Data / Rankings / Business establishments (QCEW) / Counties in Washington

Counties in Washington by business establishments (QCEW), 2025

King County had the highest business establishments (QCEW) of 39 counties in 2025, at 83,224. Garfield County had the lowest, at 71. The median was 1,826 and the figure for Washington was 242,344. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest83,224King County
Lowest71Garfield County
Median1,82639 counties
Washington242,344History

Map of counties, 2025

Adams County: 702 countAsotin County: 540 countBenton County: 5,506 countChelan County: 3,253 countClallam County: 2,305 countClark County: 15,846 countColumbia County: 180 countCowlitz County: 2,738 countDouglas County: 1,132 countFerry County: 278 countFranklin County: 2,428 countGarfield County: 71 countGrant County: 2,738 countGrays Harbor County: 1,860 countIsland County: 2,176 countJefferson County: 1,077 countKing County: 83,224 countKitsap County: 6,893 countKittitas County: 1,444 countKlickitat County: 842 countLewis County: 2,280 countLincoln County: 442 countMason County: 1,271 countOkanogan County: 1,640 countPacific County: 701 countPend Oreille County: 348 countPierce County: 21,367 countSan Juan County: 1,052 countSkagit County: 3,884 countSkamania County: 282 countSnohomish County: 21,038 countSpokane County: 16,031 countStevens County: 1,042 countThurston County: 8,600 countWahkiakum County: 131 countWalla Walla County: 1,826 countWhatcom County: 7,470 countWhitman County: 1,242 countYakima County: 6,433 count
  • Under 500
  • 500 to 1,100
  • 1,100 to 1,800
  • 1,800 to 2,700
  • 2,700 to 7,300
  • 7,300 and over
count, 2025. 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, 2025

King County: 83,224 countKing County83,224Pierce County: 21,367 countPierce County21,367Snohomish County: 21,038 countSnohomish County21,038Spokane County: 16,031 countSpokane County16,031Clark County: 15,846 countClark County15,846Thurston County: 8,600 countThurston County8,600Whatcom County: 7,470 countWhatcom County7,470Kitsap County: 6,893 countKitsap County6,893Yakima County: 6,433 countYakima County6,433Benton County: 5,506 countBenton County5,506Skagit County: 3,884 countSkagit County3,884Chelan County: 3,253 countChelan County3,253Cowlitz County: 2,738 countCowlitz County2,738Grant County: 2,738 countGrant County2,738Franklin County: 2,428 countFranklin County2,428Clallam County: 2,305 countClallam County2,305Lewis County: 2,280 countLewis County2,280Island County: 2,176 countIsland County2,176Grays Harbor County: 1,860 countGrays Harbor County1,860Walla Walla County: 1,826 countWalla Walla County1,826Okanogan County: 1,640 countOkanogan County1,640Kittitas County: 1,444 countKittitas County1,444Mason County: 1,271 countMason County1,271Whitman County: 1,242 countWhitman County1,242Douglas County: 1,132 countDouglas County1,132Jefferson County: 1,077 countJefferson County1,077San Juan County: 1,052 countSan Juan County1,052Stevens County: 1,042 countStevens County1,042Klickitat County: 842 countKlickitat County842Adams County: 702 countAdams County702Pacific County: 701 countPacific County701Asotin County: 540 countAsotin County540Lincoln County: 442 countLincoln County442Pend Oreille County: 348 countPend Oreille County348Skamania County: 282 countSkamania County282Ferry County: 278 countFerry County278Columbia County: 180 countColumbia County180Wahkiakum County: 131 countWahkiakum County131Garfield County: 71 countGarfield County71King County: 83,224 countKing County83,224Pierce County: 21,367 countPierce County21,367Snohomish County: 21,038 countSnohomish County21,038Spokane County: 16,031 countSpokane County16,031Clark County: 15,846 countClark County15,846Thurston County: 8,600 countThurston County8,600Whatcom County: 7,470 countWhatcom County7,470Kitsap County: 6,893 countKitsap County6,893Yakima County: 6,433 countYakima County6,433Benton County: 5,506 countBenton County5,506Skagit County: 3,884 countSkagit County3,884Chelan County: 3,253 countChelan County3,253Cowlitz County: 2,738 countCowlitz County2,738Grant County: 2,738 countGrant County2,738Franklin County: 2,428 countFranklin County2,428Clallam County: 2,305 countClallam County2,305Lewis County: 2,280 countLewis County2,280Island County: 2,176 countIsland County2,176Grays Harbor County: 1,860 countGrays Harbor County1,860Walla Walla County: 1,826 countWalla Walla County1,826Okanogan County: 1,640 countOkanogan County1,640Kittitas County: 1,444 countKittitas County1,444Mason County: 1,271 countMason County1,271Whitman County: 1,242 countWhitman County1,242Douglas County: 1,132 countDouglas County1,132Jefferson County: 1,077 countJefferson County1,077San Juan County: 1,052 countSan Juan County1,052Stevens County: 1,042 countStevens County1,042Klickitat County: 842 countKlickitat County842Adams County: 702 countAdams County702Pacific County: 701 countPacific County701Asotin County: 540 countAsotin County540Lincoln County: 442 countLincoln County442Pend Oreille County: 348 countPend Oreille County348Skamania County: 282 countSkamania County282Ferry County: 278 countFerry County278Columbia County: 180 countColumbia County180Wahkiakum County: 131 countWahkiakum County131Garfield County: 71 countGarfield County71
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

RankCounties2025
count		Change on 2024
1King County83,224+1.3%
2Pierce County21,367+2.6%
3Snohomish County21,038+2%
4Spokane County16,031+2.3%
5Clark County15,846+3.4%
6Thurston County8,600+1.5%
7Whatcom County7,470+1.5%
8Kitsap County6,893+2.3%
9Yakima County6,433+0.8%
10Benton County5,506+1.7%
11Skagit County3,884+0.7%
12Chelan County3,253+0.1%
13Cowlitz County2,738+1%
13Grant County2,738+1.6%
15Franklin County2,428+2.1%
16Clallam County2,305+0.8%
17Lewis County2,280+2%
18Island County2,176+1.6%
19Grays Harbor County1,860+0.3%
20Walla Walla County1,826+1.2%
21Okanogan County1,640+0.8%
22Kittitas County1,444+1.4%
23Mason County1,271+2.5%
24Whitman County1,242-0.1%
25Douglas County1,132-1.4%
26Jefferson County1,077+0.8%
27San Juan County1,052+0.3%
28Stevens County1,042+1.7%
29Klickitat County842+2.8%
30Adams County702+0.9%
31Pacific County701+1.4%
32Asotin County540+1.1%
33Lincoln County442-2%
34Pend Oreille County348+1.2%
35Skamania County282+9.3%
36Ferry County278+2.6%
37Columbia County180-2.2%
38Wahkiakum County131-0.8%
39Garfield County71+1.4%

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/2025/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 Washington by business establishments (QCEW), 2025) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/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 Washington by business establishments (QCEW), 2025. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/washington-counties. 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 Washington by business establishments (QCEW), 2025. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/washington-counties.

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 Washington by business establishments (QCEW), 2025 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/washington-counties (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_washington_by_2025,
  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 Washington by business establishments (QCEW), 2025}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/washington-counties. 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/2025/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 Washington by business establishments (QCEW), 2025
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/washington-counties
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/washington-counties.
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/2025/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which county has the highest business establishments (QCEW)?

King County, with 83,224 in 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest business establishments (QCEW)?

Garfield County, with 71 in 2025.

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 Washington: more rankings