Counties in Alabama by business establishments (QCEW)

Jefferson County had the highest business establishments (QCEW) of 67 counties in 2016, at 18,203. Coosa County had the lowest, at 123. The median was 696 and the figure for Alabama was 122,310. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest18,203Jefferson County
Lowest123Coosa County
Median69667 counties
Alabama122,310History

Map of counties, 2016

Autauga County: 860 countBaldwin County: 5,822 countBarbour County: 551 countBibb County: 341 countBlount County: 756 countBullock County: 144 countButler County: 487 countCalhoun County: 2,508 countChambers County: 600 countCherokee County: 407 countChilton County: 758 countChoctaw County: 283 countClarke County: 662 countClay County: 213 countCleburne County: 214 countCoffee County: 1,074 countColbert County: 1,289 countConecuh County: 252 countCoosa County: 123 countCovington County: 896 countCrenshaw County: 258 countCullman County: 1,807 countDale County: 870 countDallas County: 852 countDeKalb County: 1,149 countElmore County: 1,346 countEscambia County: 838 countEtowah County: 2,057 countFayette County: 340 countFranklin County: 559 countGeneva County: 487 countGreene County: 158 countHale County: 266 countHenry County: 332 countHouston County: 2,927 countJackson County: 965 countJefferson County: 18,203 countLamar County: 277 countLauderdale County: 2,078 countLawrence County: 432 countLee County: 3,078 countLimestone County: 1,404 countLowndes County: 162 countMacon County: 233 countMadison County: 9,406 countMarengo County: 515 countMarion County: 618 countMarshall County: 2,049 countMobile County: 9,943 countMonroe County: 440 countMontgomery County: 6,371 countMorgan County: 2,772 countPerry County: 153 countPickens County: 335 countPike County: 696 countRandolph County: 369 countRussell County: 893 countSt. Clair County: 1,452 countShelby County: 5,667 countSumter County: 236 countTalladega County: 1,322 countTallapoosa County: 816 countTuscaloosa County: 4,468 countWalker County: 1,355 countWashington County: 257 countWilcox County: 226 countWinston County: 475 count
  • Under 300
  • 300 to 400
  • 400 to 700
  • 700 to 1,100
  • 1,100 to 2,100
  • 2,100 and over
count, 2016. 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, 2016

Jefferson County: 18,203 countJefferson County18,203Mobile County: 9,943 countMobile County9,943Madison County: 9,406 countMadison County9,406Montgomery County: 6,371 countMontgomery County6,371Baldwin County: 5,822 countBaldwin County5,822Shelby County: 5,667 countShelby County5,667Tuscaloosa County: 4,468 countTuscaloosa County4,468Lee County: 3,078 countLee County3,078Houston County: 2,927 countHouston County2,927Morgan County: 2,772 countMorgan County2,772Calhoun County: 2,508 countCalhoun County2,508Lauderdale County: 2,078 countLauderdale County2,078Etowah County: 2,057 countEtowah County2,057Marshall County: 2,049 countMarshall County2,049Cullman County: 1,807 countCullman County1,807St. Clair County: 1,452 countSt. Clair County1,452Limestone County: 1,404 countLimestone County1,404Walker County: 1,355 countWalker County1,355Elmore County: 1,346 countElmore County1,346Talladega County: 1,322 countTalladega County1,322Colbert County: 1,289 countColbert County1,289DeKalb County: 1,149 countDeKalb County1,149Coffee County: 1,074 countCoffee County1,074Jackson County: 965 countJackson County965Covington County: 896 countCovington County896Russell County: 893 countRussell County893Dale County: 870 countDale County870Autauga County: 860 countAutauga County860Dallas County: 852 countDallas County852Escambia County: 838 countEscambia County838Tallapoosa County: 816 countTallapoosa County816Chilton County: 758 countChilton County758Blount County: 756 countBlount County756Pike County: 696 countPike County696Clarke County: 662 countClarke County662Marion County: 618 countMarion County618Chambers County: 600 countChambers County600Franklin County: 559 countFranklin County559Barbour County: 551 countBarbour County551Marengo County: 515 countMarengo County515Jefferson County: 18,203 countJefferson County18,203Mobile County: 9,943 countMobile County9,943Madison County: 9,406 countMadison County9,406Montgomery County: 6,371 countMontgomery County6,371Baldwin County: 5,822 countBaldwin County5,822Shelby County: 5,667 countShelby County5,667Tuscaloosa County: 4,468 countTuscaloosa County4,468Lee County: 3,078 countLee County3,078Houston County: 2,927 countHouston County2,927Morgan County: 2,772 countMorgan County2,772Calhoun County: 2,508 countCalhoun County2,508Lauderdale County: 2,078 countLauderdale County2,078Etowah County: 2,057 countEtowah County2,057Marshall County: 2,049 countMarshall County2,049Cullman County: 1,807 countCullman County1,807St. Clair County: 1,452 countSt. Clair County1,452Limestone County: 1,404 countLimestone County1,404Walker County: 1,355 countWalker County1,355Elmore County: 1,346 countElmore County1,346Talladega County: 1,322 countTalladega County1,322Colbert County: 1,289 countColbert County1,289DeKalb County: 1,149 countDeKalb County1,149Coffee County: 1,074 countCoffee County1,074Jackson County: 965 countJackson County965Covington County: 896 countCovington County896Russell County: 893 countRussell County893Dale County: 870 countDale County870Autauga County: 860 countAutauga County860Dallas County: 852 countDallas County852Escambia County: 838 countEscambia County838Tallapoosa County: 816 countTallapoosa County816Chilton County: 758 countChilton County758Blount County: 756 countBlount County756Pike County: 696 countPike County696Clarke County: 662 countClarke County662Marion County: 618 countMarion County618Chambers County: 600 countChambers County600Franklin County: 559 countFranklin County559Barbour County: 551 countBarbour County551Marengo County: 515 countMarengo County515
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

