Counties in North Dakota by business establishments (QCEW)

Cass County had the highest business establishments (QCEW) of 53 counties in 2023, at 9,192. Slope County had the lowest, at 13. The median was 201 and the figure for North Dakota was 35,589. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest9,192Cass County
Lowest13Slope County
Median20153 counties
North Dakota35,589History

Map of counties, 2023

Adams County: 114 countBarnes County: 449 countBenson County: 153 countBillings County: 55 countBottineau County: 339 countBowman County: 191 countBurke County: 121 countBurleigh County: 4,255 countCass County: 9,192 countCavalier County: 174 countDickey County: 255 countDivide County: 125 countDunn County: 226 countEddy County: 106 countEmmons County: 163 countFoster County: 175 countGolden Valley County: 96 countGrand Forks County: 2,664 countGrant County: 106 countGriggs County: 110 countHettinger County: 143 countKidder County: 127 countLaMoure County: 231 countLogan County: 112 countMcHenry County: 230 countMcIntosh County: 140 countMcKenzie County: 821 countMcLean County: 385 countMercer County: 321 countMorton County: 1,186 countMountrail County: 515 countNelson County: 183 countOliver County: 68 countPembina County: 401 countPierce County: 201 countRamsey County: 513 countRansom County: 260 countRenville County: 146 countRichland County: 684 countRolette County: 283 countSargent County: 182 countSheridan County: 51 countSioux County: 73 countSlope County: 13 countStark County: 1,546 countSteele County: 84 countStutsman County: 888 countTowner County: 96 countTraill County: 414 countWalsh County: 519 countWard County: 2,685 countWells County: 208 countWilliams County: 2,138 count
  • Under 110
  • 110 to 140
  • 140 to 200
  • 200 to 330
  • 330 to 730
  • 730 and over
count, 2023. 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, 2023

Cass County: 9,192 countCass County9,192Burleigh County: 4,255 countBurleigh County4,255Ward County: 2,685 countWard County2,685Grand Forks County: 2,664 countGrand Forks County2,664Williams County: 2,138 countWilliams County2,138Stark County: 1,546 countStark County1,546Morton County: 1,186 countMorton County1,186Stutsman County: 888 countStutsman County888McKenzie County: 821 countMcKenzie County821Richland County: 684 countRichland County684Walsh County: 519 countWalsh County519Mountrail County: 515 countMountrail County515Ramsey County: 513 countRamsey County513Barnes County: 449 countBarnes County449Traill County: 414 countTraill County414Pembina County: 401 countPembina County401McLean County: 385 countMcLean County385Bottineau County: 339 countBottineau County339Mercer County: 321 countMercer County321Rolette County: 283 countRolette County283Ransom County: 260 countRansom County260Dickey County: 255 countDickey County255LaMoure County: 231 countLaMoure County231McHenry County: 230 countMcHenry County230Dunn County: 226 countDunn County226Wells County: 208 countWells County208Pierce County: 201 countPierce County201Bowman County: 191 countBowman County191Nelson County: 183 countNelson County183Sargent County: 182 countSargent County182Foster County: 175 countFoster County175Cavalier County: 174 countCavalier County174Emmons County: 163 countEmmons County163Benson County: 153 countBenson County153Renville County: 146 countRenville County146Hettinger County: 143 countHettinger County143McIntosh County: 140 countMcIntosh County140Kidder County: 127 countKidder County127Divide County: 125 countDivide County125Burke County: 121 countBurke County121Adams County: 114 countAdams County114Logan County: 112 countLogan County112Griggs County: 110 countGriggs County110Eddy County: 106 countEddy County106Grant County: 106 countGrant County106Golden Valley County: 96 countGolden Valley County96Towner County: 96 countTowner County96Steele County: 84 countSteele County84Sioux County: 73 countSioux County73Oliver County: 68 countOliver County68Billings County: 55 countBillings County55Sheridan County: 51 countSheridan County51Slope County: 13 countSlope County13Cass County: 9,192 countCass County9,192Burleigh County: 4,255 countBurleigh County4,255Ward County: 2,685 countWard County2,685Grand Forks County: 2,664 countGrand Forks County2,664Williams County: 2,138 countWilliams County2,138Stark County: 1,546 countStark County1,546Morton County: 1,186 countMorton County1,186Stutsman County: 888 countStutsman County888McKenzie County: 821 countMcKenzie County821Richland County: 684 countRichland County684Walsh County: 519 countWalsh County519Mountrail County: 515 countMountrail County515Ramsey County: 513 countRamsey County513Barnes County: 449 countBarnes County449Traill County: 414 countTraill County414Pembina County: 401 countPembina County401McLean County: 385 countMcLean County385Bottineau County: 339 countBottineau County339Mercer County: 321 countMercer County321Rolette County: 283 countRolette County283Ransom County: 260 countRansom County260Dickey County: 255 countDickey County255LaMoure County: 231 countLaMoure County231McHenry County: 230 countMcHenry County230Dunn County: 226 countDunn County226Wells County: 208 countWells County208Pierce County: 201 countPierce County201Bowman County: 191 countBowman County191Nelson County: 183 countNelson County183Sargent County: 182 countSargent County182Foster County: 175 countFoster County175Cavalier County: 174 countCavalier County174Emmons County: 163 countEmmons County163Benson County: 153 countBenson County153Renville County: 146 countRenville County146Hettinger County: 143 countHettinger County143McIntosh County: 140 countMcIntosh County140Kidder County: 127 countKidder County127Divide County: 125 countDivide County125Burke County: 121 countBurke County121Adams County: 114 countAdams County114Logan County: 112 countLogan County112Griggs County: 110 countGriggs County110Eddy County: 106 countEddy County106Grant County: 106 countGrant County106Golden Valley County: 96 countGolden Valley County96Towner County: 96 countTowner County96Steele County: 84 countSteele County84Sioux County: 73 countSioux County73Oliver County: 68 countOliver County68Billings County: 55 countBillings County55Sheridan County: 51 countSheridan County51Slope County: 13 countSlope County13
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

