Counties in Pennsylvania by business establishments (QCEW)

Allegheny County had the highest business establishments (QCEW) of 67 counties in 2017, at 35,293. Cameron County had the lowest, at 149. The median was 1,995 and the figure for Pennsylvania was 354,024. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest35,293Allegheny County
Median1,99567 counties
Pennsylvania354,024History

Map of counties, 2017

Adams County: 2,176 countAllegheny County: 35,293 countArmstrong County: 1,508 countBeaver County: 3,659 countBedford County: 1,225 countBerks County: 8,922 countBlair County: 3,362 countBradford County: 1,641 countBucks County: 19,792 countButler County: 5,024 countCambria County: 3,513 countCameron County: 149 countCarbon County: 1,247 countCentre County: 3,570 countChester County: 15,365 countClarion County: 1,088 countClearfield County: 2,148 countClinton County: 909 countColumbia County: 1,546 countCrawford County: 2,213 countCumberland County: 6,447 countDauphin County: 7,515 countDelaware County: 14,012 countElk County: 955 countErie County: 6,949 countFayette County: 2,839 countForest County: 171 countFranklin County: 3,292 countFulton County: 324 countGreene County: 818 countHuntingdon County: 960 countIndiana County: 1,973 countJefferson County: 1,222 countJuniata County: 536 countLackawanna County: 5,667 countLancaster County: 13,411 countLawrence County: 1,995 countLebanon County: 2,795 countLehigh County: 8,768 countLuzerne County: 7,404 countLycoming County: 3,152 countMcKean County: 1,178 countMercer County: 2,942 countMifflin County: 1,044 countMonroe County: 3,563 countMontgomery County: 27,467 countMontour County: 450 countNorthampton County: 6,715 countNorthumberland County: 1,883 countPerry County: 891 countPhiladelphia County: 34,601 countPike County: 1,050 countPotter County: 462 countSchuylkill County: 3,077 countSnyder County: 970 countSomerset County: 1,886 countSullivan County: 202 countSusquehanna County: 1,022 countTioga County: 1,102 countUnion County: 997 countVenango County: 1,255 countWarren County: 1,092 countWashington County: 5,455 countWayne County: 1,443 countWestmoreland County: 9,249 countWyoming County: 728 countYork County: 9,121 count
  • Under 1,000
  • 1,000 to 1,200
  • 1,200 to 2,000
  • 2,000 to 3,500
  • 3,500 to 7,500
  • 7,500 and over
count, 2017. 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.

Top 40 counties, 2017

Allegheny County: 35,293 countAllegheny County35,293Philadelphia County: 34,601 countPhiladelphia County34,601Montgomery County: 27,467 countMontgomery County27,467Bucks County: 19,792 countBucks County19,792Chester County: 15,365 countChester County15,365Delaware County: 14,012 countDelaware County14,012Lancaster County: 13,411 countLancaster County13,411Westmoreland County: 9,249 countWestmoreland County9,249York County: 9,121 countYork County9,121Berks County: 8,922 countBerks County8,922Lehigh County: 8,768 countLehigh County8,768Dauphin County: 7,515 countDauphin County7,515Luzerne County: 7,404 countLuzerne County7,404Erie County: 6,949 countErie County6,949Northampton County: 6,715 countNorthampton County6,715Cumberland County: 6,447 countCumberland County6,447Lackawanna County: 5,667 countLackawanna County5,667Washington County: 5,455 countWashington County5,455Butler County: 5,024 countButler County5,024Beaver County: 3,659 countBeaver County3,659Centre County: 3,570 countCentre County3,570Monroe County: 3,563 countMonroe County3,563Cambria County: 3,513 countCambria County3,513Blair County: 3,362 countBlair County3,362Franklin County: 3,292 countFranklin County3,292Lycoming County: 3,152 countLycoming County3,152Schuylkill County: 3,077 countSchuylkill County3,077Mercer County: 2,942 countMercer County2,942Fayette County: 2,839 countFayette County2,839Lebanon County: 2,795 countLebanon County2,795Crawford County: 2,213 countCrawford County2,213Adams County: 2,176 countAdams County2,176Clearfield County: 2,148 countClearfield County2,148Lawrence County: 1,995 countLawrence County1,995Indiana County: 1,973 countIndiana County1,973Somerset County: 1,886 countSomerset County1,886Northumberland County: 1,883 countNorthumberland County1,883Bradford County: 1,641 countBradford County1,641Columbia County: 1,546 countColumbia County1,546Armstrong County: 1,508 countArmstrong County1,508Allegheny County: 35,293 countAllegheny County35,293Philadelphia County: 34,601 countPhiladelphia County34,601Montgomery County: 27,467 countMontgomery County27,467Bucks County: 19,792 countBucks County19,792Chester County: 15,365 countChester County15,365Delaware County: 14,012 countDelaware County14,012Lancaster County: 13,411 countLancaster County13,411Westmoreland County: 9,249 countWestmoreland County9,249York County: 9,121 countYork County9,121Berks County: 8,922 countBerks County8,922Lehigh County: 8,768 countLehigh County8,768Dauphin County: 7,515 countDauphin County7,515Luzerne County: 7,404 countLuzerne County7,404Erie County: 6,949 countErie County6,949Northampton County: 6,715 countNorthampton County6,715Cumberland County: 6,447 countCumberland County6,447Lackawanna County: 5,667 countLackawanna County5,667Washington County: 5,455 countWashington County5,455Butler County: 5,024 countButler County5,024Beaver County: 3,659 countBeaver County3,659Centre County: 3,570 countCentre County3,570Monroe County: 3,563 countMonroe County3,563Cambria County: 3,513 countCambria County3,513Blair County: 3,362 countBlair County3,362Franklin County: 3,292 countFranklin County3,292Lycoming County: 3,152 countLycoming County3,152Schuylkill County: 3,077 countSchuylkill County3,077Mercer County: 2,942 countMercer County2,942Fayette County: 2,839 countFayette County2,839Lebanon County: 2,795 countLebanon County2,795Crawford County: 2,213 countCrawford County2,213Adams County: 2,176 countAdams County2,176Clearfield County: 2,148 countClearfield County2,148Lawrence County: 1,995 countLawrence County1,995Indiana County: 1,973 countIndiana County1,973Somerset County: 1,886 countSomerset County1,886Northumberland County: 1,883 countNorthumberland County1,883Bradford County: 1,641 countBradford County1,641Columbia County: 1,546 countColumbia County1,546Armstrong County: 1,508 countArmstrong County1,508
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

