Counties in North Dakota by business establishments (QCEW)

Cass County had the highest business establishments (QCEW) of 53 counties in 2016, at 7,053. Slope County had the lowest, at 29. The median was 191 and the figure for North Dakota was 32,086. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest7,053Cass County
Lowest29Slope County
Median19153 counties
North Dakota32,086History

Map of counties, 2016

Adams County: 124 countBarnes County: 445 countBenson County: 140 countBillings County: 54 countBottineau County: 324 countBowman County: 196 countBurke County: 128 countBurleigh County: 3,715 countCass County: 7,053 countCavalier County: 187 countDickey County: 271 countDivide County: 152 countDunn County: 245 countEddy County: 99 countEmmons County: 160 countFoster County: 170 countGolden Valley County: 97 countGrand Forks County: 2,229 countGrant County: 88 countGriggs County: 113 countHettinger County: 128 countKidder County: 102 countLaMoure County: 225 countLogan County: 100 countMcHenry County: 187 countMcIntosh County: 147 countMcKenzie County: 785 countMcLean County: 376 countMercer County: 332 countMorton County: 1,008 countMountrail County: 613 countNelson County: 172 countOliver County: 60 countPembina County: 409 countPierce County: 191 countRamsey County: 526 countRansom County: 248 countRenville County: 142 countRichland County: 634 countRolette County: 267 countSargent County: 167 countSheridan County: 50 countSioux County: 62 countSlope County: 29 countStark County: 1,497 countSteele County: 81 countStutsman County: 874 countTowner County: 105 countTraill County: 366 countWalsh County: 532 countWard County: 2,510 countWells County: 222 countWilliams County: 2,212 count
  • Under 100
  • 100 to 140
  • 140 to 190
  • 190 to 330
  • 330 to 680
  • 680 and over
count, 2016. 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, 2016

Cass County: 7,053 countCass County7,053Burleigh County: 3,715 countBurleigh County3,715Ward County: 2,510 countWard County2,510Grand Forks County: 2,229 countGrand Forks County2,229Williams County: 2,212 countWilliams County2,212Stark County: 1,497 countStark County1,497Morton County: 1,008 countMorton County1,008Stutsman County: 874 countStutsman County874McKenzie County: 785 countMcKenzie County785Richland County: 634 countRichland County634Mountrail County: 613 countMountrail County613Walsh County: 532 countWalsh County532Ramsey County: 526 countRamsey County526Barnes County: 445 countBarnes County445Pembina County: 409 countPembina County409McLean County: 376 countMcLean County376Traill County: 366 countTraill County366Mercer County: 332 countMercer County332Bottineau County: 324 countBottineau County324Dickey County: 271 countDickey County271Rolette County: 267 countRolette County267Ransom County: 248 countRansom County248Dunn County: 245 countDunn County245LaMoure County: 225 countLaMoure County225Wells County: 222 countWells County222Bowman County: 196 countBowman County196Pierce County: 191 countPierce County191Cavalier County: 187 countCavalier County187McHenry County: 187 countMcHenry County187Nelson County: 172 countNelson County172Foster County: 170 countFoster County170Sargent County: 167 countSargent County167Emmons County: 160 countEmmons County160Divide County: 152 countDivide County152McIntosh County: 147 countMcIntosh County147Renville County: 142 countRenville County142Benson County: 140 countBenson County140Burke County: 128 countBurke County128Hettinger County: 128 countHettinger County128Adams County: 124 countAdams County124Griggs County: 113 countGriggs County113Towner County: 105 countTowner County105Kidder County: 102 countKidder County102Logan County: 100 countLogan County100Eddy County: 99 countEddy County99Golden Valley County: 97 countGolden Valley County97Grant County: 88 countGrant County88Steele County: 81 countSteele County81Sioux County: 62 countSioux County62Oliver County: 60 countOliver County60Billings County: 54 countBillings County54Sheridan County: 50 countSheridan County50Slope County: 29 countSlope County29Cass County: 7,053 countCass County7,053Burleigh County: 3,715 countBurleigh County3,715Ward County: 2,510 countWard County2,510Grand Forks County: 2,229 countGrand Forks County2,229Williams County: 2,212 countWilliams County2,212Stark County: 1,497 countStark County1,497Morton County: 1,008 countMorton County1,008Stutsman County: 874 countStutsman County874McKenzie County: 785 countMcKenzie County785Richland County: 634 countRichland County634Mountrail County: 613 countMountrail County613Walsh County: 532 countWalsh County532Ramsey County: 526 countRamsey County526Barnes County: 445 countBarnes County445Pembina County: 409 countPembina County409McLean County: 376 countMcLean County376Traill County: 366 countTraill County366Mercer County: 332 countMercer County332Bottineau County: 324 countBottineau County324Dickey County: 271 countDickey County271Rolette County: 267 countRolette County267Ransom County: 248 countRansom County248Dunn County: 245 countDunn County245LaMoure County: 225 countLaMoure County225Wells County: 222 countWells County222Bowman County: 196 countBowman County196Pierce County: 191 countPierce County191Cavalier County: 187 countCavalier County187McHenry County: 187 countMcHenry County187Nelson County: 172 countNelson County172Foster County: 170 countFoster County170Sargent County: 167 countSargent County167Emmons County: 160 countEmmons County160Divide County: 152 countDivide County152McIntosh County: 147 countMcIntosh County147Renville County: 142 countRenville County142Benson County: 140 countBenson County140Burke County: 128 countBurke County128Hettinger County: 128 countHettinger County128Adams County: 124 countAdams County124Griggs County: 113 countGriggs County113Towner County: 105 countTowner County105Kidder County: 102 countKidder County102Logan County: 100 countLogan County100Eddy County: 99 countEddy County99Golden Valley County: 97 countGolden Valley County97Grant County: 88 countGrant County88Steele County: 81 countSteele County81Sioux County: 62 countSioux County62Oliver County: 60 countOliver County60Billings County: 54 countBillings County54Sheridan County: 50 countSheridan County50Slope 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

