Data / Rankings / Business establishments (QCEW) / Counties in Iowa

Counties in Iowa by business establishments (QCEW)

Polk County had the highest business establishments (QCEW) of 99 counties in 2016, at 17,011. Adams County had the lowest, at 157. The median was 505 and the figure for Iowa was 101,159. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest17,011Polk County
Lowest157Adams County
Median50599 counties
Iowa101,159History

Map of counties, 2016

Adair County: 292 countAdams County: 157 countAllamakee County: 481 countAppanoose County: 380 countAudubon County: 223 countBenton County: 666 countBlack Hawk County: 3,802 countBoone County: 717 countBremer County: 721 countBuchanan County: 618 countBuena Vista County: 657 countButler County: 419 countCalhoun County: 336 countCarroll County: 979 countCass County: 567 countCedar County: 567 countCerro Gordo County: 1,674 countCherokee County: 446 countChickasaw County: 456 countClarke County: 248 countClay County: 718 countClayton County: 627 countClinton County: 1,423 countCrawford County: 499 countDallas County: 2,365 countDavis County: 242 countDecatur County: 228 countDelaware County: 569 countDes Moines County: 1,343 countDickinson County: 873 countDubuque County: 3,244 countEmmet County: 343 countFayette County: 673 countFloyd County: 505 countFranklin County: 391 countFremont County: 278 countGreene County: 335 countGrundy County: 373 countGuthrie County: 374 countHamilton County: 503 countHancock County: 379 countHardin County: 682 countHarrison County: 448 countHenry County: 638 countHoward County: 342 countHumboldt County: 377 countIda County: 300 countIowa County: 718 countJackson County: 682 countJasper County: 920 countJefferson County: 797 countJohnson County: 4,109 countJones County: 628 countKeokuk County: 315 countKossuth County: 630 countLee County: 1,121 countLinn County: 6,657 countLouisa County: 268 countLucas County: 234 countLyon County: 491 countMadison County: 478 countMahaska County: 630 countMarion County: 997 countMarshall County: 1,031 countMills County: 385 countMitchell County: 389 countMonona County: 303 countMonroe County: 247 countMontgomery County: 398 countMuscatine County: 1,192 countO'Brien County: 589 countOsceola County: 252 countPage County: 490 countPalo Alto County: 360 countPlymouth County: 840 countPocahontas County: 295 countPolk County: 17,011 countPottawattamie County: 2,557 countPoweshiek County: 643 countRinggold County: 185 countSac County: 395 countScott County: 5,544 countShelby County: 448 countSioux County: 1,428 countStory County: 2,531 countTama County: 450 countTaylor County: 187 countUnion County: 434 countVan Buren County: 214 countWapello County: 897 countWarren County: 1,010 countWashington County: 791 countWayne County: 193 countWebster County: 1,235 countWinnebago County: 399 countWinneshiek County: 721 countWoodbury County: 3,213 countWorth County: 236 countWright County: 524 count
  • Under 300
  • 300 to 400
  • 400 to 500
  • 500 to 700
  • 700 to 1,100
  • 1,100 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

