Counties in Arkansas by business establishments (QCEW)

Pulaski County had the highest business establishments (QCEW) of 75 counties in 2016, at 14,322. Calhoun County had the lowest, at 104. The median was 513 and the figure for Arkansas was 88,435. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest14,322Pulaski County
Median51375 counties
Arkansas88,435History

Map of counties, 2016

Arkansas County: 782 countAshley County: 566 countBaxter County: 1,214 countBenton County: 6,111 countBoone County: 988 countBradley County: 364 countCalhoun County: 104 countCarroll County: 795 countChicot County: 520 countClark County: 625 countClay County: 397 countCleburne County: 673 countCleveland County: 125 countColumbia County: 730 countConway County: 560 countCraighead County: 2,800 countCrawford County: 1,245 countCrittenden County: 1,284 countCross County: 483 countDallas County: 256 countDesha County: 554 countDrew County: 537 countFaulkner County: 2,823 countFranklin County: 372 countFulton County: 199 countGarland County: 3,111 countGrant County: 348 countGreene County: 890 countHempstead County: 516 countHot Spring County: 628 countHoward County: 362 countIndependence County: 927 countIzard County: 270 countJackson County: 459 countJefferson County: 2,126 countJohnson County: 513 countLafayette County: 181 countLawrence County: 430 countLee County: 303 countLincoln County: 290 countLittle River County: 249 countLogan County: 513 countLonoke County: 1,315 countMadison County: 261 countMarion County: 284 countMiller County: 892 countMississippi County: 1,194 countMonroe County: 312 countMontgomery County: 176 countNevada County: 203 countNewton County: 132 countOuachita County: 659 countPerry County: 150 countPhillips County: 799 countPike County: 261 countPoinsett County: 535 countPolk County: 501 countPope County: 1,824 countPrairie County: 268 countPulaski County: 14,322 countRandolph County: 406 countSt. Francis County: 759 countSaline County: 1,974 countScott County: 188 countSearcy County: 180 countSebastian County: 3,691 countSevier County: 326 countSharp County: 399 countStone County: 282 countUnion County: 1,312 countVan Buren County: 364 countWashington County: 5,878 countWhite County: 1,824 countWoodruff County: 217 countYell County: 423 count
  • Under 300
  • 300 to 400
  • 400 to 500
  • 500 to 700
  • 700 to 1,300
  • 1,300 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

