Counties in Georgia by business establishments (QCEW)

Fulton County had the highest business establishments (QCEW) of 159 counties in 2017, at 42,893. Taliaferro County had the lowest, at 27. The median was 435 and the figure for Georgia was 273,853. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest42,893Fulton County
Median435159 counties
Georgia273,853History

Map of counties, 2017

Appling County: 404 countAtkinson County: 115 countBacon County: 252 countBaker County: 56 countBaldwin County: 820 countBanks County: 272 countBarrow County: 1,155 countBartow County: 2,163 countBen Hill County: 341 countBerrien County: 257 countBibb County: 4,164 countBleckley County: 188 countBrantley County: 208 countBrooks County: 276 countBryan County: 671 countBulloch County: 1,473 countBurke County: 367 countButts County: 405 countCalhoun County: 110 countCamden County: 870 countCandler County: 225 countCarroll County: 2,089 countCatoosa County: 941 countCharlton County: 157 countChatham County: 8,033 countChattahoochee County: 102 countChattooga County: 322 countCherokee County: 5,553 countClarke County: 3,090 countClay County: 62 countClayton County: 3,962 countClinch County: 172 countCobb County: 21,762 countCoffee County: 903 countColquitt County: 1,006 countColumbia County: 2,450 countCook County: 355 countCoweta County: 2,548 countCrawford County: 130 countCrisp County: 572 countDade County: 247 countDawson County: 671 countDecatur County: 643 countDeKalb County: 17,740 countDodge County: 339 countDooly County: 197 countDougherty County: 2,334 countDouglas County: 2,598 countEarly County: 266 countEchols County: 50 countEffingham County: 753 countElbert County: 482 countEmanuel County: 420 countEvans County: 241 countFannin County: 616 countFayette County: 3,541 countFloyd County: 1,965 countForsyth County: 5,822 countFranklin County: 458 countFulton County: 42,893 countGilmer County: 581 countGlascock County: 37 countGlynn County: 2,637 countGordon County: 1,028 countGrady County: 467 countGreene County: 461 countGwinnett County: 24,621 countHabersham County: 855 countHall County: 4,385 countHancock County: 76 countHaralson County: 470 countHarris County: 443 countHart County: 421 countHeard County: 149 countHenry County: 3,783 countHouston County: 2,655 countIrwin County: 148 countJackson County: 1,398 countJasper County: 181 countJeff Davis County: 250 countJefferson County: 360 countJenkins County: 124 countJohnson County: 136 countJones County: 353 countLamar County: 256 countLanier County: 107 countLaurens County: 1,043 countLee County: 456 countLiberty County: 884 countLincoln County: 144 countLong County: 66 countLowndes County: 2,771 countLumpkin County: 523 countMcDuffie County: 433 countMcIntosh County: 199 countMacon County: 200 countMadison County: 359 countMarion County: 95 countMeriwether County: 347 countMiller County: 166 countMitchell County: 437 countMonroe County: 508 countMontgomery County: 130 countMorgan County: 505 countMurray County: 435 countMuscogee County: 4,526 countNewton County: 1,563 countOconee County: 1,076 countOglethorpe County: 206 countPaulding County: 2,026 countPeach County: 512 countPickens County: 728 countPierce County: 354 countPike County: 253 countPolk County: 627 countPulaski County: 202 countPutnam County: 463 countQuitman County: 40 countRabun County: 471 countRandolph County: 162 countRichmond County: 4,393 countRockdale County: 1,949 countSchley County: 62 countScreven County: 252 countSeminole County: 215 countSpalding County: 1,194 countStephens County: 556 countStewart County: 89 countSumter County: 660 countTalbot County: 86 countTaliaferro County: 27 countTattnall County: 342 countTaylor County: 149 countTelfair County: 218 countTerrell County: 208 countThomas County: 1,420 countTift County: 1,083 countToombs County: 682 countTowns County: 282 countTreutlen County: 98 countTroup County: 1,515 countTurner County: 175 countTwiggs County: 99 countUnion County: 569 countUpson County: 455 countWalker County: 715 countWalton County: 1,711 countWare County: 902 countWarren County: 86 countWashington County: 376 countWayne County: 555 countWebster County: 37 countWheeler County: 77 countWhite County: 651 countWhitfield County: 2,255 countWilcox County: 106 countWilkes County: 236 countWilkinson County: 156 countWorth County: 291 count
  • Under 100
  • 100 to 300
  • 300 to 400
  • 400 to 700
  • 700 to 2,000
  • 2,000 and over
count, 2017. 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, 2017

