Counties in Nebraska by covered employment (QCEW)

Douglas County had the highest covered employment (QCEW) of 93 counties in 2024, at 340,716 jobs. McPherson County had the lowest, at 52 jobs. The median was 2,077 jobs and the figure for Nebraska was 1,018,759 jobs. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest340,716Douglas County
Median2,07793 counties
Nebraska1,018,759History

Map of counties, 2024

Adams County: 15,862 jobsAntelope County: 2,194 jobsArthur County: 89 jobsBanner County: 124 jobsBlaine County: 127 jobsBoone County: 2,452 jobsBox Butte County: 3,720 jobsBoyd County: 560 jobsBrown County: 1,388 jobsBuffalo County: 28,148 jobsBurt County: 1,780 jobsButler County: 2,629 jobsCass County: 6,142 jobsCedar County: 2,789 jobsChase County: 1,779 jobsCherry County: 2,323 jobsCheyenne County: 3,940 jobsClay County: 2,077 jobsColfax County: 5,155 jobsCuming County: 3,779 jobsCuster County: 4,537 jobsDakota County: 13,726 jobsDawes County: 3,156 jobsDawson County: 11,864 jobsDeuel County: 560 jobsDixon County: 1,859 jobsDodge County: 18,578 jobsDouglas County: 340,716 jobsDundy County: 590 jobsFillmore County: 2,374 jobsFranklin County: 782 jobsFrontier County: 814 jobsFurnas County: 1,748 jobsGage County: 8,677 jobsGarden County: 496 jobsGarfield County: 772 jobsGosper County: 452 jobsGrant County: 283 jobsGreeley County: 613 jobsHall County: 35,986 jobsHamilton County: 3,982 jobsHarlan County: 853 jobsHayes County: 190 jobsHitchcock County: 640 jobsHolt County: 4,403 jobsHooker County: 264 jobsHoward County: 1,570 jobsJefferson County: 3,371 jobsJohnson County: 1,394 jobsKearney County: 1,999 jobsKeith County: 3,344 jobsKeya Paha County: 140 jobsKimball County: 1,497 jobsKnox County: 2,895 jobsLancaster County: 175,346 jobsLincoln County: 14,738 jobsLogan County: 164 jobsLoup County: 112 jobsMcPherson County: 52 jobsMadison County: 22,011 jobsMerrick County: 2,451 jobsMorrill County: 1,550 jobsNance County: 929 jobsNemaha County: 2,968 jobsNuckolls County: 1,560 jobsOtoe County: 6,224 jobsPawnee County: 707 jobsPerkins County: 1,123 jobsPhelps County: 4,827 jobsPierce County: 1,967 jobsPlatte County: 20,010 jobsPolk County: 1,438 jobsRed Willow County: 4,964 jobsRichardson County: 2,345 jobsRock County: 461 jobsSaline County: 6,653 jobsSarpy County: 80,883 jobsSaunders County: 5,914 jobsScotts Bluff County: 15,975 jobsSeward County: 5,990 jobsSheridan County: 1,721 jobsSherman County: 724 jobsSioux County: 179 jobsStanton County: 1,264 jobsThayer County: 2,190 jobsThomas County: 236 jobsThurston County: 3,471 jobsValley County: 1,754 jobsWashington County: 8,544 jobsWayne County: 4,188 jobsWebster County: 1,058 jobsWheeler County: 304 jobsYork County: 7,644 jobs
  • Under 1,000
  • 1,000 to 2,000
  • 2,000 to 4,000
  • 4,000 to 7,000
  • 7,000 and over
jobs, 2024. 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, 2024