RankCounties2016
count
Change on 2015
1Jefferson County18,203+2.7%
2Mobile County9,943+2.8%
3Madison County9,406+2.8%
4Montgomery County6,371+0.7%
5Baldwin County5,822+4%
6Shelby County5,667+3.6%
7Tuscaloosa County4,468+2.4%
8Lee County3,078+4.7%
9Houston County2,927+1.5%
10Morgan County2,772+2.1%
11Calhoun County2,508+1.5%
12Lauderdale County2,078+2.2%
13Etowah County2,057-0%
14Marshall County2,049+1.4%
15Cullman County1,807+1.2%
16St. Clair County1,452+2.3%
17Limestone County1,404+2.9%
18Walker County1,355-0.7%
19Elmore County1,346+2.8%
20Talladega County1,322-0.2%
21Colbert County1,289-0.2%
22DeKalb County1,149+1.1%
23Coffee County1,074+2.3%
24Jackson County965+0.4%
25Covington County896-0.2%
26Russell County893+2.6%
27Dale County870+0.1%
28Autauga County860+1.8%
29Dallas County852+0.6%
30Escambia County838+1.9%
31Tallapoosa County816+2.5%
32Chilton County758+0.1%
33Blount County756+2.9%
34Pike County6960%
35Clarke County662+0.5%
36Marion County618+0.2%
37Chambers County600+1.7%
38Franklin County559-0.9%
39Barbour County551-1.8%
40Marengo County515+2%
41Butler County487+2.3%
41Geneva County487+0.2%
43Winston County475+1.5%
44Monroe County440+0.7%
45Lawrence County432+0.5%
46Cherokee County407-1.2%
47Randolph County369-0.3%
48Bibb County341+0.9%
49Fayette County340+2.1%
50Pickens County335+2.4%
51Henry County332+0.3%
52Choctaw County283-0.4%
53Lamar County277+0.4%
54Hale County266-2.6%
55Crenshaw County258+1.2%
56Washington County257+4.9%
57Conecuh County252-0.4%
58Sumter County236+0.9%
59Macon County233-1.3%
60Wilcox County226-2.2%
61Cleburne County214+4.4%
62Clay County213+1.4%
63Lowndes County162+3.2%
64Greene County158+5.3%
65Perry County153+0.7%
66Bullock County144-0.7%
67Coosa County123+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/2016/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), 2016) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2016/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), 2016. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2016/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/alabama-counties?period=2016. 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), 2016. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2016/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/alabama-counties?period=2016.

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), 2016 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2016/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/alabama-counties?period=2016 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_alabama_by_2016,
  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), 2016}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2016/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/alabama-counties?period=2016. 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/2016/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), 2016
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2016/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/alabama-counties?period=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/alabama-counties?period=2016.
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/2016/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
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Questions

Which county has the highest business establishments (QCEW)?

Jefferson County, with 18,203 in 2016, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest business establishments (QCEW)?

Coosa County, with 123 in 2016.

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