Counties in North Dakota by business establishments (QCEW)

Cass County had the highest business establishments (QCEW) of 53 counties in 2022, at 8,662. Slope County had the lowest, at 14. The median was 200 and the figure for North Dakota was 34,205. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest8,662Cass County
Lowest14Slope County
Median20053 counties
North Dakota34,205History

Map of counties, 2022

Adams County: 121 countBarnes County: 444 countBenson County: 153 countBillings County: 51 countBottineau County: 334 countBowman County: 190 countBurke County: 122 countBurleigh County: 4,140 countCass County: 8,662 countCavalier County: 164 countDickey County: 254 countDivide County: 123 countDunn County: 223 countEddy County: 100 countEmmons County: 167 countFoster County: 172 countGolden Valley County: 96 countGrand Forks County: 2,545 countGrant County: 96 countGriggs County: 105 countHettinger County: 136 countKidder County: 118 countLaMoure County: 224 countLogan County: 111 countMcHenry County: 220 countMcIntosh County: 137 countMcKenzie County: 785 countMcLean County: 381 countMercer County: 311 countMorton County: 1,142 countMountrail County: 502 countNelson County: 175 countOliver County: 68 countPembina County: 379 countPierce County: 200 countRamsey County: 503 countRansom County: 256 countRenville County: 142 countRichland County: 668 countRolette County: 273 countSargent County: 173 countSheridan County: 48 countSioux County: 69 countSlope County: 14 countStark County: 1,512 countSteele County: 82 countStutsman County: 847 countTowner County: 97 countTraill County: 406 countWalsh County: 515 countWard County: 2,573 countWells County: 207 countWilliams County: 2,079 count
  • Under 100
  • 100 to 140
  • 140 to 200
  • 200 to 330
  • 330 to 710
  • 710 and over
count, 2022. 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, 2022

Cass County: 8,662 countCass County8,662Burleigh County: 4,140 countBurleigh County4,140Ward County: 2,573 countWard County2,573Grand Forks County: 2,545 countGrand Forks County2,545Williams County: 2,079 countWilliams County2,079Stark County: 1,512 countStark County1,512Morton County: 1,142 countMorton County1,142Stutsman County: 847 countStutsman County847McKenzie County: 785 countMcKenzie County785Richland County: 668 countRichland County668Walsh County: 515 countWalsh County515Ramsey County: 503 countRamsey County503Mountrail County: 502 countMountrail County502Barnes County: 444 countBarnes County444Traill County: 406 countTraill County406McLean County: 381 countMcLean County381Pembina County: 379 countPembina County379Bottineau County: 334 countBottineau County334Mercer County: 311 countMercer County311Rolette County: 273 countRolette County273Ransom County: 256 countRansom County256Dickey County: 254 countDickey County254LaMoure County: 224 countLaMoure County224Dunn County: 223 countDunn County223McHenry County: 220 countMcHenry County220Wells County: 207 countWells County207Pierce County: 200 countPierce County200Bowman County: 190 countBowman County190Nelson County: 175 countNelson County175Sargent County: 173 countSargent County173Foster County: 172 countFoster County172Emmons County: 167 countEmmons County167Cavalier County: 164 countCavalier County164Benson County: 153 countBenson County153Renville County: 142 countRenville County142McIntosh County: 137 countMcIntosh County137Hettinger County: 136 countHettinger County136Divide County: 123 countDivide County123Burke County: 122 countBurke County122Adams County: 121 countAdams County121Kidder County: 118 countKidder County118Logan County: 111 countLogan County111Griggs County: 105 countGriggs County105Eddy County: 100 countEddy County100Towner County: 97 countTowner County97Golden Valley County: 96 countGolden Valley County96Grant County: 96 countGrant County96Steele County: 82 countSteele County82Sioux County: 69 countSioux County69Oliver County: 68 countOliver County68Billings County: 51 countBillings County51Sheridan County: 48 countSheridan County48Slope County: 14 countSlope County14Cass County: 8,662 countCass County8,662Burleigh County: 4,140 countBurleigh County4,140Ward County: 2,573 countWard County2,573Grand Forks County: 2,545 countGrand Forks County2,545Williams County: 2,079 countWilliams County2,079Stark County: 1,512 countStark County1,512Morton County: 1,142 countMorton County1,142Stutsman County: 847 countStutsman County847McKenzie County: 785 countMcKenzie County785Richland County: 668 countRichland County668Walsh County: 515 countWalsh County515Ramsey County: 503 countRamsey County503Mountrail County: 502 countMountrail County502Barnes County: 444 countBarnes County444Traill County: 406 countTraill County406McLean County: 381 countMcLean County381Pembina County: 379 countPembina County379Bottineau County: 334 countBottineau County334Mercer County: 311 countMercer County311Rolette County: 273 countRolette County273Ransom County: 256 countRansom County256Dickey County: 254 countDickey County254LaMoure County: 224 countLaMoure County224Dunn County: 223 countDunn County223McHenry County: 220 countMcHenry County220Wells County: 207 countWells County207Pierce County: 200 countPierce County200Bowman County: 190 countBowman County190Nelson County: 175 countNelson County175Sargent County: 173 countSargent County173Foster County: 172 countFoster County172Emmons County: 167 countEmmons County167Cavalier County: 164 countCavalier County164Benson County: 153 countBenson County153Renville County: 142 countRenville County142McIntosh County: 137 countMcIntosh County137Hettinger County: 136 countHettinger County136Divide County: 123 countDivide County123Burke County: 122 countBurke County122Adams County: 121 countAdams County121Kidder County: 118 countKidder County118Logan County: 111 countLogan County111Griggs County: 105 countGriggs County105Eddy County: 100 countEddy County100Towner County: 97 countTowner County97Golden Valley County: 96 countGolden Valley County96Grant County: 96 countGrant County96Steele County: 82 countSteele County82Sioux County: 69 countSioux County69Oliver County: 68 countOliver County68Billings County: 51 countBillings County51Sheridan County: 48 countSheridan County48Slope County: 14 countSlope County14
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

