Data / Employer firms / Whatcom County

Employer firms in Whatcom County

Employer firms in Whatcom County was 5,690 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That is up 0.9% from 2022. That is the 6th highest of 39 counties in 2023.

2023, count5,690
Change on 2022+0.9%
Rank6th of 39Counties in Washington ranked
Series high5,6902023
Series low2,3031978

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 Whatcom County, 1978 to 2023

2,0003,0004,0005,0006,00019781985199219992006201320231978: 2,303 count1979: 2,413 count1980: 2,452 count1981: 2,461 count1982: 2,439 count1983: 2,529 count1984: 2,635 count1985: 2,646 count1986: 2,729 count1987: 2,831 count1988: 2,896 count1989: 3,092 count1990: 3,302 count1991: 3,496 count1992: 3,640 count1993: 3,784 count1994: 3,989 count1995: 4,080 count1996: 4,111 count1997: 4,178 count1998: 4,346 count1999: 4,350 count2000: 4,352 count2001: 4,398 count2002: 4,454 count2003: 4,584 count2004: 4,719 count2005: 4,886 count2006: 5,113 count2007: 5,288 count2008: 5,314 count2009: 5,125 count2010: 5,057 count2011: 4,983 count2012: 4,916 count2013: 4,961 count2014: 5,049 count2015: 5,150 count2016: 5,285 count2017: 5,370 count2018: 5,461 count2019: 5,532 count2020: 5,457 count2021: 5,507 count2022: 5,639 count2023: 5,690 count2,0003,0004,0005,0006,00019781994201020231978: 2,303 count1979: 2,413 count1980: 2,452 count1981: 2,461 count1982: 2,439 count1983: 2,529 count1984: 2,635 count1985: 2,646 count1986: 2,729 count1987: 2,831 count1988: 2,896 count1989: 3,092 count1990: 3,302 count1991: 3,496 count1992: 3,640 count1993: 3,784 count1994: 3,989 count1995: 4,080 count1996: 4,111 count1997: 4,178 count1998: 4,346 count1999: 4,350 count2000: 4,352 count2001: 4,398 count2002: 4,454 count2003: 4,584 count2004: 4,719 count2005: 4,886 count2006: 5,113 count2007: 5,288 count2008: 5,314 count2009: 5,125 count2010: 5,057 count2011: 4,983 count2012: 4,916 count2013: 4,961 count2014: 5,049 count2015: 5,150 count2016: 5,285 count2017: 5,370 count2018: 5,461 count2019: 5,532 count2020: 5,457 count2021: 5,507 count2022: 5,639 count2023: 5,690 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
20235,690
20225,639
20215,507
20205,457
20195,532
20185,461
20175,370
20165,285
20155,150
20145,049
20134,961
20124,916
20114,983
20105,057
20095,125
20085,314
20075,288
20065,113
20054,886
20044,719
20034,584
20024,454
20014,398
20004,352
19994,350
19984,346
19974,178
19964,111
19954,080
19943,989
19933,784
19923,640
19913,496
19903,302
19893,092
19882,896
19872,831
19862,729
19852,646
19842,635
19832,529
19822,439
19812,461
19802,452
19792,413
19782,303

Compared with Washington and United States

Place2023
Whatcom County5,690
Washington142,661
United States5,593,727

Whatcom County compared with nearby places

Adams County: 335 countAsotin County: 366 countBenton County: 3,853 countChelan County: 2,301 countClallam County: 1,751 countClark County: 9,797 countColumbia County: 91 countCowlitz County: 1,887 countDouglas County: 704 countFerry County: 125 countFranklin County: 1,590 countGarfield County: 35 countGrant County: 1,686 countGrays Harbor County: 1,310 countIsland County: 1,594 countJefferson County: 825 countKing County: 50,956 countKitsap County: 4,724 countKittitas County: 1,226 countKlickitat County: 486 countLewis County: 1,633 countLincoln County: 205 countMason County: 909 countOkanogan County: 941 countPacific County: 472 countPend Oreille County: 208 countPierce County: 14,925 countSan Juan County: 846 countSkagit County: 2,990 countSkamania County: 186 countSnohomish County: 15,473 countSpokane County: 10,558 countStevens County: 724 countThurston County: 5,288 countWahkiakum County: 82 countWalla Walla County: 1,259 countWhatcom County: 5,690 countWhitman County: 687 countYakima County: 3,953 count
  • Under 300
  • 300 to 700
  • 700 to 1,300
  • 1,300 to 1,800
  • 1,800 to 5,100
  • 5,100 and over
Employer firms, 2023, count. Whatcom 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, Whatcom 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, Whatcom 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/whatcom-county-washington. 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, Whatcom 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/whatcom-county-washington.

Harvard

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

BibTeX
@misc{census_employer_firms_whatcom_county_2023,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Employer firms, Whatcom 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/whatcom-county-washington. 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, Whatcom 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/whatcom-county-washington
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/employer-firms/whatcom-county-washington.
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 Whatcom County?

Employer firms in Whatcom County was 5,690 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That is up 0.9% from 2022. That is the 6th highest of 39 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 Whatcom County?

5,690 in 2023, the highest value since 1978 in this series.

Related statistics for Whatcom County

All statistics for Whatcom County | Whatcom County in figures