RankCounties2023
count
Change on 2022
1Cass County9,192+6.1%
2Burleigh County4,255+2.8%
3Ward County2,685+4.4%
4Grand Forks County2,664+4.7%
5Williams County2,138+2.8%
6Stark County1,546+2.2%
7Morton County1,186+3.9%
8Stutsman County888+4.8%
9McKenzie County821+4.6%
10Richland County684+2.4%
11Walsh County519+0.8%
12Mountrail County515+2.6%
13Ramsey County513+2%
14Barnes County449+1.1%
15Traill County414+2%
16Pembina County401+5.8%
17McLean County385+1%
18Bottineau County339+1.5%
19Mercer County321+3.2%
20Rolette County283+3.7%
21Ransom County260+1.6%
22Dickey County255+0.4%
23LaMoure County231+3.1%
24McHenry County230+4.5%
25Dunn County226+1.3%
26Wells County208+0.5%
27Pierce County201+0.5%
28Bowman County191+0.5%
29Nelson County183+4.6%
30Sargent County182+5.2%
31Foster County175+1.7%
32Cavalier County174+6.1%
33Emmons County163-2.4%
34Benson County1530%
35Renville County146+2.8%
36Hettinger County143+5.1%
37McIntosh County140+2.2%
38Kidder County127+7.6%
39Divide County125+1.6%
40Burke County121-0.8%
41Adams County114-5.8%
42Logan County112+0.9%
43Griggs County110+4.8%
44Eddy County106+6%
44Grant County106+10.4%
46Golden Valley County960%
46Towner County96-1%
48Steele County84+2.4%
49Sioux County73+5.8%
50Oliver County680%
51Billings County55+7.8%
52Sheridan County51+6.3%
53Slope County13-7.1%

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/2023/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), 2023) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2023/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), 2023. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2023/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/north-dakota-counties?period=2023. 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), 2023. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2023/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/north-dakota-counties?period=2023.

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), 2023 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2023/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/north-dakota-counties?period=2023 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_north_dakota_2023,
  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), 2023}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2023/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/north-dakota-counties?period=2023. 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/2023/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), 2023
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2023/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/north-dakota-counties?period=2023
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/north-dakota-counties?period=2023.
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/2023/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 9,192 in 2023, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest business establishments (QCEW)?

Slope County, with 13 in 2023.

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