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 2015, at 637,156 jobs. Tyrrell County had the lowest, at 1,146 jobs. The median was 16,033 jobs and the figure for North Carolina was 4,161,654 jobs. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest637,156Mecklenburg County
Lowest1,146Tyrrell County
Median16,033100 counties
North Carolina4,161,654History

Map of counties, 2015

Alamance County: 58,102 jobsAlexander County: 8,965 jobsAlleghany County: 3,363 jobsAnson County: 7,499 jobsAshe County: 6,810 jobsAvery County: 6,667 jobsBeaufort County: 15,672 jobsBertie County: 6,429 jobsBladen County: 12,919 jobsBrunswick County: 29,895 jobsBuncombe County: 123,874 jobsBurke County: 29,517 jobsCabarrus County: 68,499 jobsCaldwell County: 23,326 jobsCamden County: 1,407 jobsCarteret County: 22,752 jobsCaswell County: 2,979 jobsCatawba County: 83,150 jobsChatham County: 14,224 jobsCherokee County: 7,892 jobsChowan County: 4,563 jobsClay County: 1,983 jobsCleveland County: 33,611 jobsColumbus County: 15,457 jobsCraven County: 38,735 jobsCumberland County: 117,059 jobsCurrituck County: 6,662 jobsDare County: 19,375 jobsDavidson County: 41,837 jobsDavie County: 11,770 jobsDuplin County: 20,114 jobsDurham County: 191,240 jobsEdgecombe County: 16,461 jobsForsyth County: 180,365 jobsFranklin County: 11,360 jobsGaston County: 70,010 jobsGates County: 1,424 jobsGraham County: 1,945 jobsGranville County: 20,305 jobsGreene County: 4,121 jobsGuilford County: 275,496 jobsHalifax County: 15,671 jobsHarnett County: 23,482 jobsHaywood County: 16,728 jobsHenderson County: 35,276 jobsHertford County: 8,907 jobsHoke County: 7,833 jobsHyde County: 2,160 jobsIredell County: 69,564 jobsJackson County: 12,901 jobsJohnston County: 45,765 jobsJones County: 1,539 jobsLee County: 25,141 jobsLenoir County: 27,714 jobsLincoln County: 21,640 jobsMcDowell County: 16,346 jobsMacon County: 10,851 jobsMadison County: 3,801 jobsMartin County: 6,943 jobsMecklenburg County: 637,156 jobsMitchell County: 4,816 jobsMontgomery County: 9,236 jobsMoore County: 33,134 jobsNash County: 40,666 jobsNew Hanover County: 106,034 jobsNorthampton County: 5,307 jobsOnslow County: 48,281 jobsOrange County: 66,993 jobsPamlico County: 3,418 jobsPasquotank County: 15,720 jobsPender County: 10,944 jobsPerquimans County: 1,976 jobsPerson County: 10,037 jobsPitt County: 74,400 jobsPolk County: 4,987 jobsRandolph County: 44,398 jobsRichmond County: 13,502 jobsRobeson County: 38,984 jobsRockingham County: 26,037 jobsRowan County: 46,841 jobsRutherford County: 18,157 jobsSampson County: 18,363 jobsScotland County: 11,779 jobsStanly County: 18,804 jobsStokes County: 6,961 jobsSurry County: 28,233 jobsSwain County: 9,587 jobsTransylvania County: 8,496 jobsTyrrell County: 1,146 jobsUnion County: 59,382 jobsVance County: 14,960 jobsWake County: 511,453 jobsWarren County: 3,418 jobsWashington County: 3,497 jobsWatauga County: 22,285 jobsWayne County: 42,362 jobsWilkes County: 21,219 jobsWilson County: 36,923 jobsYadkin County: 9,761 jobsYancey County: 3,672 jobs
  • Under 5,000
  • 5,000 to 10K
  • 10K to 16K
  • 16K to 26K
  • 26K to 48K
  • 48K and over
jobs, 2015. 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, 2015

