Counties in Oklahoma by covered employment (QCEW)

Oklahoma County had the highest covered employment (QCEW) of 77 counties in 2017, at 448,440 jobs. Harmon County had the lowest, at 652 jobs. The median was 6,568 jobs and the figure for Oklahoma was 1,581,198 jobs. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest448,440Oklahoma County
Lowest652Harmon County
Median6,56877 counties
Oklahoma1,581,198History

Map of counties, 2017

Adair County: 4,445 jobsAlfalfa County: 1,486 jobsAtoka County: 3,441 jobsBeaver County: 1,676 jobsBeckham County: 10,093 jobsBlaine County: 3,167 jobsBryan County: 17,566 jobsCaddo County: 7,693 jobsCanadian County: 33,434 jobsCarter County: 23,729 jobsCherokee County: 15,532 jobsChoctaw County: 4,168 jobsCimarron County: 725 jobsCleveland County: 80,248 jobsCoal County: 1,132 jobsComanche County: 42,294 jobsCotton County: 1,577 jobsCraig County: 5,322 jobsCreek County: 18,008 jobsCuster County: 12,488 jobsDelaware County: 9,275 jobsDewey County: 1,517 jobsEllis County: 1,192 jobsGarfield County: 24,587 jobsGarvin County: 9,600 jobsGrady County: 12,403 jobsGrant County: 1,434 jobsGreer County: 1,118 jobsHarmon County: 652 jobsHarper County: 1,120 jobsHaskell County: 3,400 jobsHughes County: 3,013 jobsJackson County: 9,412 jobsJefferson County: 1,002 jobsJohnston County: 4,203 jobsKay County: 17,979 jobsKingfisher County: 6,466 jobsKiowa County: 2,058 jobsLatimer County: 2,546 jobsLe Flore County: 12,245 jobsLincoln County: 6,525 jobsLogan County: 7,447 jobsLove County: 6,237 jobsMcClain County: 9,207 jobsMcCurtain County: 11,188 jobsMcIntosh County: 3,870 jobsMajor County: 2,452 jobsMarshall County: 4,003 jobsMayes County: 12,281 jobsMurray County: 5,594 jobsMuskogee County: 29,463 jobsNoble County: 4,672 jobsNowata County: 1,690 jobsOkfuskee County: 2,277 jobsOklahoma County: 448,440 jobsOkmulgee County: 9,667 jobsOsage County: 6,568 jobsOttawa County: 12,178 jobsPawnee County: 3,517 jobsPayne County: 33,422 jobsPittsburg County: 16,283 jobsPontotoc County: 18,287 jobsPottawatomie County: 22,872 jobsPushmataha County: 2,672 jobsRoger Mills County: 845 jobsRogers County: 26,373 jobsSeminole County: 7,136 jobsSequoyah County: 8,993 jobsStephens County: 13,700 jobsTexas County: 9,769 jobsTillman County: 1,875 jobsTulsa County: 351,314 jobsWagoner County: 8,865 jobsWashington County: 19,490 jobsWashita County: 1,993 jobsWoods County: 3,569 jobsWoodward County: 8,782 jobs
  • Under 2,000
  • 2,000 to 4,000
  • 4,000 to 7,000
  • 7,000 to 10K
  • 10K to 18K
  • 18K and over
jobs, 2017. 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, 2017

