Counties in Tennessee by covered employment (QCEW)

Davidson County had the highest covered employment (QCEW) of 95 counties in 2019, at 512,729 jobs. Van Buren County had the lowest, at 791 jobs. The median was 8,735 jobs and the figure for Tennessee was 3,032,893 jobs. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest512,729Davidson County
Median8,73595 counties
Tennessee3,032,893History

Map of counties, 2019

Anderson County: 39,823 jobsBedford County: 16,124 jobsBenton County: 4,096 jobsBledsoe County: 2,154 jobsBlount County: 51,363 jobsBradley County: 43,866 jobsCampbell County: 9,235 jobsCannon County: 2,206 jobsCarroll County: 6,697 jobsCarter County: 11,357 jobsCheatham County: 8,735 jobsChester County: 3,687 jobsClaiborne County: 9,213 jobsClay County: 1,353 jobsCocke County: 7,646 jobsCoffee County: 26,146 jobsCrockett County: 3,756 jobsCumberland County: 17,724 jobsDavidson County: 512,729 jobsDecatur County: 3,372 jobsDeKalb County: 5,667 jobsDickson County: 18,044 jobsDyer County: 15,337 jobsFayette County: 7,951 jobsFentress County: 5,096 jobsFranklin County: 11,570 jobsGibson County: 14,583 jobsGiles County: 10,106 jobsGrainger County: 3,916 jobsGreene County: 25,125 jobsGrundy County: 2,068 jobsHamblen County: 32,224 jobsHamilton County: 208,228 jobsHancock County: 909 jobsHardeman County: 6,892 jobsHardin County: 7,976 jobsHawkins County: 12,541 jobsHaywood County: 4,879 jobsHenderson County: 8,051 jobsHenry County: 11,515 jobsHickman County: 3,673 jobsHouston County: 1,490 jobsHumphreys County: 5,959 jobsJackson County: 1,391 jobsJefferson County: 13,281 jobsJohnson County: 4,255 jobsKnox County: 240,575 jobsLake County: 1,606 jobsLauderdale County: 6,758 jobsLawrence County: 10,892 jobsLewis County: 2,748 jobsLincoln County: 10,030 jobsLoudon County: 16,232 jobsMcMinn County: 18,835 jobsMcNairy County: 5,311 jobsMacon County: 4,848 jobsMadison County: 59,426 jobsMarion County: 7,514 jobsMarshall County: 9,741 jobsMaury County: 37,469 jobsMeigs County: 2,181 jobsMonroe County: 14,430 jobsMontgomery County: 55,987 jobsMoore County: 2,184 jobsMorgan County: 3,038 jobsObion County: 10,941 jobsOverton County: 5,073 jobsPerry County: 1,793 jobsPickett County: 1,017 jobsPolk County: 2,317 jobsPutnam County: 37,120 jobsRhea County: 10,650 jobsRoane County: 19,068 jobsRobertson County: 22,070 jobsRutherford County: 134,019 jobsScott County: 5,780 jobsSequatchie County: 3,041 jobsSevier County: 49,157 jobsShelby County: 502,998 jobsSmith County: 5,080 jobsStewart County: 2,843 jobsSullivan County: 68,327 jobsSumner County: 55,801 jobsTipton County: 11,330 jobsTrousdale County: 1,923 jobsUnicoi County: 4,852 jobsUnion County: 2,464 jobsVan Buren County: 791 jobsWarren County: 12,613 jobsWashington County: 61,243 jobsWayne County: 3,724 jobsWeakley County: 10,987 jobsWhite County: 7,303 jobsWilliamson County: 140,073 jobsWilson County: 48,567 jobs
  • Under 3,000
  • 3,000 to 5,000
  • 5,000 to 9,000
  • 9,000 to 13K
  • 13K to 38K
  • 38K and over
jobs, 2019. 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, 2019