Mecklenburg County: 637,156 jobsMecklenburg County637,156Wake County: 511,453 jobsWake County511,453Guilford County: 275,496 jobsGuilford County275,496Durham County: 191,240 jobsDurham County191,240Forsyth County: 180,365 jobsForsyth County180,365Buncombe County: 123,874 jobsBuncombe County123,874Cumberland County: 117,059 jobsCumberland County117,059New Hanover County: 106,034 jobsNew Hanover County106,034Catawba County: 83,150 jobsCatawba County83,150Pitt County: 74,400 jobsPitt County74,400Gaston County: 70,010 jobsGaston County70,010Iredell County: 69,564 jobsIredell County69,564Cabarrus County: 68,499 jobsCabarrus County68,499Orange County: 66,993 jobsOrange County66,993Union County: 59,382 jobsUnion County59,382Alamance County: 58,102 jobsAlamance County58,102Onslow County: 48,281 jobsOnslow County48,281Rowan County: 46,841 jobsRowan County46,841Johnston County: 45,765 jobsJohnston County45,765Randolph County: 44,398 jobsRandolph County44,398Wayne County: 42,362 jobsWayne County42,362Davidson County: 41,837 jobsDavidson County41,837Nash County: 40,666 jobsNash County40,666Robeson County: 38,984 jobsRobeson County38,984Craven County: 38,735 jobsCraven County38,735Wilson County: 36,923 jobsWilson County36,923Henderson County: 35,276 jobsHenderson County35,276Cleveland County: 33,611 jobsCleveland County33,611Moore County: 33,134 jobsMoore County33,134Brunswick County: 29,895 jobsBrunswick County29,895Burke County: 29,517 jobsBurke County29,517Surry County: 28,233 jobsSurry County28,233Lenoir County: 27,714 jobsLenoir County27,714Rockingham County: 26,037 jobsRockingham County26,037Lee County: 25,141 jobsLee County25,141Harnett County: 23,482 jobsHarnett County23,482Caldwell County: 23,326 jobsCaldwell County23,326Carteret County: 22,752 jobsCarteret County22,752Watauga County: 22,285 jobsWatauga County22,285Lincoln County: 21,640 jobsLincoln County21,640Mecklenburg County: 637,156 jobsMecklenburg County637,156Wake County: 511,453 jobsWake County511,453Guilford County: 275,496 jobsGuilford County275,496Durham County: 191,240 jobsDurham County191,240Forsyth County: 180,365 jobsForsyth County180,365Buncombe County: 123,874 jobsBuncombe County123,874Cumberland County: 117,059 jobsCumberland County117,059New Hanover County: 106,034 jobsNew Hanover County106,034Catawba County: 83,150 jobsCatawba County83,150Pitt County: 74,400 jobsPitt County74,400Gaston County: 70,010 jobsGaston County70,010Iredell County: 69,564 jobsIredell County69,564Cabarrus County: 68,499 jobsCabarrus County68,499Orange County: 66,993 jobsOrange County66,993Union County: 59,382 jobsUnion County59,382Alamance County: 58,102 jobsAlamance County58,102Onslow County: 48,281 jobsOnslow County48,281Rowan County: 46,841 jobsRowan County46,841Johnston County: 45,765 jobsJohnston County45,765Randolph County: 44,398 jobsRandolph County44,398Wayne County: 42,362 jobsWayne County42,362Davidson County: 41,837 jobsDavidson County41,837Nash County: 40,666 jobsNash County40,666Robeson County: 38,984 jobsRobeson County38,984Craven County: 38,735 jobsCraven County38,735Wilson County: 36,923 jobsWilson County36,923Henderson County: 35,276 jobsHenderson County35,276Cleveland County: 33,611 jobsCleveland County33,611Moore County: 33,134 jobsMoore County33,134Brunswick County: 29,895 jobsBrunswick County29,895Burke County: 29,517 jobsBurke County29,517Surry County: 28,233 jobsSurry County28,233Lenoir County: 27,714 jobsLenoir County27,714Rockingham County: 26,037 jobsRockingham County26,037Lee County: 25,141 jobsLee County25,141Harnett County: 23,482 jobsHarnett County23,482Caldwell County: 23,326 jobsCaldwell County23,326Carteret County: 22,752 jobsCarteret County22,752Watauga County: 22,285 jobsWatauga County22,285Lincoln County: 21,640 jobsLincoln County21,640
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

