Counties in Nebraska by covered employment (QCEW)

Douglas County had the highest covered employment (QCEW) of 93 counties in 2022, at 337,267 jobs. McPherson County had the lowest, at 65 jobs. The median was 2,054 jobs and the figure for Nebraska was 983,968 jobs. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest337,267Douglas County
Median2,05493 counties
Nebraska983,968History

Map of counties, 2022

Adams County: 15,440 jobsAntelope County: 2,202 jobsArthur County: 92 jobsBanner County: 112 jobsBlaine County: 121 jobsBoone County: 2,382 jobsBox Butte County: 3,569 jobsBoyd County: 540 jobsBrown County: 1,379 jobsBuffalo County: 27,017 jobsBurt County: 1,780 jobsButler County: 2,596 jobsCass County: 5,728 jobsCedar County: 2,671 jobsChase County: 1,796 jobsCherry County: 2,215 jobsCheyenne County: 3,871 jobsClay County: 2,054 jobsColfax County: 4,921 jobsCuming County: 3,735 jobsCuster County: 4,457 jobsDakota County: 13,183 jobsDawes County: 3,075 jobsDawson County: 11,717 jobsDeuel County: 574 jobsDixon County: 1,837 jobsDodge County: 18,357 jobsDouglas County: 337,267 jobsDundy County: 565 jobsFillmore County: 2,273 jobsFranklin County: 791 jobsFrontier County: 783 jobsFurnas County: 1,808 jobsGage County: 8,474 jobsGarden County: 508 jobsGarfield County: 770 jobsGosper County: 498 jobsGrant County: 274 jobsGreeley County: 627 jobsHall County: 34,776 jobsHamilton County: 3,666 jobsHarlan County: 860 jobsHayes County: 179 jobsHitchcock County: 684 jobsHolt County: 4,163 jobsHooker County: 333 jobsHoward County: 1,646 jobsJefferson County: 3,310 jobsJohnson County: 1,387 jobsKearney County: 2,024 jobsKeith County: 3,283 jobsKeya Paha County: 120 jobsKimball County: 1,372 jobsKnox County: 2,852 jobsLancaster County: 169,665 jobsLincoln County: 14,373 jobsLogan County: 198 jobsLoup County: 121 jobsMcPherson County: 65 jobsMadison County: 21,692 jobsMerrick County: 2,240 jobsMorrill County: 1,504 jobsNance County: 915 jobsNemaha County: 2,936 jobsNuckolls County: 1,545 jobsOtoe County: 6,237 jobsPawnee County: 730 jobsPerkins County: 1,142 jobsPhelps County: 4,674 jobsPierce County: 1,953 jobsPlatte County: 19,621 jobsPolk County: 1,428 jobsRed Willow County: 4,970 jobsRichardson County: 2,358 jobsRock County: 471 jobsSaline County: 6,576 jobsSarpy County: 73,628 jobsSaunders County: 5,624 jobsScotts Bluff County: 15,779 jobsSeward County: 5,833 jobsSheridan County: 1,709 jobsSherman County: 705 jobsSioux County: 182 jobsStanton County: 1,336 jobsThayer County: 2,177 jobsThomas County: 271 jobsThurston County: 3,158 jobsValley County: 1,752 jobsWashington County: 7,726 jobsWayne County: 4,137 jobsWebster County: 1,024 jobsWheeler County: 286 jobsYork County: 7,461 jobs
  • Under 1,000
  • 1,000 to 2,000
  • 2,000 to 3,000
  • 3,000 to 7,000
  • 7,000 and over
jobs, 2022. 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, 2022