RankCounties2016
count
Change on 2015
1Cass County7,053+2.9%
2Burleigh County3,715+2.5%
3Ward County2,510-1.9%
4Grand Forks County2,229+1.9%
5Williams County2,212-7.7%
6Stark County1,497-3.7%
7Morton County1,008-0.1%
8Stutsman County874+0.1%
9McKenzie County785-6.5%
10Richland County634+0.6%
11Mountrail County613-4.5%
12Walsh County532+0.6%
13Ramsey County526+1%
14Barnes County445-0.7%
15Pembina County409-1.4%
16McLean County376+1.1%
17Traill County366-1.1%
18Mercer County332+3.4%
19Bottineau County324-4.1%
20Dickey County271+0.7%
21Rolette County267-0.7%
22Ransom County248+2.5%
23Dunn County245-7.5%
24LaMoure County225+3.7%
25Wells County222-2.2%
26Bowman County196-3.9%
27Pierce County191+2.7%
28Cavalier County187-1.1%
28McHenry County187-0.5%
30Nelson County172+1.2%
31Foster County170-1.2%
32Sargent County167-2.9%
33Emmons County160+2.6%
34Divide County152-9.5%
35McIntosh County147-0.7%
36Renville County142-0.7%
37Benson County140-4.1%
38Burke County128-0.8%
38Hettinger County128+1.6%
40Adams County124+1.6%
41Griggs County113-8.9%
42Towner County105-1.9%
43Kidder County102-1%
44Logan County1000%
45Eddy County99-2.9%
46Golden Valley County97+5.4%
47Grant County88-3.3%
48Steele County81+2.5%
49Sioux County62-6.1%
50Oliver County60-3.2%
51Billings County54-8.5%
52Sheridan County50+2%
53Slope County290%

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/2016/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), 2016) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2016/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), 2016. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2016/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/north-dakota-counties?period=2016. 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), 2016. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2016/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/north-dakota-counties?period=2016.

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), 2016 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2016/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/north-dakota-counties?period=2016 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_north_dakota_2016,
  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), 2016}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2016/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/north-dakota-counties?period=2016. 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/2016/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), 2016
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2016/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/north-dakota-counties?period=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/north-dakota-counties?period=2016.
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/2016/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 7,053 in 2016, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest business establishments (QCEW)?

Slope County, with 29 in 2016.

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