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 2023, at 780,609 jobs. Tyrrell County had the lowest, at 945 jobs. The median was 15,721 jobs and the figure for North Carolina was 4,830,118 jobs. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest780,609Mecklenburg County
Lowest945Tyrrell County
Median15,721100 counties
North Carolina4,830,118History

Map of counties, 2023

Alamance County: 66,553 jobsAlexander County: 8,839 jobsAlleghany County: 3,242 jobsAnson County: 6,707 jobsAshe County: 7,312 jobsAvery County: 7,211 jobsBeaufort County: 15,542 jobsBertie County: 5,106 jobsBladen County: 13,718 jobsBrunswick County: 39,548 jobsBuncombe County: 138,287 jobsBurke County: 29,498 jobsCabarrus County: 85,015 jobsCaldwell County: 25,375 jobsCamden County: 1,236 jobsCarteret County: 24,724 jobsCaswell County: 2,919 jobsCatawba County: 90,117 jobsChatham County: 17,338 jobsCherokee County: 7,978 jobsChowan County: 5,120 jobsClay County: 2,151 jobsCleveland County: 36,375 jobsColumbus County: 14,991 jobsCraven County: 40,816 jobsCumberland County: 122,493 jobsCurrituck County: 7,536 jobsDare County: 20,196 jobsDavidson County: 46,349 jobsDavie County: 13,507 jobsDuplin County: 19,334 jobsDurham County: 233,266 jobsEdgecombe County: 15,150 jobsForsyth County: 192,841 jobsFranklin County: 13,448 jobsGaston County: 77,391 jobsGates County: 1,405 jobsGraham County: 1,938 jobsGranville County: 20,298 jobsGreene County: 4,543 jobsGuilford County: 287,073 jobsHalifax County: 15,130 jobsHarnett County: 27,708 jobsHaywood County: 17,495 jobsHenderson County: 42,644 jobsHertford County: 8,533 jobsHoke County: 9,003 jobsHyde County: 1,744 jobsIredell County: 82,501 jobsJackson County: 14,475 jobsJohnston County: 58,589 jobsJones County: 1,644 jobsLee County: 25,997 jobsLenoir County: 28,982 jobsLincoln County: 27,405 jobsMcDowell County: 15,558 jobsMacon County: 12,437 jobsMadison County: 4,180 jobsMartin County: 6,126 jobsMecklenburg County: 780,609 jobsMitchell County: 4,989 jobsMontgomery County: 9,049 jobsMoore County: 38,591 jobsNash County: 39,169 jobsNew Hanover County: 129,066 jobsNorthampton County: 4,949 jobsOnslow County: 53,452 jobsOrange County: 77,843 jobsPamlico County: 3,697 jobsPasquotank County: 15,883 jobsPender County: 14,179 jobsPerquimans County: 2,405 jobsPerson County: 9,512 jobsPitt County: 80,183 jobsPolk County: 5,425 jobsRandolph County: 42,455 jobsRichmond County: 14,269 jobsRobeson County: 38,103 jobsRockingham County: 24,617 jobsRowan County: 50,747 jobsRutherford County: 18,324 jobsSampson County: 17,134 jobsScotland County: 11,762 jobsStanly County: 21,786 jobsStokes County: 7,454 jobsSurry County: 28,760 jobsSwain County: 10,779 jobsTransylvania County: 9,648 jobsTyrrell County: 945 jobsUnion County: 72,115 jobsVance County: 14,179 jobsWake County: 639,870 jobsWarren County: 2,944 jobsWashington County: 3,101 jobsWatauga County: 25,041 jobsWayne County: 41,175 jobsWilkes County: 19,025 jobsWilson County: 35,767 jobsYadkin County: 9,975 jobsYancey County: 4,522 jobs
  • Under 5,000
  • 5,000 to 10K
  • 10K to 16K
  • 16K to 28K
  • 28K to 56K
  • 56K and over
jobs, 2023. 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, 2023

