Counties in Alabama by employer firms

Jefferson County had the highest employer firms of 67 counties in 2018, at 11,926. Coosa County had the lowest, at 81. The median was 544 and the figure for Alabama was 68,246. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest11,926Jefferson County
Lowest81Coosa County
Median54467 counties
Alabama68,246History

Map of counties, 2018

Autauga County: 641 countBaldwin County: 4,309 countBarbour County: 388 countBibb County: 261 countBlount County: 607 countBullock County: 100 countButler County: 374 countCalhoun County: 1,820 countChambers County: 504 countCherokee County: 310 countChilton County: 672 countChoctaw County: 226 countClarke County: 478 countClay County: 172 countCleburne County: 156 countCoffee County: 833 countColbert County: 995 countConecuh County: 179 countCoosa County: 81 countCovington County: 704 countCrenshaw County: 180 countCullman County: 1,495 countDale County: 612 countDallas County: 616 countDeKalb County: 924 countElmore County: 1,040 countEscambia County: 628 countEtowah County: 1,632 countFayette County: 257 countFranklin County: 429 countGeneva County: 339 countGreene County: 88 countHale County: 149 countHenry County: 241 countHouston County: 2,181 countJackson County: 718 countJefferson County: 11,926 countLamar County: 218 countLauderdale County: 1,621 countLawrence County: 364 countLee County: 2,263 countLimestone County: 1,206 countLowndes County: 90 countMacon County: 209 countMadison County: 6,337 countMarengo County: 395 countMarion County: 447 countMarshall County: 1,489 countMobile County: 6,513 countMonroe County: 344 countMontgomery County: 4,188 countMorgan County: 2,123 countPerry County: 107 countPickens County: 206 countPike County: 544 countRandolph County: 302 countRussell County: 642 countSt. Clair County: 1,131 countShelby County: 4,262 countSumter County: 161 countTalladega County: 983 countTallapoosa County: 653 countTuscaloosa County: 3,311 countWalker County: 1,020 countWashington County: 157 countWilcox County: 138 countWinston County: 375 count
  • Under 200
  • 200 to 300
  • 300 to 500
  • 500 to 800
  • 800 to 1,600
  • 1,600 and over
count, 2018. 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, 2018

Jefferson County: 11,926 countJefferson County11,926Mobile County: 6,513 countMobile County6,513Madison County: 6,337 countMadison County6,337Baldwin County: 4,309 countBaldwin County4,309Shelby County: 4,262 countShelby County4,262Montgomery County: 4,188 countMontgomery County4,188Tuscaloosa County: 3,311 countTuscaloosa County3,311Lee County: 2,263 countLee County2,263Houston County: 2,181 countHouston County2,181Morgan County: 2,123 countMorgan County2,123Calhoun County: 1,820 countCalhoun County1,820Etowah County: 1,632 countEtowah County1,632Lauderdale County: 1,621 countLauderdale County1,621Cullman County: 1,495 countCullman County1,495Marshall County: 1,489 countMarshall County1,489Limestone County: 1,206 countLimestone County1,206St. Clair County: 1,131 countSt. Clair County1,131Elmore County: 1,040 countElmore County1,040Walker County: 1,020 countWalker County1,020Colbert County: 995 countColbert County995Talladega County: 983 countTalladega County983DeKalb County: 924 countDeKalb County924Coffee County: 833 countCoffee County833Jackson County: 718 countJackson County718Covington County: 704 countCovington County704Chilton County: 672 countChilton County672Tallapoosa County: 653 countTallapoosa County653Russell County: 642 countRussell County642Autauga County: 641 countAutauga County641Escambia County: 628 countEscambia County628Dallas County: 616 countDallas County616Dale County: 612 countDale County612Blount County: 607 countBlount County607Pike County: 544 countPike County544Chambers County: 504 countChambers County504Clarke County: 478 countClarke County478Marion County: 447 countMarion County447Franklin County: 429 countFranklin County429Marengo County: 395 countMarengo County395Barbour County: 388 countBarbour County388Jefferson County: 11,926 countJefferson County11,926Mobile County: 6,513 countMobile County6,513Madison County: 6,337 countMadison County6,337Baldwin County: 4,309 countBaldwin County4,309Shelby County: 4,262 countShelby County4,262Montgomery County: 4,188 countMontgomery County4,188Tuscaloosa County: 3,311 countTuscaloosa County3,311Lee County: 2,263 countLee County2,263Houston County: 2,181 countHouston County2,181Morgan County: 2,123 countMorgan County2,123Calhoun County: 1,820 countCalhoun County1,820Etowah County: 1,632 countEtowah County1,632Lauderdale County: 1,621 countLauderdale County1,621Cullman County: 1,495 countCullman County1,495Marshall County: 1,489 countMarshall County1,489Limestone County: 1,206 countLimestone County1,206St. Clair County: 1,131 countSt. Clair County1,131Elmore County: 1,040 countElmore County1,040Walker County: 1,020 countWalker County1,020Colbert County: 995 countColbert County995Talladega County: 983 countTalladega County983DeKalb County: 924 countDeKalb County924Coffee County: 833 countCoffee County833Jackson County: 718 countJackson County718Covington County: 704 countCovington County704Chilton County: 672 countChilton County672Tallapoosa County: 653 countTallapoosa County653Russell County: 642 countRussell County642Autauga County: 641 countAutauga County641Escambia County: 628 countEscambia County628Dallas County: 616 countDallas County616Dale County: 612 countDale County612Blount County: 607 countBlount County607Pike County: 544 countPike County544Chambers County: 504 countChambers County504Clarke County: 478 countClarke County478Marion County: 447 countMarion County447Franklin County: 429 countFranklin County429Marengo County: 395 countMarengo County395Barbour County: 388 countBarbour County388
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Full ranking

