Counties in Alabama by employer firms

Jefferson County had the highest employer firms of 67 counties in 2020, at 11,968. Coosa County had the lowest, at 86. The median was 533 and the figure for Alabama was 68,371. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest11,968Jefferson County
Lowest86Coosa County
Median53367 counties
Alabama68,371History

Map of counties, 2020

Autauga County: 656 countBaldwin County: 4,490 countBarbour County: 364 countBibb County: 257 countBlount County: 592 countBullock County: 102 countButler County: 371 countCalhoun County: 1,756 countChambers County: 507 countCherokee County: 303 countChilton County: 694 countChoctaw County: 217 countClarke County: 485 countClay County: 172 countCleburne County: 157 countCoffee County: 810 countColbert County: 1,023 countConecuh County: 179 countCoosa County: 86 countCovington County: 704 countCrenshaw County: 184 countCullman County: 1,489 countDale County: 604 countDallas County: 594 countDeKalb County: 941 countElmore County: 1,087 countEscambia County: 620 countEtowah County: 1,599 countFayette County: 233 countFranklin County: 439 countGeneva County: 346 countGreene County: 88 countHale County: 148 countHenry County: 244 countHouston County: 2,212 countJackson County: 721 countJefferson County: 11,968 countLamar County: 212 countLauderdale County: 1,607 countLawrence County: 365 countLee County: 2,372 countLimestone County: 1,285 countLowndes County: 96 countMacon County: 210 countMadison County: 6,429 countMarengo County: 377 countMarion County: 430 countMarshall County: 1,504 countMobile County: 6,480 countMonroe County: 337 countMontgomery County: 4,151 countMorgan County: 2,143 countPerry County: 105 countPickens County: 204 countPike County: 533 countRandolph County: 293 countRussell County: 645 countSt. Clair County: 1,166 countShelby County: 4,326 countSumter County: 157 countTalladega County: 979 countTallapoosa County: 635 countTuscaloosa County: 3,303 countWalker County: 1,017 countWashington County: 159 countWilcox County: 136 countWinston County: 359 count
  • Under 200
  • 200 to 300
  • 300 to 500
  • 500 to 800
  • 800 to 1,600
  • 1,600 and over
count, 2020. 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, 2020

Jefferson County: 11,968 countJefferson County11,968Mobile County: 6,480 countMobile County6,480Madison County: 6,429 countMadison County6,429Baldwin County: 4,490 countBaldwin County4,490Shelby County: 4,326 countShelby County4,326Montgomery County: 4,151 countMontgomery County4,151Tuscaloosa County: 3,303 countTuscaloosa County3,303Lee County: 2,372 countLee County2,372Houston County: 2,212 countHouston County2,212Morgan County: 2,143 countMorgan County2,143Calhoun County: 1,756 countCalhoun County1,756Lauderdale County: 1,607 countLauderdale County1,607Etowah County: 1,599 countEtowah County1,599Marshall County: 1,504 countMarshall County1,504Cullman County: 1,489 countCullman County1,489Limestone County: 1,285 countLimestone County1,285St. Clair County: 1,166 countSt. Clair County1,166Elmore County: 1,087 countElmore County1,087Colbert County: 1,023 countColbert County1,023Walker County: 1,017 countWalker County1,017Talladega County: 979 countTalladega County979DeKalb County: 941 countDeKalb County941Coffee County: 810 countCoffee County810Jackson County: 721 countJackson County721Covington County: 704 countCovington County704Chilton County: 694 countChilton County694Autauga County: 656 countAutauga County656Russell County: 645 countRussell County645Tallapoosa County: 635 countTallapoosa County635Escambia County: 620 countEscambia County620Dale County: 604 countDale County604Dallas County: 594 countDallas County594Blount County: 592 countBlount County592Pike County: 533 countPike County533Chambers County: 507 countChambers County507Clarke County: 485 countClarke County485Franklin County: 439 countFranklin County439Marion County: 430 countMarion County430Marengo County: 377 countMarengo County377Butler County: 371 countButler County371Jefferson County: 11,968 countJefferson County11,968Mobile County: 6,480 countMobile County6,480Madison County: 6,429 countMadison County6,429Baldwin County: 4,490 countBaldwin County4,490Shelby County: 4,326 countShelby County4,326Montgomery County: 4,151 countMontgomery County4,151Tuscaloosa County: 3,303 countTuscaloosa County3,303Lee County: 2,372 countLee County2,372Houston County: 2,212 countHouston County2,212Morgan County: 2,143 countMorgan County2,143Calhoun County: 1,756 countCalhoun County1,756Lauderdale County: 1,607 countLauderdale County1,607Etowah County: 1,599 countEtowah County1,599Marshall County: 1,504 countMarshall County1,504Cullman County: 1,489 countCullman County1,489Limestone County: 1,285 countLimestone County1,285St. Clair County: 1,166 countSt. Clair County1,166Elmore County: 1,087 countElmore County1,087Colbert County: 1,023 countColbert County1,023Walker County: 1,017 countWalker County1,017Talladega County: 979 countTalladega County979DeKalb County: 941 countDeKalb County941Coffee County: 810 countCoffee County810Jackson County: 721 countJackson County721Covington County: 704 countCovington County704Chilton County: 694 countChilton County694Autauga County: 656 countAutauga County656Russell County: 645 countRussell County645Tallapoosa County: 635 countTallapoosa County635Escambia County: 620 countEscambia County620Dale County: 604 countDale County604Dallas County: 594 countDallas County594Blount County: 592 countBlount County592Pike County: 533 countPike County533Chambers County: 507 countChambers County507Clarke County: 485 countClarke County485Franklin County: 439 countFranklin County439Marion County: 430 countMarion County430Marengo County: 377 countMarengo County377Butler County: 371 countButler County371
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Full ranking