Oklahoma County: 448,440 jobsOklahoma County448,440Tulsa County: 351,314 jobsTulsa County351,314Cleveland County: 80,248 jobsCleveland County80,248Comanche County: 42,294 jobsComanche County42,294Canadian County: 33,434 jobsCanadian County33,434Payne County: 33,422 jobsPayne County33,422Muskogee County: 29,463 jobsMuskogee County29,463Rogers County: 26,373 jobsRogers County26,373Garfield County: 24,587 jobsGarfield County24,587Carter County: 23,729 jobsCarter County23,729Pottawatomie County: 22,872 jobsPottawatomie County22,872Washington County: 19,490 jobsWashington County19,490Pontotoc County: 18,287 jobsPontotoc County18,287Creek County: 18,008 jobsCreek County18,008Kay County: 17,979 jobsKay County17,979Bryan County: 17,566 jobsBryan County17,566Pittsburg County: 16,283 jobsPittsburg County16,283Cherokee County: 15,532 jobsCherokee County15,532Stephens County: 13,700 jobsStephens County13,700Custer County: 12,488 jobsCuster County12,488Grady County: 12,403 jobsGrady County12,403Mayes County: 12,281 jobsMayes County12,281Le Flore County: 12,245 jobsLe Flore County12,245Ottawa County: 12,178 jobsOttawa County12,178McCurtain County: 11,188 jobsMcCurtain County11,188Beckham County: 10,093 jobsBeckham County10,093Texas County: 9,769 jobsTexas County9,769Okmulgee County: 9,667 jobsOkmulgee County9,667Garvin County: 9,600 jobsGarvin County9,600Jackson County: 9,412 jobsJackson County9,412Delaware County: 9,275 jobsDelaware County9,275McClain County: 9,207 jobsMcClain County9,207Sequoyah County: 8,993 jobsSequoyah County8,993Wagoner County: 8,865 jobsWagoner County8,865Woodward County: 8,782 jobsWoodward County8,782Caddo County: 7,693 jobsCaddo County7,693Logan County: 7,447 jobsLogan County7,447Seminole County: 7,136 jobsSeminole County7,136Osage County: 6,568 jobsOsage County6,568Lincoln County: 6,525 jobsLincoln County6,525Oklahoma County: 448,440 jobsOklahoma County448,440Tulsa County: 351,314 jobsTulsa County351,314Cleveland County: 80,248 jobsCleveland County80,248Comanche County: 42,294 jobsComanche County42,294Canadian County: 33,434 jobsCanadian County33,434Payne County: 33,422 jobsPayne County33,422Muskogee County: 29,463 jobsMuskogee County29,463Rogers County: 26,373 jobsRogers County26,373Garfield County: 24,587 jobsGarfield County24,587Carter County: 23,729 jobsCarter County23,729Pottawatomie County: 22,872 jobsPottawatomie County22,872Washington County: 19,490 jobsWashington County19,490Pontotoc County: 18,287 jobsPontotoc County18,287Creek County: 18,008 jobsCreek County18,008Kay County: 17,979 jobsKay County17,979Bryan County: 17,566 jobsBryan County17,566Pittsburg County: 16,283 jobsPittsburg County16,283Cherokee County: 15,532 jobsCherokee County15,532Stephens County: 13,700 jobsStephens County13,700Custer County: 12,488 jobsCuster County12,488Grady County: 12,403 jobsGrady County12,403Mayes County: 12,281 jobsMayes County12,281Le Flore County: 12,245 jobsLe Flore County12,245Ottawa County: 12,178 jobsOttawa County12,178McCurtain County: 11,188 jobsMcCurtain County11,188Beckham County: 10,093 jobsBeckham County10,093Texas County: 9,769 jobsTexas County9,769Okmulgee County: 9,667 jobsOkmulgee County9,667Garvin County: 9,600 jobsGarvin County9,600Jackson County: 9,412 jobsJackson County9,412Delaware County: 9,275 jobsDelaware County9,275McClain County: 9,207 jobsMcClain County9,207Sequoyah County: 8,993 jobsSequoyah County8,993Wagoner County: 8,865 jobsWagoner County8,865Woodward County: 8,782 jobsWoodward County8,782Caddo County: 7,693 jobsCaddo County7,693Logan County: 7,447 jobsLogan County7,447Seminole County: 7,136 jobsSeminole County7,136Osage County: 6,568 jobsOsage County6,568Lincoln County: 6,525 jobsLincoln County6,525
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

