Counties in West Virginia by business establishments (QCEW)

Kanawha County had the highest business establishments (QCEW) of 55 counties in 2024, at 6,860. Wirt County had the lowest, at 106. The median was 540 and the figure for West Virginia was 61,700. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest6,860Kanawha County
Lowest106Wirt County
Median54055 counties
West Virginia61,700History

Map of counties, 2024

Barbour County: 394 countBerkeley County: 3,687 countBoone County: 420 countBraxton County: 380 countBrooke County: 618 countCabell County: 3,362 countCalhoun County: 144 countClay County: 200 countDoddridge County: 129 countFayette County: 1,186 countGilmer County: 164 countGrant County: 364 countGreenbrier County: 1,392 countHampshire County: 550 countHancock County: 901 countHardy County: 456 countHarrison County: 2,482 countJackson County: 726 countJefferson County: 2,314 countKanawha County: 6,860 countLewis County: 540 countLincoln County: 340 countLogan County: 1,008 countMcDowell County: 382 countMarion County: 1,724 countMarshall County: 682 countMason County: 494 countMercer County: 1,682 countMineral County: 704 countMingo County: 558 countMonongalia County: 4,162 countMonroe County: 317 countMorgan County: 386 countNicholas County: 827 countOhio County: 1,794 countPendleton County: 228 countPleasants County: 190 countPocahontas County: 344 countPreston County: 884 countPutnam County: 1,894 countRaleigh County: 2,608 countRandolph County: 1,002 countRitchie County: 263 countRoane County: 357 countSummers County: 269 countTaylor County: 339 countTucker County: 282 countTyler County: 175 countUpshur County: 833 countWayne County: 704 countWebster County: 216 countWetzel County: 453 countWirt County: 106 countWood County: 2,634 countWyoming County: 444 count
  • Under 260
  • 260 to 380
  • 380 to 540
  • 540 to 830
  • 830 to 1,800
  • 1,800 and over
count, 2024. 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, 2024

Kanawha County: 6,860 countKanawha County6,860Monongalia County: 4,162 countMonongalia County4,162Berkeley County: 3,687 countBerkeley County3,687Cabell County: 3,362 countCabell County3,362Wood County: 2,634 countWood County2,634Raleigh County: 2,608 countRaleigh County2,608Harrison County: 2,482 countHarrison County2,482Jefferson County: 2,314 countJefferson County2,314Putnam County: 1,894 countPutnam County1,894Ohio County: 1,794 countOhio County1,794Marion County: 1,724 countMarion County1,724Mercer County: 1,682 countMercer County1,682Greenbrier County: 1,392 countGreenbrier County1,392Fayette County: 1,186 countFayette County1,186Logan County: 1,008 countLogan County1,008Randolph County: 1,002 countRandolph County1,002Hancock County: 901 countHancock County901Preston County: 884 countPreston County884Upshur County: 833 countUpshur County833Nicholas County: 827 countNicholas County827Jackson County: 726 countJackson County726Mineral County: 704 countMineral County704Wayne County: 704 countWayne County704Marshall County: 682 countMarshall County682Brooke County: 618 countBrooke County618Mingo County: 558 countMingo County558Hampshire County: 550 countHampshire County550Lewis County: 540 countLewis County540Mason County: 494 countMason County494Hardy County: 456 countHardy County456Wetzel County: 453 countWetzel County453Wyoming County: 444 countWyoming County444Boone County: 420 countBoone County420Barbour County: 394 countBarbour County394Morgan County: 386 countMorgan County386McDowell County: 382 countMcDowell County382Braxton County: 380 countBraxton County380Grant County: 364 countGrant County364Roane County: 357 countRoane County357Pocahontas County: 344 countPocahontas County344Lincoln County: 340 countLincoln County340Taylor County: 339 countTaylor County339Monroe County: 317 countMonroe County317Tucker County: 282 countTucker County282Summers County: 269 countSummers County269Ritchie County: 263 countRitchie County263Pendleton County: 228 countPendleton County228Webster County: 216 countWebster County216Clay County: 200 countClay County200Pleasants County: 190 countPleasants County190Tyler County: 175 countTyler County175Gilmer County: 164 countGilmer County164Calhoun County: 144 countCalhoun County144Doddridge County: 129 countDoddridge County129Wirt County: 106 countWirt County106Kanawha County: 6,860 countKanawha County6,860Monongalia County: 4,162 countMonongalia County4,162Berkeley County: 3,687 countBerkeley County3,687Cabell County: 3,362 countCabell County3,362Wood County: 2,634 countWood County2,634Raleigh County: 2,608 countRaleigh County2,608Harrison County: 2,482 countHarrison County2,482Jefferson County: 2,314 countJefferson County2,314Putnam County: 1,894 countPutnam County1,894Ohio County: 1,794 countOhio County1,794Marion County: 1,724 countMarion County1,724Mercer County: 1,682 countMercer County1,682Greenbrier County: 1,392 countGreenbrier County1,392Fayette County: 1,186 countFayette County1,186Logan County: 1,008 countLogan County1,008Randolph County: 1,002 countRandolph County1,002Hancock County: 901 countHancock County901Preston County: 884 countPreston County884Upshur County: 833 countUpshur County833Nicholas County: 827 countNicholas County827Jackson County: 726 countJackson County726Mineral County: 704 countMineral County704Wayne County: 704 countWayne County704Marshall County: 682 countMarshall County682Brooke County: 618 countBrooke County618Mingo County: 558 countMingo County558Hampshire County: 550 countHampshire County550Lewis County: 540 countLewis County540Mason County: 494 countMason County494Hardy County: 456 countHardy County456Wetzel County: 453 countWetzel County453Wyoming County: 444 countWyoming County444Boone County: 420 countBoone County420Barbour County: 394 countBarbour County394Morgan County: 386 countMorgan County386McDowell County: 382 countMcDowell County382Braxton County: 380 countBraxton County380Grant County: 364 countGrant County364Roane County: 357 countRoane County357Pocahontas County: 344 countPocahontas County344Lincoln County: 340 countLincoln County340Taylor County: 339 countTaylor County339Monroe County: 317 countMonroe County317Tucker County: 282 countTucker County282Summers County: 269 countSummers County269Ritchie County: 263 countRitchie County263Pendleton County: 228 countPendleton County228Webster County: 216 countWebster County216Clay County: 200 countClay County200Pleasants County: 190 countPleasants County190Tyler County: 175 countTyler County175Gilmer County: 164 countGilmer County164Calhoun County: 144 countCalhoun County144Doddridge County: 129 countDoddridge County129Wirt County: 106 countWirt County106
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