RankCounties2017
count
Change on 2016
1Allegheny County35,293-0.4%
2Philadelphia County34,601+0.1%
3Montgomery County27,467+0.4%
4Bucks County19,792+0.2%
5Chester County15,365+0.1%
6Delaware County14,012+0.7%
7Lancaster County13,411+1.1%
8Westmoreland County9,249+0.2%
9York County9,121+0.9%
10Berks County8,9220%
11Lehigh County8,768+1.2%
12Dauphin County7,515+0.5%
13Luzerne County7,404-0.6%
14Erie County6,949-0.7%
15Northampton County6,715-0%
16Cumberland County6,447+0.8%
17Lackawanna County5,667-1.3%
18Washington County5,455-0.4%
19Butler County5,024+0.5%
20Beaver County3,659-0%
21Centre County3,570-0.1%
22Monroe County3,563-0.7%
23Cambria County3,513-1.1%
24Blair County3,3620%
25Franklin County3,292+0.5%
26Lycoming County3,152-0.6%
27Schuylkill County3,077-1.7%
28Mercer County2,942+0.4%
29Fayette County2,839-0%
30Lebanon County2,795-0.3%
31Crawford County2,213-0.4%
32Adams County2,176+0.9%
33Clearfield County2,148-0.3%
34Lawrence County1,995-0.7%
35Indiana County1,973-1.8%
36Somerset County1,886-0.3%
37Northumberland County1,883-0.8%
38Bradford County1,641-0.6%
39Columbia County1,546+0.1%
40Armstrong County1,508-1.2%
41Wayne County1,443-0.4%
42Venango County1,255-0.8%
43Carbon County1,247-0.1%
44Bedford County1,225+2.3%
45Jefferson County1,222-0.6%
46McKean County1,178-0.4%
47Tioga County1,102-0.2%
48Warren County1,092-2.4%
49Clarion County1,088+0.2%
50Pike County1,050+2.1%
51Mifflin County1,044+0.7%
52Susquehanna County1,022-2.8%
53Union County997+0.7%
54Snyder County970+0.5%
55Huntingdon County960+1.5%
56Elk County955+1%
57Clinton County909+0.8%
58Perry County891+0.5%
59Greene County818-3.8%
60Wyoming County728-1.6%
61Juniata County536+1.9%
62Potter County462+1.1%
63Montour County450-2.6%
64Fulton County324+2.9%
65Sullivan County202+2.5%
66Forest County171+1.2%
67Cameron County149+2.1%

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/2017/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 Pennsylvania by business establishments (QCEW), 2017) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2017/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 Pennsylvania by business establishments (QCEW), 2017. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2017/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/pennsylvania-counties?period=2017. 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 Pennsylvania by business establishments (QCEW), 2017. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2017/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/pennsylvania-counties?period=2017.

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 Pennsylvania by business establishments (QCEW), 2017 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2017/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/pennsylvania-counties?period=2017 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_pennsylvania_by_2017,
  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 Pennsylvania by business establishments (QCEW), 2017}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2017/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/pennsylvania-counties?period=2017. 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/2017/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 Pennsylvania by business establishments (QCEW), 2017
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2017/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/pennsylvania-counties?period=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/pennsylvania-counties?period=2017.
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/2017/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
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Questions

Which county has the highest business establishments (QCEW)?

Allegheny County, with 35,293 in 2017, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest business establishments (QCEW)?

Cameron County, with 149 in 2017.

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 Pennsylvania: more rankings