Counties in West Virginia by business establishments (QCEW)

Kanawha County had the highest business establishments (QCEW) of 55 counties in 2020, at 5,598. Wirt County had the lowest, at 90. The median was 449 and the figure for West Virginia was 51,432. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest5,598Kanawha County
Lowest90Wirt County
Median44955 counties
West Virginia51,432History

Map of counties, 2020

Barbour County: 298 countBerkeley County: 2,102 countBoone County: 379 countBraxton County: 349 countBrooke County: 471 countCabell County: 2,757 countCalhoun County: 133 countClay County: 147 countDoddridge County: 118 countFayette County: 980 countGilmer County: 159 countGrant County: 296 countGreenbrier County: 1,149 countHampshire County: 449 countHancock County: 642 countHardy County: 340 countHarrison County: 2,078 countJackson County: 622 countJefferson County: 1,183 countKanawha County: 5,598 countLewis County: 465 countLincoln County: 271 countLogan County: 828 countMcDowell County: 342 countMarion County: 1,364 countMarshall County: 566 countMason County: 413 countMercer County: 1,397 countMineral County: 523 countMingo County: 517 countMonongalia County: 2,745 countMonroe County: 245 countMorgan County: 268 countNicholas County: 743 countOhio County: 1,458 countPendleton County: 203 countPleasants County: 174 countPocahontas County: 283 countPreston County: 709 countPutnam County: 1,482 countRaleigh County: 2,170 countRandolph County: 850 countRitchie County: 242 countRoane County: 295 countSummers County: 214 countTaylor County: 285 countTucker County: 228 countTyler County: 147 countUpshur County: 692 countWayne County: 565 countWebster County: 210 countWetzel County: 406 countWirt County: 90 countWood County: 2,210 countWyoming County: 399 count
  • Under 210
  • 210 to 300
  • 300 to 450
  • 450 to 690
  • 690 to 1,400
  • 1,400 and over
count, 2020. 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, 2020

Kanawha County: 5,598 countKanawha County5,598Cabell County: 2,757 countCabell County2,757Monongalia County: 2,745 countMonongalia County2,745Wood County: 2,210 countWood County2,210Raleigh County: 2,170 countRaleigh County2,170Berkeley County: 2,102 countBerkeley County2,102Harrison County: 2,078 countHarrison County2,078Putnam County: 1,482 countPutnam County1,482Ohio County: 1,458 countOhio County1,458Mercer County: 1,397 countMercer County1,397Marion County: 1,364 countMarion County1,364Jefferson County: 1,183 countJefferson County1,183Greenbrier County: 1,149 countGreenbrier County1,149Fayette County: 980 countFayette County980Randolph County: 850 countRandolph County850Logan County: 828 countLogan County828Nicholas County: 743 countNicholas County743Preston County: 709 countPreston County709Upshur County: 692 countUpshur County692Hancock County: 642 countHancock County642Jackson County: 622 countJackson County622Marshall County: 566 countMarshall County566Wayne County: 565 countWayne County565Mineral County: 523 countMineral County523Mingo County: 517 countMingo County517Brooke County: 471 countBrooke County471Lewis County: 465 countLewis County465Hampshire County: 449 countHampshire County449Mason County: 413 countMason County413Wetzel County: 406 countWetzel County406Wyoming County: 399 countWyoming County399Boone County: 379 countBoone County379Braxton County: 349 countBraxton County349McDowell County: 342 countMcDowell County342Hardy County: 340 countHardy County340Barbour County: 298 countBarbour County298Grant County: 296 countGrant County296Roane County: 295 countRoane County295Taylor County: 285 countTaylor County285Pocahontas County: 283 countPocahontas County283Lincoln County: 271 countLincoln County271Morgan County: 268 countMorgan County268Monroe County: 245 countMonroe County245Ritchie County: 242 countRitchie County242Tucker County: 228 countTucker County228Summers County: 214 countSummers County214Webster County: 210 countWebster County210Pendleton County: 203 countPendleton County203Pleasants County: 174 countPleasants County174Gilmer County: 159 countGilmer County159Clay County: 147 countClay County147Tyler County: 147 countTyler County147Calhoun County: 133 countCalhoun County133Doddridge County: 118 countDoddridge County118Wirt County: 90 countWirt County90Kanawha County: 5,598 countKanawha County5,598Cabell County: 2,757 countCabell County2,757Monongalia County: 2,745 countMonongalia County2,745Wood County: 2,210 countWood County2,210Raleigh County: 2,170 countRaleigh County2,170Berkeley County: 2,102 countBerkeley County2,102Harrison County: 2,078 countHarrison County2,078Putnam County: 1,482 countPutnam County1,482Ohio County: 1,458 countOhio County1,458Mercer County: 1,397 countMercer County1,397Marion County: 1,364 countMarion County1,364Jefferson County: 1,183 countJefferson County1,183Greenbrier County: 1,149 countGreenbrier County1,149Fayette County: 980 countFayette County980Randolph County: 850 countRandolph County850Logan County: 828 countLogan County828Nicholas County: 743 countNicholas County743Preston County: 709 countPreston County709Upshur County: 692 countUpshur County692Hancock County: 642 countHancock County642Jackson County: 622 countJackson County622Marshall County: 566 countMarshall County566Wayne County: 565 countWayne County565Mineral County: 523 countMineral County523Mingo County: 517 countMingo County517Brooke County: 471 countBrooke County471Lewis County: 465 countLewis County465Hampshire County: 449 countHampshire County449Mason County: 413 countMason County413Wetzel County: 406 countWetzel County406Wyoming County: 399 countWyoming County399Boone County: 379 countBoone County379Braxton County: 349 countBraxton County349McDowell County: 342 countMcDowell County342Hardy County: 340 countHardy County340Barbour County: 298 countBarbour County298Grant County: 296 countGrant County296Roane County: 295 countRoane County295Taylor County: 285 countTaylor County285Pocahontas County: 283 countPocahontas County283Lincoln County: 271 countLincoln County271Morgan County: 268 countMorgan County268Monroe County: 245 countMonroe County245Ritchie County: 242 countRitchie County242Tucker County: 228 countTucker County228Summers County: 214 countSummers County214Webster County: 210 countWebster County210Pendleton County: 203 countPendleton County203Pleasants County: 174 countPleasants County174Gilmer County: 159 countGilmer County159Clay County: 147 countClay County147Tyler County: 147 countTyler County147Calhoun County: 133 countCalhoun County133Doddridge County: 118 countDoddridge County118Wirt County: 90 countWirt County90
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

