Counties in Washington by covered employment (QCEW)

King County had the highest covered employment (QCEW) of 39 counties in 2019, at 1,433,618 jobs. Garfield County had the lowest, at 660 jobs. The median was 18,904 jobs and the figure for Washington was 3,439,158 jobs. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest1,433,618King County
Median18,90439 counties
Washington3,439,158History

Map of counties, 2019

Adams County: 8,870 jobsAsotin County: 6,436 jobsBenton County: 91,743 jobsChelan County: 44,249 jobsClallam County: 23,406 jobsClark County: 164,439 jobsColumbia County: 1,487 jobsCowlitz County: 39,477 jobsDouglas County: 12,555 jobsFerry County: 1,669 jobsFranklin County: 34,934 jobsGarfield County: 660 jobsGrant County: 39,967 jobsGrays Harbor County: 23,189 jobsIsland County: 16,913 jobsJefferson County: 9,148 jobsKing County: 1,433,618 jobsKitsap County: 91,884 jobsKittitas County: 15,403 jobsKlickitat County: 7,412 jobsLewis County: 26,820 jobsLincoln County: 2,715 jobsMason County: 14,513 jobsOkanogan County: 16,823 jobsPacific County: 6,487 jobsPend Oreille County: 3,117 jobsPierce County: 316,825 jobsSan Juan County: 6,040 jobsSkagit County: 52,709 jobsSkamania County: 2,138 jobsSnohomish County: 291,770 jobsSpokane County: 228,502 jobsStevens County: 10,804 jobsThurston County: 118,452 jobsWahkiakum County: 740 jobsWalla Walla County: 27,862 jobsWhatcom County: 92,128 jobsWhitman County: 18,904 jobsYakima County: 115,944 jobs
  • Under 10K
  • 10K to 20K
  • 20K to 40K
  • 40K to 110K
  • 110K 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.