RankCounties2024
count
Change on 2023
1Kanawha County6,860+5.9%
2Monongalia County4,162+11.7%
3Berkeley County3,687+15.7%
4Cabell County3,362+6.6%
5Wood County2,634+6.8%
6Raleigh County2,608+6.8%
7Harrison County2,482+7.2%
8Jefferson County2,314+20.8%
9Putnam County1,894+7.9%
10Ohio County1,794+7%
11Marion County1,724+7.6%
12Mercer County1,682+5.3%
13Greenbrier County1,392+4.7%
14Fayette County1,186+5.6%
15Logan County1,008+6.6%
16Randolph County1,002+4.8%
17Hancock County901+12.2%
18Preston County884+9.5%
19Upshur County833+4.9%
20Nicholas County827+2.4%
21Jackson County726+4.9%
22Mineral County704+11.7%
22Wayne County704+5.1%
24Marshall County682+4.9%
25Brooke County618+7.5%
26Mingo County558+2%
27Hampshire County550+8.5%
28Lewis County540+2.9%
29Mason County494+6.9%
30Hardy County456+7.5%
31Wetzel County453+5.6%
32Wyoming County444+2.5%
33Boone County420+3.2%
34Barbour County394+4.2%
35Morgan County386+13.2%
36McDowell County382+3%
37Braxton County380+3.5%
38Grant County364+6.7%
39Roane County357+4.1%
40Pocahontas County344+3.6%
41Lincoln County340+7.6%
42Taylor County339+6.3%
43Monroe County317+11.2%
44Tucker County282+8.9%
45Summers County269+5.9%
46Ritchie County263+0.4%
47Pendleton County228+6.5%
48Webster County216+0.5%
49Clay County200+6.4%
50Pleasants County190+5%
51Tyler County175+3.6%
52Gilmer County164+1.2%
53Calhoun County144+5.1%
54Doddridge County129+8.4%
55Wirt County106+2.9%

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/2024/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), 2024) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2024/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), 2024. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2024/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/west-virginia-counties?period=2024. 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), 2024. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2024/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/west-virginia-counties?period=2024.

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), 2024 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2024/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/west-virginia-counties?period=2024 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_west_virginia_2024,
  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), 2024}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2024/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/west-virginia-counties?period=2024. 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/2024/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), 2024
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2024/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/west-virginia-counties?period=2024
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/west-virginia-counties?period=2024.
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/2024/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
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Questions

Which county has the highest business establishments (QCEW)?

Kanawha County, with 6,860 in 2024, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest business establishments (QCEW)?

Wirt County, with 106 in 2024.

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