Counties in West Virginia by business establishments (QCEW)

Kanawha County had the highest business establishments (QCEW) of 55 counties in 2019, at 5,637. Wirt County had the lowest, at 86. The median was 446 and the figure for West Virginia was 50,998. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest5,637Kanawha County
Lowest86Wirt County
Median44655 counties
West Virginia50,998History

Map of counties, 2019

Barbour County: 290 countBerkeley County: 2,078 countBoone County: 391 countBraxton County: 344 countBrooke County: 475 countCabell County: 2,770 countCalhoun County: 131 countClay County: 136 countDoddridge County: 115 countFayette County: 979 countGilmer County: 160 countGrant County: 296 countGreenbrier County: 1,146 countHampshire County: 446 countHancock County: 649 countHardy County: 342 countHarrison County: 2,112 countJackson County: 636 countJefferson County: 1,164 countKanawha County: 5,637 countLewis County: 467 countLincoln County: 270 countLogan County: 833 countMcDowell County: 359 countMarion County: 1,359 countMarshall County: 561 countMason County: 420 countMercer County: 1,395 countMineral County: 528 countMingo County: 526 countMonongalia County: 2,719 countMonroe County: 238 countMorgan County: 266 countNicholas County: 717 countOhio County: 1,485 countPendleton County: 190 countPleasants County: 174 countPocahontas County: 276 countPreston County: 686 countPutnam County: 1,484 countRaleigh County: 2,195 countRandolph County: 850 countRitchie County: 240 countRoane County: 295 countSummers County: 208 countTaylor County: 275 countTucker County: 217 countTyler County: 151 countUpshur County: 688 countWayne County: 569 countWebster County: 207 countWetzel County: 408 countWirt County: 86 countWood County: 2,255 countWyoming County: 400 count
  • Under 210
  • 210 to 300
  • 300 to 450
  • 450 to 690
  • 690 to 1,400
  • 1,400 and over
count, 2019. 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, 2019

Kanawha County: 5,637 countKanawha County5,637Cabell County: 2,770 countCabell County2,770Monongalia County: 2,719 countMonongalia County2,719Wood County: 2,255 countWood County2,255Raleigh County: 2,195 countRaleigh County2,195Harrison County: 2,112 countHarrison County2,112Berkeley County: 2,078 countBerkeley County2,078Ohio County: 1,485 countOhio County1,485Putnam County: 1,484 countPutnam County1,484Mercer County: 1,395 countMercer County1,395Marion County: 1,359 countMarion County1,359Jefferson County: 1,164 countJefferson County1,164Greenbrier County: 1,146 countGreenbrier County1,146Fayette County: 979 countFayette County979Randolph County: 850 countRandolph County850Logan County: 833 countLogan County833Nicholas County: 717 countNicholas County717Upshur County: 688 countUpshur County688Preston County: 686 countPreston County686Hancock County: 649 countHancock County649Jackson County: 636 countJackson County636Wayne County: 569 countWayne County569Marshall County: 561 countMarshall County561Mineral County: 528 countMineral County528Mingo County: 526 countMingo County526Brooke County: 475 countBrooke County475Lewis County: 467 countLewis County467Hampshire County: 446 countHampshire County446Mason County: 420 countMason County420Wetzel County: 408 countWetzel County408Wyoming County: 400 countWyoming County400Boone County: 391 countBoone County391McDowell County: 359 countMcDowell County359Braxton County: 344 countBraxton County344Hardy County: 342 countHardy County342Grant County: 296 countGrant County296Roane County: 295 countRoane County295Barbour County: 290 countBarbour County290Pocahontas County: 276 countPocahontas County276Taylor County: 275 countTaylor County275Lincoln County: 270 countLincoln County270Morgan County: 266 countMorgan County266Ritchie County: 240 countRitchie County240Monroe County: 238 countMonroe County238Tucker County: 217 countTucker County217Summers County: 208 countSummers County208Webster County: 207 countWebster County207Pendleton County: 190 countPendleton County190Pleasants County: 174 countPleasants County174Gilmer County: 160 countGilmer County160Tyler County: 151 countTyler County151Clay County: 136 countClay County136Calhoun County: 131 countCalhoun County131Doddridge County: 115 countDoddridge County115Wirt County: 86 countWirt County86Kanawha County: 5,637 countKanawha County5,637Cabell County: 2,770 countCabell County2,770Monongalia County: 2,719 countMonongalia County2,719Wood County: 2,255 countWood County2,255Raleigh County: 2,195 countRaleigh County2,195Harrison County: 2,112 countHarrison County2,112Berkeley County: 2,078 countBerkeley County2,078Ohio County: 1,485 countOhio County1,485Putnam County: 1,484 countPutnam County1,484Mercer County: 1,395 countMercer County1,395Marion County: 1,359 countMarion County1,359Jefferson County: 1,164 countJefferson County1,164Greenbrier County: 1,146 countGreenbrier County1,146Fayette County: 979 countFayette County979Randolph County: 850 countRandolph County850Logan County: 833 countLogan County833Nicholas County: 717 countNicholas County717Upshur County: 688 countUpshur County688Preston County: 686 countPreston County686Hancock County: 649 countHancock County649Jackson County: 636 countJackson County636Wayne County: 569 countWayne County569Marshall County: 561 countMarshall County561Mineral County: 528 countMineral County528Mingo County: 526 countMingo County526Brooke County: 475 countBrooke County475Lewis County: 467 countLewis County467Hampshire County: 446 countHampshire County446Mason County: 420 countMason County420Wetzel County: 408 countWetzel County408Wyoming County: 400 countWyoming County400Boone County: 391 countBoone County391McDowell County: 359 countMcDowell County359Braxton County: 344 countBraxton County344Hardy County: 342 countHardy County342Grant County: 296 countGrant County296Roane County: 295 countRoane County295Barbour County: 290 countBarbour County290Pocahontas County: 276 countPocahontas County276Taylor County: 275 countTaylor County275Lincoln County: 270 countLincoln County270Morgan County: 266 countMorgan County266Ritchie County: 240 countRitchie County240Monroe County: 238 countMonroe County238Tucker County: 217 countTucker County217Summers County: 208 countSummers County208Webster County: 207 countWebster County207Pendleton County: 190 countPendleton County190Pleasants County: 174 countPleasants County174Gilmer County: 160 countGilmer County160Tyler County: 151 countTyler County151Clay County: 136 countClay County136Calhoun County: 131 countCalhoun County131Doddridge County: 115 countDoddridge County115Wirt County: 86 countWirt County86
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

