Counties in Alabama by business establishments (QCEW)

Jefferson County had the highest business establishments (QCEW) of 67 counties in 2019, at 19,143. Coosa County had the lowest, at 128. The median was 728 and the figure for Alabama was 129,465. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest19,143Jefferson County
Lowest128Coosa County
Median72867 counties
Alabama129,465History

Map of counties, 2019

Autauga County: 888 countBaldwin County: 6,471 countBarbour County: 562 countBibb County: 370 countBlount County: 787 countBullock County: 178 countButler County: 486 countCalhoun County: 2,541 countChambers County: 623 countCherokee County: 412 countChilton County: 818 countChoctaw County: 324 countClarke County: 660 countClay County: 219 countCleburne County: 233 countCoffee County: 1,071 countColbert County: 1,338 countConecuh County: 255 countCoosa County: 128 countCovington County: 913 countCrenshaw County: 263 countCullman County: 1,860 countDale County: 876 countDallas County: 859 countDeKalb County: 1,208 countElmore County: 1,415 countEscambia County: 833 countEtowah County: 2,118 countFayette County: 341 countFranklin County: 601 countGeneva County: 502 countGreene County: 163 countHale County: 287 countHenry County: 343 countHouston County: 3,010 countJackson County: 1,003 countJefferson County: 19,143 countLamar County: 280 countLauderdale County: 2,130 countLawrence County: 475 countLee County: 3,314 countLimestone County: 1,495 countLowndes County: 182 countMacon County: 240 countMadison County: 9,977 countMarengo County: 523 countMarion County: 629 countMarshall County: 2,126 countMobile County: 10,302 countMonroe County: 452 countMontgomery County: 6,425 countMorgan County: 2,814 countPerry County: 160 countPickens County: 339 countPike County: 728 countRandolph County: 407 countRussell County: 934 countSt. Clair County: 1,558 countShelby County: 5,905 countSumter County: 247 countTalladega County: 1,411 countTallapoosa County: 867 countTuscaloosa County: 4,622 countWalker County: 1,404 countWashington County: 273 countWilcox County: 245 countWinston County: 493 count
  • Under 300
  • 300 to 500
  • 500 to 700
  • 700 to 1,100
  • 1,100 to 2,100
  • 2,100 and over
count, 2019. 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, 2019

Jefferson County: 19,143 countJefferson County19,143Mobile County: 10,302 countMobile County10,302Madison County: 9,977 countMadison County9,977Baldwin County: 6,471 countBaldwin County6,471Montgomery County: 6,425 countMontgomery County6,425Shelby County: 5,905 countShelby County5,905Tuscaloosa County: 4,622 countTuscaloosa County4,622Lee County: 3,314 countLee County3,314Houston County: 3,010 countHouston County3,010Morgan County: 2,814 countMorgan County2,814Calhoun County: 2,541 countCalhoun County2,541Lauderdale County: 2,130 countLauderdale County2,130Marshall County: 2,126 countMarshall County2,126Etowah County: 2,118 countEtowah County2,118Cullman County: 1,860 countCullman County1,860St. Clair County: 1,558 countSt. Clair County1,558Limestone County: 1,495 countLimestone County1,495Elmore County: 1,415 countElmore County1,415Talladega County: 1,411 countTalladega County1,411Walker County: 1,404 countWalker County1,404Colbert County: 1,338 countColbert County1,338DeKalb County: 1,208 countDeKalb County1,208Coffee County: 1,071 countCoffee County1,071Jackson County: 1,003 countJackson County1,003Russell County: 934 countRussell County934Covington County: 913 countCovington County913Autauga County: 888 countAutauga County888Dale County: 876 countDale County876Tallapoosa County: 867 countTallapoosa County867Dallas County: 859 countDallas County859Escambia County: 833 countEscambia County833Chilton County: 818 countChilton County818Blount County: 787 countBlount County787Pike County: 728 countPike County728Clarke County: 660 countClarke County660Marion County: 629 countMarion County629Chambers County: 623 countChambers County623Franklin County: 601 countFranklin County601Barbour County: 562 countBarbour County562Marengo County: 523 countMarengo County523Jefferson County: 19,143 countJefferson County19,143Mobile County: 10,302 countMobile County10,302Madison County: 9,977 countMadison County9,977Baldwin County: 6,471 countBaldwin County6,471Montgomery County: 6,425 countMontgomery County6,425Shelby County: 5,905 countShelby County5,905Tuscaloosa County: 4,622 countTuscaloosa County4,622Lee County: 3,314 countLee County3,314Houston County: 3,010 countHouston County3,010Morgan County: 2,814 countMorgan County2,814Calhoun County: 2,541 countCalhoun County2,541Lauderdale County: 2,130 countLauderdale County2,130Marshall County: 2,126 countMarshall County2,126Etowah County: 2,118 countEtowah County2,118Cullman County: 1,860 countCullman County1,860St. Clair County: 1,558 countSt. Clair County1,558Limestone County: 1,495 countLimestone County1,495Elmore County: 1,415 countElmore County1,415Talladega County: 1,411 countTalladega County1,411Walker County: 1,404 countWalker County1,404Colbert County: 1,338 countColbert County1,338DeKalb County: 1,208 countDeKalb County1,208Coffee County: 1,071 countCoffee County1,071Jackson County: 1,003 countJackson County1,003Russell County: 934 countRussell County934Covington County: 913 countCovington County913Autauga County: 888 countAutauga County888Dale County: 876 countDale County876Tallapoosa County: 867 countTallapoosa County867Dallas County: 859 countDallas County859Escambia County: 833 countEscambia County833Chilton County: 818 countChilton County818Blount County: 787 countBlount County787Pike County: 728 countPike County728Clarke County: 660 countClarke County660Marion County: 629 countMarion County629Chambers County: 623 countChambers County623Franklin County: 601 countFranklin County601Barbour County: 562 countBarbour County562Marengo County: 523 countMarengo County523
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

