Counties in Arkansas by business establishments (QCEW)

Pulaski County had the highest business establishments (QCEW) of 75 counties in 2020, at 14,517. Calhoun County had the lowest, at 107. The median was 489 and the figure for Arkansas was 93,392. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest14,517Pulaski County
Median48975 counties
Arkansas93,392History

Map of counties, 2020

Arkansas County: 1,075 countAshley County: 574 countBaxter County: 1,242 countBenton County: 7,051 countBoone County: 966 countBradley County: 346 countCalhoun County: 107 countCarroll County: 793 countChicot County: 484 countClark County: 664 countClay County: 363 countCleburne County: 653 countCleveland County: 132 countColumbia County: 693 countConway County: 525 countCraighead County: 2,899 countCrawford County: 1,273 countCrittenden County: 1,192 countCross County: 488 countDallas County: 235 countDesha County: 512 countDrew County: 548 countFaulkner County: 2,983 countFranklin County: 382 countFulton County: 214 countGarland County: 3,071 countGrant County: 351 countGreene County: 894 countHempstead County: 529 countHot Spring County: 616 countHoward County: 362 countIndependence County: 935 countIzard County: 259 countJackson County: 444 countJefferson County: 2,021 countJohnson County: 497 countLafayette County: 166 countLawrence County: 414 countLee County: 263 countLincoln County: 283 countLittle River County: 259 countLogan County: 499 countLonoke County: 1,336 countMadison County: 268 countMarion County: 288 countMiller County: 895 countMississippi County: 1,083 countMonroe County: 271 countMontgomery County: 172 countNevada County: 211 countNewton County: 127 countOuachita County: 660 countPerry County: 156 countPhillips County: 731 countPike County: 274 countPoinsett County: 487 countPolk County: 489 countPope County: 1,838 countPrairie County: 262 countPulaski County: 14,517 countRandolph County: 404 countSt. Francis County: 669 countSaline County: 2,150 countScott County: 197 countSearcy County: 180 countSebastian County: 3,712 countSevier County: 322 countSharp County: 394 countStone County: 286 countUnion County: 1,258 countVan Buren County: 342 countWashington County: 6,379 countWhite County: 1,822 countWoodruff County: 200 countYell County: 434 count
  • Under 300
  • 300 to 500
  • 500 to 700
  • 700 to 1,300
  • 1,300 and over
count, 2020. 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, 2020

Pulaski County: 14,517 countPulaski County14,517Benton County: 7,051 countBenton County7,051Washington County: 6,379 countWashington County6,379Sebastian County: 3,712 countSebastian County3,712Garland County: 3,071 countGarland County3,071Faulkner County: 2,983 countFaulkner County2,983Craighead County: 2,899 countCraighead County2,899Saline County: 2,150 countSaline County2,150Jefferson County: 2,021 countJefferson County2,021Pope County: 1,838 countPope County1,838White County: 1,822 countWhite County1,822Lonoke County: 1,336 countLonoke County1,336Crawford County: 1,273 countCrawford County1,273Union County: 1,258 countUnion County1,258Baxter County: 1,242 countBaxter County1,242Crittenden County: 1,192 countCrittenden County1,192Mississippi County: 1,083 countMississippi County1,083Arkansas County: 1,075 countArkansas County1,075Boone County: 966 countBoone County966Independence County: 935 countIndependence County935Miller County: 895 countMiller County895Greene County: 894 countGreene County894Carroll County: 793 countCarroll County793Phillips County: 731 countPhillips County731Columbia County: 693 countColumbia County693St. Francis County: 669 countSt. Francis County669Clark County: 664 countClark County664Ouachita County: 660 countOuachita County660Cleburne County: 653 countCleburne County653Hot Spring County: 616 countHot Spring County616Ashley County: 574 countAshley County574Drew County: 548 countDrew County548Hempstead County: 529 countHempstead County529Conway County: 525 countConway County525Desha County: 512 countDesha County512Logan County: 499 countLogan County499Johnson County: 497 countJohnson County497Polk County: 489 countPolk County489Cross County: 488 countCross County488Poinsett County: 487 countPoinsett County487Pulaski County: 14,517 countPulaski County14,517Benton County: 7,051 countBenton County7,051Washington County: 6,379 countWashington County6,379Sebastian County: 3,712 countSebastian County3,712Garland County: 3,071 countGarland County3,071Faulkner County: 2,983 countFaulkner County2,983Craighead County: 2,899 countCraighead County2,899Saline County: 2,150 countSaline County2,150Jefferson County: 2,021 countJefferson County2,021Pope County: 1,838 countPope County1,838White County: 1,822 countWhite County1,822Lonoke County: 1,336 countLonoke County1,336Crawford County: 1,273 countCrawford County1,273Union County: 1,258 countUnion County1,258Baxter County: 1,242 countBaxter County1,242Crittenden County: 1,192 countCrittenden County1,192Mississippi County: 1,083 countMississippi County1,083Arkansas County: 1,075 countArkansas County1,075Boone County: 966 countBoone County966Independence County: 935 countIndependence County935Miller County: 895 countMiller County895Greene County: 894 countGreene County894Carroll County: 793 countCarroll County793Phillips County: 731 countPhillips County731Columbia County: 693 countColumbia County693St. Francis County: 669 countSt. Francis County669Clark County: 664 countClark County664Ouachita County: 660 countOuachita County660Cleburne County: 653 countCleburne County653Hot Spring County: 616 countHot Spring County616Ashley County: 574 countAshley County574Drew County: 548 countDrew County548Hempstead County: 529 countHempstead County529Conway County: 525 countConway County525Desha County: 512 countDesha County512Logan County: 499 countLogan County499Johnson County: 497 countJohnson County497Polk County: 489 countPolk County489Cross County: 488 countCross County488Poinsett County: 487 countPoinsett County487
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

