Data / Rankings / Covered employment (QCEW) / Counties in North Carolina

Counties in North Carolina by covered employment (QCEW)

Mecklenburg County had the highest covered employment (QCEW) of 100 counties in 2014, at 610,135 jobs. Tyrrell County had the lowest, at 1,170 jobs. The median was 15,862 jobs and the figure for North Carolina was 4,057,439 jobs. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest610,135Mecklenburg County
Lowest1,170Tyrrell County
Median15,862100 counties
North Carolina4,057,439History

Map of counties, 2014

Alamance County: 57,781 jobsAlexander County: 8,783 jobsAlleghany County: 3,248 jobsAnson County: 7,643 jobsAshe County: 6,847 jobsAvery County: 6,771 jobsBeaufort County: 15,525 jobsBertie County: 6,300 jobsBladen County: 12,104 jobsBrunswick County: 29,236 jobsBuncombe County: 119,125 jobsBurke County: 29,378 jobsCabarrus County: 66,353 jobsCaldwell County: 22,782 jobsCamden County: 1,471 jobsCarteret County: 22,444 jobsCaswell County: 2,969 jobsCatawba County: 81,746 jobsChatham County: 14,267 jobsCherokee County: 7,802 jobsChowan County: 4,595 jobsClay County: 2,021 jobsCleveland County: 33,373 jobsColumbus County: 15,683 jobsCraven County: 38,006 jobsCumberland County: 117,153 jobsCurrituck County: 6,482 jobsDare County: 18,970 jobsDavidson County: 41,302 jobsDavie County: 10,756 jobsDuplin County: 20,030 jobsDurham County: 189,039 jobsEdgecombe County: 17,659 jobsForsyth County: 177,865 jobsFranklin County: 11,187 jobsGaston County: 68,362 jobsGates County: 1,409 jobsGraham County: 2,034 jobsGranville County: 19,958 jobsGreene County: 4,008 jobsGuilford County: 269,260 jobsHalifax County: 15,986 jobsHarnett County: 22,880 jobsHaywood County: 16,566 jobsHenderson County: 34,968 jobsHertford County: 9,047 jobsHoke County: 7,526 jobsHyde County: 2,205 jobsIredell County: 67,701 jobsJackson County: 12,747 jobsJohnston County: 44,264 jobsJones County: 1,564 jobsLee County: 23,714 jobsLenoir County: 27,575 jobsLincoln County: 21,111 jobsMcDowell County: 15,737 jobsMacon County: 10,740 jobsMadison County: 3,817 jobsMartin County: 7,116 jobsMecklenburg County: 610,135 jobsMitchell County: 4,997 jobsMontgomery County: 9,015 jobsMoore County: 32,943 jobsNash County: 39,475 jobsNew Hanover County: 102,523 jobsNorthampton County: 5,271 jobsOnslow County: 48,267 jobsOrange County: 65,678 jobsPamlico County: 3,391 jobsPasquotank County: 15,321 jobsPender County: 10,628 jobsPerquimans County: 1,921 jobsPerson County: 9,585 jobsPitt County: 73,835 jobsPolk County: 4,768 jobsRandolph County: 43,934 jobsRichmond County: 13,291 jobsRobeson County: 38,467 jobsRockingham County: 26,164 jobsRowan County: 44,697 jobsRutherford County: 18,260 jobsSampson County: 18,523 jobsScotland County: 11,758 jobsStanly County: 18,607 jobsStokes County: 6,894 jobsSurry County: 27,625 jobsSwain County: 8,921 jobsTransylvania County: 8,316 jobsTyrrell County: 1,170 jobsUnion County: 57,550 jobsVance County: 14,817 jobsWake County: 490,404 jobsWarren County: 3,448 jobsWashington County: 3,536 jobsWatauga County: 21,839 jobsWayne County: 42,354 jobsWilkes County: 20,850 jobsWilson County: 37,856 jobsYadkin County: 9,631 jobsYancey County: 3,661 jobs
  • Under 5,000
  • 5,000 to 9,000
  • 9,000 to 16K
  • 16K to 26K
  • 26K to 46K
  • 46K and over
jobs, 2014. 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, 2014