RankCounties2019
count
Change on 2018
1Jefferson County19,143+1.3%
2Mobile County10,302+0.6%
3Madison County9,977+2.4%
4Baldwin County6,471+2.6%
5Montgomery County6,425+0.3%
6Shelby County5,905+0.8%
7Tuscaloosa County4,622+0.6%
8Lee County3,314+3.4%
9Houston County3,010+1.4%
10Morgan County2,814+1.4%
11Calhoun County2,541-0.2%
12Lauderdale County2,130+0.9%
13Marshall County2,126+1.2%
14Etowah County2,118+1.3%
15Cullman County1,860+0.7%
16St. Clair County1,558+2.7%
17Limestone County1,495+2.6%
18Elmore County1,415+1.7%
19Talladega County1,411+1.3%
20Walker County1,404+0.8%
21Colbert County1,338+2.3%
22DeKalb County1,208+1.2%
23Coffee County1,071-0.4%
24Jackson County1,003+1.2%
25Russell County934+1.7%
26Covington County913+2.1%
27Autauga County888+2%
28Dale County876+0.9%
29Tallapoosa County867+2.4%
30Dallas County859+1.4%
31Escambia County833-1.7%
32Chilton County818+2%
33Blount County787+0.9%
34Pike County728+1.8%
35Clarke County660+1.1%
36Marion County629+0.2%
37Chambers County623+3.3%
38Franklin County601+2.2%
39Barbour County562+1.3%
40Marengo County523-0.4%
41Geneva County502+1%
42Winston County493+0.2%
43Butler County486+1%
44Lawrence County475+3.5%
45Monroe County452+1.6%
46Cherokee County412-1.2%
47Randolph County407+2%
48Bibb County370-1.1%
49Henry County343+0.6%
50Fayette County341-2%
51Pickens County3390%
52Choctaw County324+4.2%
53Hale County287+1.1%
54Lamar County280-1.8%
55Washington County273+3.8%
56Crenshaw County263+1.9%
57Conecuh County255-0.4%
58Sumter County247+2.9%
59Wilcox County245+1.2%
60Macon County240+2.1%
61Cleburne County233+5%
62Clay County219+1.4%
63Lowndes County182+5.8%
64Bullock County178+9.2%
65Greene County163-0.6%
66Perry County160+3.2%
67Coosa County128+5.8%

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/2019/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), 2019) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2019/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), 2019. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2019/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/alabama-counties?period=2019. 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), 2019. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2019/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/alabama-counties?period=2019.

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), 2019 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2019/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/alabama-counties?period=2019 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_alabama_by_2019,
  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), 2019}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2019/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/alabama-counties?period=2019. 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/2019/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), 2019
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2019/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/alabama-counties?period=2019
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/alabama-counties?period=2019.
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/2019/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 19,143 in 2019, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest business establishments (QCEW)?

Coosa County, with 128 in 2019.

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