US Counties With the Highest Private Job Growth

3,212 US counties ranked by private job growth, from highest to lowest. First are Prairie County, MT (112), Washington County, AL (99.8) and Schuyler County, MO (65.4). The middle one of the 3,212 has 1.69.

What this measures

The percentage change in private-sector jobs from the year before. Source: BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.

For most measures, a national ranking mostly sorts places by income and by how urban they are. Each county’s own page compares it with the 50 counties most like it instead, which is often the fairer view.

The 100 highest counties

Rank	County	% a year
1	Prairie County, MT	112
2	Washington County, AL	99.8
3	Schuyler County, MO	65.4
4	Calhoun County, AR	63.6
5	Upton County, TX	51.1
6	Osage County, KS	40.8
7	Esmeralda County, NV	40.2
8	Stonewall County, TX	38.5
9	Highland County, VA	38.2
10	Clay County, WV	33.9
11	Long County, GA	32.5
12	Alpine County, CA	29.9
13	Skamania County, WA	29.9
14	Harris County, GA	29.8
15	Calhoun County, GA	26.2
16	De Soto Parish, LA	24.6
17	Buena Vista city, VA	23.6
18	Haywood County, TN	23.6
19	Petroleum County, MT	23.3
20	Leon County, TX	22.2
21	Bledsoe County, TN	21.3
22	Giles County, VA	21
23	Bleckley County, GA	20.8
24	Roscommon County, MI	20
25	Las MarÃas Municipio, PR	20
26	Kingman County, KS	19.6
27	Rogers County, OK	18.4
28	Jackson County, KY	18.4
29	Taliaferro County, GA	18.3
30	Pickaway County, OH	18.2
31	Divide County, ND	18
32	San Jacinto County, TX	17.8
33	Culebra Municipio, PR	15.8
34	Morgan County, KY	15.7
35	Wrangell City and Borough, AK	15.7
36	Ziebach County, SD	15.4
37	Cleveland County, AR	15.3
38	Clark County, SD	15.2
39	Edwards County, TX	14.9
40	Saguache County, CO	14.9
41	Carroll County, TN	14.7
42	Rich County, UT	14.7
43	Owsley County, KY	14.5
44	Taylor County, GA	14.5
45	Billings County, ND	14.4
46	Morgan County, TN	14.2
47	Limestone County, AL	14.2
48	Hardee County, FL	13.9
49	Bristol Bay Borough, AK	13.9
50	Clay County, TX	13.8
51	RincÃ³n Municipio, PR	13.8
52	Reeves County, TX	13.8
53	Stewart County, GA	13.7
54	Chattahoochee County, GA	13.6
55	Pope County, IL	13.5
56	Grant County, WV	13.5
57	Union Parish, LA	13.4
58	San Augustine County, TX	13.4
59	Clarke County, MS	13.3
60	Salinas Municipio, PR	13.2
61	Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, AK	13.1
62	Haines Borough, AK	13.1
63	Los Alamos County, NM	13
64	San Juan County, CO	13
65	Doniphan County, KS	13
66	Keweenaw County, MI	13
67	Wagoner County, OK	12.8
68	Caroline County, VA	12.6
69	Waller County, TX	12.5
70	Skagway Municipality, AK	12.5
71	Carroll County, MO	12.3
72	Jackson County, WV	12.3
73	Lee County, TX	12.2
74	Lamar County, GA	12.2
75	Cotton County, OK	12
76	Limestone County, TX	12
77	Carson County, TX	11.8
78	Echols County, GA	11.7
79	Lake and Peninsula Borough, AK	11.6
80	Wallace County, KS	11.6
81	Adams County, WI	11.6
82	Hart County, GA	11.6
83	Lafayette County, WI	11.3
84	Culberson County, TX	11.3
85	Crenshaw County, AL	11.2
86	Effingham County, GA	11.2
87	McKenzie County, ND	11.2
88	Osceola County, MI	11.1
89	Dewey County, OK	11
90	Stanly County, NC	10.7
91	Ward County, TX	10.7
92	Northwest Arctic Borough, AK	10.7
93	Salem city, VA	10.7
94	Mineral County, CO	10.7
95	Putnam County, IL	10.6
96	Jackson County, KS	10.5
97	Williamsburg city, VA	10.5
98	Catahoula Parish, LA	10.5
99	Yoakum County, TX	10.4
100	Garrard County, KY	10.4

Every state, highest first

Each state’s own published figure, not an average of its counties.

Rank	State	% a year
1	Florida	3.5
2	Texas	3.46
3	Alaska	3.17
4	Delaware	3.08
5	Nevada	3.02
6	Oklahoma	2.94
7	South Carolina	2.92
8	North Carolina	2.87
9	Arizona	2.83
10	New Mexico	2.73
11	North Dakota	2.68
12	Idaho	2.67
13	Tennessee	2.54
14	Wyoming	2.54
15	Nebraska	2.5
16	Arkansas	2.43
17	Kentucky	2.43
18	Alabama	2.41
19	New York	2.39
20	Hawaii	2.33
21	South Dakota	2.31
22	Virginia	2.25
23	West Virginia	2.16
24	District of Columbia	2.15
25	Montana	2.14
26	Utah	2.09
27	Georgia	2.09
28	Maine	2.07
29	Colorado	2.04
30	Kansas	1.97
31	Missouri	1.9
32	New Hampshire	1.89
33	New Jersey	1.86
34	Michigan	1.76
35	Vermont	1.75
36	Pennsylvania	1.75
37	Puerto Rico	1.69
38	Minnesota	1.68
39	Oregon	1.62
40	Maryland	1.62
41	Washington	1.6
42	Wisconsin	1.56
43	Ohio	1.54
44	Connecticut	1.52
45	Rhode Island	1.47
46	Louisiana	1.45
47	Illinois	1.43
48	Mississippi	1.33
49	Indiana	1.26
50	Iowa	1.18
51	Massachusetts	1.03
52	California	0.138

More on private job growth

A ranking describes places, not the people in them, and a high or low place does not by itself say why. All US rankings.