Counties in California by employer firms

Los Angeles County had the highest employer firms of 58 counties in 2014, at 184,509. Alpine County had the lowest, at 26. The median was 3,238 and the figure for California was 623,004. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest184,509Los Angeles County
Median3,23858 counties
California623,004History

All counties, 2014

Los Angeles County: 184,509 countLos Angeles County184,509Orange County: 68,383 countOrange County68,383San Diego County: 57,997 countSan Diego County57,997Santa Clara County: 34,721 countSanta Clara County34,721Alameda County: 28,922 countAlameda County28,922Riverside County: 26,376 countRiverside County26,376San Francisco County: 24,751 countSan Francisco County24,751San Bernardino County: 24,437 countSan Bernardino County24,437Sacramento County: 20,333 countSacramento County20,333Contra Costa County: 17,098 countContra Costa County17,098San Mateo County: 15,995 countSan Mateo County15,995Ventura County: 15,640 countVentura County15,640Fresno County: 12,311 countFresno County12,311Sonoma County: 10,877 countSonoma County10,877Kern County: 9,395 countKern County9,395Santa Barbara County: 8,968 countSanta Barbara County8,968San Joaquin County: 8,326 countSan Joaquin County8,326Marin County: 7,846 countMarin County7,846Placer County: 7,710 countPlacer County7,710Monterey County: 6,729 countMonterey County6,729Stanislaus County: 6,564 countStanislaus County6,564San Luis Obispo County: 6,439 countSan Luis Obispo County6,439Santa Cruz County: 5,511 countSanta Cruz County5,511Solano County: 5,258 countSolano County5,258Tulare County: 4,806 countTulare County4,806Butte County: 3,715 countButte County3,715Napa County: 3,455 countNapa County3,455El Dorado County: 3,453 countEl Dorado County3,453Shasta County: 3,351 countShasta County3,351Yolo County: 3,125 countYolo County3,125Humboldt County: 2,521 countHumboldt County2,521Nevada County: 2,431 countNevada County2,431Merced County: 2,285 countMerced County2,285Mendocino County: 2,033 countMendocino County2,033Imperial County: 1,912 countImperial County1,912Madera County: 1,609 countMadera County1,609Sutter County: 1,451 countSutter County1,451Kings County: 1,334 countKings County1,334Tuolumne County: 1,078 countTuolumne County1,078Lake County: 864 countLake County864Siskiyou County: 856 countSiskiyou County856San Benito County: 842 countSan Benito County842Tehama County: 800 countTehama County800Calaveras County: 744 countCalaveras County744Amador County: 704 countAmador County704Yuba County: 682 countYuba County682Plumas County: 446 countPlumas County446Inyo County: 440 countInyo County440Mono County: 434 countMono County434Glenn County: 392 countGlenn County392Del Norte County: 350 countDel Norte County350Lassen County: 343 countLassen County343Colusa County: 316 countColusa County316Mariposa County: 269 countMariposa County269Trinity County: 217 countTrinity County217Modoc County: 141 countModoc County141Sierra County: 49 countSierra County49Alpine County: 26 countAlpine County26
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Full ranking

RankCounties2014
count
Change on 2013
1Los Angeles County184,509+2.1%
2Orange County68,383+1.7%
3San Diego County57,997+2.1%
4Santa Clara County34,721+1.5%
5Alameda County28,922+1.8%
6Riverside County26,376+2.6%
7San Francisco County24,751+2.5%
8San Bernardino County24,437+1.9%
9Sacramento County20,333+1.5%
10Contra Costa County17,098+1.6%
11San Mateo County15,995+1.8%
12Ventura County15,640+1%
13Fresno County12,311+1.1%
14Sonoma County10,877+1.8%
15Kern County9,395+1.3%
16Santa Barbara County8,968+0.9%
17San Joaquin County8,326+1.8%
18Marin County7,846+1.4%
19Placer County7,710+1.8%
20Monterey County6,729+1.7%
21Stanislaus County6,564+0.7%
22San Luis Obispo County6,439+1.5%
23Santa Cruz County5,511+1%
24Solano County5,258+1.5%
25Tulare County4,806+0.2%
26Butte County3,715-0.3%
27Napa County3,455+1.4%
28El Dorado County3,453+2.6%
29Shasta County3,351+0.2%
30Yolo County3,125+1%
31Humboldt County2,521-0.9%
32Nevada County2,431-0.7%
33Merced County2,285+0.3%
34Mendocino County2,033-0.4%
35Imperial County1,912+1.5%
36Madera County1,609+1.6%
37Sutter County1,451+1.3%
38Kings County1,334+2.6%
39Tuolumne County1,078-1.1%
40Lake County864+1.2%
41Siskiyou County856+0.8%
42San Benito County842+2.1%
43Tehama County800-2.1%
44Calaveras County744+2.3%
45Amador County704+2.3%
46Yuba County682-1.7%
47Plumas County446-0.7%
48Inyo County440-1.6%
49Mono County434-0.9%
50Glenn County392+0.5%
51Del Norte County350-1.1%
52Lassen County343+0.3%
53Colusa County316-0.9%
54Mariposa County269-0.4%
55Trinity County217-2.3%
56Modoc County141-2.8%
57Sierra County49-5.8%
58Alpine County26-3.7%

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, 2014) [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, 2014. 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=2014. 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, 2014. 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=2014.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties, Counties in California by employer firms, 2014 [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=2014 (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_california_by_2014,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Counties in California by employer firms, 2014}},
  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=2014. 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, 2014
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=2014
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/california-counties?period=2014.
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 California by employer firms using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"employer_firms","level":"province","within":"California","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=employer_firms&level=province&within=California&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?

Los Angeles County, with 184,509 in 2014, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firms?

Alpine County, with 26 in 2014.

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