Data / Rankings / Covered employment (QCEW) / US counties

US counties by covered employment (QCEW)

Los Angeles County had the highest covered employment (QCEW) of 3129 counties in 2015, at 4,244,646 jobs. Loving County had the lowest, at 47 jobs. The median was 8,118 jobs and the figure for the United States was 139,491,699 jobs. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest4,244,646Los Angeles County
Lowest47Loving County
Median8,1183129 counties
United States139,491,699History

Map of counties, 2015

jobs, 2015. Hatched areas have no value for this period. 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

Los Angeles County: 4,244,646 jobsLos Angeles County4,244,646Cook County: 2,531,066 jobsCook County2,531,066New York County: 2,374,864 jobsNew York County2,374,864Harris County: 2,290,932 jobsHarris County2,290,932Maricopa County: 1,817,078 jobsMaricopa County1,817,078Dallas County: 1,604,229 jobsDallas County1,604,229Orange County: 1,519,107 jobsOrange County1,519,107San Diego County: 1,370,672 jobsSan Diego County1,370,672King County: 1,274,203 jobsKing County1,274,203Miami-Dade County: 1,079,316 jobsMiami-Dade County1,079,316Santa Clara County: 1,017,071 jobsSanta Clara County1,017,071Clark County: 908,107 jobsClark County908,107Hennepin County: 883,020 jobsHennepin County883,020Middlesex County: 873,601 jobsMiddlesex County873,601Tarrant County: 840,593 jobsTarrant County840,593Bexar County: 818,499 jobsBexar County818,499Fulton County: 791,562 jobsFulton County791,562Orange County: 762,674 jobsOrange County762,674Broward County: 761,402 jobsBroward County761,402District of Columbia: 743,596 jobsDistrict of Columbia743,596Alameda County: 728,995 jobsAlameda County728,995Franklin County: 721,581 jobsFranklin County721,581Cuyahoga County: 714,116 jobsCuyahoga County714,116Oakland County: 706,170 jobsOakland County706,170Wayne County: 699,215 jobsWayne County699,215San Bernardino County: 689,427 jobsSan Bernardino County689,427Travis County: 687,067 jobsTravis County687,067Allegheny County: 685,508 jobsAllegheny County685,508San Francisco County: 674,646 jobsSan Francisco County674,646Kings County: 661,364 jobsKings County661,364Riverside County: 658,318 jobsRiverside County658,318Philadelphia County: 650,416 jobsPhiladelphia County650,416Salt Lake County: 645,265 jobsSalt Lake County645,265Hillsborough County: 643,517 jobsHillsborough County643,517Suffolk County: 642,048 jobsSuffolk County642,048Suffolk County: 639,525 jobsSuffolk County639,525Mecklenburg County: 637,156 jobsMecklenburg County637,156Queens County: 633,251 jobsQueens County633,251Sacramento County: 626,506 jobsSacramento County626,506Nassau County: 613,044 jobsNassau County613,044Los Angeles County: 4,244,646 jobsLos Angeles County4,244,646Cook County: 2,531,066 jobsCook County2,531,066New York County: 2,374,864 jobsNew York County2,374,864Harris County: 2,290,932 jobsHarris County2,290,932Maricopa County: 1,817,078 jobsMaricopa County1,817,078Dallas County: 1,604,229 jobsDallas County1,604,229Orange County: 1,519,107 jobsOrange County1,519,107San Diego County: 1,370,672 jobsSan Diego County1,370,672King County: 1,274,203 jobsKing County1,274,203Miami-Dade County: 1,079,316 jobsMiami-Dade County1,079,316Santa Clara County: 1,017,071 jobsSanta Clara County1,017,071Clark County: 908,107 jobsClark County908,107Hennepin County: 883,020 jobsHennepin County883,020Middlesex County: 873,601 jobsMiddlesex