RankCounties2019
count
Change on 2018
1Kanawha County5,637-1.6%
2Cabell County2,770-0.7%
3Monongalia County2,719-1.1%
4Wood County2,255-1.6%
5Raleigh County2,195-0.7%
6Harrison County2,112-0.5%
7Berkeley County2,078+0.1%
8Ohio County1,485-4.3%
9Putnam County1,484-0.3%
10Mercer County1,395+1.2%
11Marion County1,359+0.1%
12Jefferson County1,164+0.6%
13Greenbrier County1,146-0.4%
14Fayette County9790%
15Randolph County850-1.8%
16Logan County833-2.9%
17Nicholas County717-0.1%
18Upshur County688+0.4%
19Preston County686+0.9%
20Hancock County649-1.4%
21Jackson County636+0.8%
22Wayne County569-2.6%
23Marshall County561-2.6%
24Mineral County528-2.2%
25Mingo County526-2.8%
26Brooke County475-2.1%
27Lewis County467-0.6%
28Hampshire County446-0.9%
29Mason County420+1.7%
30Wetzel County408-2.6%
31Wyoming County400+2.6%
32Boone County391-3.7%
33McDowell County359-3.5%
34Braxton County344+1.2%
35Hardy County342-1.4%
36Grant County296-2.6%
37Roane County295-0.3%
38Barbour County290+0.3%
39Pocahontas County276+1.1%
40Taylor County275-1.4%
41Lincoln County270+0.7%
42Morgan County266-0.4%
43Ritchie County240-5.1%
44Monroe County238+0.8%
45Tucker County217+0.5%
46Summers County208+1.5%
47Webster County207-1.9%
48Pendleton County190-1%
49Pleasants County174+3.6%
50Gilmer County1600%
51Tyler County151+1.3%
52Clay County136-1.4%
53Calhoun County131-3.7%
54Doddridge County115-4.2%
55Wirt County86-1.1%

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/2019/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 West Virginia by business establishments (QCEW), 2019) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2019/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 West Virginia by business establishments (QCEW), 2019. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2019/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/west-virginia-counties?period=2019. 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 West Virginia by business establishments (QCEW), 2019. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2019/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/west-virginia-counties?period=2019.

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 West Virginia by business establishments (QCEW), 2019 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2019/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/west-virginia-counties?period=2019 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_west_virginia_2019,
  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 West Virginia by business establishments (QCEW), 2019}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2019/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/west-virginia-counties?period=2019. 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/2019/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 West Virginia by business establishments (QCEW), 2019
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2019/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/west-virginia-counties?period=2019
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/west-virginia-counties?period=2019.
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/2019/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
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Rank Counties in West Virginia by business establishments (QCEW) using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which county has the highest business establishments (QCEW)?

Kanawha County, with 5,637 in 2019, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest business establishments (QCEW)?

Wirt County, with 86 in 2019.

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 West Virginia: more rankings