Counties in California by employer firms

Los Angeles County had the highest employer firms of 58 counties in 2013, at 180,655. Alpine County had the lowest, at 27. The median was 3,220 and the figure for California was 612,090. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest180,655Los Angeles County
Median3,22058 counties
California612,090History

All counties, 2013

Los Angeles County: 180,655 countLos Angeles County180,655Orange County: 67,211 countOrange County67,211San Diego County: 56,800 countSan Diego County56,800Santa Clara County: 34,218 countSanta Clara County34,218Alameda County: 28,422 countAlameda County28,422Riverside County: 25,716 countRiverside County25,716San Francisco County: 24,157 countSan Francisco County24,157San Bernardino County: 23,972 countSan Bernardino County23,972Sacramento County: 20,029 countSacramento County20,029Contra Costa County: 16,827 countContra Costa County16,827San Mateo County: 15,712 countSan Mateo County15,712Ventura County: 15,484 countVentura County15,484Fresno County: 12,173 countFresno County12,173Sonoma County: 10,682 countSonoma County10,682Kern County: 9,274 countKern County9,274Santa Barbara County: 8,889 countSanta Barbara County8,889San Joaquin County: 8,175 countSan Joaquin County8,175Marin County: 7,736 countMarin County7,736Placer County: 7,575 countPlacer County7,575Monterey County: 6,619 countMonterey County6,619Stanislaus County: 6,516 countStanislaus County6,516San Luis Obispo County: 6,341 countSan Luis Obispo County6,341Santa Cruz County: 5,456 countSanta Cruz County5,456Solano County: 5,179 countSolano County5,179Tulare County: 4,798 countTulare County4,798Butte County: 3,727 countButte County3,727Napa County: 3,408 countNapa County3,408El Dorado County: 3,364 countEl Dorado County3,364Shasta County: 3,344 countShasta County3,344Yolo County: 3,095 countYolo County3,095Humboldt County: 2,544 countHumboldt County2,544Nevada County: 2,448 countNevada County2,448Merced County: 2,279 countMerced County2,279Mendocino County: 2,042 countMendocino County2,042Imperial County: 1,883 countImperial County1,883Madera County: 1,584 countMadera County1,584Sutter County: 1,433 countSutter County1,433Kings County: 1,300 countKings County1,300Tuolumne County: 1,090 countTuolumne County1,090Lake County: 854 countLake County854Siskiyou County: 849 countSiskiyou County849San Benito County: 825 countSan Benito County825Tehama County: 817 countTehama County817Calaveras County: 727 countCalaveras County727Yuba County: 694 countYuba County694Amador County: 688 countAmador County688Plumas County: 449 countPlumas County449Inyo County: 447 countInyo County447Mono County: 438 countMono County438Glenn County: 390 countGlenn County390Del Norte County: 354 countDel Norte County354Lassen County: 342 countLassen County342Colusa County: 319 countColusa County319Mariposa County: 270 countMariposa County270Trinity County: 222 countTrinity County222Modoc County: 145 countModoc County145Sierra County: 52 countSierra County52Alpine County: 27 countAlpine County27
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Full ranking

RankCounties2013
count
Change on 2012
1Los Angeles County180,655+1.1%
2Orange County67,211+1.3%
3San Diego County56,800+1.1%
4Santa Clara County34,218+1.2%
5Alameda County28,422+1%
6Riverside County25,716+1.1%
7San Francisco County24,157+1.9%
8San Bernardino County23,972+0.9%
9Sacramento County20,029+0.6%
10Contra Costa County16,827+0.5%
11San Mateo County15,712+0.7%
12Ventura County15,484+1.6%
13Fresno County12,173+0.5%
14Sonoma County10,682-0.1%
15Kern County9,274-0.2%
16Santa Barbara County8,889-0.4%
17San Joaquin County8,175-0.4%
18Marin County7,736+0.2%
19Placer County7,575+1.7%
20Monterey County6,619+0.2%
21Stanislaus County6,516+1.6%
22San Luis Obispo County6,341+0.3%
23Santa Cruz County5,456-0%
24Solano County5,179-0.5%
25Tulare County4,798-0.3%
26Butte County3,727+0.7%
27Napa County3,408+1.9%
28El Dorado County3,364+0.5%
29Shasta County3,344-2.1%
30Yolo County3,095-0.4%
31Humboldt County2,544-1.5%
32Nevada County2,4480%
33Merced County2,279-0.3%
34Mendocino County2,042-0.8%
35Imperial County1,883-1.3%
36Madera County1,5840%
37Sutter County1,433+0.5%
38Kings County1,300-0.1%
39Tuolumne County1,090-1.9%
40Lake County854-1.3%
41Siskiyou County849-1.2%
42San Benito County825+2.2%
43Tehama County817-0.1%
44Calaveras County727-2%
45Yuba County694+0.9%
46Amador County688+0.6%
47Plumas County449-2.4%
48Inyo County447+2.5%
49Mono County4380%
50Glenn County390-2%
51Del Norte County354-5.1%
52Lassen County342-2%
53Colusa County319+0.3%
54Mariposa County270-2.9%
55Trinity County222+6.2%
56Modoc County145-2.7%
57Sierra County52+6.1%
58Alpine County27-6.9%

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 California by employer firms, 2013) [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 California by employer firms, 2013. 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/california-counties?period=2013. 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 California by employer firms, 2013. 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/california-counties?period=2013.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties, Counties in California by employer firms, 2013 [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/california-counties?period=2013 (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_california_by_2013,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Counties in California by employer firms, 2013}},
  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/california-counties?period=2013. 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 California by employer firms, 2013
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/california-counties?period=2013
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/california-counties?period=2013.
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?

Los Angeles County, with 180,655 in 2013, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firms?

Alpine County, with 27 in 2013.

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 California: more rankings