Counties in Alabama by business establishments (QCEW), 2025

Jefferson County had the highest business establishments (QCEW) of 67 counties in 2025, at 23,648. Coosa County had the lowest, at 166. The median was 823 and the figure for Alabama was 164,183. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest23,648Jefferson County
Lowest166Coosa County
Median82367 counties
Alabama164,183History

Map of counties, 2025

Autauga County: 1,190 countBaldwin County: 9,357 countBarbour County: 597 countBibb County: 468 countBlount County: 1,006 countBullock County: 214 countButler County: 527 countCalhoun County: 2,912 countChambers County: 823 countCherokee County: 525 countChilton County: 948 countChoctaw County: 362 countClarke County: 730 countClay County: 261 countCleburne County: 294 countCoffee County: 1,436 countColbert County: 1,704 countConecuh County: 293 countCoosa County: 166 countCovington County: 1,166 countCrenshaw County: 306 countCullman County: 2,380 countDale County: 1,148 countDallas County: 998 countDeKalb County: 1,566 countElmore County: 1,891 countEscambia County: 953 countEtowah County: 2,541 countFayette County: 357 countFranklin County: 701 countGeneva County: 616 countGreene County: 169 countHale County: 348 countHenry County: 430 countHouston County: 3,844 countJackson County: 1,238 countJefferson County: 23,648 countLamar County: 295 countLauderdale County: 2,678 countLawrence County: 588 countLee County: 4,623 countLimestone County: 2,262 countLowndes County: 216 countMacon County: 321 countMadison County: 14,624 countMarengo County: 590 countMarion County: 741 countMarshall County: 2,686 countMobile County: 12,498 countMonroe County: 492 countMontgomery County: 7,453 countMorgan County: 3,399 countPerry County: 193 countPickens County: 378 countPike County: 818 countRandolph County: 489 countRussell County: 1,247 countSt. Clair County: 2,112 countShelby County: 7,650 countSumter County: 299 countTalladega County: 1,628 countTallapoosa County: 1,080 countTuscaloosa County: 5,557 countWalker County: 1,562 countWashington County: 326 countWilcox County: 345 countWinston County: 570 count
  • Under 300
  • 300 to 500
  • 500 to 800
  • 800 to 1,400
  • 1,400 to 2,700
  • 2,700 and over
count, 2025. Source: BLS, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 2025

