Counties in Maryland by business establishments (QCEW)

Montgomery County had the highest business establishments (QCEW) of 24 counties in 2018, at 33,041. Somerset County had the lowest, at 470. The median was 2,404 and the figure for Maryland was 173,354. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Highest33,041Montgomery County

Lowest470Somerset County

Median2,40424 counties

Maryland173,354History

Map of counties, 2018

Under 1,300
1,300 to 2,000
2,000 to 3,400
3,400 to 12K
12K and over

count, 2018. 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, 2018

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	2018 count	Change on 2017
1	Montgomery County	33,041	-0%
2	Baltimore County	21,359	-0.2%
3	Prince George's County	16,230	+0.8%
4	Anne Arundel County	15,343	+0.2%
5	Baltimore city	13,718	-0.3%
6	Howard County	10,091	-0.1%
7	Frederick County	6,482	+0.8%
8	Harford County	5,860	+0.1%
9	Carroll County	4,581	+0.5%
10	Washington County	3,509	-0.1%
11	Charles County	2,847	-1%
12	Wicomico County	2,597	+0.3%
13	Worcester County	2,210	+0.3%
14	St. Mary's County	2,179	+1.2%
15	Cecil County	1,920	-1.2%
16	Calvert County	1,863	-0.3%
17	Allegany County	1,577	+0.1%
18	Talbot County	1,560	-0.1%
19	Queen Anne's County	1,479	+1%
20	Garrett County	928	+2.2%
21	Kent County	724	-0.7%
22	Dorchester County	717	-1%
23	Caroline County	689	+1.3%
24	Somerset County	470	+2%

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/2018/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 Maryland by business establishments (QCEW), 2018) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2018/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 Maryland by business establishments (QCEW), 2018. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2018/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/maryland-counties?period=2018. 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 Maryland by business establishments (QCEW), 2018. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2018/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/maryland-counties?period=2018.

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 Maryland by business establishments (QCEW), 2018 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2018/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/maryland-counties?period=2018 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{bureau_counties_in_maryland_by_2018,
  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 Maryland by business establishments (QCEW), 2018}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2018/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/maryland-counties?period=2018. 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/2018/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 Maryland by business establishments (QCEW), 2018
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2018/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/maryland-counties?period=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/maryland-counties?period=2018.
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/2018/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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

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

Which county has the highest business establishments (QCEW)?

Montgomery County, with 33,041 in 2018, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest business establishments (QCEW)?

Somerset County, with 470 in 2018.

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.