Counties in North Dakota by business establishments (QCEW)

Cass County had the highest business establishments (QCEW) of 53 counties in 2014, at 6,629. Slope County had the lowest, at 32. The median was 196 and the figure for North Dakota was 31,587. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest6,629Cass County
Lowest32Slope County
Median19653 counties
North Dakota31,587History

Map of counties, 2014

Adams County: 122 countBarnes County: 443 countBenson County: 150 countBillings County: 62 countBottineau County: 338 countBowman County: 202 countBurke County: 138 countBurleigh County: 3,539 countCass County: 6,629 countCavalier County: 193 countDickey County: 273 countDivide County: 167 countDunn County: 267 countEddy County: 99 countEmmons County: 154 countFoster County: 173 countGolden Valley County: 96 countGrand Forks County: 2,162 countGrant County: 92 countGriggs County: 127 countHettinger County: 127 countKidder County: 100 countLaMoure County: 219 countLogan County: 99 countMcHenry County: 196 countMcIntosh County: 146 countMcKenzie County: 798 countMcLean County: 367 countMercer County: 321 countMorton County: 983 countMountrail County: 656 countNelson County: 168 countOliver County: 67 countPembina County: 417 countPierce County: 189 countRamsey County: 509 countRansom County: 238 countRenville County: 141 countRichland County: 629 countRolette County: 275 countSargent County: 177 countSheridan County: 52 countSioux County: 71 countSlope County: 32 countStark County: 1,564 countSteele County: 82 countStutsman County: 828 countTowner County: 114 countTraill County: 383 countWalsh County: 530 countWard County: 2,537 countWells County: 223 countWilliams County: 2,336 count
  • Under 100
  • 100 to 150
  • 150 to 200
  • 200 to 330
  • 330 to 700
  • 700 and over
count, 2014. 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, 2014

Cass County: 6,629 countCass County6,629Burleigh County: 3,539 countBurleigh County3,539Ward County: 2,537 countWard County2,537Williams County: 2,336 countWilliams County2,336Grand Forks County: 2,162 countGrand Forks County2,162Stark County: 1,564 countStark County1,564Morton County: 983 countMorton County983Stutsman County: 828 countStutsman County828McKenzie County: 798 countMcKenzie County798Mountrail County: 656 countMountrail County656Richland County: 629 countRichland County629Walsh County: 530 countWalsh County530Ramsey County: 509 countRamsey County509Barnes County: 443 countBarnes County443Pembina County: 417 countPembina County417Traill County: 383 countTraill County383McLean County: 367 countMcLean County367Bottineau County: 338 countBottineau County338Mercer County: 321 countMercer County321Rolette County: 275 countRolette County275Dickey County: 273 countDickey County273Dunn County: 267 countDunn County267Ransom County: 238 countRansom County238Wells County: 223 countWells County223LaMoure County: 219 countLaMoure County219Bowman County: 202 countBowman County202McHenry County: 196 countMcHenry County196Cavalier County: 193 countCavalier County193Pierce County: 189 countPierce County189Sargent County: 177 countSargent County177Foster County: 173 countFoster County173Nelson County: 168 countNelson County168Divide County: 167 countDivide County167Emmons County: 154 countEmmons County154Benson County: 150 countBenson County150McIntosh County: 146 countMcIntosh County146Renville County: 141 countRenville County141Burke County: 138 countBurke County138Griggs County: 127 countGriggs County127Hettinger County: 127 countHettinger County127Adams County: 122 countAdams County122Towner County: 114 countTowner County114Kidder County: 100 countKidder County100Eddy County: 99 countEddy County99Logan County: 99 countLogan County99Golden Valley County: 96 countGolden Valley County96Grant County: 92 countGrant County92Steele County: 82 countSteele County82Sioux County: 71 countSioux County71Oliver County: 67 countOliver County67Billings County: 62 countBillings County62Sheridan County: 52 countSheridan County52Slope County: 32 countSlope County32Cass County: 6,629 countCass County6,629Burleigh County: 3,539 countBurleigh County3,539Ward County: 2,537 countWard County2,537Williams County: 2,336 countWilliams County2,336Grand Forks County: 2,162 countGrand Forks County2,162Stark County: 1,564 countStark County1,564Morton County: 983 countMorton County983Stutsman County: 828 countStutsman County828McKenzie County: 798 countMcKenzie County798Mountrail County: 656 countMountrail County656Richland County: 629 countRichland County629Walsh County: 530 countWalsh County530Ramsey County: 509 countRamsey County509Barnes County: 443 countBarnes County443Pembina County: 417 countPembina County417Traill County: 383 countTraill County383McLean County: 367 countMcLean County367Bottineau County: 338 countBottineau County338Mercer County: 321 countMercer County321Rolette County: 275 countRolette County275Dickey County: 273 countDickey County273Dunn County: 267 countDunn County267Ransom County: 238 countRansom County238Wells County: 223 countWells County223LaMoure County: 219 countLaMoure County219Bowman County: 202 countBowman County202McHenry County: 196 countMcHenry County196Cavalier County: 193 countCavalier County193Pierce County: 189 countPierce County189Sargent County: 177 countSargent County177Foster County: 173 countFoster County173Nelson County: 168 countNelson County168Divide County: 167 countDivide County167Emmons County: 154 countEmmons County154Benson County: 150 countBenson County150McIntosh County: 146 countMcIntosh County146Renville County: 141 countRenville County141Burke County: 138 countBurke County138Griggs County: 127 countGriggs County127Hettinger County: 127 countHettinger County127Adams County: 122 countAdams County122Towner County: 114 countTowner County114Kidder County: 100 countKidder County100Eddy County: 99 countEddy County99Logan County: 99 countLogan County99Golden Valley County: 96 countGolden Valley County96Grant County: 92 countGrant County92Steele County: 82 countSteele County82Sioux County: 71 countSioux County71Oliver County: 67 countOliver County67Billings County: 62 countBillings County62Sheridan County: 52 countSheridan County52Slope County: 32 countSlope County32
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

