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 2021, at 718,431 jobs. Tyrrell County had the lowest, at 970 jobs. The median was 15,901 jobs and the figure for North Carolina was 4,509,160 jobs. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest718,431Mecklenburg County
Lowest970Tyrrell County
Median15,901100 counties
North Carolina4,509,160History

Map of counties, 2021

Alamance County: 62,728 jobsAlexander County: 9,233 jobsAlleghany County: 3,200 jobsAnson County: 6,728 jobsAshe County: 7,269 jobsAvery County: 6,700 jobsBeaufort County: 16,006 jobsBertie County: 5,270 jobsBladen County: 13,310 jobsBrunswick County: 35,143 jobsBuncombe County: 130,680 jobsBurke County: 28,961 jobsCabarrus County: 79,234 jobsCaldwell County: 24,484 jobsCamden County: 1,148 jobsCarteret County: 23,505 jobsCaswell County: 2,791 jobsCatawba County: 86,338 jobsChatham County: 15,835 jobsCherokee County: 7,693 jobsChowan County: 4,691 jobsClay County: 1,980 jobsCleveland County: 35,163 jobsColumbus County: 15,318 jobsCraven County: 39,213 jobsCumberland County: 118,507 jobsCurrituck County: 7,297 jobsDare County: 19,237 jobsDavidson County: 44,068 jobsDavie County: 12,969 jobsDuplin County: 18,454 jobsDurham County: 221,801 jobsEdgecombe County: 15,967 jobsForsyth County: 186,460 jobsFranklin County: 12,254 jobsGaston County: 73,478 jobsGates County: 1,510 jobsGraham County: 1,973 jobsGranville County: 20,308 jobsGreene County: 4,460 jobsGuilford County: 277,984 jobsHalifax County: 14,594 jobsHarnett County: 26,199 jobsHaywood County: 17,236 jobsHenderson County: 39,241 jobsHertford County: 8,519 jobsHoke County: 8,496 jobsHyde County: 1,734 jobsIredell County: 77,803 jobsJackson County: 14,048 jobsJohnston County: 53,119 jobsJones County: 1,601 jobsLee County: 25,209 jobsLenoir County: 27,886 jobsLincoln County: 25,044 jobsMcDowell County: 15,447 jobsMacon County: 11,344 jobsMadison County: 3,932 jobsMartin County: 6,177 jobsMecklenburg County: 718,431 jobsMitchell County: 4,691 jobsMontgomery County: 8,953 jobsMoore County: 35,717 jobsNash County: 38,643 jobsNew Hanover County: 117,929 jobsNorthampton County: 5,192 jobsOnslow County: 50,410 jobsOrange County: 72,097 jobsPamlico County: 3,470 jobsPasquotank County: 15,045 jobsPender County: 13,584 jobsPerquimans County: 2,241 jobsPerson County: 9,531 jobsPitt County: 76,363 jobsPolk County: 5,131 jobsRandolph County: 43,104 jobsRichmond County: 13,409 jobsRobeson County: 37,468 jobsRockingham County: 23,880 jobsRowan County: 48,737 jobsRutherford County: 17,949 jobsSampson County: 17,314 jobsScotland County: 11,396 jobsStanly County: 18,881 jobsStokes County: 7,423 jobsSurry County: 27,379 jobsSwain County: 10,119 jobsTransylvania County: 9,163 jobsTyrrell County: 970 jobsUnion County: 65,654 jobsVance County: 13,905 jobsWake County: 582,687 jobsWarren County: 2,982 jobsWashington County: 3,065 jobsWatauga County: 23,599 jobsWayne County: 40,346 jobsWilkes County: 19,864 jobsWilson County: 35,088 jobsYadkin County: 9,911 jobsYancey County: 4,308 jobs
  • Under 5,000
  • 5,000 to 10K
  • 10K to 16K
  • 16K to 26K
  • 26K to 52K
  • 52K 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.

