Counties in Arkansas by business establishments (QCEW)

Pulaski County had the highest business establishments (QCEW) of 75 counties in 2021, at 14,491. Calhoun County had the lowest, at 111. The median was 482 and the figure for Arkansas was 95,817. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest14,491Pulaski County
Median48275 counties
Arkansas95,817History

Map of counties, 2021

Arkansas County: 1,100 countAshley County: 550 countBaxter County: 1,255 countBenton County: 7,370 countBoone County: 959 countBradley County: 340 countCalhoun County: 111 countCarroll County: 812 countChicot County: 454 countClark County: 665 countClay County: 359 countCleburne County: 650 countCleveland County: 125 countColumbia County: 666 countConway County: 521 countCraighead County: 2,940 countCrawford County: 1,259 countCrittenden County: 1,155 countCross County: 473 countDallas County: 228 countDesha County: 489 countDrew County: 546 countFaulkner County: 3,062 countFranklin County: 380 countFulton County: 209 countGarland County: 3,137 countGrant County: 355 countGreene County: 897 countHempstead County: 528 countHot Spring County: 611 countHoward County: 364 countIndependence County: 940 countIzard County: 257 countJackson County: 432 countJefferson County: 1,973 countJohnson County: 490 countLafayette County: 161 countLawrence County: 406 countLee County: 247 countLincoln County: 278 countLittle River County: 250 countLogan County: 497 countLonoke County: 1,345 countMadison County: 276 countMarion County: 291 countMiller County: 896 countMississippi County: 1,053 countMonroe County: 261 countMontgomery County: 166 countNevada County: 207 countNewton County: 128 countOuachita County: 634 countPerry County: 159 countPhillips County: 702 countPike County: 274 countPoinsett County: 480 countPolk County: 482 countPope County: 1,811 countPrairie County: 252 countPulaski County: 14,491 countRandolph County: 399 countSt. Francis County: 649 countSaline County: 2,189 countScott County: 189 countSearcy County: 180 countSebastian County: 3,727 countSevier County: 323 countSharp County: 392 countStone County: 292 countUnion County: 1,216 countVan Buren County: 332 countWashington County: 6,505 countWhite County: 1,816 countWoodruff County: 195 countYell County: 437 count
  • Under 200
  • 200 to 300
  • 300 to 500
  • 500 to 700
  • 700 to 1,300
  • 1,300 and over
count, 2021. 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, 2021

Pulaski County: 14,491 countPulaski County14,491Benton County: 7,370 countBenton County7,370Washington County: 6,505 countWashington County6,505Sebastian County: 3,727 countSebastian County3,727Garland County: 3,137 countGarland County3,137Faulkner County: 3,062 countFaulkner County3,062Craighead County: 2,940 countCraighead County2,940Saline County: 2,189 countSaline County2,189Jefferson County: 1,973 countJefferson County1,973White County: 1,816 countWhite County1,816Pope County: 1,811 countPope County1,811Lonoke County: 1,345 countLonoke County1,345Crawford County: 1,259 countCrawford County1,259Baxter County: 1,255 countBaxter County1,255Union County: 1,216 countUnion County1,216Crittenden County: 1,155 countCrittenden County1,155Arkansas County: 1,100 countArkansas County1,100Mississippi County: 1,053 countMississippi County1,053Boone County: 959 countBoone County959Independence County: 940 countIndependence County940Greene County: 897 countGreene County897Miller County: 896 countMiller County896Carroll County: 812 countCarroll County812Phillips County: 702 countPhillips County702Columbia County: 666 countColumbia County666Clark County: 665 countClark County665Cleburne County: 650 countCleburne County650St. Francis County: 649 countSt. Francis County649Ouachita County: 634 countOuachita County634Hot Spring County: 611 countHot Spring County611Ashley County: 550 countAshley County550Drew County: 546 countDrew County546Hempstead County: 528 countHempstead County528Conway County: 521 countConway County521Logan County: 497 countLogan County497Johnson County: 490 countJohnson County490Desha County: 489 countDesha County489Polk County: 482 countPolk County482Poinsett County: 480 countPoinsett County480Cross County: 473 countCross County473Pulaski County: 14,491 countPulaski County14,491Benton County: 7,370 countBenton County7,370Washington County: 6,505 countWashington County6,505Sebastian County: 3,727 countSebastian County3,727Garland County: 3,137 countGarland County3,137Faulkner County: 3,062 countFaulkner County3,062Craighead County: 2,940 countCraighead County2,940Saline County: 2,189 countSaline County2,189Jefferson County: 1,973 countJefferson County1,973White County: 1,816 countWhite County1,816Pope County: 1,811 countPope County1,811Lonoke County: 1,345 countLonoke County1,345Crawford County: 1,259 countCrawford County1,259Baxter County: 1,255 countBaxter County1,255Union County: 1,216 countUnion County1,216Crittenden County: 1,155 countCrittenden County1,155Arkansas County: 1,100 countArkansas County1,100Mississippi County: 1,053 countMississippi County1,053Boone County: 959 countBoone County959Independence County: 940 countIndependence County940Greene County: 897 countGreene County897Miller County: 896 countMiller County896Carroll County: 812 countCarroll County812Phillips County: 702 countPhillips County702Columbia County: 666 countColumbia County666Clark County: 665 countClark County665Cleburne County: 650 countCleburne County650St. Francis County: 649 countSt. Francis County649Ouachita County: 634 countOuachita County634Hot Spring County: 611 countHot Spring County611Ashley County: 550 countAshley County550Drew County: 546 countDrew County546Hempstead County: 528 countHempstead County528Conway County: 521 countConway County521Logan County: 497 countLogan County497Johnson County: 490 countJohnson County490Desha County: 489 countDesha County489Polk County: 482 countPolk County482Poinsett County: 480 countPoinsett County480Cross County: 473 countCross County473
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

