Counties in Alabama by business establishments (QCEW)

Jefferson County had the highest business establishments (QCEW) of 67 counties in 2018, at 18,903. Coosa County had the lowest, at 121. The median was 715 and the figure for Alabama was 127,260. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest18,903Jefferson County
Lowest121Coosa County
Median71567 counties
Alabama127,260History

Map of counties, 2018

Autauga County: 871 countBaldwin County: 6,305 countBarbour County: 555 countBibb County: 374 countBlount County: 780 countBullock County: 163 countButler County: 481 countCalhoun County: 2,546 countChambers County: 603 countCherokee County: 417 countChilton County: 802 countChoctaw County: 311 countClarke County: 653 countClay County: 216 countCleburne County: 222 countCoffee County: 1,075 countColbert County: 1,308 countConecuh County: 256 countCoosa County: 121 countCovington County: 894 countCrenshaw County: 258 countCullman County: 1,847 countDale County: 868 countDallas County: 847 countDeKalb County: 1,194 countElmore County: 1,391 countEscambia County: 847 countEtowah County: 2,091 countFayette County: 348 countFranklin County: 588 countGeneva County: 497 countGreene County: 164 countHale County: 284 countHenry County: 341 countHouston County: 2,969 countJackson County: 991 countJefferson County: 18,903 countLamar County: 285 countLauderdale County: 2,111 countLawrence County: 459 countLee County: 3,204 countLimestone County: 1,457 countLowndes County: 172 countMacon County: 235 countMadison County: 9,747 countMarengo County: 525 countMarion County: 628 countMarshall County: 2,100 countMobile County: 10,237 countMonroe County: 445 countMontgomery County: 6,406 countMorgan County: 2,776 countPerry County: 155 countPickens County: 339 countPike County: 715 countRandolph County: 399 countRussell County: 918 countSt. Clair County: 1,517 countShelby County: 5,857 countSumter County: 240 countTalladega County: 1,393 countTallapoosa County: 847 countTuscaloosa County: 4,596 countWalker County: 1,393 countWashington County: 263 countWilcox County: 242 countWinston County: 492 count
  • Under 300
  • 300 to 400
  • 400 to 700
  • 700 to 1,100
  • 1,100 to 2,100
  • 2,100 and over
count, 2018. 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, 2018

Jefferson County: 18,903 countJefferson County18,903Mobile County: 10,237 countMobile County10,237Madison County: 9,747 countMadison County9,747Montgomery County: 6,406 countMontgomery County6,406Baldwin County: 6,305 countBaldwin County6,305Shelby County: 5,857 countShelby County5,857Tuscaloosa County: 4,596 countTuscaloosa County4,596Lee County: 3,204 countLee County3,204Houston County: 2,969 countHouston County2,969Morgan County: 2,776 countMorgan County2,776Calhoun County: 2,546 countCalhoun County2,546Lauderdale County: 2,111 countLauderdale County2,111Marshall County: 2,100 countMarshall County2,100Etowah County: 2,091 countEtowah County2,091Cullman County: 1,847 countCullman County1,847St. Clair County: 1,517 countSt. Clair County1,517Limestone County: 1,457 countLimestone County1,457Talladega County: 1,393 countTalladega County1,393Walker County: 1,393 countWalker County1,393Elmore County: 1,391 countElmore County1,391Colbert County: 1,308 countColbert County1,308DeKalb County: 1,194 countDeKalb County1,194Coffee County: 1,075 countCoffee County1,075Jackson County: 991 countJackson County991Russell County: 918 countRussell County918Covington County: 894 countCovington County894Autauga County: 871 countAutauga County871Dale County: 868 countDale County868Dallas County: 847 countDallas County847Escambia County: 847 countEscambia County847Tallapoosa County: 847 countTallapoosa County847Chilton County: 802 countChilton County802Blount County: 780 countBlount County780Pike County: 715 countPike County715Clarke County: 653 countClarke County653Marion County: 628 countMarion County628Chambers County: 603 countChambers County603Franklin County: 588 countFranklin County588Barbour County: 555 countBarbour County555Marengo County: 525 countMarengo County525Jefferson County: 18,903 countJefferson County18,903Mobile County: 10,237 countMobile County10,237Madison County: 9,747 countMadison County9,747Montgomery County: 6,406 countMontgomery County6,406Baldwin County: 6,305 countBaldwin County6,305Shelby County: 5,857 countShelby County5,857Tuscaloosa County: 4,596 countTuscaloosa County4,596Lee County: 3,204 countLee County3,204Houston County: 2,969 countHouston County2,969Morgan County: 2,776 countMorgan County2,776Calhoun County: 2,546 countCalhoun County2,546Lauderdale County: 2,111 countLauderdale County2,111Marshall County: 2,100 countMarshall County2,100Etowah County: 2,091 countEtowah County2,091Cullman County: 1,847 countCullman County1,847St. Clair County: 1,517 countSt. Clair County1,517Limestone County: 1,457 countLimestone County1,457Talladega County: 1,393 countTalladega County1,393Walker County: 1,393 countWalker County1,393Elmore County: 1,391 countElmore County1,391Colbert County: 1,308 countColbert County1,308DeKalb County: 1,194 countDeKalb County1,194Coffee County: 1,075 countCoffee County1,075Jackson County: 991 countJackson County991Russell County: 918 countRussell County918Covington County: 894 countCovington County894Autauga County: 871 countAutauga County871Dale County: 868 countDale County868Dallas County: 847 countDallas County847Escambia County: 847 countEscambia County847Tallapoosa County: 847 countTallapoosa County847Chilton County: 802 countChilton County802Blount County: 780 countBlount County780Pike County: 715 countPike County715Clarke County: 653 countClarke County653Marion County: 628 countMarion County628Chambers County: 603 countChambers County603Franklin County: 588 countFranklin County588Barbour County: 555 countBarbour County555Marengo County: 525 countMarengo County525
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