Douglas County: 340,716 jobsDouglas County340,716Lancaster County: 175,346 jobsLancaster County175,346Sarpy County: 80,883 jobsSarpy County80,883Hall County: 35,986 jobsHall County35,986Buffalo County: 28,148 jobsBuffalo County28,148Madison County: 22,011 jobsMadison County22,011Platte County: 20,010 jobsPlatte County20,010Dodge County: 18,578 jobsDodge County18,578Scotts Bluff County: 15,975 jobsScotts Bluff County15,975Adams County: 15,862 jobsAdams County15,862Lincoln County: 14,738 jobsLincoln County14,738Dakota County: 13,726 jobsDakota County13,726Dawson County: 11,864 jobsDawson County11,864Gage County: 8,677 jobsGage County8,677Washington County: 8,544 jobsWashington County8,544York County: 7,644 jobsYork County7,644Saline County: 6,653 jobsSaline County6,653Otoe County: 6,224 jobsOtoe County6,224Cass County: 6,142 jobsCass County6,142Seward County: 5,990 jobsSeward County5,990Saunders County: 5,914 jobsSaunders County5,914Colfax County: 5,155 jobsColfax County5,155Red Willow County: 4,964 jobsRed Willow County4,964Phelps County: 4,827 jobsPhelps County4,827Custer County: 4,537 jobsCuster County4,537Holt County: 4,403 jobsHolt County4,403Wayne County: 4,188 jobsWayne County4,188Hamilton County: 3,982 jobsHamilton County3,982Cheyenne County: 3,940 jobsCheyenne County3,940Cuming County: 3,779 jobsCuming County3,779Box Butte County: 3,720 jobsBox Butte County3,720Thurston County: 3,471 jobsThurston County3,471Jefferson County: 3,371 jobsJefferson County3,371Keith County: 3,344 jobsKeith County3,344Dawes County: 3,156 jobsDawes County3,156Nemaha County: 2,968 jobsNemaha County2,968Knox County: 2,895 jobsKnox County2,895Cedar County: 2,789 jobsCedar County2,789Butler County: 2,629 jobsButler County2,629Boone County: 2,452 jobsBoone County2,452Douglas County: 340,716 jobsDouglas County340,716Lancaster County: 175,346 jobsLancaster County175,346Sarpy County: 80,883 jobsSarpy County80,883Hall County: 35,986 jobsHall County35,986Buffalo County: 28,148 jobsBuffalo County28,148Madison County: 22,011 jobsMadison County22,011Platte County: 20,010 jobsPlatte County20,010Dodge County: 18,578 jobsDodge County18,578Scotts Bluff County: 15,975 jobsScotts Bluff County15,975Adams County: 15,862 jobsAdams County15,862Lincoln County: 14,738 jobsLincoln County14,738Dakota County: 13,726 jobsDakota County13,726Dawson County: 11,864 jobsDawson County11,864Gage County: 8,677 jobsGage County8,677Washington County: 8,544 jobsWashington County8,544York County: 7,644 jobsYork County7,644Saline County: 6,653 jobsSaline County6,653Otoe County: 6,224 jobsOtoe County6,224Cass County: 6,142 jobsCass County6,142Seward County: 5,990 jobsSeward County5,990Saunders County: 5,914 jobsSaunders County5,914Colfax County: 5,155 jobsColfax County5,155Red Willow County: 4,964 jobsRed Willow County4,964Phelps County: 4,827 jobsPhelps County4,827Custer County: 4,537 jobsCuster County4,537Holt County: 4,403 jobsHolt County4,403Wayne County: 4,188 jobsWayne County4,188Hamilton County: 3,982 jobsHamilton County3,982Cheyenne County: 3,940 jobsCheyenne County3,940Cuming County: 3,779 jobsCuming County3,779Box Butte County: 3,720 jobsBox Butte County3,720Thurston County: 3,471 jobsThurston County3,471Jefferson County: 3,371 jobsJefferson County3,371Keith County: 3,344 jobsKeith County3,344Dawes County: 3,156 jobsDawes County3,156Nemaha County: 2,968 jobsNemaha County2,968Knox County: 2,895 jobsKnox County2,895Cedar County: 2,789 jobsCedar County2,789Butler County: 2,629 jobsButler County2,629Boone County: 2,452 jobsBoone County2,452
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

