Counties in Alabama by employer firms

Jefferson County had the highest employer firms of 67 counties in 2017, at 11,936. Coosa County had the lowest, at 83. The median was 545 and the figure for Alabama was 68,265. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest11,936Jefferson County
Lowest83Coosa County
Median54567 counties
Alabama68,265History

Map of counties, 2017

Autauga County: 648 countBaldwin County: 4,221 countBarbour County: 386 countBibb County: 254 countBlount County: 614 countBullock County: 96 countButler County: 370 countCalhoun County: 1,831 countChambers County: 510 countCherokee County: 318 countChilton County: 667 countChoctaw County: 223 countClarke County: 493 countClay County: 170 countCleburne County: 151 countCoffee County: 842 countColbert County: 992 countConecuh County: 177 countCoosa County: 83 countCovington County: 712 countCrenshaw County: 184 countCullman County: 1,492 countDale County: 624 countDallas County: 634 countDeKalb County: 931 countElmore County: 1,038 countEscambia County: 620 countEtowah County: 1,662 countFayette County: 255 countFranklin County: 437 countGeneva County: 347 countGreene County: 95 countHale County: 147 countHenry County: 247 countHouston County: 2,195 countJackson County: 713 countJefferson County: 11,936 countLamar County: 218 countLauderdale County: 1,631 countLawrence County: 363 countLee County: 2,214 countLimestone County: 1,214 countLowndes County: 89 countMacon County: 206 countMadison County: 6,294 countMarengo County: 398 countMarion County: 455 countMarshall County: 1,472 countMobile County: 6,496 countMonroe County: 344 countMontgomery County: 4,206 countMorgan County: 2,138 countPerry County: 107 countPickens County: 215 countPike County: 545 countRandolph County: 302 countRussell County: 637 countSt. Clair County: 1,136 countShelby County: 4,230 countSumter County: 165 countTalladega County: 985 countTallapoosa County: 637 countTuscaloosa County: 3,354 countWalker County: 1,018 countWashington County: 166 countWilcox County: 141 countWinston County: 368 count
  • Under 200
  • 200 to 300
  • 300 to 500
  • 500 to 800
  • 800 to 1,700
  • 1,700 and over
count, 2017. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 2017

Jefferson County: 11,936 countJefferson County11,936Mobile County: 6,496 countMobile County6,496Madison County: 6,294 countMadison County6,294Shelby County: 4,230 countShelby County4,230Baldwin County: 4,221 countBaldwin County4,221Montgomery County: 4,206 countMontgomery County4,206Tuscaloosa County: 3,354 countTuscaloosa County3,354Lee County: 2,214 countLee County2,214Houston County: 2,195 countHouston County2,195Morgan County: 2,138 countMorgan County2,138Calhoun County: 1,831 countCalhoun County1,831Etowah County: 1,662 countEtowah County1,662Lauderdale County: 1,631 countLauderdale County1,631Cullman County: 1,492 countCullman County1,492Marshall County: 1,472 countMarshall County1,472Limestone County: 1,214 countLimestone County1,214St. Clair County: 1,136 countSt. Clair County1,136Elmore County: 1,038 countElmore County1,038Walker County: 1,018 countWalker County1,018Colbert County: 992 countColbert County992Talladega County: 985 countTalladega County985DeKalb County: 931 countDeKalb County931Coffee County: 842 countCoffee County842Jackson County: 713 countJackson County713Covington County: 712 countCovington County712Chilton County: 667 countChilton County667Autauga County: 648 countAutauga County648Russell County: 637 countRussell County637Tallapoosa County: 637 countTallapoosa County637Dallas County: 634 countDallas County634Dale County: 624 countDale County624Escambia County: 620 countEscambia County620Blount County: 614 countBlount County614Pike County: 545 countPike County545Chambers County: 510 countChambers County510Clarke County: 493 countClarke County493Marion County: 455 countMarion County455Franklin County: 437 countFranklin County437Marengo County: 398 countMarengo County398Barbour County: 386 countBarbour County386Jefferson County: 11,936 countJefferson County11,936Mobile County: 6,496 countMobile County6,496Madison County: 6,294 countMadison County6,294Shelby County: 4,230 countShelby County4,230Baldwin County: 4,221 countBaldwin County4,221Montgomery County: 4,206 countMontgomery County4,206Tuscaloosa County: 3,354 countTuscaloosa County3,354Lee County: 2,214 countLee County2,214Houston County: 2,195 countHouston County2,195Morgan County: 2,138 countMorgan County2,138Calhoun County: 1,831 countCalhoun County1,831Etowah County: 1,662 countEtowah County1,662Lauderdale County: 1,631 countLauderdale County1,631Cullman County: 1,492 countCullman County1,492Marshall County: 1,472 countMarshall County1,472Limestone County: 1,214 countLimestone County1,214St. Clair County: 1,136 countSt. Clair County1,136Elmore County: 1,038 countElmore County1,038Walker County: 1,018 countWalker County1,018Colbert County: 992 countColbert County992Talladega County: 985 countTalladega County985DeKalb County: 931 countDeKalb County931Coffee County: 842 countCoffee County842Jackson County: 713 countJackson County713Covington County: 712 countCovington County712Chilton County: 667 countChilton County667Autauga County: 648 countAutauga County648Russell County: 637 countRussell County637Tallapoosa County: 637 countTallapoosa County637Dallas County: 634 countDallas County634Dale County: 624 countDale County624Escambia County: 620 countEscambia County620Blount County: 614 countBlount County614Pike County: 545 countPike County545Chambers County: 510 countChambers County510Clarke County: 493 countClarke County493Marion County: 455 countMarion County455Franklin County: 437 countFranklin County437Marengo County: 398 countMarengo County398Barbour County: 386 countBarbour County386
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Full ranking

