Counties in Massachusetts by business establishments (QCEW)

Middlesex County had the highest business establishments (QCEW) of 14 counties in 2018, at 55,720. Nantucket County had the lowest, at 1,139. The median was 17,034 and the figure for Massachusetts was 257,444. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Highest55,720Middlesex County

Lowest1,139Nantucket County

Median17,03414 counties

Massachusetts257,444History

Map of counties, 2018

Under 3,900
3,900 to 11K
11K to 19K
19K to 26K
26K 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	Middlesex County	55,720	+1.3%
2	Suffolk County	30,732	+3.8%
3	Essex County	26,479	+3.5%
4	Worcester County	26,001	+3.1%
5	Norfolk County	25,373	+0.3%
6	Hampden County	18,673	+2.8%
7	Bristol County	17,840	+1.6%
8	Plymouth County	16,227	+2%
9	Barnstable County	9,485	+0.2%
10	Berkshire County	5,199	+0.6%
11	Hampshire County	4,885	+0.6%
12	Franklin County	2,510	+2.3%
13	Dukes County	1,299	+1.2%
14	Nantucket County	1,139	+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 Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts 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/massachusetts-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 Massachusetts 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/massachusetts-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 Massachusetts 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/massachusetts-counties?period=2018 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{bureau_counties_in_massachusetts_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 Massachusetts 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/massachusetts-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 Massachusetts 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/massachusetts-counties?period=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/massachusetts-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 Massachusetts by business establishments (QCEW) using official data, and cite the source.

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

Which county has the highest business establishments (QCEW)?

Middlesex County, with 55,720 in 2018, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest business establishments (QCEW)?

Nantucket County, with 1,139 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.