Davidson County: 512,729 jobsDavidson County512,729Shelby County: 502,998 jobsShelby County502,998Knox County: 240,575 jobsKnox County240,575Hamilton County: 208,228 jobsHamilton County208,228Williamson County: 140,073 jobsWilliamson County140,073Rutherford County: 134,019 jobsRutherford County134,019Sullivan County: 68,327 jobsSullivan County68,327Washington County: 61,243 jobsWashington County61,243Madison County: 59,426 jobsMadison County59,426Montgomery County: 55,987 jobsMontgomery County55,987Sumner County: 55,801 jobsSumner County55,801Blount County: 51,363 jobsBlount County51,363Sevier County: 49,157 jobsSevier County49,157Wilson County: 48,567 jobsWilson County48,567Bradley County: 43,866 jobsBradley County43,866Anderson County: 39,823 jobsAnderson County39,823Maury County: 37,469 jobsMaury County37,469Putnam County: 37,120 jobsPutnam County37,120Hamblen County: 32,224 jobsHamblen County32,224Coffee County: 26,146 jobsCoffee County26,146Greene County: 25,125 jobsGreene County25,125Robertson County: 22,070 jobsRobertson County22,070Roane County: 19,068 jobsRoane County19,068McMinn County: 18,835 jobsMcMinn County18,835Dickson County: 18,044 jobsDickson County18,044Cumberland County: 17,724 jobsCumberland County17,724Loudon County: 16,232 jobsLoudon County16,232Bedford County: 16,124 jobsBedford County16,124Dyer County: 15,337 jobsDyer County15,337Gibson County: 14,583 jobsGibson County14,583Monroe County: 14,430 jobsMonroe County14,430Jefferson County: 13,281 jobsJefferson County13,281Warren County: 12,613 jobsWarren County12,613Hawkins County: 12,541 jobsHawkins County12,541Franklin County: 11,570 jobsFranklin County11,570Henry County: 11,515 jobsHenry County11,515Carter County: 11,357 jobsCarter County11,357Tipton County: 11,330 jobsTipton County11,330Weakley County: 10,987 jobsWeakley County10,987Obion County: 10,941 jobsObion County10,941Davidson County: 512,729 jobsDavidson County512,729Shelby County: 502,998 jobsShelby County502,998Knox County: 240,575 jobsKnox County240,575Hamilton County: 208,228 jobsHamilton County208,228Williamson County: 140,073 jobsWilliamson County140,073Rutherford County: 134,019 jobsRutherford County134,019Sullivan County: 68,327 jobsSullivan County68,327Washington County: 61,243 jobsWashington County61,243Madison County: 59,426 jobsMadison County59,426Montgomery County: 55,987 jobsMontgomery County55,987Sumner County: 55,801 jobsSumner County55,801Blount County: 51,363 jobsBlount County51,363Sevier County: 49,157 jobsSevier County49,157Wilson County: 48,567 jobsWilson County48,567Bradley County: 43,866 jobsBradley County43,866Anderson County: 39,823 jobsAnderson County39,823Maury County: 37,469 jobsMaury County37,469Putnam County: 37,120 jobsPutnam County37,120Hamblen County: 32,224 jobsHamblen County32,224Coffee County: 26,146 jobsCoffee County26,146Greene County: 25,125 jobsGreene County25,125Robertson County: 22,070 jobsRobertson County22,070Roane County: 19,068 jobsRoane County19,068McMinn County: 18,835 jobsMcMinn County18,835Dickson County: 18,044 jobsDickson County18,044Cumberland County: 17,724 jobsCumberland County17,724Loudon County: 16,232 jobsLoudon County16,232Bedford County: 16,124 jobsBedford County16,124Dyer County: 15,337 jobsDyer County15,337Gibson County: 14,583 jobsGibson County14,583Monroe County: 14,430 jobsMonroe County14,430Jefferson County: 13,281 jobsJefferson County13,281Warren County: 12,613 jobsWarren County12,613Hawkins County: 12,541 jobsHawkins County12,541Franklin County: 11,570 jobsFranklin County11,570Henry County: 11,515 jobsHenry County11,515Carter County: 11,357 jobsCarter County11,357Tipton County: 11,330 jobsTipton County11,330Weakley County: 10,987 jobsWeakley County10,987Obion County: 10,941 jobsObion County10,941
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