Jefferson County: 23,648 countJefferson County23,648Madison County: 14,624 countMadison County14,624Mobile County: 12,498 countMobile County12,498Baldwin County: 9,357 countBaldwin County9,357Shelby County: 7,650 countShelby County7,650Montgomery County: 7,453 countMontgomery County7,453Tuscaloosa County: 5,557 countTuscaloosa County5,557Lee County: 4,623 countLee County4,623Houston County: 3,844 countHouston County3,844Morgan County: 3,399 countMorgan County3,399Calhoun County: 2,912 countCalhoun County2,912Marshall County: 2,686 countMarshall County2,686Lauderdale County: 2,678 countLauderdale County2,678Etowah County: 2,541 countEtowah County2,541Cullman County: 2,380 countCullman County2,380Limestone County: 2,262 countLimestone County2,262St. Clair County: 2,112 countSt. Clair County2,112Elmore County: 1,891 countElmore County1,891Colbert County: 1,704 countColbert County1,704Talladega County: 1,628 countTalladega County1,628DeKalb County: 1,566 countDeKalb County1,566Walker County: 1,562 countWalker County1,562Coffee County: 1,436 countCoffee County1,436Russell County: 1,247 countRussell County1,247Jackson County: 1,238 countJackson County1,238Autauga County: 1,190 countAutauga County1,190Covington County: 1,166 countCovington County1,166Dale County: 1,148 countDale County1,148Tallapoosa County: 1,080 countTallapoosa County1,080Blount County: 1,006 countBlount County1,006Dallas County: 998 countDallas County998Escambia County: 953 countEscambia County953Chilton County: 948 countChilton County948Chambers County: 823 countChambers County823Pike County: 818 countPike County818Marion County: 741 countMarion County741Clarke County: 730 countClarke County730Franklin County: 701 countFranklin County701Geneva County: 616 countGeneva County616Barbour County: 597 countBarbour County597Jefferson County: 23,648 countJefferson County23,648Madison County: 14,624 countMadison County14,624Mobile County: 12,498 countMobile County12,498Baldwin County: 9,357 countBaldwin County9,357Shelby County: 7,650 countShelby County7,650Montgomery County: 7,453 countMontgomery County7,453Tuscaloosa County: 5,557 countTuscaloosa County5,557Lee County: 4,623 countLee County4,623Houston County: 3,844 countHouston County3,844Morgan County: 3,399 countMorgan County3,399Calhoun County: 2,912 countCalhoun County2,912Marshall County: 2,686 countMarshall County2,686Lauderdale County: 2,678 countLauderdale County2,678Etowah County: 2,541 countEtowah County2,541Cullman County: 2,380 countCullman County2,380Limestone County: 2,262 countLimestone County2,262St. Clair County: 2,112 countSt. Clair County2,112Elmore County: 1,891 countElmore County1,891Colbert County: 1,704 countColbert County1,704Talladega County: 1,628 countTalladega County1,628DeKalb County: 1,566 countDeKalb County1,566Walker County: 1,562 countWalker County1,562Coffee County: 1,436 countCoffee County1,436Russell County: 1,247 countRussell County1,247Jackson County: 1,238 countJackson County1,238Autauga County: 1,190 countAutauga County1,190Covington County: 1,166 countCovington County1,166Dale County: 1,148 countDale County1,148Tallapoosa County: 1,080 countTallapoosa County1,080Blount County: 1,006 countBlount County1,006Dallas County: 998 countDallas County998Escambia County: 953 countEscambia County953Chilton County: 948 countChilton County948Chambers County: 823 countChambers County823Pike County: 818 countPike County818Marion County: 741 countMarion County741Clarke County: 730 countClarke County730Franklin County: 701 countFranklin County701Geneva County: 616 countGeneva County616Barbour County: 597 countBarbour County597
count. Source: BLS, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2025
count
Change on 2024
1Jefferson County23,648+3.2%
2Madison County14,624+6.1%
3Mobile County12,498+2.3%
4Baldwin County9,357+6.9%
5Shelby County7,650+5.5%
6Montgomery County7,453+2.6%
7Tuscaloosa County5,557+2.8%
8Lee County4,623+6%
9Houston County3,844+3.3%
10Morgan County3,399+1.1%
11Calhoun County2,912+3%
12Marshall County2,686+4%
13Lauderdale County2,678+4.7%
14Etowah County2,541+4.2%
15Cullman County2,380+3.1%
16Limestone County2,262+10.3%
17St. Clair County2,112+8.7%
18Elmore County1,891+5.8%
19Colbert County1,704+5.1%
20Talladega County1,628+3.2%
21DeKalb County1,566+5.7%
22Walker County1,562+1.7%
23Coffee County1,436+4.7%
24Russell County1,247+3.7%
25Jackson County1,238+3.9%
26Autauga County1,190+6.3%
27Covington County1,166+2.8%
28Dale County1,148+1.6%
29Tallapoosa County1,080+2.7%
30Blount County1,006+5.2%
31Dallas County998+2.3%
32Escambia County953+2%
33Chilton County948+2.8%
34Chambers County823+5.6%
35Pike County818+1.6%
36Marion County741+4.1%
37Clarke County7300%
38Franklin County701+1.4%
39Geneva County616+1.8%
40Barbour County597+0.3%
41Marengo County590+3.9%
42Lawrence County588+2.8%
43Winston County570+5.9%
44Butler County527+0.2%
45Cherokee County525+5.4%
46Monroe County492+0.8%
47Randolph County489+4%
48Bibb County468+5.2%
49Henry County430+2.4%
50Pickens County378-5%
51Choctaw County362+2.3%
52Fayette County357-3.5%
53Hale County348+5.1%
54Wilcox County345+6.5%
55Washington County326+2.5%
56Macon County321+3.5%
57Crenshaw County306+2%
58Sumter County299+1.7%
59Lamar County295-1.7%
60Cleburne County294+1.7%
61Conecuh County293+2.4%
62Clay County261+2.8%
63Lowndes County216+4.3%
64Bullock County214+2.9%
65Perry County193+4.9%
66Greene County169-2.9%
67Coosa County166+5.1%

Other periods

About this ranking

Average number of establishments with 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. An establishment is a single place of business, such as a factory, store or office; a company with several locations has several.

Counts places of business, not firms: for firms use employer_firms. Changes in how large employers report their locations can move the count without any change in activity.

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 establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/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 establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties (Counties in Alabama by business establishments (QCEW), 2025) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv

MLA 9

Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties, Counties in Alabama by business establishments (QCEW), 2025. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/alabama-counties. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2026. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. Counties in Alabama by business establishments (QCEW), 2025. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/alabama-counties.

Harvard

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026) Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties, Counties in Alabama by business establishments (QCEW), 2025 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/alabama-counties (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_alabama_by_2025,
  author = {{U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics}},
  title = {{Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties: Counties in Alabama by business establishments (QCEW), 2025}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/alabama-counties. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/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 establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties: Counties in Alabama by business establishments (QCEW), 2025
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/alabama-counties
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/alabama-counties.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
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Rank Counties in Alabama by business establishments (QCEW) using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which county has the highest business establishments (QCEW)?

Jefferson County, with 23,648 in 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest business establishments (QCEW)?

Coosa County, with 166 in 2025.

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 establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Business establishments (QCEW): other rankings

Counties in Alabama: more rankings