Mecklenburg County: 610,135 jobsMecklenburg County610,135Wake County: 490,404 jobsWake County490,404Guilford County: 269,260 jobsGuilford County269,260Durham County: 189,039 jobsDurham County189,039Forsyth County: 177,865 jobsForsyth County177,865Buncombe County: 119,125 jobsBuncombe County119,125Cumberland County: 117,153 jobsCumberland County117,153New Hanover County: 102,523 jobsNew Hanover County102,523Catawba County: 81,746 jobsCatawba County81,746Pitt County: 73,835 jobsPitt County73,835Gaston County: 68,362 jobsGaston County68,362Iredell County: 67,701 jobsIredell County67,701Cabarrus County: 66,353 jobsCabarrus County66,353Orange County: 65,678 jobsOrange County65,678Alamance County: 57,781 jobsAlamance County57,781Union County: 57,550 jobsUnion County57,550Onslow County: 48,267 jobsOnslow County48,267Rowan County: 44,697 jobsRowan County44,697Johnston County: 44,264 jobsJohnston County44,264Randolph County: 43,934 jobsRandolph County43,934Wayne County: 42,354 jobsWayne County42,354Davidson County: 41,302 jobsDavidson County41,302Nash County: 39,475 jobsNash County39,475Robeson County: 38,467 jobsRobeson County38,467Craven County: 38,006 jobsCraven County38,006Wilson County: 37,856 jobsWilson County37,856Henderson County: 34,968 jobsHenderson County34,968Cleveland County: 33,373 jobsCleveland County33,373Moore County: 32,943 jobsMoore County32,943Burke County: 29,378 jobsBurke County29,378Brunswick County: 29,236 jobsBrunswick County29,236Surry County: 27,625 jobsSurry County27,625Lenoir County: 27,575 jobsLenoir County27,575Rockingham County: 26,164 jobsRockingham County26,164Lee County: 23,714 jobsLee County23,714Harnett County: 22,880 jobsHarnett County22,880Caldwell County: 22,782 jobsCaldwell County22,782Carteret County: 22,444 jobsCarteret County22,444Watauga County: 21,839 jobsWatauga County21,839Lincoln County: 21,111 jobsLincoln County21,111Mecklenburg County: 610,135 jobsMecklenburg County610,135Wake County: 490,404 jobsWake County490,404Guilford County: 269,260 jobsGuilford County269,260Durham County: 189,039 jobsDurham County189,039Forsyth County: 177,865 jobsForsyth County177,865Buncombe County: 119,125 jobsBuncombe County119,125Cumberland County: 117,153 jobsCumberland County117,153New Hanover County: 102,523 jobsNew Hanover County102,523Catawba County: 81,746 jobsCatawba County81,746Pitt County: 73,835 jobsPitt County73,835Gaston County: 68,362 jobsGaston County68,362Iredell County: 67,701 jobsIredell County67,701Cabarrus County: 66,353 jobsCabarrus County66,353Orange County: 65,678 jobsOrange County65,678Alamance County: 57,781 jobsAlamance County57,781Union County: 57,550 jobsUnion County57,550Onslow County: 48,267 jobsOnslow County48,267Rowan County: 44,697 jobsRowan County44,697Johnston County: 44,264 jobsJohnston County44,264Randolph County: 43,934 jobsRandolph County43,934Wayne County: 42,354 jobsWayne County42,354Davidson County: 41,302 jobsDavidson County41,302Nash County: 39,475 jobsNash County39,475Robeson County: 38,467 jobsRobeson County38,467Craven County: 38,006 jobsCraven County38,006Wilson County: 37,856 jobsWilson County37,856Henderson County: 34,968 jobsHenderson County34,968Cleveland County: 33,373 jobsCleveland County33,373Moore County: 32,943 jobsMoore County32,943Burke County: 29,378 jobsBurke County29,378Brunswick County: 29,236 jobsBrunswick County29,236Surry County: 27,625 jobsSurry County27,625Lenoir County: 27,575 jobsLenoir County27,575Rockingham County: 26,164 jobsRockingham County26,164Lee County: 23,714 jobsLee County23,714Harnett County: 22,880 jobsHarnett County22,880Caldwell County: 22,782 jobsCaldwell County22,782Carteret County: 22,444 jobsCarteret County22,444Watauga County: 21,839 jobsWatauga County21,839Lincoln County: 21,111 jobsLincoln County21,111
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