RankCounties2017
jobs
Change on 2016
1Oklahoma County448,440+0.2%
2Tulsa County351,314+0.5%
3Cleveland County80,248+0.7%
4Comanche County42,294-1.4%
5Canadian County33,434+5.9%
6Payne County33,422-0.7%
7Muskogee County29,463-0.6%
8Rogers County26,373+0.1%
9Garfield County24,587-7.3%
10Carter County23,729-1.2%
11Pottawatomie County22,872-0.5%
12Washington County19,490-4%
13Pontotoc County18,287+0.5%
14Creek County18,008-1.1%
15Kay County17,979+2.2%
16Bryan County17,566+5.9%
17Pittsburg County16,283+0.7%
18Cherokee County15,532-1.1%
19Stephens County13,700-1.5%
20Custer County12,488+2.9%
21Grady County12,403+0.2%
22Mayes County12,281-2.1%
23Le Flore County12,245-4.3%
24Ottawa County12,178+0.4%
25McCurtain County11,188+0.1%
26Beckham County10,093+6.8%
27Texas County9,769+0.8%
28Okmulgee County9,667-0.9%
29Garvin County9,600-0.4%
30Jackson County9,412-1.2%
31Delaware County9,275+4.2%
32McClain County9,207+4.2%
33Sequoyah County8,993+2.5%
34Wagoner County8,865+0.9%
35Woodward County8,782+1.3%
36Caddo County7,693+6.5%
37Logan County7,447+2%
38Seminole County7,136+1.2%
39Osage County6,568-1.5%
40Lincoln County6,525+1.7%
41Kingfisher County6,466+4.4%
42Love County6,237-0.3%
43Murray County5,594+1.5%
44Craig County5,322-2.5%
45Noble County4,672-0.3%
46Adair County4,445+2%
47Johnston County4,203+28.9%
48Choctaw County4,168+0.7%
49Marshall County4,003-1.2%
50McIntosh County3,870-1.4%
51Woods County3,569-6.3%
52Pawnee County3,517+3.8%
53Atoka County3,441+3.4%
54Haskell County3,400-2.7%
55Blaine County3,167+7.4%
56Hughes County3,013-0.4%
57Pushmataha County2,672-4.1%
58Latimer County2,546-11.7%
59Major County2,452+1.8%
60Okfuskee County2,277-4.1%
61Kiowa County2,058-5.2%
62Washita County1,993+5.6%
63Tillman County1,875-1.3%
64Nowata County1,690+1.4%
65Beaver County1,676+10.1%
66Cotton County1,577+8.5%
67Dewey County1,517-6.8%
68Alfalfa County1,486-0.4%
69Grant County1,434-4.7%
70Ellis County1,192-1.2%
71Coal County1,132-1%
72Harper County1,120-4.1%
73Greer County1,118-6.4%
74Jefferson County1,002-12%
75Roger Mills County845+7.4%
76Cimarron County725-0.8%
77Harmon County652-3.6%

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/2017/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 Oklahoma by covered employment (QCEW), 2017) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2017/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 Oklahoma by covered employment (QCEW), 2017. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2017/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/oklahoma-counties?period=2017. 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 Oklahoma by covered employment (QCEW), 2017. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2017/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/oklahoma-counties?period=2017.

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 Oklahoma by covered employment (QCEW), 2017 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2017/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/oklahoma-counties?period=2017 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_oklahoma_by_2017,
  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 Oklahoma by covered employment (QCEW), 2017}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2017/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/oklahoma-counties?period=2017. 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/2017/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 Oklahoma by covered employment (QCEW), 2017
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2017/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/oklahoma-counties?period=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/oklahoma-counties?period=2017.
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/2017/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
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Questions

Which county has the highest covered employment (QCEW)?

Oklahoma County, with 448,440 jobs in 2017, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest covered employment (QCEW)?

Harmon County, with 652 jobs in 2017.

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 Oklahoma: more rankings