RankCounties2024
jobs
Change on 2023
1Douglas County340,716-0.2%
2Lancaster County175,346+1.1%
3Sarpy County80,883+2.6%
4Hall County35,986+1.1%
5Buffalo County28,148+1.2%
6Madison County22,011-0.6%
7Platte County20,010+0.8%
8Dodge County18,578-0.4%
9Scotts Bluff County15,975-0.2%
10Adams County15,862+1.5%
11Lincoln County14,738+0.9%
12Dakota County13,726+1.3%
13Dawson County11,864+0.6%
14Gage County8,677+0.8%
15Washington County8,544+4.7%
16York County7,644+1.1%
17Saline County6,653+0.3%
18Otoe County6,224+1.7%
19Cass County6,142+1.6%
20Seward County5,990-0.7%
21Saunders County5,914+2.1%
22Colfax County5,155-0.5%
23Red Willow County4,964-1.4%
24Phelps County4,827-1.6%
25Custer County4,537+0.2%
26Holt County4,403+2%
27Wayne County4,188-0.2%
28Hamilton County3,982+4.8%
29Cheyenne County3,940+3.3%
30Cuming County3,779-0%
31Box Butte County3,720+2.8%
32Thurston County3,471+5.1%
33Jefferson County3,3710%
34Keith County3,344+1.4%
35Dawes County3,156+1.5%
36Nemaha County2,968+0.7%
37Knox County2,895+1.7%
38Cedar County2,789+1.9%
39Butler County2,629+0.9%
40Boone County2,452+0.9%
41Merrick County2,451+2.2%
42Fillmore County2,374+1.8%
43Richardson County2,345+1%
44Cherry County2,323+4.2%
45Antelope County2,194+2.8%
46Thayer County2,190+0.3%
47Clay County2,077+0.6%
48Kearney County1,999-1.8%
49Pierce County1,967-1%
50Dixon County1,859-2.7%
51Burt County1,780-2.6%
52Chase County1,779-0.7%
53Valley County1,754-0.3%
54Furnas County1,748-1.4%
55Sheridan County1,721-1.4%
56Howard County1,570+0.8%
57Nuckolls County1,560-0.9%
58Morrill County1,550+0.7%
59Kimball County1,497+7.2%
60Polk County1,438-0.5%
61Johnson County1,394+0.7%
62Brown County1,388+0.9%
63Stanton County1,264+0.4%
64Perkins County1,123+0.3%
65Webster County1,058+1.5%
66Nance County929-0.7%
67Harlan County853+3.1%
68Frontier County814+0.9%
69Franklin County782-0.1%
70Garfield County7720%
71Sherman County724+0.1%
72Pawnee County707-5.9%
73Hitchcock County640-3.8%
74Greeley County613-0.3%
75Dundy County590+1%
76Boyd County560+2.9%
76Deuel County560+5.5%
78Garden County496-2.7%
79Rock County461-0.9%
80Gosper County452-6%
81Wheeler County304+9%
82Grant County2830%
83Hooker County264-6%
84Thomas County236-2.5%
85Hayes County190+5.6%
86Sioux County179-3.8%
87Logan County164-0.6%
88Keya Paha County140+7.7%
89Blaine County127-2.3%
90Banner County124+8.8%
91Loup County112+6.7%
92Arthur County89+7.2%
93McPherson County52-17.5%

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/2024/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), 2024) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2024/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), 2024. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2024/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/nebraska-counties?period=2024. 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), 2024. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2024/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/nebraska-counties?period=2024.

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), 2024 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2024/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/nebraska-counties?period=2024 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_nebraska_by_2024,
  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), 2024}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2024/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/nebraska-counties?period=2024. 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/2024/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), 2024
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2024/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/nebraska-counties?period=2024
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/nebraska-counties?period=2024.
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/2024/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 340,716 jobs in 2024, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest covered employment (QCEW)?

McPherson County, with 52 jobs in 2024.

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