Counties in Wisconsin by covered employment (QCEW)

Milwaukee County had the highest covered employment (QCEW) of 72 counties in 2015, at 482,043 jobs. Florence County had the lowest, at 977 jobs. The median was 14,970 jobs and the figure for Wisconsin was 2,794,170 jobs. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest482,043Milwaukee County
Median14,97072 counties
Wisconsin2,794,170History

Map of counties, 2015

Adams County: 4,458 jobsAshland County: 8,005 jobsBarron County: 21,616 jobsBayfield County: 4,000 jobsBrown County: 151,715 jobsBuffalo County: 3,740 jobsBurnett County: 4,693 jobsCalumet County: 13,477 jobsChippewa County: 24,080 jobsClark County: 10,875 jobsColumbia County: 21,373 jobsCrawford County: 7,404 jobsDane County: 322,184 jobsDodge County: 34,555 jobsDoor County: 13,437 jobsDouglas County: 15,480 jobsDunn County: 16,694 jobsEau Claire County: 56,473 jobsFlorence County: 977 jobsFond du Lac County: 46,042 jobsForest County: 3,127 jobsGrant County: 17,723 jobsGreen County: 15,805 jobsGreen Lake County: 6,324 jobsIowa County: 10,349 jobsIron County: 1,637 jobsJackson County: 8,676 jobsJefferson County: 32,691 jobsJuneau County: 9,217 jobsKenosha County: 59,213 jobsKewaunee County: 6,907 jobsLa Crosse County: 68,168 jobsLafayette County: 3,994 jobsLanglade County: 7,359 jobsLincoln County: 10,817 jobsManitowoc County: 33,351 jobsMarathon County: 70,120 jobsMarinette County: 18,930 jobsMarquette County: 3,688 jobsMenominee County: 2,130 jobsMilwaukee County: 482,043 jobsMonroe County: 19,989 jobsOconto County: 8,847 jobsOneida County: 16,603 jobsOutagamie County: 105,121 jobsOzaukee County: 41,601 jobsPepin County: 2,245 jobsPierce County: 9,864 jobsPolk County: 15,970 jobsPortage County: 33,623 jobsPrice County: 5,694 jobsRacine County: 73,727 jobsRichland County: 5,861 jobsRock County: 64,054 jobsRusk County: 5,229 jobsSt. Croix County: 32,729 jobsSauk County: 36,563 jobsSawyer County: 6,592 jobsShawano County: 12,569 jobsSheboygan County: 59,001 jobsTaylor County: 7,919 jobsTrempealeau County: 14,460 jobsVernon County: 8,780 jobsVilas County: 7,581 jobsWalworth County: 40,062 jobsWashburn County: 5,895 jobsWashington County: 53,624 jobsWaukesha County: 235,655 jobsWaupaca County: 20,155 jobsWaushara County: 6,063 jobsWinnebago County: 90,363 jobsWood County: 36,960 jobs
  • Under 6,000
  • 6,000 to 8,000
  • 8,000 to 15K
  • 15K to 27K
  • 27K to 57K
  • 57K and over
jobs, 2015. 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