RankCounties2022
count
Change on 2021
1Cass County8,662+9.3%
2Burleigh County4,140+4.9%
3Ward County2,573+5.9%
4Grand Forks County2,545+6.3%
5Williams County2,079-0%
6Stark County1,512+3.2%
7Morton County1,142+5%
8Stutsman County847+3%
9McKenzie County785-2.5%
10Richland County668+4.4%
11Walsh County515+0.2%
12Ramsey County503-0.2%
13Mountrail County502-4.2%
14Barnes County444+3%
15Traill County406+4.1%
16McLean County381+3%
17Pembina County3790%
18Bottineau County334+3.4%
19Mercer County311+1%
20Rolette County273+0.4%
21Ransom County256+1.2%
22Dickey County254+0.8%
23LaMoure County224+1.8%
24Dunn County223+6.2%
25McHenry County220+4.3%
26Wells County207+3%
27Pierce County200+2.6%
28Bowman County190-1%
29Nelson County175+8%
30Sargent County173+1.2%
31Foster County172+4.9%
32Emmons County167+3.7%
33Cavalier County164+0.6%
34Benson County153+6.3%
35Renville County142+1.4%
36McIntosh County137-0.7%
37Hettinger County136+0.7%
38Divide County123-0.8%
39Burke County122+0.8%
40Adams County121+1.7%
41Kidder County118+6.3%
42Logan County111+3.7%
43Griggs County1050%
44Eddy County100+1%
45Towner County97-3%
46Golden Valley County96+2.1%
46Grant County96-1%
48Steele County82+2.5%
49Sioux County69+6.2%
50Oliver County68+3%
51Billings County510%
52Sheridan County48-2%
53Slope County14-12.5%

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/2022/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), 2022) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2022/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), 2022. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2022/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/north-dakota-counties?period=2022. 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), 2022. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2022/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/north-dakota-counties?period=2022.

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), 2022 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2022/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/north-dakota-counties?period=2022 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_north_dakota_2022,
  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), 2022}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2022/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/north-dakota-counties?period=2022. 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/2022/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), 2022
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2022/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/north-dakota-counties?period=2022
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/north-dakota-counties?period=2022.
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/2022/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 8,662 in 2022, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest business establishments (QCEW)?

Slope County, with 14 in 2022.

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