County873,601Tarrant County: 840,593 jobsTarrant County840,593Bexar County: 818,499 jobsBexar County818,499Fulton County: 791,562 jobsFulton County791,562Orange County: 762,674 jobsOrange County762,674Broward County: 761,402 jobsBroward County761,402District of Columbia: 743,596 jobsDistrict of Columbia743,596Alameda County: 728,995 jobsAlameda County728,995Franklin County: 721,581 jobsFranklin County721,581Cuyahoga County: 714,116 jobsCuyahoga County714,116Oakland County: 706,170 jobsOakland County706,170Wayne County: 699,215 jobsWayne County699,215San Bernardino County: 689,427 jobsSan Bernardino County689,427Travis County: 687,067 jobsTravis County687,067Allegheny County: 685,508 jobsAllegheny County685,508San Francisco County: 674,646 jobsSan Francisco County674,646Kings County: 661,364 jobsKings County661,364Riverside County: 658,318 jobsRiverside County658,318Philadelphia County: 650,416 jobsPhiladelphia County650,416Salt Lake County: 645,265 jobsSalt Lake County645,265Hillsborough County: 643,517 jobsHillsborough County643,517Suffolk County: 642,048 jobsSuffolk County642,048Suffolk County: 639,525 jobsSuffolk County639,525Mecklenburg County: 637,156 jobsMecklenburg County637,156Queens County: 633,251 jobsQueens County633,251Sacramento County: 626,506 jobsSacramento County626,506Nassau County: 613,044 jobsNassau County613,044
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
1Los Angeles County4,244,646+2.2%
2Cook County2,531,066+2.5%
3New York County2,374,864-4.8%
4Harris County2,290,932+1.5%
5Maricopa County1,817,078+3.5%
6Dallas County1,604,229+3.8%
7Orange County1,519,107+3.2%
8San Diego County1,370,672+2.8%
9King County1,274,203+3%
10Miami-Dade County1,079,316+3.2%
11Santa Clara County1,017,071+4.5%
12Clark County908,107+3.9%
13Hennepin County883,020+1.9%
14Middlesex County873,601+2.3%
15Tarrant County840,593+2.2%
16Bexar County818,499+3.1%
17Fulton County791,562+3.3%
18Orange County762,674+4.1%
19Broward County761,402+2.9%
20District of Columbia743,596+2%
21Alameda County728,995+4.4%
22Franklin County721,581+2.2%
23Cuyahoga County714,116+0.8%
24Oakland County706,170+2.1%
25Wayne County699,215+1.2%
26San Bernardino County689,427+4.6%
27Travis County687,067+4.8%
28Allegheny County685,508+0.3%
29San Francisco County674,646+5.4%
30Kings County661,364+16.4%
31Riverside County658,318+5.2%
32Philadelphia County650,416+1.5%
33Salt Lake County645,265+3.5%
34Hillsborough County643,517+3.7%
35Suffolk County642,048+1.1%
36Suffolk County639,525+2.9%
37Mecklenburg County637,156+4.4%
38Queens County633,251+14.5%
39Sacramento County626,506+2.3%
40Nassau County613,044+1.3%
41DuPage County603,939+0.5%
42St. Louis County591,168+1.7%
43Fairfax County586,870+1.3%
44Marion County582,830+0.9%
45Palm Beach County565,660+4%
46Wake County511,453+4.3%
47Hamilton County505,396+1.3%
48Shelby County483,869+1.6%
49Milwaukee County482,043+1.1%
50Multnomah County480,109+3.1%
51Denver County478,275+3.8%
52Montgomery County477,813+1.1%
53Duval County472,862+3.6%
54Honolulu County464,869+1.7%
55Erie County461,760+1.1%
56Montgomery County459,667+0.8%
57Davidson County454,563-0.1%
58Oklahoma County450,460+1.8%
59Jefferson County450,132+2.2%
60Bergen County441,172+1.3%
61Westchester County418,887+1.5%
62Pinellas County408,382+2.9%
63Middlesex County401,810+2.7%
64San Mateo County383,668+3.1%
65Monroe County378,510+0.8%
66Baltimore County370,670+1.7%
67Kent County369,361+3.6%
68Fresno County364,788+2.9%
69Collin County364,657+5.6%
