Data / Employer firms / Wake County

Employer firms in Wake County

Employer firms in Wake County was 24,400 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That is up 2.6% from 2022. That is the 2nd highest of 100 counties in 2023.

2023, count24,400
Change on 2022+2.6%
Rank2nd of 100Counties in North Carolina ranked
Series high24,4002023
Series low6,0291978

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

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Employer firms in Wake County, 1978 to 2023

5,00010K15K20K25K19781985199219992006201320231978: 6,029 count1979: 6,328 count1980: 6,503 count1981: 6,669 count1982: 6,724 count1983: 7,054 count1984: 7,689 count1985: 8,144 count1986: 8,801 count1987: 9,151 count1988: 9,622 count1989: 9,943 count1990: 10,386 count1991: 10,421 count1992: 10,675 count1993: 11,084 count1994: 11,709 count1995: 12,326 count1996: 12,849 count1997: 13,553 count1998: 14,043 count1999: 14,520 count2000: 14,807 count2001: 15,118 count2002: 15,372 count2003: 15,637 count2004: 16,175 count2005: 16,685 count2006: 17,649 count2007: 18,160 count2008: 18,408 count2009: 17,914 count2010: 18,050 count2011: 18,204 count2012: 18,536 count2013: 18,824 count2014: 19,223 count2015: 19,748 count2016: 20,376 count2017: 20,922 count2018: 21,311 count2019: 21,827 count2020: 22,204 count2021: 23,064 count2022: 23,780 count2023: 24,400 count5,00010K15K20K25K19781994201020231978: 6,029 count1979: 6,328 count1980: 6,503 count1981: 6,669 count1982: 6,724 count1983: 7,054 count1984: 7,689 count1985: 8,144 count1986: 8,801 count1987: 9,151 count1988: 9,622 count1989: 9,943 count1990: 10,386 count1991: 10,421 count1992: 10,675 count1993: 11,084 count1994: 11,709 count1995: 12,326 count1996: 12,849 count1997: 13,553 count1998: 14,043 count1999: 14,520 count2000: 14,807 count2001: 15,118 count2002: 15,372 count2003: 15,637 count2004: 16,175 count2005: 16,685 count2006: 17,649 count2007: 18,160 count2008: 18,408 count2009: 17,914 count2010: 18,050 count2011: 18,204 count2012: 18,536 count2013: 18,824 count2014: 19,223 count2015: 19,748 count2016: 20,376 count2017: 20,922 count2018: 21,311 count2019: 21,827 count2020: 22,204 count2021: 23,064 count2022: 23,780 count2023: 24,400 count
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
Periodcount
202324,400
202223,780
202123,064
202022,204
201921,827
201821,311
201720,922
201620,376
201519,748
201419,223
201318,824
201218,536
201118,204
201018,050
200917,914
200818,408
200718,160
200617,649
200516,685
200416,175
200315,637
200215,372
200115,118
200014,807
199914,520
199814,043
199713,553
199612,849
199512,326
199411,709
199311,084
199210,675
199110,421
199010,386
19899,943
19889,622
19879,151
19868,801
19858,144
19847,689
19837,054
19826,724
19816,669
19806,503
19796,328
19786,029

Compared with North Carolina and United States

Place2023
Wake County24,400
North Carolina175,992
United States5,593,727

Wake County compared with nearby places

Alamance County: 2,880 countAlexander County: 509 countAlleghany County: 222 countAnson County: 332 countAshe County: 479 countAvery County: 432 countBeaufort County: 934 countBertie County: 243 countBladen County: 456 countBrunswick County: 2,393 countBuncombe County: 7,580 countBurke County: 1,284 countCabarrus County: 4,081 countCaldwell County: 1,180 countCamden County: 106 countCarteret County: 1,820 countCaswell County: 211 countCatawba County: 3,535 countChatham County: 1,344 countCherokee County: 561 countChowan County: 301 countClay County: 220 countCleveland County: 1,633 countColumbus County: 789 countCraven County: 1,780 countCumberland County: 4,361 countCurrituck County: 594 countDare County: 1,589 countDavidson County: 2,431 countDavie County: 756 countDuplin County: 698 countDurham County: 6,287 countEdgecombe County: 572 countForsyth County: 6,886 countFranklin County: 1,009 countGaston County: 3,555 countGates County: 106 countGraham County: 140 countGranville County: 792 countGreene County: 242 countGuilford County: 10,846 countHalifax County: 711 countHarnett County: 1,559 countHaywood County: 1,239 countHenderson County: 2,510 countHertford County: 346 countHoke County: 423 countHyde County: 128 countIredell County: 4,279 countJackson County: 940 countJohnston County: 3,321 countJones County: 110 countLee County: 1,214 countLenoir County: 1,001 countLincoln County: 1,686 countMcDowell County: 704 countMacon County: 1,062 countMadison County: 342 countMartin County: 373 countMecklenburg County: 25,664 countMitchell County: 299 countMontgomery County: 421 countMoore County: 2,042 countNash County: 1,708 countNew Hanover County: 6,818 countNorthampton County: 201 countOnslow County: 2,371 countOrange County: 2,887 countPamlico County: 220 countPasquotank County: 769 countPender County: 1,188 countPerquimans County: 157 countPerson County: 607 countPitt County: 3,044 countPolk County: 444 countRandolph County: 2,228 countRichmond County: 687 countRobeson County: 1,360 countRockingham County: 1,346 countRowan County: 2,373 countRutherford County: 1,077 countSampson County: 832 countScotland County: 492 countStanly County: 1,189 countStokes County: 558 countSurry County: 1,348 countSwain County: 317 countTransylvania County: 852 countTyrrell County: 67 countUnion County: 4,645 countVance County: 743 countWake County: 24,400 countWarren County: 265 countWashington County: 203 countWatauga County: 1,469 countWayne County: 1,761 countWilkes County: 959 countWilson County: 1,455 countYadkin County: 547 countYancey County: 319 count
  • Under 300
  • 300 to 600
  • 600 to 900
  • 900 to 1,500
  • 1,500 to 2,700
  • 2,700 and over
Employer firms, 2023, count. Wake 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

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, Wake 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, Wake 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/wake-county-north-carolina. 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, Wake 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/wake-county-north-carolina.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties, Employer firms, Wake 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/wake-county-north-carolina (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_employer_firms_wake_county_2023,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Employer firms, Wake 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/wake-county-north-carolina. 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, Wake 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/wake-county-north-carolina
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/employer-firms/wake-county-north-carolina.
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 Wake County?

Employer firms in Wake County was 24,400 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That is up 2.6% from 2022. That is the 2nd highest of 100 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 Wake County?

24,400 in 2023, the highest value since 1978 in this series.

Related statistics for Wake County

All statistics for Wake County | Wake County in figures