RankCounties2014
jobs		Change on 2013
1Mecklenburg County610,135+4%
2Wake County490,404+3.5%
3Guilford County269,260+0.9%
4Durham County189,039+2.7%
5Forsyth County177,865+1.5%
6Buncombe County119,125+2.3%
7Cumberland County117,153-0.4%
8New Hanover County102,523+2.9%
9Catawba County81,746+1.7%
10Pitt County73,835+1.5%
11Gaston County68,362+1.7%
12Iredell County67,701+3.5%
13Cabarrus County66,353+2.2%
14Orange County65,678+2.9%
15Alamance County57,781+0.6%
16Union County57,550+3.8%
17Onslow County48,267+1.1%
18Rowan County44,697+1.5%
19Johnston County44,264+3.9%
20Randolph County43,934+1%
21Wayne County42,354-1.1%
22Davidson County41,302+0.7%
23Nash County39,475+8.4%
24Robeson County38,467+0.9%
25Craven County38,006+1.5%
26Wilson County37,856+0.5%
27Henderson County34,968-0%
28Cleveland County33,373+0.3%
29Moore County32,943+2.4%
30Burke County29,378+0.2%
31Brunswick County29,236+1.7%
32Surry County27,625+1.7%
33Lenoir County27,575-1.1%
34Rockingham County26,164+0.9%
35Lee County23,714-2.2%
36Harnett County22,880+1.9%
37Caldwell County22,782-0.7%
38Carteret County22,444+1.6%
39Watauga County21,839+2%
40Lincoln County21,111+1.8%
41Wilkes County20,850+1.1%
42Duplin County20,030+0.8%
43Granville County19,958-1.6%
44Dare County18,970+1.2%
45Stanly County18,607-0%
46Sampson County18,523+0.2%
47Rutherford County18,260+1.3%
48Edgecombe County17,659-2.3%
49Haywood County16,566+0.4%
50Halifax County15,986-0.1%
51McDowell County15,737+5.6%
52Columbus County15,683-4.5%
53Beaufort County15,525-0.4%
54Pasquotank County15,321-0.9%
55Vance County14,817+2.8%
56Chatham County14,267+1.2%
57Richmond County13,291+0.2%
58Jackson County12,747+2.1%
59Bladen County12,104+1.6%
60Scotland County11,758+1.4%
61Franklin County11,187-1%
62Davie County10,756+6.7%
63Macon County10,740+1.8%
64Pender County10,628+6.2%
65Yadkin County9,631-6.1%
66Person County9,585+0.8%
67Hertford County9,047+1%
68Montgomery County9,015-0.1%
69Swain County8,921+2.3%
70Alexander County8,783-0.5%
71Transylvania County8,316-0.3%
72Cherokee County7,802+1.1%
73Anson County7,643+1.7%
74Hoke County7,526-29.8%
75Martin County7,116-0.1%
76Stokes County6,894+2.4%
77Ashe County6,847-2.6%
78Avery County6,771+2.3%
79Currituck County6,482+3.4%
80Bertie County6,300+2.8%
81Northampton County5,271-0.7%
82Mitchell County4,997+1%
83Polk County4,768-4.2%
84Chowan County4,595+1.6%
85Greene County4,008+1.4%
86Madison County3,817+1.1%
87Yancey County3,661-2.3%
88Washington County3,536-3.4%
89Warren County3,448-0.3%
90Pamlico County3,391+5.4%
91Alleghany County3,248+0.1%
92Caswell County2,969-4.1%
93Hyde County2,205-0.3%
94Graham County2,034-5.2%
95Clay County2,021+5.5%
96Perquimans County1,921-0.3%
97Jones County1,564-6.6%
98Camden County1,471-3.7%
99Gates County1,409+3.1%
100Tyrrell County1,170-3.4%

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/2014/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 North Carolina by covered employment (QCEW), 2014) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2014/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 North Carolina by covered employment (QCEW), 2014. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2014/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/north-carolina-counties?period=2014. 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 North Carolina by covered employment (QCEW), 2014. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2014/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/north-carolina-counties?period=2014.

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 North Carolina by covered employment (QCEW), 2014 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2014/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/north-carolina-counties?period=2014 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_north_carolina_2014,
  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 North Carolina by covered employment (QCEW), 2014}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2014/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/north-carolina-counties?period=2014. 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/2014/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 North Carolina by covered employment (QCEW), 2014
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2014/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/north-carolina-counties?period=2014
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/north-carolina-counties?period=2014.
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/2014/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which county has the highest covered employment (QCEW)?

Mecklenburg County, with 610,135 jobs in 2014, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest covered employment (QCEW)?

Tyrrell County, with 1,170 jobs in 2014.

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 North Carolina: more rankings