297 jobsPlatte County19,297Dodge County: 17,799 jobsDodge County17,799Scotts Bluff County: 15,759 jobsScotts Bluff County15,759Adams County: 15,028 jobsAdams County15,028Lincoln County: 14,229 jobsLincoln County14,229Dakota County: 12,291 jobsDakota County12,291Dawson County: 11,558 jobsDawson County11,558Gage County: 8,553 jobsGage County8,553Washington County: 7,700 jobsWashington County7,700York County: 7,328 jobsYork County7,328Saline County: 6,674 jobsSaline County6,674Otoe County: 6,253 jobsOtoe County6,253Cass County: 5,795 jobsCass County5,795Seward County: 5,705 jobsSeward County5,705Saunders County: 5,504 jobsSaunders County5,504Colfax County: 4,851 jobsColfax County4,851Red Willow County: 4,841 jobsRed Willow County4,841Phelps County: 4,583 jobsPhelps County4,583Custer County: 4,467 jobsCuster County4,467Wayne County: 4,278 jobsWayne County4,278Holt County: 4,180 jobsHolt County4,180Cheyenne County: 3,854 jobsCheyenne County3,854Cuming County: 3,764 jobsCuming County3,764Box Butte County: 3,631 jobsBox Butte County3,631Hamilton County: 3,606 jobsHamilton County3,606Jefferson County: 3,294 jobsJefferson County3,294Keith County: 3,245 jobsKeith County3,245Thurston County: 3,108 jobsThurston County3,108Dawes County: 3,094 jobsDawes County3,094Nemaha County: 2,964 jobsNemaha County2,964Knox County: 2,863 jobsKnox County2,863Cedar County: 2,665 jobsCedar County2,665Butler County: 2,542 jobsButler County2,542Richardson County: 2,428 jobsRichardson County2,428
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

RankCounties2021
jobs
Change on 2020
1Douglas County331,137+1.3%
2Lancaster County167,099+1.2%
3Sarpy County72,081+1.4%
4Hall County34,129+3.3%
5Buffalo County26,659+2.2%
6Madison County21,577+1.4%
7Platte County19,297+3%
8Dodge County17,799+1.5%
9Scotts Bluff County15,759-0.1%
10Adams County15,028+0.4%
11Lincoln County14,229+1.8%
12Dakota County12,291+2.3%
13Dawson County11,558+1.8%
14Gage County8,553+0.1%
15Washington County7,700+2.5%
16York County7,328+0.7%
17Saline County6,674-1%
18Otoe County6,253+3.2%
19Cass County5,795+3.6%
20Seward County5,705+0.5%
21Saunders County5,504+2.4%
22Colfax County4,851-3%
23Red Willow County4,841+0.2%
24Phelps County4,583-0.4%
25Custer County4,467+1.8%
26Wayne County4,278+1.5%
27Holt County4,180-2.3%
28Cheyenne County3,854-0%
29Cuming County3,764+1.3%
30Box Butte County3,631+1.9%
31Hamilton County3,606+3.1%
32Jefferson County3,294+0.1%
33Keith County3,245+1.4%
34Thurston County3,108+5.2%
35Dawes County3,094+5.4%
36Nemaha County2,964+1.1%
37Knox County2,863-0.1%
38Cedar County2,665+3.5%
39Butler County2,542+3.3%
40Richardson County2,428+1.2%
41Boone County2,337+0.3%
42Cherry County2,278+4.4%
43Clay County2,248-0.2%
44Fillmore County2,230+5.1%
45Antelope County2,226-9.3%
46Thayer County2,177-2.6%
47Merrick County2,160+1.6%
48Kearney County2,152-0.2%
49Pierce County1,897-0.2%
50Furnas County1,855-0.8%
51Burt County1,830+1.7%
52Dixon County1,775+3%
53Chase County1,763-2.8%
54Valley County1,751-1.4%
55Sheridan County1,694+0.7%
56Howard County1,561+2.2%
57Nuckolls County1,538+2.6%
58Morrill County1,479+0.5%
59Polk County1,436+0.9%
60Brown County1,373+12.1%
61Stanton County1,359+2.9%
62Kimball County1,356-0.9%
63Johnson County1,355-7.4%
64Perkins County1,149+0.6%
65Webster County1,016+1%
66Nance County931-1.1%
67Harlan County843+4.5%
68Frontier County813+2%
69Garfield County776-3%
70Sherman County753+2.2%
71Pawnee County750+3.3%
72Franklin County740+4.4%
73Hitchcock County715+2.1%
74Greeley County621+0.5%
75Dundy County553+0.7%
76Boyd County539-3.9%
77Deuel County529+3.3%
78Garden County506+5.6%
79Gosper County488+18.4%
80Rock County462+0.9%
81Hooker County352+6%
82Wheeler County293-0.3%
83Grant County286+0.4%
84Thomas County247+3.3%
85Hayes County196-4.9%
86Logan County186-1.1%
87Sioux County171+8.2%
88Keya Paha County141+2.9%
89Blaine County125-1.6%
90Loup County118+2.6%
91Banner County117+0.9%
92Arthur County95+10.5%
93McPherson County64-5.9%

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/2021/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), 2021) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2021/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), 2021. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2021/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/nebraska-counties?period=2021. 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), 2021. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2021/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/nebraska-counties?period=2021.

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), 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2021/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/nebraska-counties?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_nebraska_by_2021,
  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), 2021}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2021/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/nebraska-counties?period=2021. 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/2021/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), 2021
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2021/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/nebraska-counties?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/nebraska-counties?period=2021.
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/2021/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 331,137 jobs in 2021, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest covered employment (QCEW)?

McPherson County, with 64 jobs in 2021.

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