Counties in New Hampshire by covered employment (QCEW)

Hillsborough County had the highest covered employment (QCEW) of 10 counties in 2021, at 196,997 jobs. Coos County had the lowest, at 11,343 jobs. The median was 38,839 jobs and the figure for New Hampshire was 649,187 jobs. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest196,997Hillsborough County
Lowest11,343Coos County
Median38,83910 counties
New Hampshire649,187History

Map of counties, 2021

Belknap County: 24,968 jobsCarroll County: 18,866 jobsCheshire County: 30,864 jobsCoos County: 11,343 jobsGrafton County: 52,309 jobsHillsborough County: 196,997 jobsMerrimack County: 73,556 jobsRockingham County: 147,382 jobsStrafford County: 46,813 jobsSullivan County: 13,504 jobs
  • Under 18K
  • 18K to 29K
  • 29K to 49K
  • 49K to 88K
  • 88K 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.

All counties, 2021

Hillsborough County: 196,997 jobsHillsborough County196,997Rockingham County: 147,382 jobsRockingham County147,382Merrimack County: 73,556 jobsMerrimack County73,556Grafton County: 52,309 jobsGrafton County52,309Strafford County: 46,813 jobsStrafford County46,813Cheshire County: 30,864 jobsCheshire County30,864Belknap County: 24,968 jobsBelknap County24,968Carroll County: 18,866 jobsCarroll County18,866Sullivan County: 13,504 jobsSullivan County13,504Coos County: 11,343 jobsCoos County11,343Hillsborough County: 196,997 jobsHillsborough County196,997Rockingham County: 147,382 jobsRockingham County147,382Merrimack County: 73,556 jobsMerrimack County73,556Grafton County: 52,309 jobsGrafton County52,309Strafford County: 46,813 jobsStrafford County46,813Cheshire County: 30,864 jobsCheshire County30,864Belknap County: 24,968 jobsBelknap County24,968Carroll County: 18,866 jobsCarroll County18,866Sullivan County: 13,504 jobsSullivan County13,504Coos County: 11,343 jobsCoos County11,343
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
1Hillsborough County196,997+2.2%
2Rockingham County147,382+3.9%
3Merrimack County73,556+0.6%
4Grafton County52,309+3.3%
5Strafford County46,813+2.2%
6Cheshire County30,864+3.6%
7Belknap County24,968+4.5%
8Carroll County18,866+5.5%
9Sullivan County13,504+2.6%
10Coos County11,343+4.5%

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/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 New Hampshire 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 New Hampshire 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/new-hampshire-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 New Hampshire 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/new-hampshire-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 New Hampshire 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/new-hampshire-counties?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_new_hampshire_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 New Hampshire 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/new-hampshire-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 New Hampshire 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/new-hampshire-counties?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/new-hampshire-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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Rank Counties in New Hampshire by covered employment (QCEW) using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which county has the highest covered employment (QCEW)?

Hillsborough County, with 196,997 jobs in 2021, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest covered employment (QCEW)?

Coos County, with 11,343 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 New Hampshire: more rankings