RankCounties2020
count
Change on 2019
1Pulaski County14,517-0.2%
2Benton County7,051+4.3%
3Washington County6,379+1.2%
4Sebastian County3,712-0.4%
5Garland County3,0710%
6Faulkner County2,983+3%
7Craighead County2,899+1.4%
8Saline County2,150+2.2%
9Jefferson County2,021-1.5%
10Pope County1,838-1.5%
11White County1,822-0.2%
12Lonoke County1,336+0.8%
13Crawford County1,2730%
14Union County1,258-2.8%
15Baxter County1,242+1%
16Crittenden County1,192-1.4%
17Mississippi County1,083-2.4%
18Arkansas County1,075+24.1%
19Boone County966-0.1%
20Independence County935+0.9%
21Miller County895+0.7%
22Greene County894+0.1%
23Carroll County793+0.5%
24Phillips County731-2.3%
25Columbia County693-2.3%
26St. Francis County669-3.5%
27Clark County664-0.7%
28Ouachita County660-0.5%
29Cleburne County653-0.5%
30Hot Spring County6160%
31Ashley County574-1.2%
32Drew County5480%
33Hempstead County529-0.4%
34Conway County525-2.8%
35Desha County512-4.3%
36Logan County499-1.2%
37Johnson County497+0.8%
38Polk County489-1.8%
39Cross County488+0.6%
40Poinsett County487-1.8%
41Chicot County484-3.4%
42Jackson County444+0.9%
43Yell County434+1.2%
44Lawrence County414-0.5%
45Randolph County404+0.7%
46Sharp County394+0.5%
47Franklin County382-3.5%
48Clay County363-2.9%
49Howard County362-0.8%
50Grant County351-1.4%
51Bradley County346-6%
52Van Buren County342+1.2%
53Sevier County322-0.9%
54Marion County288-1.7%
55Stone County286+1.1%
56Lincoln County283-3.7%
57Pike County274+2.6%
58Monroe County271-4.2%
59Madison County268-0.7%
60Lee County263-3.3%
61Prairie County262-1.1%
62Izard County259+0.8%
62Little River County259-0.4%
64Dallas County235-0.4%
65Fulton County214+0.9%
66Nevada County211+1%
67Woodruff County200-2.4%
68Scott County197+1.5%
69Searcy County180+1.1%
70Montgomery County172-0.6%
71Lafayette County166-1.8%
72Perry County156+2.6%
73Cleveland County1320%
74Newton County1270%
75Calhoun County1070%

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/2020/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), 2020) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2020/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), 2020. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2020/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/arkansas-counties?period=2020. 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), 2020. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2020/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/arkansas-counties?period=2020.

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), 2020 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2020/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/arkansas-counties?period=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_arkansas_by_2020,
  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), 2020}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2020/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/arkansas-counties?period=2020. 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/2020/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), 2020
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2020/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/arkansas-counties?period=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/arkansas-counties?period=2020.
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/2020/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 14,517 in 2020, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest business establishments (QCEW)?

Calhoun County, with 107 in 2020.

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