Top 40 counties, 2021

Mecklenburg County: 718,431 jobsMecklenburg County718,431Wake County: 582,687 jobsWake County582,687Guilford County: 277,984 jobsGuilford County277,984Durham County: 221,801 jobsDurham County221,801Forsyth County: 186,460 jobsForsyth County186,460Buncombe County: 130,680 jobsBuncombe County130,680Cumberland County: 118,507 jobsCumberland County118,507New Hanover County: 117,929 jobsNew Hanover County117,929Catawba County: 86,338 jobsCatawba County86,338Cabarrus County: 79,234 jobsCabarrus County79,234Iredell County: 77,803 jobsIredell County77,803Pitt County: 76,363 jobsPitt County76,363Gaston County: 73,478 jobsGaston County73,478Orange County: 72,097 jobsOrange County72,097Union County: 65,654 jobsUnion County65,654Alamance County: 62,728 jobsAlamance County62,728Johnston County: 53,119 jobsJohnston County53,119Onslow County: 50,410 jobsOnslow County50,410Rowan County: 48,737 jobsRowan County48,737Davidson County: 44,068 jobsDavidson County44,068Randolph County: 43,104 jobsRandolph County43,104Wayne County: 40,346 jobsWayne County40,346Henderson County: 39,241 jobsHenderson County39,241Craven County: 39,213 jobsCraven County39,213Nash County: 38,643 jobsNash County38,643Robeson County: 37,468 jobsRobeson County37,468Moore County: 35,717 jobsMoore County35,717Cleveland County: 35,163 jobsCleveland County35,163Brunswick County: 35,143 jobsBrunswick County35,143Wilson County: 35,088 jobsWilson County35,088Burke County: 28,961 jobsBurke County28,961Lenoir County: 27,886 jobsLenoir County27,886Surry County: 27,379 jobsSurry County27,379Harnett County: 26,199 jobsHarnett County26,199Lee County: 25,209 jobsLee County25,209Lincoln County: 25,044 jobsLincoln County25,044Caldwell County: 24,484 jobsCaldwell County24,484Rockingham County: 23,880 jobsRockingham County23,880Watauga County: 23,599 jobsWatauga County23,599Carteret County: 23,505 jobsCarteret County23,505Mecklenburg County: 718,431 jobsMecklenburg County718,431Wake County: 582,687 jobsWake County582,687Guilford County: 277,984 jobsGuilford County277,984Durham County: 221,801 jobsDurham County221,801Forsyth County: 186,460 jobsForsyth County186,460Buncombe County: 130,680 jobsBuncombe County130,680Cumberland County: 118,507 jobsCumberland County118,507New Hanover County: 117,929 jobsNew Hanover County117,929Catawba County: 86,338 jobsCatawba County86,338Cabarrus County: 79,234 jobsCabarrus County79,234Iredell County: 77,803 jobsIredell County77,803Pitt County: 76,363 jobsPitt County76,363Gaston County: 73,478 jobsGaston County73,478Orange County: 72,097 jobsOrange County72,097Union County: 65,654 jobsUnion County65,654Alamance County: 62,728 jobsAlamance County62,728Johnston County: 53,119 jobsJohnston County53,119Onslow County: 50,410 jobsOnslow County50,410Rowan County: 48,737 jobsRowan County48,737Davidson County: 44,068 jobsDavidson County44,068Randolph County: 43,104 jobsRandolph County43,104Wayne County: 40,346 jobsWayne County40,346Henderson County: 39,241 jobsHenderson County39,241Craven County: 39,213 jobsCraven County39,213Nash County: 38,643 jobsNash County38,643Robeson County: 37,468 jobsRobeson County37,468Moore County: 35,717 jobsMoore County35,717Cleveland County: 35,163 jobsCleveland County35,163Brunswick County: 35,143 jobsBrunswick County35,143Wilson County: 35,088 jobsWilson County35,088Burke County: 28,961 jobsBurke County28,961Lenoir County: 27,886 jobsLenoir County27,886Surry County: 27,379 jobsSurry County27,379Harnett County: 26,199 jobsHarnett County26,199Lee County: 25,209 jobsLee County25,209Lincoln County: 25,044 jobsLincoln County25,044Caldwell County: 24,484 jobsCaldwell County24,484Rockingham County: 23,880 jobsRockingham County23,880Watauga County: 23,599 jobsWatauga County23,599Carteret County: 23,505 jobsCarteret County23,505
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
1Mecklenburg County718,431+3.4%
2Wake County582,687+5.8%
3Guilford County277,984+2.8%
4Durham County221,801+4.7%
5Forsyth County186,460+2.8%