RankCounties2021
count
Change on 2020
1Pulaski County14,491-0.2%
2Benton County7,370+4.5%
3Washington County6,505+2%
4Sebastian County3,727+0.4%
5Garland County3,137+2.1%
6Faulkner County3,062+2.6%
7Craighead County2,940+1.4%
8Saline County2,189+1.8%
9Jefferson County1,973-2.4%
10White County1,816-0.3%
11Pope County1,811-1.5%
12Lonoke County1,345+0.7%
13Crawford County1,259-1.1%
14Baxter County1,255+1%
15Union County1,216-3.3%
16Crittenden County1,155-3.1%
17Arkansas County1,100+2.3%
18Mississippi County1,053-2.8%
19Boone County959-0.7%
20Independence County940+0.5%
21Greene County897+0.3%
22Miller County896+0.1%
23Carroll County812+2.4%
24Phillips County702-4%
25Columbia County666-3.9%
26Clark County665+0.2%
27Cleburne County650-0.5%
28St. Francis County649-3%
29Ouachita County634-3.9%
30Hot Spring County611-0.8%
31Ashley County550-4.2%
32Drew County546-0.4%
33Hempstead County528-0.2%
34Conway County521-0.8%
35Logan County497-0.4%
36Johnson County490-1.4%
37Desha County489-4.5%
38Polk County482-1.4%
39Poinsett County480-1.4%
40Cross County473-3.1%
41Chicot County454-6.2%
42Yell County437+0.7%
43Jackson County432-2.7%
44Lawrence County406-1.9%
45Randolph County399-1.2%
46Sharp County392-0.5%
47Franklin County380-0.5%
48Howard County364+0.6%
49Clay County359-1.1%
50Grant County355+1.1%
51Bradley County340-1.7%
52Van Buren County332-2.9%
53Sevier County323+0.3%
54Stone County292+2.1%
55Marion County291+1%
56Lincoln County278-1.8%
57Madison County276+3%
58Pike County2740%
59Monroe County261-3.7%
60Izard County257-0.8%
61Prairie County252-3.8%
62Little River County250-3.5%
63Lee County247-6.1%
64Dallas County228-3%
65Fulton County209-2.3%
66Nevada County207-1.9%
67Woodruff County195-2.5%
68Scott County189-4.1%
69Searcy County1800%
70Montgomery County166-3.5%
71Lafayette County161-3%
72Perry County159+1.9%
73Newton County128+0.8%
74Cleveland County125-5.3%
75Calhoun County111+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/2021/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), 2021) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2021/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), 2021. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2021/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/arkansas-counties?period=2021. 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), 2021. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2021/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/arkansas-counties?period=2021.

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), 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2021/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/arkansas-counties?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_arkansas_by_2021,
  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), 2021}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2021/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/arkansas-counties?period=2021. 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/2021/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), 2021
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2021/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/arkansas-counties?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/arkansas-counties?period=2021.
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/2021/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
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Questions

Which county has the highest business establishments (QCEW)?

Pulaski County, with 14,491 in 2021, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest business establishments (QCEW)?

Calhoun County, with 111 in 2021.

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