RankCounties2015
jobs		Change on 2014
1Mecklenburg County637,156+4.4%
2Wake County511,453+4.3%
3Guilford County275,496+2.3%
4Durham County191,240+1.2%
5Forsyth County180,365+1.4%
6Buncombe County123,874+4%
7Cumberland County117,059-0.1%
8New Hanover County106,034+3.4%
9Catawba County83,150+1.7%
10Pitt County74,400+0.8%
11Gaston County70,010+2.4%
12Iredell County69,564+2.8%
13Cabarrus County68,499+3.2%
14Orange County66,993+2%
15Union County59,382+3.2%
16Alamance County58,102+0.6%
17Onslow County48,2810%
18Rowan County46,841+4.8%
19Johnston County45,765+3.4%
20Randolph County44,398+1.1%
21Wayne County42,3620%
22Davidson County41,837+1.3%
23Nash County40,666+3%
24Robeson County38,984+1.3%
25Craven County38,735+1.9%
26Wilson County36,923-2.5%
27Henderson County35,276+0.9%
28Cleveland County33,611+0.7%
29Moore County33,134+0.6%
30Brunswick County29,895+2.3%
31Burke County29,517+0.5%
32Surry County28,233+2.2%
33Lenoir County27,714+0.5%
34Rockingham County26,037-0.5%
35Lee County25,141+6%
36Harnett County23,482+2.6%
37Caldwell County23,326+2.4%
38Carteret County22,752+1.4%
39Watauga County22,285+2%
40Lincoln County21,640+2.5%
41Wilkes County21,219+1.8%
42Granville County20,305+1.7%
43Duplin County20,114+0.4%
44Dare County19,375+2.1%
45Stanly County18,804+1.1%
46Sampson County18,363-0.9%
47Rutherford County18,157-0.6%
48Haywood County16,728+1%
49Edgecombe County16,461-6.8%
50McDowell County16,346+3.9%
51Pasquotank County15,720+2.6%
52Beaufort County15,672+0.9%
53Halifax County15,671-2%
54Columbus County15,457-1.4%
55Vance County14,960+1%
56Chatham County14,224-0.3%
57Richmond County13,502+1.6%
58Bladen County12,919+6.7%
59Jackson County12,901+1.2%
60Scotland County11,779+0.2%
61Davie County11,770+9.4%
62Franklin County11,360+1.5%
63Pender County10,944+3%
64Macon County10,851+1%
65Person County10,037+4.7%
66Yadkin County9,761+1.3%
67Swain County9,587+7.5%
68Montgomery County9,236+2.5%
69Alexander County8,965+2.1%
70Hertford County8,907-1.5%
71Transylvania County8,496+2.2%
72Cherokee County7,892+1.2%
73Hoke County7,833+4.1%
74Anson County7,499-1.9%
75Stokes County6,961+1%
76Martin County6,943-2.4%
77Ashe County6,810-0.5%
78Avery County6,667-1.5%
79Currituck County6,662+2.8%
80Bertie County6,429+2%
81Northampton County5,307+0.7%
82Polk County4,987+4.6%
83Mitchell County4,816-3.6%
84Chowan County4,563-0.7%
85Greene County4,121+2.8%
86Madison County3,801-0.4%
87Yancey County3,672+0.3%
88Washington County3,497-1.1%
89Pamlico County3,418+0.8%
89Warren County3,418-0.9%
91Alleghany County3,363+3.5%
92Caswell County2,979+0.3%
93Hyde County2,160-2%
94Clay County1,983-1.9%
95Perquimans County1,976+2.9%
96Graham County1,945-4.4%
97Jones County1,539-1.6%
98Gates County1,424+1.1%
99Camden County1,407-4.4%
100Tyrrell County1,146-2.1%

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/2015/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), 2015) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2015/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), 2015. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2015/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/north-carolina-counties?period=2015. 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), 2015. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2015/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/north-carolina-counties?period=2015.

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), 2015 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2015/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/north-carolina-counties?period=2015 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_north_carolina_2015,
  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), 2015}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2015/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/north-carolina-counties?period=2015. 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/2015/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), 2015
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2015/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/north-carolina-counties?period=2015
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/north-carolina-counties?period=2015.
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/2015/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 637,156 jobs in 2015, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest covered employment (QCEW)?

Tyrrell County, with 1,146 jobs in 2015.

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