RankCounties2018
count
Change on 2017
1Jefferson County18,903+1.8%
2Mobile County10,237+1%
3Madison County9,747+1.8%
4Montgomery County6,4060%
5Baldwin County6,305+3.8%
6Shelby County5,857+1%
7Tuscaloosa County4,596+0.7%
8Lee County3,204+2.1%
9Houston County2,969+0.7%
10Morgan County2,776-0.6%
11Calhoun County2,546+1.3%
12Lauderdale County2,111+0.9%
13Marshall County2,100+1.3%
14Etowah County2,091+1.3%
15Cullman County1,847+1.3%
16St. Clair County1,517+1.4%
17Limestone County1,457+1.4%
18Talladega County1,393+3%
18Walker County1,393+1.8%
20Elmore County1,391+1.3%
21Colbert County1,308+1.4%
22DeKalb County1,194+1.7%
23Coffee County1,075-1%
24Jackson County991+2.5%
25Russell County918+2.1%
26Covington County894-0.6%
27Autauga County871+0.1%
28Dale County868-0.6%
29Dallas County847-0.2%
29Escambia County847+0.2%
29Tallapoosa County847+1.4%
32Chilton County802+4.7%
33Blount County780+1%
34Pike County715+3.6%
35Clarke County653-0.5%
36Marion County628+0.3%
37Chambers County603+1.2%
38Franklin County588+2.8%
39Barbour County5550%
40Marengo County525+1.4%
41Geneva County497+0.8%
42Winston County492+1.2%
43Butler County481-1.4%
44Lawrence County459+4.3%
45Monroe County445+0.5%
46Cherokee County417+3.7%
47Randolph County399+5.6%
48Bibb County374+2.7%
49Fayette County348+3.6%
50Henry County341+1.8%
51Pickens County339+0.3%
52Choctaw County311+6.9%
53Lamar County285+1.4%
54Hale County284+2.5%
55Washington County263+1.5%
56Crenshaw County2580%
57Conecuh County256+0.8%
58Wilcox County242+3.4%
59Sumter County240+3%
60Macon County235+1.3%
61Cleburne County222+2.8%
62Clay County216+2.9%
63Lowndes County172+4.2%
64Greene County164+1.2%
65Bullock County163+9.4%
66Perry County155+1.3%
67Coosa County121-0.8%

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/2018/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), 2018) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2018/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), 2018. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2018/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/alabama-counties?period=2018. 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), 2018. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2018/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/alabama-counties?period=2018.

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), 2018 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2018/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/alabama-counties?period=2018 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_alabama_by_2018,
  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), 2018}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2018/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/alabama-counties?period=2018. 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/2018/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), 2018
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2018/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/alabama-counties?period=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/alabama-counties?period=2018.
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/2018/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 18,903 in 2018, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest business establishments (QCEW)?

Coosa County, with 121 in 2018.

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