Counties in Maryland by business establishments (QCEW)

Montgomery County had the highest business establishments (QCEW) of 24 counties in 2023, at 34,740. Somerset County had the lowest, at 444. The median was 2,464 and the figure for Maryland was 190,185. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Highest34,740Montgomery County

Lowest444Somerset County

Median2,46424 counties

Maryland190,185History

Map of counties, 2023

Under 1,400
1,400 to 2,000
2,000 to 3,500
3,500 to 12K
12K 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	Montgomery County	34,740	+0.7%
2	Baltimore County	22,797	+2.5%
3	Prince George's County	18,018	+3.1%
4	Anne Arundel County	16,568	+2.4%
5	Baltimore city	14,491	+1.5%
6	Howard County	11,023	+2.7%
7	Frederick County	7,250	+6.3%
8	Harford County	6,299	+2.3%
9	Carroll County	4,563	-1.7%
10	Washington County	3,609	+2.2%
11	Charles County	3,165	+3.2%
12	Wicomico County	2,587	-1.1%
13	Worcester County	2,340	+3%
14	St. Mary's County	2,240	-1.2%
15	Cecil County	1,980	-2%
16	Calvert County	1,949	+2.5%
17	Queen Anne's County	1,583	+1.3%
17	Talbot County	1,583	+1.1%
19	Allegany County	1,567	+1.8%
20	Garrett County	1,092	+5.9%
21	Dorchester County	782	+2.4%
22	Kent County	761	+0.8%
23	Caroline County	725	+3.6%
24	Somerset County	444	-0.4%

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 Maryland 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 Maryland 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/maryland-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 Maryland 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/maryland-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 Maryland 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/maryland-counties?period=2023 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{bureau_counties_in_maryland_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 Maryland 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/maryland-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 Maryland 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/maryland-counties?period=2023
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/maryland-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 Maryland by business establishments (QCEW) using official data, and cite the source.

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Questions

Which county has the highest business establishments (QCEW)?

Montgomery County, with 34,740 in 2023, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest business establishments (QCEW)?

Somerset County, with 444 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.