Douglas County: 337,267 jobsDouglas County337,267Lancaster County: 169,665 jobsLancaster County169,665Sarpy County: 73,628 jobsSarpy County73,628Hall County: 34,776 jobsHall County34,776Buffalo County: 27,017 jobsBuffalo County27,017Madison County: 21,692 jobsMadison County21,692Platte County: 19,621 jobsPlatte County19,621Dodge County: 18,357 jobsDodge County18,357Scotts Bluff County: 15,779 jobsScotts Bluff County15,779Adams County: 15,440 jobsAdams County15,440Lincoln County: 14,373 jobsLincoln County14,373Dakota County: 13,183 jobsDakota County13,183Dawson County: 11,717 jobsDawson County11,717Gage County: 8,474 jobsGage County8,474Washington County: 7,726 jobsWashington County7,726York County: 7,461 jobsYork County7,461Saline County: 6,576 jobsSaline County6,576Otoe County: 6,237 jobsOtoe County6,237Seward County: 5,833 jobsSeward County5,833Cass County: 5,728 jobsCass County5,728Saunders County: 5,624 jobsSaunders County5,624Red Willow County: 4,970 jobsRed Willow County4,970Colfax County: 4,921 jobsColfax County4,921Phelps County: 4,674 jobsPhelps County4,674Custer County: 4,457 jobsCuster County4,457Holt County: 4,163 jobsHolt County4,163Wayne County: 4,137 jobsWayne County4,137Cheyenne County: 3,871 jobsCheyenne County3,871Cuming County: 3,735 jobsCuming County3,735Hamilton County: 3,666 jobsHamilton County3,666Box Butte County: 3,569 jobsBox Butte County3,569Jefferson County: 3,310 jobsJefferson County3,310Keith County: 3,283 jobsKeith County3,283Thurston County: 3,158 jobsThurston County3,158Dawes County: 3,075 jobsDawes County3,075Nemaha County: 2,936 jobsNemaha County2,936Knox County: 2,852 jobsKnox County2,852Cedar County: 2,671 jobsCedar County2,671Butler County: 2,596 jobsButler County2,596Boone County: 2,382 jobsBoone County2,382Douglas County: 337,267 jobsDouglas County337,267Lancaster County: 169,665 jobsLancaster County169,665Sarpy County: 73,628 jobsSarpy County73,628Hall County: 34,776 jobsHall County34,776Buffalo County: 27,017 jobsBuffalo County27,017Madison County: 21,692 jobsMadison County21,692Platte County: 19,621 jobsPlatte County19,621Dodge County: 18,357 jobsDodge County18,357Scotts Bluff County: 15,779 jobsScotts Bluff County15,779Adams County: 15,440 jobsAdams County15,440Lincoln County: 14,373 jobsLincoln County14,373Dakota County: 13,183 jobsDakota County13,183Dawson County: 11,717 jobsDawson County11,717Gage County: 8,474 jobsGage County8,474Washington County: 7,726 jobsWashington County7,726York County: 7,461 jobsYork County7,461Saline County: 6,576 jobsSaline County6,576Otoe County: 6,237 jobsOtoe County6,237Seward County: 5,833 jobsSeward County5,833Cass County: 5,728 jobsCass County5,728Saunders County: 5,624 jobsSaunders County5,624Red Willow County: 4,970 jobsRed Willow County4,970Colfax County: 4,921 jobsColfax County4,921Phelps County: 4,674 jobsPhelps County4,674Custer County: 4,457 jobsCuster County4,457Holt County: 4,163 jobsHolt County4,163Wayne County: 4,137 jobsWayne County4,137Cheyenne County: 3,871 jobsCheyenne County3,871Cuming County: 3,735 jobsCuming County3,735Hamilton County: 3,666 jobsHamilton County3,666Box Butte County: 3,569 jobsBox Butte County3,569Jefferson County: 3,310 jobsJefferson County3,310Keith County: 3,283 jobsKeith County3,283Thurston County: 3,158 jobsThurston County3,158Dawes County: 3,075 jobsDawes County3,075Nemaha County: 2,936 jobsNemaha County2,936Knox County: 2,852 jobsKnox County2,852Cedar County: 2,671 jobsCedar County2,671Butler County: 2,596 jobsButler County2,596Boone County: 2,382 jobsBoone County2,382
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

