Counties in North Dakota by business establishments (QCEW)

Cass County had the highest business establishments (QCEW) of 53 counties in 2015, at 6,857. Slope County had the lowest, at 29. The median was 189 and the figure for North Dakota was 32,140. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest6,857Cass County
Lowest29Slope County
Median18953 counties
North Dakota32,140History

Map of counties, 2015

Adams County: 122 countBarnes County: 448 countBenson County: 146 countBillings County: 59 countBottineau County: 338 countBowman County: 204 countBurke County: 129 countBurleigh County: 3,624 countCass County: 6,857 countCavalier County: 189 countDickey County: 269 countDivide County: 168 countDunn County: 265 countEddy County: 102 countEmmons County: 156 countFoster County: 172 countGolden Valley County: 92 countGrand Forks County: 2,187 countGrant County: 91 countGriggs County: 124 countHettinger County: 126 countKidder County: 103 countLaMoure County: 217 countLogan County: 100 countMcHenry County: 188 countMcIntosh County: 148 countMcKenzie County: 840 countMcLean County: 372 countMercer County: 321 countMorton County: 1,009 countMountrail County: 642 countNelson County: 170 countOliver County: 62 countPembina County: 415 countPierce County: 186 countRamsey County: 521 countRansom County: 242 countRenville County: 143 countRichland County: 630 countRolette County: 269 countSargent County: 172 countSheridan County: 49 countSioux County: 66 countSlope County: 29 countStark County: 1,554 countSteele County: 79 countStutsman County: 873 countTowner County: 107 countTraill County: 370 countWalsh County: 529 countWard County: 2,559 countWells County: 227 countWilliams County: 2,397 count
  • Under 100
  • 100 to 150
  • 150 to 190
  • 190 to 330
  • 330 to 710
  • 710 and over
count, 2015. 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, 2015

Cass County: 6,857 countCass County6,857Burleigh County: 3,624 countBurleigh County3,624Ward County: 2,559 countWard County2,559Williams County: 2,397 countWilliams County2,397Grand Forks County: 2,187 countGrand Forks County2,187Stark County: 1,554 countStark County1,554Morton County: 1,009 countMorton County1,009Stutsman County: 873 countStutsman County873McKenzie County: 840 countMcKenzie County840Mountrail County: 642 countMountrail County642Richland County: 630 countRichland County630Walsh County: 529 countWalsh County529Ramsey County: 521 countRamsey County521Barnes County: 448 countBarnes County448Pembina County: 415 countPembina County415McLean County: 372 countMcLean County372Traill County: 370 countTraill County370Bottineau County: 338 countBottineau County338Mercer County: 321 countMercer County321Dickey County: 269 countDickey County269Rolette County: 269 countRolette County269Dunn County: 265 countDunn County265Ransom County: 242 countRansom County242Wells County: 227 countWells County227LaMoure County: 217 countLaMoure County217Bowman County: 204 countBowman County204Cavalier County: 189 countCavalier County189McHenry County: 188 countMcHenry County188Pierce County: 186 countPierce County186Foster County: 172 countFoster County172Sargent County: 172 countSargent County172Nelson County: 170 countNelson County170Divide County: 168 countDivide County168Emmons County: 156 countEmmons County156McIntosh County: 148 countMcIntosh County148Benson County: 146 countBenson County146Renville County: 143 countRenville County143Burke County: 129 countBurke County129Hettinger County: 126 countHettinger County126Griggs County: 124 countGriggs County124Adams County: 122 countAdams County122Towner County: 107 countTowner County107Kidder County: 103 countKidder County103Eddy County: 102 countEddy County102Logan County: 100 countLogan County100Golden Valley County: 92 countGolden Valley County92Grant County: 91 countGrant County91Steele County: 79 countSteele County79Sioux County: 66 countSioux County66Oliver County: 62 countOliver County62Billings County: 59 countBillings County59Sheridan County: 49 countSheridan County49Slope County: 29 countSlope County29Cass County: 6,857 countCass County6,857Burleigh County: 3,624 countBurleigh County3,624Ward County: 2,559 countWard County2,559Williams County: 2,397 countWilliams County2,397Grand Forks County: 2,187 countGrand Forks County2,187Stark County: 1,554 countStark County1,554Morton County: 1,009 countMorton County1,009Stutsman County: 873 countStutsman County873McKenzie County: 840 countMcKenzie County840Mountrail County: 642 countMountrail County642Richland County: 630 countRichland County630Walsh County: 529 countWalsh County529Ramsey County: 521 countRamsey County521Barnes County: 448 countBarnes County448Pembina County: 415 countPembina County415McLean County: 372 countMcLean County372Traill County: 370 countTraill County370Bottineau County: 338 countBottineau County338Mercer County: 321 countMercer County321Dickey County: 269 countDickey County269Rolette County: 269 countRolette County269Dunn County: 265 countDunn County265Ransom County: 242 countRansom County242Wells County: 227 countWells County227LaMoure County: 217 countLaMoure County217Bowman County: 204 countBowman County204Cavalier County: 189 countCavalier County189McHenry County: 188 countMcHenry County188Pierce County: 186 countPierce County186Foster County: 172 countFoster County172Sargent County: 172 countSargent County172Nelson County: 170 countNelson County170Divide County: 168 countDivide County168Emmons County: 156 countEmmons County156McIntosh County: 148 countMcIntosh County148Benson County: 146 countBenson County146Renville County: 143 countRenville County143Burke County: 129 countBurke County129Hettinger County: 126 countHettinger County126Griggs County: 124 countGriggs County124Adams County: 122 countAdams County122Towner County: 107 countTowner County107Kidder County: 103 countKidder County103Eddy County: 102 countEddy County102Logan County: 100 countLogan County100Golden Valley County: 92 countGolden Valley County92Grant County: 91 countGrant County91Steele County: 79 countSteele County79Sioux County: 66 countSioux County66Oliver County: 62 countOliver County62Billings County: 59 countBillings County59Sheridan County: 49 countSheridan County49Slope County: 29 countSlope County29
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