RankCounties2018
count
Change on 2017
1Jefferson County11,926-0.1%
2Mobile County6,513+0.3%
3Madison County6,337+0.7%
4Baldwin County4,309+2.1%
5Shelby County4,262+0.8%
6Montgomery County4,188-0.4%
7Tuscaloosa County3,311-1.3%
8Lee County2,263+2.2%
9Houston County2,181-0.6%
10Morgan County2,123-0.7%
11Calhoun County1,820-0.6%
12Etowah County1,632-1.8%
13Lauderdale County1,621-0.6%
14Cullman County1,495+0.2%
15Marshall County1,489+1.2%
16Limestone County1,206-0.7%
17St. Clair County1,131-0.4%
18Elmore County1,040+0.2%
19Walker County1,020+0.2%
20Colbert County995+0.3%
21Talladega County983-0.2%
22DeKalb County924-0.8%
23Coffee County833-1.1%
24Jackson County718+0.7%
25Covington County704-1.1%
26Chilton County672+0.7%
27Tallapoosa County653+2.5%
28Russell County642+0.8%
29Autauga County641-1.1%
30Escambia County628+1.3%
31Dallas County616-2.8%
32Dale County612-1.9%
33Blount County607-1.1%
34Pike County544-0.2%
35Chambers County504-1.2%
36Clarke County478-3%
37Marion County447-1.8%
38Franklin County429-1.8%
39Marengo County395-0.8%
40Barbour County388+0.5%
41Winston County375+1.9%
42Butler County374+1.1%
43Lawrence County364+0.3%
44Monroe County3440%
45Geneva County339-2.3%
46Cherokee County310-2.5%
47Randolph County3020%
48Bibb County261+2.8%
49Fayette County257+0.8%
50Henry County241-2.4%
51Choctaw County226+1.3%
52Lamar County2180%
53Macon County209+1.5%
54Pickens County206-4.2%
55Crenshaw County180-2.2%
56Conecuh County179+1.1%
57Clay County172+1.2%
58Sumter County161-2.4%
59Washington County157-5.4%
60Cleburne County156+3.3%
61Hale County149+1.4%
62Wilcox County138-2.1%
63Perry County1070%
64Bullock County100+4.2%
65Lowndes County90+1.1%
66Greene County88-7.4%
67Coosa County81-2.4%

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, 2018) [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, 2018. 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=2018. 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, 2018. 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=2018.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties, Counties in Alabama by employer firms, 2018 [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=2018 (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_alabama_by_2018,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Counties in Alabama by employer firms, 2018}},
  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=2018. 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, 2018
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=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/alabama-counties?period=2018.
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 11,926 in 2018, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firms?

Coosa County, with 81 in 2018.

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