Fulton County: 42,893 countFulton County42,893Gwinnett County: 24,621 countGwinnett County24,621Cobb County: 21,762 countCobb County21,762DeKalb County: 17,740 countDeKalb County17,740Chatham County: 8,033 countChatham County8,033Forsyth County: 5,822 countForsyth County5,822Cherokee County: 5,553 countCherokee County5,553Muscogee County: 4,526 countMuscogee County4,526Richmond County: 4,393 countRichmond County4,393Hall County: 4,385 countHall County4,385Bibb County: 4,164 countBibb County4,164Clayton County: 3,962 countClayton County3,962Henry County: 3,783 countHenry County3,783Fayette County: 3,541 countFayette County3,541Clarke County: 3,090 countClarke County3,090Lowndes County: 2,771 countLowndes County2,771Houston County: 2,655 countHouston County2,655Glynn County: 2,637 countGlynn County2,637Douglas County: 2,598 countDouglas County2,598Coweta County: 2,548 countCoweta County2,548Columbia County: 2,450 countColumbia County2,450Dougherty County: 2,334 countDougherty County2,334Whitfield County: 2,255 countWhitfield County2,255Bartow County: 2,163 countBartow County2,163Carroll County: 2,089 countCarroll County2,089Paulding County: 2,026 countPaulding County2,026Floyd County: 1,965 countFloyd County1,965Rockdale County: 1,949 countRockdale County1,949Walton County: 1,711 countWalton County1,711Newton County: 1,563 countNewton County1,563Troup County: 1,515 countTroup County1,515Bulloch County: 1,473 countBulloch County1,473Thomas County: 1,420 countThomas County1,420Jackson County: 1,398 countJackson County1,398Spalding County: 1,194 countSpalding County1,194Barrow County: 1,155 countBarrow County1,155Tift County: 1,083 countTift County1,083Oconee County: 1,076 countOconee County1,076Laurens County: 1,043 countLaurens County1,043Gordon County: 1,028 countGordon County1,028Fulton County: 42,893 countFulton County42,893Gwinnett County: 24,621 countGwinnett County24,621Cobb County: 21,762 countCobb County21,762DeKalb County: 17,740 countDeKalb County17,740Chatham County: 8,033 countChatham County8,033Forsyth County: 5,822 countForsyth County5,822Cherokee County: 5,553 countCherokee County5,553Muscogee County: 4,526 countMuscogee County4,526Richmond County: 4,393 countRichmond County4,393Hall County: 4,385 countHall County4,385Bibb County: 4,164 countBibb County4,164Clayton County: 3,962 countClayton County3,962Henry County: 3,783 countHenry County3,783Fayette County: 3,541 countFayette County3,541Clarke County: 3,090 countClarke County3,090Lowndes County: 2,771 countLowndes County2,771Houston County: 2,655 countHouston County2,655Glynn County: 2,637 countGlynn County2,637Douglas County: 2,598 countDouglas County2,598Coweta County: 2,548 countCoweta County2,548Columbia County: 2,450 countColumbia County2,450Dougherty County: 2,334 countDougherty County2,334Whitfield County: 2,255 countWhitfield County2,255Bartow County: 2,163 countBartow County2,163Carroll County: 2,089 countCarroll County2,089Paulding County: 2,026 countPaulding County2,026Floyd County: 1,965 countFloyd County1,965Rockdale County: 1,949 countRockdale County1,949Walton County: 1,711 countWalton County1,711Newton County: 1,563 countNewton County1,563Troup County: 1,515 countTroup County1,515Bulloch County: 1,473 countBulloch County1,473Thomas County: 1,420 countThomas County1,420Jackson County: 1,398 countJackson County1,398Spalding County: 1,194 countSpalding County1,194Barrow County: 1,155 countBarrow County1,155Tift County: 1,083 countTift County1,083Oconee County: 1,076 countOconee County1,076Laurens County: 1,043 countLaurens County1,043Gordon County: 1,028 countGordon County1,028
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