70Jackson County358,270+2.3%
71Pima County354,029+0.6%
72Tulsa County349,408+1.9%
73Contra Costa County346,862+2.2%
74Norfolk County342,427+1.7%
75Jefferson County338,154-0.3%
76Johnson County334,691+2%
77Gwinnett County334,508+2.8%
78Worcester County334,303+1.8%
79Baltimore city334,065+0.7%
80Essex County333,483+1.2%
81Cobb County332,786+2.3%
82Douglas County332,191+1.5%
83Lake County331,311+0.4%
84Ramsey County327,146+1.2%
85Dane County322,184+2.5%
86Essex County319,111+1.8%
87Bernalillo County318,952+1.4%
88Arapahoe County316,514+3.6%
89Ventura County315,806+0.7%
90Macomb County314,755+2.6%
91Kern County312,0200%
92Prince George's County306,137+1%
93Bronx County298,911+18.9%
94DeKalb County291,148+2.7%
95El Paso County291,006+2.3%
96Polk County288,727+1%
97Pierce County285,399+2.7%
98New Castle County285,300+2.5%
99Morris County283,783+1.9%
100Providence County281,440+1.5%
101Snohomish County275,565+2.9%
102Guilford County275,496+2.3%
103Washington County274,868+3.8%
104East Baton Rouge Parish269,042+0.2%
105Summit County264,051+1.5%
106Anne Arundel County260,398+2%
107Greenville County256,799+3.5%
108El Paso County256,706+3.2%
109Bucks County255,010+1.6%
110Monmouth County251,488+2.1%
111Montgomery County249,350+1.4%
112Sedgwick County248,157+1.3%
113Hidalgo County245,416+2.5%
114Pulaski County245,055+1.2%
115Chester County243,852+1.4%
116Hudson County242,946+2.7%
117Onondaga County241,791+0.4%
118Lee County240,175+6.3%
119Mercer County238,109+1.3%
120Waukesha County235,655+1.9%
121Charleston County235,308+2.9%
122San Joaquin County231,714+6.4%
123Knox County231,153+3%
124Albany County229,795+2%
125Lancaster County229,383+1.6%
126Jefferson County228,335+2.8%
127St. Louis city225,947+1.5%
128Will County220,753+2.6%
129Bristol County219,764+0.5%
130Denton County218,585+6.9%
131Delaware County217,071+0.4%
132Ada County216,678+3.1%
133Union County215,668-1.4%
134Richland County213,268+1.7%
135Spokane County209,396+1.8%
136Utah County208,002+6.6%
137Lucas County207,836+1.5%
138Kane County206,432+1.1%
139Polk County203,802+3%
140Hampden County203,057+1.3%
141Washtenaw County202,447+1.9%
142Washoe County201,573+3.8%
143Sonoma County197,218+2.9%
144Hillsborough County196,841+1.7%
145Burlington County196,6220%
146Camden County195,476+0.2%
147Jefferson Parish194,624+0.7%
148Brevard County194,456+2.5%
149Santa Barbara County193,754+1.7%
150Hamilton County192,464+3.4%
151Orleans Parish192,201+2.5%
152Adams County191,869+4.9%
153Durham County191,240+1.2%
154Fayette County189,801+2.9%
155Henrico County187,015+4.3%
156Madison County186,721+2.2%
157Plymouth County186,273+2.3%
158Lake County185,844-0.1%
159Monterey County184,815+2.5%
160Dakota County183,943+2%
161Lehigh County183,672+1.6%
162Allen County181,796+2.6%
163Somerset County181,055+1.3%
164Forsyth County180,365+1.4%
165Stanislaus County179,210+3.6%
166Dauphin County177,601+0.9%
167Cumberland County175,859+1.4%
168Seminole County174,086+3.8%
169York County173,792+0.9%
170Virginia Beach city173,655+1.5%
171Boulder County172,735+2.2%
172Arlington County170,256+3.5%
173Fort Bend County169,860+4.1%
174Berks County169,418+1.6%
175Mobile County167,366+1%
176Lancaster County166,057+2%
177Howard County165,194+3.3%
178Montgomery County165,177+4.6%
179Passaic County164,046-0.5%
180Nueces County163,116-0%
181Greene County161,264+2.2%
182Volusia County160,541+3.1%
183Ocean County159,215+1.7%
184Sarasota County159,072+4.3%
185Stark County158,017-0.2%