6Buncombe County130,680+6.6%
7Cumberland County118,507+3.2%
8New Hanover County117,929+4.6%
9Catawba County86,338+3.1%
10Cabarrus County79,234+7.4%
11Iredell County77,803+4.2%
12Pitt County76,363+2.8%
13Gaston County73,478+4.8%
14Orange County72,097+3.3%
15Union County65,654+4.4%
16Alamance County62,728+4.9%
17Johnston County53,119+4.3%
18Onslow County50,410+5.4%
19Rowan County48,737+5.4%
20Davidson County44,068+3.4%
21Randolph County43,104+1.2%
22Wayne County40,346+0.1%
23Henderson County39,241+1.8%
24Craven County39,213+2.3%
25Nash County38,643+0.8%
26Robeson County37,468-1.3%
27Moore County35,717+3.4%
28Cleveland County35,163+2.6%
29Brunswick County35,143+7.8%
30Wilson County35,088+0.4%
31Burke County28,961+1.6%
32Lenoir County27,886+0.5%
33Surry County27,379+1.9%
34Harnett County26,199+3.6%
35Lee County25,209+1.9%
36Lincoln County25,044+4.1%
37Caldwell County24,484-1.2%
38Rockingham County23,880+1.4%
39Watauga County23,599+6.3%
40Carteret County23,505+3.7%
41Granville County20,308+1%
42Wilkes County19,864-0.6%
43Dare County19,237+6.6%
44Stanly County18,881+2.2%
45Duplin County18,454+0.3%
46Rutherford County17,949+3.1%
47Sampson County17,314-0.5%
48Haywood County17,236+2.8%
49Beaufort County16,006+4.1%
50Edgecombe County15,967+5.3%
51Chatham County15,835+5.9%
52McDowell County15,447+0.6%
53Columbus County15,318+2.5%
54Pasquotank County15,045+2.1%
55Halifax County14,594-0.9%
56Jackson County14,048+3.9%
57Vance County13,905+2.8%
58Pender County13,584+9.1%
59Richmond County13,409+1.8%
60Bladen County13,310+1.8%
61Davie County12,969+4.3%
62Franklin County12,254+2.3%
63Scotland County11,396+2.9%
64Macon County11,344+3.6%
65Swain County10,119+4.9%
66Yadkin County9,911+7.5%
67Person County9,531+2.5%
68Alexander County9,233+6.4%
69Transylvania County9,163+2.9%
70Montgomery County8,953+0.7%
71Hertford County8,519-3.1%
72Hoke County8,496+0.8%
73Cherokee County7,693+1.4%
74Stokes County7,423-0.7%
75Currituck County7,297+8.2%
76Ashe County7,269+3.4%
77Anson County6,728-2.1%
78Avery County6,700+4.5%
79Martin County6,177-1.2%
80Bertie County5,270-4.7%
81Northampton County5,192-2.6%
82Polk County5,131+4.5%
83Chowan County4,691+4.3%
83Mitchell County4,691+5.8%
85Greene County4,460+2.4%
86Yancey County4,308+0.2%
87Madison County3,932+3.4%
88Pamlico County3,470+9.9%
89Alleghany County3,200+4.8%
90Washington County3,065-0.5%
91Warren County2,982+0.2%
92Caswell County2,791-0.9%
93Perquimans County2,241+7.6%
94Clay County1,980-0.1%
95Graham County1,973+3.2%
96Hyde County1,734+3%
97Jones County1,601+1.8%
98Gates County1,510-2.8%
99Camden County1,148-1.6%
100Tyrrell County970-2.4%

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/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 North Carolina 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 North Carolina 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/north-carolina-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 North Carolina 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/north-carolina-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 North Carolina 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/north-carolina-counties?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_north_carolina_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 North Carolina 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/north-carolina-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 North Carolina 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/north-carolina-counties?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/north-carolina-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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Questions

Which county has the highest covered employment (QCEW)?

Mecklenburg County, with 718,431 jobs in 2021, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest covered employment (QCEW)?

Tyrrell County, with 970 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 North Carolina: more rankings