Employer firms in Cook County

Employer firms in Cook County was 96,987 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That is unchanged from 2022. That is the 1st highest of 102 counties in 2023.

2023, count96,987

Change on 2022-0%

Rank1st of 102Counties in Illinois ranked

Series high97,0312022

Series low81,7721978

Next release: Sunday, 26 September 2027, estimated by Invokely from past publication dates (low confidence), not announced by the publisher. Release calendar

Employer firms in Cook County, 1978 to 2023

count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-11, published 2025-09-25.

All 46 values

Period	count
2023	96,987
2022	97,031
2021	94,781
2020	94,441
2019	95,008
2018	94,448
2017	94,520
2016	94,312
2015	93,300
2014	92,166
2013	91,698
2012	90,968
2011	90,159
2010	89,687
2009	90,554
2008	92,650
2007	93,494
2006	93,189
2005	91,688
2004	90,819
2003	89,824
2002	89,510
2001	90,189
2000	90,658
1999	90,812
1998	90,827
1997	89,677
1996	89,621
1995	89,531
1994	88,197
1993	87,389
1992	86,224
1991	86,811
1990	87,173
1989	85,967
1988	85,199
1987	84,015
1986	83,932
1985	82,757
1984	82,908
1983	82,995
1982	81,796
1981	82,811
1980	82,832
1979	82,548
1978	81,772

Compared with Illinois and United States

Place	2023
Cook County	96,987
Illinois	222,365
United States	5,593,727

Cook County compared with nearby places

Under 200
200 to 300
300 to 500
500 to 700
700 to 1,800
1,800 and over

Employer firms, 2023, count. Cook County is outlined. Same source and period for every area shown. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Rankings

US states by employer firms 51 places
Counties in Illinois by employer firms 102 places

Definition

Number of firms in the private nonfarm sectors covered by the US Census Bureau Business Dynamics Statistics. Establishments under common ownership form one firm.

Excludes nonemployer businesses. Differs from active_companies, the INE DIRCE count, which includes businesses without employees.

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How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

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. Census Bureau. (2025). Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties (Employer firms, Cook County, 1978 to 2023) [Data set]. Retrieved October 11, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv

MLA 9

Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties, Employer firms, Cook County, 1978 to 2023. U.S. Census Bureau, 25 Sept. 2025, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/employer-firms/cook-county-illinois. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2025. Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. Employer firms, Cook County, 1978 to 2023. Dataset. Accessed October 11, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/employer-firms/cook-county-illinois.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties, Employer firms, Cook County, 1978 to 2023 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/en/employer-firms/cook-county-illinois (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_employer_firms_cook_county_2023,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Employer firms, Cook County, 1978 to 2023}},
  year = {2025},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-11},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/employer-firms/cook-county-illinois. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023\_st\_cty.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-11.},
}

RIS

TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Employer firms, Cook County, 1978 to 2023
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/09/25
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/en/employer-firms/cook-county-illinois
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/employer-firms/cook-county-illinois.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
ER  -

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Questions

What is the employer firms in Cook County?

Employer firms in Cook County was 96,987 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That is unchanged from 2022. That is the 1st highest of 102 counties in 2023.

Where does this figure come from?

U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. Retrieved by Invokely on 2026-10-11.

What was the highest employer firms in Cook County?

97,031 in 2022, the highest value since 1978 in this series.

Related statistics for Cook County

All statistics for Cook County | Cook County in figures