RankCounties2017
count
Change on 2016
1Jefferson County11,936+0.2%
2Mobile County6,496+0.4%
3Madison County6,294+0.5%
4Shelby County4,230+1%
5Baldwin County4,221+1.8%
6Montgomery County4,206-0%
7Tuscaloosa County3,354+0.2%
8Lee County2,214+1.7%
9Houston County2,195-0.9%
10Morgan County2,138+0.1%
11Calhoun County1,831-1%
12Etowah County1,6620%
13Lauderdale County1,631-1.5%
14Cullman County1,492+2.2%
15Marshall County1,472+0.1%
16Limestone County1,214+0.3%
17St. Clair County1,136+0.4%
18Elmore County1,038+0.4%
19Walker County1,018+0.8%
20Colbert County992-1.9%
21Talladega County985+0.4%
22DeKalb County931+1.5%
23Coffee County842+0.8%
24Jackson County713-4.2%
25Covington County712+0.7%
26Chilton County667-1.3%
27Autauga County648-1.5%
28Russell County637-1.8%
28Tallapoosa County637+1.1%
30Dallas County634-1.1%
31Dale County624-1.4%
32Escambia County620+2%
33Blount County614+2%
34Pike County545-1.1%
35Chambers County510+1.2%
36Clarke County493-0.4%
37Marion County455+0.4%
38Franklin County437-0.2%
39Marengo County398-2.2%
40Barbour County386+0.8%
41Butler County370+1.1%
42Winston County368+2.5%
43Lawrence County363+2.8%
44Geneva County347-1.1%
45Monroe County344-0.3%
46Cherokee County318-1.2%
47Randolph County302+1.7%
48Fayette County255+0.8%
49Bibb County254+1.2%
50Henry County247-2.8%
51Choctaw County223-0.9%
52Lamar County218+1.9%
53Pickens County215-1.8%
54Macon County206-4.6%
55Crenshaw County184-0.5%
56Conecuh County177+2.9%
57Clay County170-1.2%
58Washington County166+2.5%
59Sumter County165+1.9%
60Cleburne County151+1.3%
61Hale County1470%
62Wilcox County141-3.4%
63Perry County107+0.9%
64Bullock County96-3%
65Greene County95-5%
66Lowndes County89-3.3%
67Coosa County83-7.8%

Other periods

About this ranking

Number of firms in the private nonfarm sectors covered by the US Census Bureau Business Dynamics Statistics. Establishments under common ownership form one firm.

Excludes nonemployer businesses. Differs from active_companies, the INE DIRCE count, which includes businesses without employees.

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. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

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. Census Bureau. (2025). Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties (Counties in Alabama by employer firms, 2017) [Data set]. Retrieved October 11, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv

MLA 9

Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties, Counties in Alabama by employer firms, 2017. U.S. Census Bureau, 25 Sept. 2025, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/alabama-counties?period=2017. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2025. Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. Counties in Alabama by employer firms, 2017. Dataset. Accessed October 11, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/alabama-counties?period=2017.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties, Counties in Alabama by employer firms, 2017 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/alabama-counties?period=2017 (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_alabama_by_2017,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Counties in Alabama by employer firms, 2017}},
  year = {2025},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-11},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/alabama-counties?period=2017. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023\_st\_cty.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-11.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Counties in Alabama by employer firms, 2017
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/09/25
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/alabama-counties?period=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/alabama-counties?period=2017.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
ER  - 
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Questions

Which county has the highest employer firms?

Jefferson County, with 11,936 in 2017, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firms?

Coosa County, with 83 in 2017.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Employer firms: other rankings

Counties in Alabama: more rankings