186Tulare County156,050+5%
187Loudoun County154,560+4%
188Anchorage Municipality153,811+0.7%
189Brown County151,715+2%
190Clackamas County151,173+3.6%
191Williamson County150,953+4%
192Richmond city149,651+0.8%
193Placer County148,506+4.5%
194Larimer County147,455+4%
195Lane County146,776+3.4%
196Ingham County146,479-2.2%
197Chatham County145,463+4.4%
198Butler County145,219+1.6%
199Marion County145,159+3.9%
200Clark County144,312+3.3%
201Rockingham County143,651+2.6%
202Leon County142,692+1.1%
203Luzerne County142,346+1%
204Norfolk city139,830+4%
205St. Charles County139,552+5.2%
206Orange County138,922+2%
207Lafayette Parish137,588-2.9%
208Cameron County136,387+1.7%
209Collier County134,444+4.3%
210Lubbock County134,057+2.2%
211Westmoreland County133,042+0.6%
212Hamilton County132,509+5.6%
213Genesee County132,470-0.2%
214Chesterfield County131,126+5.4%
215Solano County130,980+3%
216Cumberland County130,712+3%
217Sangamon County129,544+0.7%
218Linn County129,160+1%
219Montgomery County128,963+0.3%
220Winnebago County127,388+1%
221Spartanburg County127,009+2.9%
222Escambia County126,023+1.6%
223Atlantic County124,905-2.8%
224Erie County124,658+0.4%
225Elkhart County123,944+3.2%
226Buncombe County123,874+4%
227Jefferson County123,809+0.3%
228Alachua County123,370+2.5%
229Minnehaha County122,810+1.5%
230Prince William County122,607+2.6%
231Hinds County120,435+0.9%
232St. Joseph County120,075+2.4%
233Ottawa County119,793+3.6%
234Anoka County118,526+1.5%
235Horry County118,291+2.4%
236Davis County118,284+3.8%
237Rockland County118,207+1.7%
238Clayton County117,408+3.5%
239Cumberland County117,059-0.1%
240Rutherford County115,733+3.5%
241Cass County115,726+1.7%
242Caddo Parish115,651+0.2%
243Bell County115,263+3.5%
244Williamson County115,195+6.5%
245Manatee County115,192+4.8%
246Kalamazoo County114,587+1.7%
247San Luis Obispo County114,194+3.5%
248Richmond County113,350+14.9%
249Lexington County113,091+4.4%
250Douglas County112,868+5%

Showing the top 250 of 3129. The Excel download has every row.

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. 14 counties with data in other periods have no value for 2015 and are left out rather than filled from another source. 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 (US counties 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, US counties 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/us-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. US counties 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/us-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, US counties 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/us-counties?period=2015 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_us_counties_by_covered_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: US counties 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/us-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: US counties 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/us-counties?period=2015
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/us-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)?

Los Angeles County, with 4,244,646 jobs in 2015, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest covered employment (QCEW)?

Loving County, with 47 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. 14 counties have no value for 2015 and are not ranked.

Covered employment (QCEW): other rankings

US counties: more rankings