RankCounties2017
count
Change on 2016
1Fulton County42,893-8.3%
2Gwinnett County24,621-8.2%
3Cobb County21,762-8.4%
4DeKalb County17,740-9.6%
5Chatham County8,033-7.2%
6Forsyth County5,822-7.4%
7Cherokee County5,553-6.5%
8Muscogee County4,526-8.3%
9Richmond County4,393-7.8%
10Hall County4,385-5.9%
11Bibb County4,164-7.9%
12Clayton County3,962-10.8%
13Henry County3,783-7.4%
14Fayette County3,541-6.9%
15Clarke County3,090-7.2%
16Lowndes County2,771-6%
17Houston County2,655-7.3%
18Glynn County2,637-8.6%
19Douglas County2,598-8.7%
20Coweta County2,548-3.5%
21Columbia County2,450-3.7%
22Dougherty County2,334-8%
23Whitfield County2,255-6.4%
24Bartow County2,163-4.2%
25Carroll County2,089-7.4%
26Paulding County2,026-5%
27Floyd County1,965-7.2%
28Rockdale County1,949-9.1%
29Walton County1,711-7.2%
30Newton County1,563-6.6%
31Troup County1,515-5.8%
32Bulloch County1,473-6.4%
33Thomas County1,420-5.1%
34Jackson County1,398-4.2%
35Spalding County1,194-11%
36Barrow County1,155-4.6%
37Tift County1,083-9%
38Oconee County1,076-3.1%
39Laurens County1,043-6.9%
40Gordon County1,028-4.3%
41Colquitt County1,006-6%
42Catoosa County941-6.2%
43Coffee County903-6%
44Ware County902-7.8%
45Liberty County884-6.8%
46Camden County870-7.7%
47Habersham County855-6.9%
48Baldwin County820-9%
49Effingham County753-4.2%
50Pickens County728-6.3%
51Walker County715-9.3%
52Toombs County682-10.5%
53Bryan County671-7.2%
53Dawson County671-2.3%
55Sumter County660-9.6%
56White County651-8.3%
57Decatur County643-7.1%
58Polk County627-7.8%
59Fannin County616-5.1%
60Gilmer County581-5.8%
61Crisp County572-6.1%
62Union County569-9.5%
63Stephens County556-7.9%
64Wayne County555-8.1%
65Lumpkin County523-8.1%
66Peach County512-5.5%
67Monroe County508-7.1%
68Morgan County505-8.3%
69Elbert County482-5.9%
70Rabun County471-8%
71Haralson County470-6.9%
72Grady County467-5.8%
73Putnam County463-7.2%
74Greene County461-6.7%
75Franklin County458-4.8%
76Lee County456-7.1%
77Upson County455-7.1%
78Harris County443-11%
79Mitchell County437-6.8%
80Murray County435-6.3%
81McDuffie County433-4%
82Hart County421-5.8%
83Emanuel County420-9.5%
84Butts County405-4.5%
85Appling County404-10.6%
86Washington County376-8.3%
87Burke County367-6.4%
88Jefferson County360-5%
89Madison County359-11.1%
90Cook County355-8.3%
91Pierce County354-6.8%
92Jones County353-7.8%
93Meriwether County347-8.4%
94Tattnall County342-8.3%
95Ben Hill County341-7.3%
96Dodge County339-7.6%
97Chattooga County322-6.7%
98Worth County291-13.6%
99Towns County282-15.1%
100Brooks County276-6.8%
101Banks County272-6.8%
102Early County266-10.4%
103Berrien County257-9.5%
104Lamar County256-6.6%
105Pike County253-9%
106Bacon County252-6.3%
106Screven County252-8.4%
108Jeff Davis County250-7.4%
109Dade County247-4.3%
110Evans County241-9.7%
111Wilkes County236-9.6%
112Candler County225-10.7%
113Telfair County218-6%
114Seminole County215-6.5%
115Brantley County208-12.2%
115Terrell County208-4.1%
117Oglethorpe County206-8.8%
118Pulaski County202-9%
119Macon County200-13.8%
120McIntosh County199-8.7%
121Dooly County197-10.5%
122Bleckley County188-7.8%
123Jasper County181-4.2%
124Turner County175-9.3%
125Clinch County172-3.9%
126Miller County166-9.8%
127Randolph County162-12%
128Charlton County157-8.7%
129Wilkinson County156-8.8%
130Heard County149-7.5%
130Taylor County149-9.1%
132Irwin County148-3.9%
133Lincoln County144-10%
134Johnson County136-5.6%
135Crawford County130-9.7%
135Montgomery County130-13.3%
137Jenkins County124-9.5%
138Atkinson County115-7.3%
139Calhoun County110-8.3%
140Lanier County107-17.7%
141Wilcox County106-5.4%
142Chattahoochee County102-21.5%
143Twiggs County99-2%
144Treutlen County98-10.1%
145Marion County95-10.4%
146Stewart County89-5.3%
147Talbot County86-10.4%
147Warren County86-8.5%
149Wheeler County77-11.5%
150Hancock County76-10.6%
151Long County66-8.3%
152Clay County62-8.8%
152Schley County62-7.5%
154Baker County56-5.1%
155Echols County50-7.4%
156Quitman County40-7%
157Glascock County37-7.5%
157Webster County37-14%
159Taliaferro County27-15.6%

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/2017/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 Georgia by business establishments (QCEW), 2017) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2017/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 Georgia by business establishments (QCEW), 2017. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2017/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/georgia-counties?period=2017. 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 Georgia by business establishments (QCEW), 2017. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2017/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/georgia-counties?period=2017.

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 Georgia by business establishments (QCEW), 2017 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2017/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/georgia-counties?period=2017 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_georgia_by_2017,
  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 Georgia by business establishments (QCEW), 2017}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2017/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/georgia-counties?period=2017. 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/2017/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 Georgia by business establishments (QCEW), 2017
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2017/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/georgia-counties?period=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/georgia-counties?period=2017.
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/2017/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
Embed this chart

Paste this code into a web page or a blog post. The chart shows the latest figures as they are published, with the source and a link back to this page.

Sites that read oEmbed links, such as WordPress, can show the chart when you paste the link to this page.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank Counties in Georgia by business establishments (QCEW) using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"establishments_qcew","level":"province","within":"Georgia","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=establishments_qcew&level=province&within=Georgia&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which county has the highest business establishments (QCEW)?

Fulton County, with 42,893 in 2017, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest business establishments (QCEW)?

Taliaferro County, with 27 in 2017.

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 Georgia: more rankings