RankCounties2015
count
Change on 2014
1Cass County6,857+3.4%
2Burleigh County3,624+2.4%
3Ward County2,559+0.9%
4Williams County2,397+2.6%
5Grand Forks County2,187+1.2%
6Stark County1,554-0.6%
7Morton County1,009+2.6%
8Stutsman County873+5.4%
9McKenzie County840+5.3%
10Mountrail County642-2.1%
11Richland County630+0.2%
12Walsh County529-0.2%
13Ramsey County521+2.4%
14Barnes County448+1.1%
15Pembina County415-0.5%
16McLean County372+1.4%
17Traill County370-3.4%
18Bottineau County3380%
19Mercer County3210%
20Dickey County269-1.5%
20Rolette County269-2.2%
22Dunn County265-0.7%
23Ransom County242+1.7%
24Wells County227+1.8%
25LaMoure County217-0.9%
26Bowman County204+1%
27Cavalier County189-2.1%
28McHenry County188-4.1%
29Pierce County186-1.6%
30Foster County172-0.6%
30Sargent County172-2.8%
32Nelson County170+1.2%
33Divide County168+0.6%
34Emmons County156+1.3%
35McIntosh County148+1.4%
36Benson County146-2.7%
37Renville County143+1.4%
38Burke County129-6.5%
39Hettinger County126-0.8%
40Griggs County124-2.4%
41Adams County1220%
42Towner County107-6.1%
43Kidder County103+3%
44Eddy County102+3%
45Logan County100+1%
46Golden Valley County92-4.2%
47Grant County91-1.1%
48Steele County79-3.7%
49Sioux County66-7%
50Oliver County62-7.5%
51Billings County59-4.8%
52Sheridan County49-5.8%
53Slope County29-9.4%

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/2015/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), 2015) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2015/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), 2015. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2015/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/north-dakota-counties?period=2015. 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), 2015. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2015/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/north-dakota-counties?period=2015.

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), 2015 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2015/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/north-dakota-counties?period=2015 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_north_dakota_2015,
  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), 2015}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2015/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/north-dakota-counties?period=2015. 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/2015/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), 2015
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2015/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/north-dakota-counties?period=2015
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/north-dakota-counties?period=2015.
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/2015/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
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Rank Counties in North Dakota by business establishments (QCEW) using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which county has the highest business establishments (QCEW)?

Cass County, with 6,857 in 2015, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest business establishments (QCEW)?

Slope County, with 29 in 2015.

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