Mecklenburg County: 780,609 jobsMecklenburg County780,609Wake County: 639,870 jobsWake County639,870Guilford County: 287,073 jobsGuilford County287,073Durham County: 233,266 jobsDurham County233,266Forsyth County: 192,841 jobsForsyth County192,841Buncombe County: 138,287 jobsBuncombe County138,287New Hanover County: 129,066 jobsNew Hanover County129,066Cumberland County: 122,493 jobsCumberland County122,493Catawba County: 90,117 jobsCatawba County90,117Cabarrus County: 85,015 jobsCabarrus County85,015Iredell County: 82,501 jobsIredell County82,501Pitt County: 80,183 jobsPitt County80,183Orange County: 77,843 jobsOrange County77,843Gaston County: 77,391 jobsGaston County77,391Union County: 72,115 jobsUnion County72,115Alamance County: 66,553 jobsAlamance County66,553Johnston County: 58,589 jobsJohnston County58,589Onslow County: 53,452 jobsOnslow County53,452Rowan County: 50,747 jobsRowan County50,747Davidson County: 46,349 jobsDavidson County46,349Henderson County: 42,644 jobsHenderson County42,644Randolph County: 42,455 jobsRandolph County42,455Wayne County: 41,175 jobsWayne County41,175Craven County: 40,816 jobsCraven County40,816Brunswick County: 39,548 jobsBrunswick County39,548Nash County: 39,169 jobsNash County39,169Moore County: 38,591 jobsMoore County38,591Robeson County: 38,103 jobsRobeson County38,103Cleveland County: 36,375 jobsCleveland County36,375Wilson County: 35,767 jobsWilson County35,767Burke County: 29,498 jobsBurke County29,498Lenoir County: 28,982 jobsLenoir County28,982Surry County: 28,760 jobsSurry County28,760Harnett County: 27,708 jobsHarnett County27,708Lincoln County: 27,405 jobsLincoln County27,405Lee County: 25,997 jobsLee County25,997Caldwell County: 25,375 jobsCaldwell County25,375Watauga County: 25,041 jobsWatauga County25,041Carteret County: 24,724 jobsCarteret County24,724Rockingham County: 24,617 jobsRockingham County24,617Mecklenburg County: 780,609 jobsMecklenburg County780,609Wake County: 639,870 jobsWake County639,870Guilford County: 287,073 jobsGuilford County287,073Durham County: 233,266 jobsDurham County233,266Forsyth County: 192,841 jobsForsyth County192,841Buncombe County: 138,287 jobsBuncombe County138,287New Hanover County: 129,066 jobsNew Hanover County129,066Cumberland County: 122,493 jobsCumberland County122,493Catawba County: 90,117 jobsCatawba County90,117Cabarrus County: 85,015 jobsCabarrus County85,015Iredell County: 82,501 jobsIredell County82,501Pitt County: 80,183 jobsPitt County80,183Orange County: 77,843 jobsOrange County77,843Gaston County: 77,391 jobsGaston County77,391Union County: 72,115 jobsUnion County72,115Alamance County: 66,553 jobsAlamance County66,553Johnston County: 58,589 jobsJohnston County58,589Onslow County: 53,452 jobsOnslow County53,452Rowan County: 50,747 jobsRowan County50,747Davidson County: 46,349 jobsDavidson County46,349Henderson County: 42,644 jobsHenderson County42,644Randolph County: 42,455 jobsRandolph County42,455Wayne County: 41,175 jobsWayne County41,175Craven County: 40,816 jobsCraven County40,816Brunswick County: 39,548 jobsBrunswick County39,548Nash County: 39,169 jobsNash County39,169Moore County: 38,591 jobsMoore County38,591Robeson County: 38,103 jobsRobeson County38,103Cleveland County: 36,375 jobsCleveland County36,375Wilson County: 35,767 jobsWilson County35,767Burke County: 29,498 jobsBurke County29,498Lenoir County: 28,982 jobsLenoir County28,982Surry County: 28,760 jobsSurry County28,760Harnett County: 27,708 jobsHarnett County27,708Lincoln County: 27,405 jobsLincoln County27,405Lee County: 25,997 jobsLee County25,997Caldwell County: 25,375 jobsCaldwell County25,375Watauga County: 25,041 jobsWatauga County25,041Carteret County: 24,724 jobsCarteret County24,724Rockingham County: 24,617 jobsRockingham County24,617
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