Polk County: 17,011 countPolk County17,011Linn County: 6,657 countLinn County6,657Scott County: 5,544 countScott County5,544Johnson County: 4,109 countJohnson County4,109Black Hawk County: 3,802 countBlack Hawk County3,802Dubuque County: 3,244 countDubuque County3,244Woodbury County: 3,213 countWoodbury County3,213Pottawattamie County: 2,557 countPottawattamie County2,557Story County: 2,531 countStory County2,531Dallas County: 2,365 countDallas County2,365Cerro Gordo County: 1,674 countCerro Gordo County1,674Sioux County: 1,428 countSioux County1,428Clinton County: 1,423 countClinton County1,423Des Moines County: 1,343 countDes Moines County1,343Webster County: 1,235 countWebster County1,235Muscatine County: 1,192 countMuscatine County1,192Lee County: 1,121 countLee County1,121Marshall County: 1,031 countMarshall County1,031Warren County: 1,010 countWarren County1,010Marion County: 997 countMarion County997Carroll County: 979 countCarroll County979Jasper County: 920 countJasper County920Wapello County: 897 countWapello County897Dickinson County: 873 countDickinson County873Plymouth County: 840 countPlymouth County840Jefferson County: 797 countJefferson County797Washington County: 791 countWashington County791Bremer County: 721 countBremer County721Winneshiek County: 721 countWinneshiek County721Clay County: 718 countClay County718Iowa County: 718 countIowa County718Boone County: 717 countBoone County717Hardin County: 682 countHardin County682Jackson County: 682 countJackson County682Fayette County: 673 countFayette County673Benton County: 666 countBenton County666Buena Vista County: 657 countBuena Vista County657Poweshiek County: 643 countPoweshiek County643Henry County: 638 countHenry County638Kossuth County: 630 countKossuth County630Polk County: 17,011 countPolk County17,011Linn County: 6,657 countLinn County6,657Scott County: 5,544 countScott County5,544Johnson County: 4,109 countJohnson County4,109Black Hawk County: 3,802 countBlack Hawk County3,802Dubuque County: 3,244 countDubuque County3,244Woodbury County: 3,213 countWoodbury County3,213Pottawattamie County: 2,557 countPottawattamie County2,557Story County: 2,531 countStory County2,531Dallas County: 2,365 countDallas County2,365Cerro Gordo County: 1,674 countCerro Gordo County1,674Sioux County: 1,428 countSioux County1,428Clinton County: 1,423 countClinton County1,423Des Moines County: 1,343 countDes Moines County1,343Webster County: 1,235 countWebster County1,235Muscatine County: 1,192 countMuscatine County1,192Lee County: 1,121 countLee County1,121Marshall County: 1,031 countMarshall County1,031Warren County: 1,010 countWarren County1,010Marion County: 997 countMarion County997Carroll County: 979 countCarroll County979Jasper County: 920 countJasper County920Wapello County: 897 countWapello County897Dickinson County: 873 countDickinson County873Plymouth County: 840 countPlymouth County840Jefferson County: 797 countJefferson County797Washington County: 791 countWashington County791Bremer County: 721 countBremer County721Winneshiek County: 721 countWinneshiek County721Clay County: 718 countClay County718Iowa County: 718 countIowa County718Boone County: 717 countBoone County717Hardin County: 682 countHardin County682Jackson County: 682 countJackson County682Fayette County: 673 countFayette County673Benton County: 666 countBenton County666Buena Vista County: 657 countBuena Vista County657Poweshiek County: 643 countPoweshiek County643Henry County: 638 countHenry County638Kossuth County: 630 countKossuth County630
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
1Polk County17,011+2.8%
2Linn County6,657+1.9%
3Scott County5,544+0.7%
4Johnson County4,109+2.1%
5Black Hawk County3,802-0.4%
6Dubuque County3,244+0.1%
7Woodbury County3,213+0.3%
8Pottawattamie County2,557-0.3%
9Story County2,531-0.2%
10Dallas County2,365+5.3%
11Cerro Gordo County1,674+2.3%
12Sioux County1,428+2.4%
13Clinton County1,423+0.4%
14Des Moines County1,343-0.8%
15Webster County1,235-0.7%
16Muscatine County1,192+0.3%
17Lee County1,121+0.7%
18Marshall County1,031+1%
19Warren County1,010+2.3%
20Marion County997+1.2%
21Carroll County979+1.5%
22Jasper County920+1.2%
23Wapello County897-1.8%
24Dickinson County873+0.5%
25Plymouth County840-0.5%
26Jefferson County797+0.6%
27Washington County791+1.5%
28Bremer County721+1%
28Winneshiek County721-0.6%
30Clay County718-3.1%
30Iowa County718+3.9%
32Boone County717+1.7%
33Hardin County682-0.4%
33Jackson County682+0.1%
35Fayette County673-1%
36Benton County666+0.8%
37Buena Vista County657+0.3%
38Poweshiek County643-0.2%
39Henry County638-1.1%
40Kossuth County630-1.4%
40Mahaska County630-1.4%
42Jones County628+0.8%
43Clayton County627+0.2%
44Buchanan County618+1.5%
45O'Brien County5890%
46Delaware County569-1.9%
47Cass County567-1.7%
47Cedar County5670%
49Wright County524-0.2%
50Floyd County505+0.2%
51Hamilton County503-1.6%
52Crawford County499-3.1%
53Lyon County491-0.8%
54Page County490-2.2%
55Allamakee County481+1.5%
56Madison County478+3.2%
57Chickasaw County456+1.1%
58Tama County450+1.1%
59Harrison County448+0.4%
59Shelby County448-1.1%
61Cherokee County446-0.9%
62Union County434-1.4%
63Butler County419-0.5%
64Winnebago County399-0.5%
65Montgomery County398-1.2%
66Sac County395-4.1%
67Franklin County391+0.8%
68Mitchell County389-0.8%
69Mills County385+3.2%
70Appanoose County380-1.6%
71Hancock County379-0.8%
72Humboldt County377-0.8%
73Guthrie County374-1.8%
74Grundy County373-0.5%
75Palo Alto County360-0.6%
76Emmet County343-2.6%
77Howard County342+0.3%
78Calhoun County336+0.3%
79Greene County335-0.6%
80Keokuk County315-0.3%
81Monona County303-2.3%
82Ida County300+2.4%
83Pocahontas County295-1.3%
84Adair County292+2.1%
85Fremont County278+0.4%
86Louisa County268+2.3%
87Osceola County252+0.8%
88Clarke County248+1.2%
89Monroe County247-1.6%
90Davis County242+4.3%
91Worth County2360%
92Lucas County2340%
93Decatur County228-3.4%
94Audubon County223+1.4%
95Van Buren County214+2.9%
96Wayne County193+4.3%
97Taylor County187-3.6%
98Ringgold County185-1.1%
99Adams County157n/a

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 Iowa 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 Iowa 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/iowa-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 Iowa 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/iowa-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 Iowa 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/iowa-counties?period=2016 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_iowa_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 Iowa 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/iowa-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 Iowa 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/iowa-counties?period=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/iowa-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  -
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 Iowa by business establishments (QCEW) using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"establishments_qcew","level":"province","within":"Iowa","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=establishments_qcew&level=province&within=Iowa&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)?

Polk County, with 17,011 in 2016, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest business establishments (QCEW)?

Adams County, with 157 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 Iowa: more rankings