Counties in Maine by business establishments (QCEW)

Cumberland County had the highest business establishments (QCEW) of 16 counties in 2023, at 17,602. Piscataquis County had the lowest, at 594. The median was 2,019 and the figure for Maine was 64,082. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Highest17,602Cumberland County

Lowest594Piscataquis County

Median2,01916 counties

Maine64,082History

Map of counties, 2023

Under 1,300
1,300 to 1,800
1,800 to 2,400
2,400 to 4,300
4,300 and over

count, 2023. 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.

All counties, 2023

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

Rank	Counties	2023 count	Change on 2022
1	Cumberland County	17,602	+6.6%
2	York County	8,583	+6.4%
3	Penobscot County	5,153	+3.4%
4	Kennebec County	4,333	+4.3%
5	Androscoggin County	3,490	+2.3%
6	Hancock County	2,934	+3.5%
7	Aroostook County	2,380	+2%
8	Knox County	2,260	+2.8%
9	Oxford County	1,777	+5%
10	Lincoln County	1,760	+2.7%
11	Somerset County	1,546	+3.5%
12	Waldo County	1,404	+3.2%
13	Sagadahoc County	1,322	+4.8%
14	Washington County	1,172	+4.5%
15	Franklin County	1,093	+4.2%
16	Piscataquis County	594	+0.7%

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/2023/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 Maine by business establishments (QCEW), 2023) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2023/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 Maine by business establishments (QCEW), 2023. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2023/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/maine-counties?period=2023. 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 Maine by business establishments (QCEW), 2023. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2023/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/maine-counties?period=2023.

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 Maine by business establishments (QCEW), 2023 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2023/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/maine-counties?period=2023 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{bureau_counties_in_maine_by_2023,
  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 Maine by business establishments (QCEW), 2023}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2023/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/maine-counties?period=2023. 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/2023/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 Maine by business establishments (QCEW), 2023
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2023/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/maine-counties?period=2023
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/maine-counties?period=2023.
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/2023/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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Rank Counties in Maine by business establishments (QCEW) using official data, and cite the source.

rank_places {"indicator":"establishments_qcew","level":"province","within":"Maine","limit":10}
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Questions

Which county has the highest business establishments (QCEW)?

Cumberland County, with 17,602 in 2023, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest business establishments (QCEW)?

Piscataquis County, with 594 in 2023.

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.