RankCounties2019
jobs
Change on 2018
1Davidson County512,729+3.4%
2Shelby County502,998+0.7%
3Knox County240,575+0.6%
4Hamilton County208,228+1.3%
5Williamson County140,073+3.7%
6Rutherford County134,019+3.1%
7Sullivan County68,327-0.1%
8Washington County61,243-0.3%
9Madison County59,426+0.6%
10Montgomery County55,987+3%
11Sumner County55,801+3.4%
12Blount County51,363+3.4%
13Sevier County49,157+3.9%
14Wilson County48,567+5.8%
15Bradley County43,866+4.1%
16Anderson County39,823+1.4%
17Maury County37,469+5.5%
18Putnam County37,120+1.3%
19Hamblen County32,224+3%
20Coffee County26,146-1.6%
21Greene County25,125-0.4%
22Robertson County22,070-0.7%
23Roane County19,068+5%
24McMinn County18,835+4.5%
25Dickson County18,044+2.5%
26Cumberland County17,724-0.7%
27Loudon County16,232+5.3%
28Bedford County16,124-0.9%
29Dyer County15,337+0.2%
30Gibson County14,583+3.7%
31Monroe County14,430+0.8%
32Jefferson County13,281+1.3%
33Warren County12,613-0.6%
34Hawkins County12,541-2.5%
35Franklin County11,570-0.3%
36Henry County11,515-1%
37Carter County11,357+1.9%
38Tipton County11,330+1.7%
39Weakley County10,987-1.7%
40Obion County10,941+1.1%
41Lawrence County10,892+4.9%
42Rhea County10,650+1.3%
43Giles County10,106-3.9%
44Lincoln County10,030+0.7%
45Marshall County9,741+0.2%
46Campbell County9,235-2.3%
47Claiborne County9,213+2.1%
48Cheatham County8,735+2.6%
49Henderson County8,051+2.5%
50Hardin County7,976-1.2%
51Fayette County7,951+1.3%
52Cocke County7,646-1.2%
53Marion County7,514-0.8%
54White County7,303+2.4%
55Hardeman County6,892+4.1%
56Lauderdale County6,758+0.5%
57Carroll County6,697-7.2%
58Humphreys County5,959+1.2%
59Scott County5,780-1.7%
60DeKalb County5,667-2.1%
61McNairy County5,311-0.2%
62Fentress County5,096+4.2%
63Smith County5,080-4.8%
64Overton County5,073+0.1%
65Haywood County4,879-1.7%
66Unicoi County4,852+0.3%
67Macon County4,848-2.7%
68Johnson County4,255+0.4%
69Benton County4,096+0.7%
70Grainger County3,916-2.3%
71Crockett County3,756+0.7%
72Wayne County3,724+2.2%
73Chester County3,6870%
74Hickman County3,673-1%
75Decatur County3,372-7.5%
76Sequatchie County3,041+2.8%
77Morgan County3,038-0.6%
78Stewart County2,843+9.9%
79Lewis County2,748+0.8%
80Union County2,464+1.1%
81Polk County2,317+0.5%
82Cannon County2,206+0.1%
83Moore County2,184+6%
84Meigs County2,181+1.4%
85Bledsoe County2,154+1.6%
86Grundy County2,068+1.7%
87Trousdale County1,923+2%
88Perry County1,793-8.8%
89Lake County1,606-6.8%
90Houston County1,490+1.2%
91Jackson County1,391-0.9%
92Clay County1,353-7.2%
93Pickett County1,017-9%
94Hancock County909+7.2%
95Van Buren County791-1.9%

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/2019/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 Tennessee by covered employment (QCEW), 2019) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2019/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 Tennessee by covered employment (QCEW), 2019. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2019/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/tennessee-counties?period=2019. 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 Tennessee by covered employment (QCEW), 2019. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2019/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/tennessee-counties?period=2019.

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 Tennessee by covered employment (QCEW), 2019 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2019/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/tennessee-counties?period=2019 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_tennessee_by_2019,
  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 Tennessee by covered employment (QCEW), 2019}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2019/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/tennessee-counties?period=2019. 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/2019/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 Tennessee by covered employment (QCEW), 2019
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2019/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/tennessee-counties?period=2019
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/tennessee-counties?period=2019.
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/2019/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
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Questions

Which county has the highest covered employment (QCEW)?

Davidson County, with 512,729 jobs in 2019, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest covered employment (QCEW)?

Van Buren County, with 791 jobs in 2019.

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 Tennessee: more rankings