RankCounties2014
count
Change on 2013
1Cass County6,629+4.4%
2Burleigh County3,539+2.8%
3Ward County2,537+2.2%
4Williams County2,336+6.5%
5Grand Forks County2,162+0.2%
6Stark County1,564+4%
7Morton County983+2.3%
8Stutsman County828+1.7%
9McKenzie County798+11%
10Mountrail County656+4.3%
11Richland County629-2%
12Walsh County530+0.2%
13Ramsey County509-1%
14Barnes County443+2.3%
15Pembina County417-0.7%
16Traill County383-0.3%
17McLean County367+2.2%
18Bottineau County338+4%
19Mercer County321-1.5%
20Rolette County275-3.5%
21Dickey County273+2.6%
22Dunn County267+2.3%
23Ransom County238+0.8%
24Wells County223+5.2%
25LaMoure County219+1.9%
26Bowman County202+1.5%
27McHenry County196+1%
28Cavalier County193-1%
29Pierce County189+2.7%
30Sargent County177+4.1%
31Foster County173+4.2%
32Nelson County168+0.6%
33Divide County1670%
34Emmons County154-3.1%
35Benson County150-2%
36McIntosh County146+2.1%
37Renville County141+3.7%
38Burke County138-8%
39Griggs County1270%
39Hettinger County127+3.3%
41Adams County122-2.4%
42Towner County114-2.6%
43Kidder County1000%
44Eddy County99-2%
44Logan County99-2%
46Golden Valley County96-2%
47Grant County92+2.2%
48Steele County82-3.5%
49Sioux County71+2.9%
50Oliver County67-9.5%
51Billings County62-3.1%
52Sheridan County52-1.9%
53Slope County320%

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/2014/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 North Dakota by business establishments (QCEW), 2014) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2014/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 North Dakota by business establishments (QCEW), 2014. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2014/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/north-dakota-counties?period=2014. 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 North Dakota by business establishments (QCEW), 2014. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2014/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/north-dakota-counties?period=2014.

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 North Dakota by business establishments (QCEW), 2014 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2014/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/north-dakota-counties?period=2014 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_north_dakota_2014,
  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 North Dakota by business establishments (QCEW), 2014}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2014/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/north-dakota-counties?period=2014. 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/2014/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 North Dakota by business establishments (QCEW), 2014
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2014/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/north-dakota-counties?period=2014
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/north-dakota-counties?period=2014.
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/2014/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 North Dakota by business establishments (QCEW) using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"establishments_qcew","level":"province","within":"North Dakota","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=establishments_qcew&level=province&within=North%20Dakota&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)?

Cass County, with 6,629 in 2014, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest business establishments (QCEW)?

Slope County, with 32 in 2014.

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 North Dakota: more rankings