RankCounties2020
count
Change on 2019
1Jefferson County11,968-0.6%
2Mobile County6,480-0.6%
3Madison County6,429+0.5%
4Baldwin County4,490+1.6%
5Shelby County4,326+0.2%
6Montgomery County4,151-1.4%
7Tuscaloosa County3,303-1.3%
8Lee County2,372+1.4%
9Houston County2,212-0.3%
10Morgan County2,143+0.2%
11Calhoun County1,756-2%
12Lauderdale County1,607-2%
13Etowah County1,599-1.4%
14Marshall County1,504+0.6%
15Cullman County1,489-1.5%
16Limestone County1,285+3.8%
17St. Clair County1,166+0.6%
18Elmore County1,087+2.4%
19Colbert County1,023-0.2%
20Walker County1,0170%
21Talladega County979-1.1%
22DeKalb County9410%
23Coffee County810-2.3%
24Jackson County721+0.4%
25Covington County704+0.1%
26Chilton County694+0.4%
27Autauga County656-1.4%
28Russell County645-0.3%
29Tallapoosa County635-2.2%
30Escambia County620-1.3%
31Dale County604+0.7%
32Dallas County594-1.5%
33Blount County592-3.3%
34Pike County533-2.2%
35Chambers County507+0.4%
36Clarke County485+0.2%
37Franklin County439-1.6%
38Marion County430-3.4%
39Marengo County377-4.3%
40Butler County371-2.4%
41Lawrence County365-1.4%
42Barbour County364-3.4%
43Winston County359-2.7%
44Geneva County346-1.7%
45Monroe County337-0.6%
46Cherokee County303-3.2%
47Randolph County293-2.3%
48Bibb County257+0.4%
49Henry County244-0.8%
50Fayette County233-6.4%
51Choctaw County217-2.7%
52Lamar County212-3.2%
53Macon County210+1.9%
54Pickens County204-1%
55Crenshaw County184+2.8%
56Conecuh County179+1.7%
57Clay County1720%
58Washington County159-0.6%
59Cleburne County157-0.6%
59Sumter County157-4.8%
61Hale County148+2.8%
62Wilcox County136+1.5%
63Perry County105+5%
64Bullock County102+1%
65Lowndes County96+4.3%
66Greene County88-1.1%
67Coosa County86+8.9%

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, 2020) [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, 2020. 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=2020. 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, 2020. 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=2020.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties, Counties in Alabama by employer firms, 2020 [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=2020 (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_alabama_by_2020,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Counties in Alabama by employer firms, 2020}},
  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=2020. 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, 2020
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=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/alabama-counties?period=2020.
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  - 
Embed this chart

Paste this code into a web page or a blog post. The chart shows the latest figures as they are published, with the source and a link back to this page.

Sites that read oEmbed links, such as WordPress, can show the chart when you paste the link to this page.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank Counties in Alabama by employer firms using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"employer_firms","level":"province","within":"Alabama","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=employer_firms&level=province&within=Alabama&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which county has the highest employer firms?

Jefferson County, with 11,968 in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firms?

Coosa County, with 86 in 2020.

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