RankCounties2023
jobs		Change on 2022
1Mecklenburg County780,609+3.3%
2Wake County639,870+3.6%
3Guilford County287,073+0.9%
4Durham County233,266+2.2%
5Forsyth County192,841+1%
6Buncombe County138,287+1.9%
7New Hanover County129,066+3.8%
8Cumberland County122,493+1.9%
9Catawba County90,117+0.4%
10Cabarrus County85,015+3.4%
11Iredell County82,501+3%
12Pitt County80,183+2%
13Orange County77,843+2.9%
14Gaston County77,391+1.9%
15Union County72,115+5.8%
16Alamance County66,553+4.7%
17Johnston County58,589+3.7%
18Onslow County53,452+3.1%
19Rowan County50,747+1.5%
20Davidson County46,349+1.9%
21Henderson County42,644+4.1%
22Randolph County42,455-2.5%
23Wayne County41,175+2.5%
24Craven County40,816+2.6%
25Brunswick County39,548+6.7%
26Nash County39,169+1.7%
27Moore County38,591+3.7%
28Robeson County38,103+1.3%
29Cleveland County36,375+1.6%
30Wilson County35,767+1.5%
31Burke County29,498+1.2%
32Lenoir County28,982+1.8%
33Surry County28,760+3.9%
34Harnett County27,708+2.6%
35Lincoln County27,405+3.2%
36Lee County25,997+0.3%
37Caldwell County25,375+1.2%
38Watauga County25,041+3.2%
39Carteret County24,724+2.8%
40Rockingham County24,617+1.4%
41Stanly County21,786+9.3%
42Granville County20,298-1.1%
43Dare County20,196+3.1%
44Duplin County19,334+3.8%
45Wilkes County19,025-3.8%
46Rutherford County18,324-0.4%
47Haywood County17,495-0.2%
48Chatham County17,338+3.2%
49Sampson County17,134-2.6%
50Pasquotank County15,883+3%
51McDowell County15,558+0.8%
52Beaufort County15,542-2.7%
53Edgecombe County15,150-3.5%
54Halifax County15,130+2.3%
55Columbus County14,991-8%
56Jackson County14,475+2.5%
57Richmond County14,269+1%
58Pender County14,179+1.8%
58Vance County14,179+0.5%
60Bladen County13,718+2.3%
61Davie County13,507+0.3%
62Franklin County13,448+4.7%
63Macon County12,437+5.4%
64Scotland County11,762+0.7%
65Swain County10,7790%
66Yadkin County9,975-0.3%
67Transylvania County9,648+2.5%
68Person County9,512-0.2%
69Montgomery County9,049-0.2%
70Hoke County9,003+3.2%
71Alexander County8,839-6.2%
72Hertford County8,533-0.2%
73Cherokee County7,978-0.7%
74Currituck County7,536+1.6%
75Stokes County7,454+0.6%
76Ashe County7,312-0%
77Avery County7,211+3.4%
78Anson County6,707-0.3%
79Martin County6,126+0.4%
80Polk County5,425+2.2%
81Chowan County5,120+3.3%
82Bertie County5,106-1.5%
83Mitchell County4,989+5.3%
84Northampton County4,949-2.8%
85Greene County4,543+2.2%
86Yancey County4,522+2.7%
87Madison County4,180+5.7%
88Pamlico County3,697+1%
89Alleghany County3,242-5.9%
90Washington County3,101-0.6%
91Warren County2,944+0.8%
92Caswell County2,919+5.2%
93Perquimans County2,405+2.4%
94Clay County2,151+2.3%
95Graham County1,938+3.4%
96Hyde County1,744+1.5%
97Jones County1,644+1.1%
98Gates County1,405+0.4%
99Camden County1,236+7.2%
100Tyrrell County945-3.3%

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/2023/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), 2023) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2023/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), 2023. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2023/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/north-carolina-counties?period=2023. 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), 2023. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2023/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/north-carolina-counties?period=2023.

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), 2023 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2023/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/north-carolina-counties?period=2023 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_north_carolina_2023,
  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), 2023}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2023/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/north-carolina-counties?period=2023. 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/2023/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), 2023
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2023/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/north-carolina-counties?period=2023
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/north-carolina-counties?period=2023.
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/2023/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 780,609 jobs in 2023, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest covered employment (QCEW)?

Tyrrell County, with 945 jobs in 2023.

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