Milwaukee County: 482,043 jobsMilwaukee County482,043Dane County: 322,184 jobsDane County322,184Waukesha County: 235,655 jobsWaukesha County235,655Brown County: 151,715 jobsBrown County151,715Outagamie County: 105,121 jobsOutagamie County105,121Winnebago County: 90,363 jobsWinnebago County90,363Racine County: 73,727 jobsRacine County73,727Marathon County: 70,120 jobsMarathon County70,120La Crosse County: 68,168 jobsLa Crosse County68,168Rock County: 64,054 jobsRock County64,054Kenosha County: 59,213 jobsKenosha County59,213Sheboygan County: 59,001 jobsSheboygan County59,001Eau Claire County: 56,473 jobsEau Claire County56,473Washington County: 53,624 jobsWashington County53,624Fond du Lac County: 46,042 jobsFond du Lac County46,042Ozaukee County: 41,601 jobsOzaukee County41,601Walworth County: 40,062 jobsWalworth County40,062Wood County: 36,960 jobsWood County36,960Sauk County: 36,563 jobsSauk County36,563Dodge County: 34,555 jobsDodge County34,555Portage County: 33,623 jobsPortage County33,623Manitowoc County: 33,351 jobsManitowoc County33,351St. Croix County: 32,729 jobsSt. Croix County32,729Jefferson County: 32,691 jobsJefferson County32,691Chippewa County: 24,080 jobsChippewa County24,080Barron County: 21,616 jobsBarron County21,616Columbia County: 21,373 jobsColumbia County21,373Waupaca County: 20,155 jobsWaupaca County20,155Monroe County: 19,989 jobsMonroe County19,989Marinette County: 18,930 jobsMarinette County18,930Grant County: 17,723 jobsGrant County17,723Dunn County: 16,694 jobsDunn County16,694Oneida County: 16,603 jobsOneida County16,603Polk County: 15,970 jobsPolk County15,970Green County: 15,805 jobsGreen County15,805Douglas County: 15,480 jobsDouglas County15,480Trempealeau County: 14,460 jobsTrempealeau County14,460Calumet County: 13,477 jobsCalumet County13,477Door County: 13,437 jobsDoor County13,437Shawano County: 12,569 jobsShawano County12,569Milwaukee County: 482,043 jobsMilwaukee County482,043Dane County: 322,184 jobsDane County322,184Waukesha County: 235,655 jobsWaukesha County235,655Brown County: 151,715 jobsBrown County151,715Outagamie County: 105,121 jobsOutagamie County105,121Winnebago County: 90,363 jobsWinnebago County90,363Racine County: 73,727 jobsRacine County73,727Marathon County: 70,120 jobsMarathon County70,120La Crosse County: 68,168 jobsLa Crosse County68,168Rock County: 64,054 jobsRock County64,054Kenosha County: 59,213 jobsKenosha County59,213Sheboygan County: 59,001 jobsSheboygan County59,001Eau Claire County: 56,473 jobsEau Claire County56,473Washington County: 53,624 jobsWashington County53,624Fond du Lac County: 46,042 jobsFond du Lac County46,042Ozaukee County: 41,601 jobsOzaukee County41,601Walworth County: 40,062 jobsWalworth County40,062Wood County: 36,960 jobsWood County36,960Sauk County: 36,563 jobsSauk County36,563Dodge County: 34,555 jobsDodge County34,555Portage County: 33,623 jobsPortage County33,623Manitowoc County: 33,351 jobsManitowoc County33,351St. Croix County: 32,729 jobsSt. Croix County32,729Jefferson County: 32,691 jobsJefferson County32,691Chippewa County: 24,080 jobsChippewa County24,080Barron County: 21,616 jobsBarron County21,616Columbia County: 21,373 jobsColumbia County21,373Waupaca County: 20,155 jobsWaupaca County20,155Monroe County: 19,989 jobsMonroe County19,989Marinette County: 18,930 jobsMarinette County18,930Grant County: 17,723 jobsGrant County17,723Dunn County: 16,694 jobsDunn County16,694Oneida County: 16,603 jobsOneida County16,603Polk County: 15,970 jobsPolk County15,970Green County: 15,805 jobsGreen County15,805Douglas County: 15,480 jobsDouglas County15,480Trempealeau County: 14,460 jobsTrempealeau County14,460Calumet County: 13,477 jobsCalumet County13,477Door County: 13,437 jobsDoor County13,437Shawano County: 12,569 jobsShawano County12,569
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
1Milwaukee County482,043+1.1%
2Dane County322,184+2.5%
3Waukesha County235,655+1.9%
4Brown County151,715+2%
5Outagamie County105,121+1.6%
6Winnebago County90,363+0.8%
7Racine County73,727+0.5%
8Marathon County70,120+1.8%
9La Crosse County68,168+0.9%
10Rock County64,054+2.7%
11Kenosha County59,213+7.2%
12Sheboygan County59,001+0.7%
13Eau Claire County56,473+0.9%
14Washington County53,624+1.8%
15Fond du Lac County46,042+0.7%
16Ozaukee County41,601+3.3%
17Walworth County40,062+1%
18Wood County36,960+0.1%
19Sauk County36,563+1.6%
20Dodge County34,555+0.5%
21Portage County33,623+2.7%
22Manitowoc County33,351-0.4%
23St. Croix County32,729+2%
24Jefferson County32,691-0.5%
25Chippewa County24,080+2.4%
26Barron County21,616+1.2%
27Columbia County21,373+3%
28Waupaca County20,155-0.8%
29Monroe County19,989+1.9%
30Marinette County18,930+0.1%
31Grant County17,723+0.8%
32Dunn County16,694+1.3%
33Oneida County16,603-0.3%
34Polk County15,970+2.2%
35Green County15,805+5%
36Douglas County15,480+1.3%
37Trempealeau County14,460+0.6%
38Calumet County13,477+3.3%
39Door County13,437+3.2%
40Shawano County12,569+0.5%
41Clark County10,875+3.1%
42Lincoln County10,817+0.9%
43Iowa County10,349+1.5%
44Pierce County9,864+3.5%
45Juneau County9,217+2.8%
46Oconto County8,847+1.2%
47Vernon County8,780+4.3%
48Jackson County8,676+2.1%
49Ashland County8,005+0.5%
50Taylor County7,919+1.5%
51Vilas County7,581+1.8%
52Crawford County7,404-0.4%
53Langlade County7,359+0.1%
54Kewaunee County6,907+0.5%
55Sawyer County6,592-0%
56Green Lake County6,324-0.2%
57Waushara County6,063-2.5%
58Washburn County5,895+1.7%
59Richland County5,861-0.4%
60Price County5,694+1.8%
61Rusk County5,229+1.5%
62Burnett County4,693-0.2%
63Adams County4,458+1.1%
64Bayfield County4,000+1.1%
65Lafayette County3,994+2.5%
66Buffalo County3,740+0.3%
67Marquette County3,688+2.9%
68Forest County3,127+0.7%
69Pepin County2,245+1.8%
70Menominee County2,130-1.1%
71Iron County1,637+0.3%
72Florence County977+2.3%

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/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 (Counties in Wisconsin 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, Counties in Wisconsin 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/wisconsin-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. Counties in Wisconsin 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/wisconsin-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, Counties in Wisconsin 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/wisconsin-counties?period=2015 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_wisconsin_by_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: Counties in Wisconsin 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/wisconsin-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: Counties in Wisconsin 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/wisconsin-counties?period=2015
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/wisconsin-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  - 
Embed this chart

Paste this code into a web page or a blog post. The chart shows the latest figures as they are published, with the source and a link back to this page.

Sites that read oEmbed links, such as WordPress, can show the chart when you paste the link to this page.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank Counties in Wisconsin by covered employment (QCEW) using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"covered_employment","level":"province","within":"Wisconsin","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=covered_employment&level=province&within=Wisconsin&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which county has the highest covered employment (QCEW)?

Milwaukee County, with 482,043 jobs in 2015, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest covered employment (QCEW)?

Florence County, with 977 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.

Covered employment (QCEW): other rankings

Counties in Wisconsin: more rankings