RankCounties2020
count
Change on 2019
1Kanawha County5,598-0.7%
2Cabell County2,757-0.5%
3Monongalia County2,745+1%
4Wood County2,210-2%
5Raleigh County2,170-1.1%
6Berkeley County2,102+1.2%
7Harrison County2,078-1.6%
8Putnam County1,482-0.1%
9Ohio County1,458-1.8%
10Mercer County1,397+0.1%
11Marion County1,364+0.4%
12Jefferson County1,183+1.6%
13Greenbrier County1,149+0.3%
14Fayette County980+0.1%
15Randolph County8500%
16Logan County828-0.6%
17Nicholas County743+3.6%
18Preston County709+3.4%
19Upshur County692+0.6%
20Hancock County642-1.1%
21Jackson County622-2.2%
22Marshall County566+0.9%
23Wayne County565-0.7%
24Mineral County523-0.9%
25Mingo County517-1.7%
26Brooke County471-0.8%
27Lewis County465-0.4%
28Hampshire County449+0.7%
29Mason County413-1.7%
30Wetzel County406-0.5%
31Wyoming County399-0.3%
32Boone County379-3.1%
33Braxton County349+1.5%
34McDowell County342-4.7%
35Hardy County340-0.6%
36Barbour County298+2.8%
37Grant County2960%
38Roane County2950%
39Taylor County285+3.6%
40Pocahontas County283+2.5%
41Lincoln County271+0.4%
42Morgan County268+0.8%
43Monroe County245+2.9%
44Ritchie County242+0.8%
45Tucker County228+5.1%
46Summers County214+2.9%
47Webster County210+1.4%
48Pendleton County203+6.8%
49Pleasants County1740%
50Gilmer County159-0.6%
51Clay County147+8.1%
51Tyler County147-2.6%
53Calhoun County133+1.5%
54Doddridge County118+2.6%
55Wirt County90+4.7%

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/2020/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), 2020) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2020/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), 2020. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2020/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/west-virginia-counties?period=2020. 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), 2020. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2020/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/west-virginia-counties?period=2020.

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), 2020 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2020/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/west-virginia-counties?period=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_west_virginia_2020,
  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), 2020}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2020/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/west-virginia-counties?period=2020. 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/2020/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), 2020
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2020/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/west-virginia-counties?period=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/west-virginia-counties?period=2020.
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/2020/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 5,598 in 2020, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest business establishments (QCEW)?

Wirt County, with 90 in 2020.

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