Pulaski County: 14,322 countPulaski County14,322Benton County: 6,111 countBenton County6,111Washington County: 5,878 countWashington County5,878Sebastian County: 3,691 countSebastian County3,691Garland County: 3,111 countGarland County3,111Faulkner County: 2,823 countFaulkner County2,823Craighead County: 2,800 countCraighead County2,800Jefferson County: 2,126 countJefferson County2,126Saline County: 1,974 countSaline County1,974Pope County: 1,824 countPope County1,824White County: 1,824 countWhite County1,824Lonoke County: 1,315 countLonoke County1,315Union County: 1,312 countUnion County1,312Crittenden County: 1,284 countCrittenden County1,284Crawford County: 1,245 countCrawford County1,245Baxter County: 1,214 countBaxter County1,214Mississippi County: 1,194 countMississippi County1,194Boone County: 988 countBoone County988Independence County: 927 countIndependence County927Miller County: 892 countMiller County892Greene County: 890 countGreene County890Phillips County: 799 countPhillips County799Carroll County: 795 countCarroll County795Arkansas County: 782 countArkansas County782St. Francis County: 759 countSt. Francis County759Columbia County: 730 countColumbia County730Cleburne County: 673 countCleburne County673Ouachita County: 659 countOuachita County659Hot Spring County: 628 countHot Spring County628Clark County: 625 countClark County625Ashley County: 566 countAshley County566Conway County: 560 countConway County560Desha County: 554 countDesha County554Drew County: 537 countDrew County537Poinsett County: 535 countPoinsett County535Chicot County: 520 countChicot County520Hempstead County: 516 countHempstead County516Johnson County: 513 countJohnson County513Logan County: 513 countLogan County513Polk County: 501 countPolk County501Pulaski County: 14,322 countPulaski County14,322Benton County: 6,111 countBenton County6,111Washington County: 5,878 countWashington County5,878Sebastian County: 3,691 countSebastian County3,691Garland County: 3,111 countGarland County3,111Faulkner County: 2,823 countFaulkner County2,823Craighead County: 2,800 countCraighead County2,800Jefferson County: 2,126 countJefferson County2,126Saline County: 1,974 countSaline County1,974Pope County: 1,824 countPope County1,824White County: 1,824 countWhite County1,824Lonoke County: 1,315 countLonoke County1,315Union County: 1,312 countUnion County1,312Crittenden County: 1,284 countCrittenden County1,284Crawford County: 1,245 countCrawford County1,245Baxter County: 1,214 countBaxter County1,214Mississippi County: 1,194 countMississippi County1,194Boone County: 988 countBoone County988Independence County: 927 countIndependence County927Miller County: 892 countMiller County892Greene County: 890 countGreene County890Phillips County: 799 countPhillips County799Carroll County: 795 countCarroll County795Arkansas County: 782 countArkansas County782St. Francis County: 759 countSt. Francis County759Columbia County: 730 countColumbia County730Cleburne County: 673 countCleburne County673Ouachita County: 659 countOuachita County659Hot Spring County: 628 countHot Spring County628Clark County: 625 countClark County625Ashley County: 566 countAshley County566Conway County: 560 countConway County560Desha County: 554 countDesha County554Drew County: 537 countDrew County537Poinsett County: 535 countPoinsett County535Chicot County: 520 countChicot County520Hempstead County: 516 countHempstead County516Johnson County: 513 countJohnson County513Logan County: 513 countLogan County513Polk County: 501 countPolk County501
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
1Pulaski County14,322-0.4%
2Benton County6,111+3.9%
3Washington County5,878+1.9%
4Sebastian County3,691-0.8%
5Garland County3,111-0.3%
6Faulkner County2,823-0.8%
7Craighead County2,800+1.8%
8Jefferson County2,126-2.2%
9Saline County1,974+1.6%
10Pope County1,824-0.2%
10White County1,824-1.1%
12Lonoke County1,315+0.4%
13Union County1,312-3%
14Crittenden County1,284-2.5%
15Crawford County1,245-0.9%
16Baxter County1,214-1.7%
17Mississippi County1,194-1.3%
18Boone County988-2.9%
19Independence County927+0.4%
20Miller County892+2.2%
21Greene County890-0.9%
22Phillips County799-4.2%
23Carroll County795+0.8%
24Arkansas County782+0.9%
25St. Francis County759-2.1%
26Columbia County730-1.7%
27Cleburne County673-0.9%
28Ouachita County659-2.1%
29Hot Spring County628-0.6%
30Clark County625+0.8%
31Ashley County566-0.5%
32Conway County560-4.1%
33Desha County554+0.9%
34Drew County537+1.5%
35Poinsett County535-0.2%
36Chicot County520+3.6%
37Hempstead County516-0.2%
38Johnson County513-0.6%
38Logan County513+2.8%
40Polk County501-0.4%
41Cross County483-3.2%
42Jackson County459-2.8%
43Lawrence County430+1.4%
44Yell County4230%
45Randolph County406-1%
46Sharp County399-1.2%
47Clay County397-2%
48Franklin County372+2.8%
49Bradley County364-2.2%
49Van Buren County364-0.3%
51Howard County362+0.3%
52Grant County348+1.8%
53Sevier County326-0.3%
54Monroe County312-1.6%
55Lee County303+0.3%
56Lincoln County2900%
57Marion County284-0.7%
58Stone County282-3.1%
59Izard County270+0.4%
60Prairie County2680%
61Madison County261-1.1%
61Pike County261+0.8%
63Dallas County256-1.2%
64Little River County249-0.8%
65Woodruff County217-0.9%
66Nevada County203+1%
67Fulton County199-3.9%
68Scott County188-1.1%
69Lafayette County181+1.1%
70Searcy County180-4.3%
71Montgomery County176-4.3%
72Perry County150-6.3%
73Newton County132-3.6%
74Cleveland County125-3.1%
75Calhoun County104-3.7%

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 Arkansas 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 Arkansas 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/arkansas-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 Arkansas 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/arkansas-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 Arkansas 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/arkansas-counties?period=2016 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_arkansas_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 Arkansas 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/arkansas-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 Arkansas 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/arkansas-counties?period=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/arkansas-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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Rank Counties in Arkansas by business establishments (QCEW) using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which county has the highest business establishments (QCEW)?

Pulaski County, with 14,322 in 2016, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest business establishments (QCEW)?

Calhoun County, with 104 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 Arkansas: more rankings