RankCounties2022
jobs
Change on 2021
1Douglas County337,267+1.9%
2Lancaster County169,665+1.5%
3Sarpy County73,628+2.1%
4Hall County34,776+1.9%
5Buffalo County27,017+1.3%
6Madison County21,692+0.5%
7Platte County19,621+1.7%
8Dodge County18,357+3.1%
9Scotts Bluff County15,779+0.1%
10Adams County15,440+2.7%
11Lincoln County14,373+1%
12Dakota County13,183+7.3%
13Dawson County11,717+1.4%
14Gage County8,474-0.9%
15Washington County7,726+0.3%
16York County7,461+1.8%
17Saline County6,576-1.5%
18Otoe County6,237-0.3%
19Seward County5,833+2.2%
20Cass County5,728-1.2%
21Saunders County5,624+2.2%
22Red Willow County4,970+2.7%
23Colfax County4,921+1.4%
24Phelps County4,674+2%
25Custer County4,457-0.2%
26Holt County4,163-0.4%
27Wayne County4,137-3.3%
28Cheyenne County3,871+0.4%
29Cuming County3,735-0.8%
30Hamilton County3,666+1.7%
31Box Butte County3,569-1.7%
32Jefferson County3,310+0.5%
33Keith County3,283+1.2%
34Thurston County3,158+1.6%
35Dawes County3,075-0.6%
36Nemaha County2,936-0.9%
37Knox County2,852-0.4%
38Cedar County2,671+0.2%
39Butler County2,596+2.1%
40Boone County2,382+1.9%
41Richardson County2,358-2.9%
42Fillmore County2,273+1.9%
43Merrick County2,240+3.7%
44Cherry County2,215-2.8%
45Antelope County2,202-1.1%
46Thayer County2,1770%
47Clay County2,054-8.6%
48Kearney County2,024-5.9%
49Pierce County1,953+3%
50Dixon County1,837+3.5%
51Furnas County1,808-2.5%
52Chase County1,796+1.9%
53Burt County1,780-2.7%
54Valley County1,752+0.1%
55Sheridan County1,709+0.9%
56Howard County1,646+5.4%
57Nuckolls County1,545+0.5%
58Morrill County1,504+1.7%
59Polk County1,428-0.6%
60Johnson County1,387+2.4%
61Brown County1,379+0.4%
62Kimball County1,372+1.2%
63Stanton County1,336-1.7%
64Perkins County1,142-0.6%
65Webster County1,024+0.8%
66Nance County915-1.7%
67Harlan County860+2%
68Franklin County791+6.9%
69Frontier County783-3.7%
70Garfield County770-0.8%
71Pawnee County730-2.7%
72Sherman County705-6.4%
73Hitchcock County684-4.3%
74Greeley County627+1%
75Deuel County574+8.5%
76Dundy County565+2.2%
77Boyd County540+0.2%
78Garden County508+0.4%
79Gosper County498+2%
80Rock County471+1.9%
81Hooker County333-5.4%
82Wheeler County286-2.4%
83Grant County274-4.2%
84Thomas County271+9.7%
85Logan County198+6.5%
86Sioux County182+6.4%
87Hayes County179-8.7%
88Blaine County121-3.2%
88Loup County121+2.5%
90Keya Paha County120-14.9%
91Banner County112-4.3%
92Arthur County92-3.2%
93McPherson County65+1.6%

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/2022/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), 2022) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2022/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), 2022. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2022/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/nebraska-counties?period=2022. 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), 2022. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2022/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/nebraska-counties?period=2022.

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), 2022 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2022/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/nebraska-counties?period=2022 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_nebraska_by_2022,
  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), 2022}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2022/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/nebraska-counties?period=2022. 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/2022/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), 2022
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2022/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/nebraska-counties?period=2022
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/nebraska-counties?period=2022.
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/2022/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 337,267 jobs in 2022, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest covered employment (QCEW)?

McPherson County, with 65 jobs in 2022.

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