All counties, 2019

King County: 1,433,618 jobsKing County1,433,618Pierce County: 316,825 jobsPierce County316,825Snohomish County: 291,770 jobsSnohomish County291,770Spokane County: 228,502 jobsSpokane County228,502Clark County: 164,439 jobsClark County164,439Thurston County: 118,452 jobsThurston County118,452Yakima County: 115,944 jobsYakima County115,944Whatcom County: 92,128 jobsWhatcom County92,128Kitsap County: 91,884 jobsKitsap County91,884Benton County: 91,743 jobsBenton County91,743Skagit County: 52,709 jobsSkagit County52,709Chelan County: 44,249 jobsChelan County44,249Grant County: 39,967 jobsGrant County39,967Cowlitz County: 39,477 jobsCowlitz County39,477Franklin County: 34,934 jobsFranklin County34,934Walla Walla County: 27,862 jobsWalla Walla County27,862Lewis County: 26,820 jobsLewis County26,820Clallam County: 23,406 jobsClallam County23,406Grays Harbor County: 23,189 jobsGrays Harbor County23,189Whitman County: 18,904 jobsWhitman County18,904Island County: 16,913 jobsIsland County16,913Okanogan County: 16,823 jobsOkanogan County16,823Kittitas County: 15,403 jobsKittitas County15,403Mason County: 14,513 jobsMason County14,513Douglas County: 12,555 jobsDouglas County12,555Stevens County: 10,804 jobsStevens County10,804Jefferson County: 9,148 jobsJefferson County9,148Adams County: 8,870 jobsAdams County8,870Klickitat County: 7,412 jobsKlickitat County7,412Pacific County: 6,487 jobsPacific County6,487Asotin County: 6,436 jobsAsotin County6,436San Juan County: 6,040 jobsSan Juan County6,040Pend Oreille County: 3,117 jobsPend Oreille County3,117Lincoln County: 2,715 jobsLincoln County2,715Skamania County: 2,138 jobsSkamania County2,138Ferry County: 1,669 jobsFerry County1,669Columbia County: 1,487 jobsColumbia County1,487Wahkiakum County: 740 jobsWahkiakum County740Garfield County: 660 jobsGarfield County660King County: 1,433,618 jobsKing County1,433,618Pierce County: 316,825 jobsPierce County316,825Snohomish County: 291,770 jobsSnohomish County291,770Spokane County: 228,502 jobsSpokane County228,502Clark County: 164,439 jobsClark County164,439Thurston County: 118,452 jobsThurston County118,452Yakima County: 115,944 jobsYakima County115,944Whatcom County: 92,128 jobsWhatcom County92,128Kitsap County: 91,884 jobsKitsap County91,884Benton County: 91,743 jobsBenton County91,743Skagit County: 52,709 jobsSkagit County52,709Chelan County: 44,249 jobsChelan County44,249Grant County: 39,967 jobsGrant County39,967Cowlitz County: 39,477 jobsCowlitz County39,477Franklin County: 34,934 jobsFranklin County34,934Walla Walla County: 27,862 jobsWalla Walla County27,862Lewis County: 26,820 jobsLewis County26,820Clallam County: 23,406 jobsClallam County23,406Grays Harbor County: 23,189 jobsGrays Harbor County23,189Whitman County: 18,904 jobsWhitman County18,904Island County: 16,913 jobsIsland County16,913Okanogan County: 16,823 jobsOkanogan County16,823Kittitas County: 15,403 jobsKittitas County15,403Mason County: 14,513 jobsMason County14,513Douglas County: 12,555 jobsDouglas County12,555Stevens County: 10,804 jobsStevens County10,804Jefferson County: 9,148 jobsJefferson County9,148Adams County: 8,870 jobsAdams County8,870Klickitat County: 7,412 jobsKlickitat County7,412Pacific County: 6,487 jobsPacific County6,487Asotin County: 6,436 jobsAsotin County6,436San Juan County: 6,040 jobsSan Juan County6,040Pend Oreille County: 3,117 jobsPend Oreille County3,117Lincoln County: 2,715 jobsLincoln County2,715Skamania County: 2,138 jobsSkamania County2,138Ferry County: 1,669 jobsFerry County1,669Columbia County: 1,487 jobsColumbia County1,487Wahkiakum County: 740 jobsWahkiakum County740Garfield County: 660 jobsGarfield County660
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
1King County1,433,618+2.9%
2Pierce County316,825+1.9%
3Snohomish County291,770+1.5%
4Spokane County228,502+2.1%
5Clark County164,439+2%
6Thurston County118,452+1.4%
7Yakima County115,944-0.2%
8Whatcom County92,128+1%
9Kitsap County91,884+2.1%
10Benton County91,743+2.4%
11Skagit County52,709+1.3%
12Chelan County44,249-1.9%
13Grant County39,967-0.9%
14Cowlitz County39,477+1.4%
15Franklin County34,934+0.6%
16Walla Walla County27,862+0.1%
17Lewis County26,820+1.7%
18Clallam County23,406+0.5%
19Grays Harbor County23,1890%
20Whitman County18,904+0.1%
21Island County16,913+1.5%
22Okanogan County16,823-3.3%
23Kittitas County15,403+2%
24Mason County14,513+0.6%
25Douglas County12,555-2.8%
26Stevens County10,804+1.2%
27Jefferson County9,148+3.1%
28Adams County8,870+2.3%
29Klickitat County7,412-0.3%
30Pacific County6,487+0.2%
31Asotin County6,436+0.5%
32San Juan County6,040+2.5%
33Pend Oreille County3,117-2%
34Lincoln County2,715-5%
35Skamania County2,138+1.6%
36Ferry County1,669-3.2%
37Columbia County1,487+13.7%
38Wahkiakum County740+0.3%
39Garfield County660-2.5%

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 Washington 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 Washington 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/washington-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 Washington 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/washington-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 Washington 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/washington-counties?period=2019 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_washington_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 Washington 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/washington-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 Washington 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/washington-counties?period=2019
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/washington-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)?

King County, with 1,433,618 jobs in 2019, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest covered employment (QCEW)?

Garfield County, with 660 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 Washington: more rankings