Counties in California by employer firms

Los Angeles County had the highest employer firms of 58 counties in 2015, at 187,750. Alpine County had the lowest, at 27. The median was 3,270 and the figure for California was 633,030. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest187,750Los Angeles County
Median3,27058 counties
California633,030History

All counties, 2015

Los Angeles County: 187,750 countLos Angeles County187,750Orange County: 69,499 countOrange County69,499San Diego County: 59,109 countSan Diego County59,109Santa Clara County: 35,185 countSanta Clara County35,185Alameda County: 29,459 countAlameda County29,459Riverside County: 27,063 countRiverside County27,063San Francisco County: 25,325 countSan Francisco County25,325San Bernardino County: 24,949 countSan Bernardino County24,949Sacramento County: 20,773 countSacramento County20,773Contra Costa County: 17,315 countContra Costa County17,315San Mateo County: 16,250 countSan Mateo County16,250Ventura County: 15,849 countVentura County15,849Fresno County: 12,380 countFresno County12,380Sonoma County: 11,020 countSonoma County11,020Kern County: 9,488 countKern County9,488Santa Barbara County: 9,051 countSanta Barbara County9,051San Joaquin County: 8,482 countSan Joaquin County8,482Marin County: 7,926 countMarin County7,926Placer County: 7,851 countPlacer County7,851Monterey County: 6,754 countMonterey County6,754Stanislaus County: 6,655 countStanislaus County6,655San Luis Obispo County: 6,607 countSan Luis Obispo County6,607Santa Cruz County: 5,621 countSanta Cruz County5,621Solano County: 5,345 countSolano County5,345Tulare County: 4,821 countTulare County4,821Butte County: 3,739 countButte County3,739Napa County: 3,522 countNapa County3,522El Dorado County: 3,475 countEl Dorado County3,475Shasta County: 3,364 countShasta County3,364Yolo County: 3,176 countYolo County3,176Humboldt County: 2,508 countHumboldt County2,508Nevada County: 2,472 countNevada County2,472Merced County: 2,352 countMerced County2,352Mendocino County: 2,023 countMendocino County2,023Imperial County: 1,920 countImperial County1,920Madera County: 1,617 countMadera County1,617Sutter County: 1,437 countSutter County1,437Kings County: 1,321 countKings County1,321Tuolumne County: 1,102 countTuolumne County1,102Lake County: 886 countLake County886Siskiyou County: 855 countSiskiyou County855San Benito County: 853 countSan Benito County853Tehama County: 826 countTehama County826Calaveras County: 746 countCalaveras County746Amador County: 712 countAmador County712Yuba County: 685 countYuba County685Plumas County: 460 countPlumas County460Mono County: 447 countMono County447Inyo County: 439 countInyo County439Glenn County: 390 countGlenn County390Del Norte County: 367 countDel Norte County367Lassen County: 341 countLassen County341Colusa County: 313 countColusa County313Mariposa County: 262 countMariposa County262Trinity County: 208 countTrinity County208Modoc County: 140 countModoc County140Sierra County: 49 countSierra County49Alpine 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

RankCounties2015
count
Change on 2014
1Los Angeles County187,750+1.8%
2Orange County69,499+1.6%
3San Diego County59,109+1.9%
4Santa Clara County35,185+1.3%
5Alameda County29,459+1.9%
6Riverside County27,063+2.6%
7San Francisco County25,325+2.3%
8San Bernardino County24,949+2.1%
9Sacramento County20,773+2.2%
10Contra Costa County17,315+1.3%
11San Mateo County16,250+1.6%
12Ventura County15,849+1.3%
13Fresno County12,380+0.6%
14Sonoma County11,020+1.3%
15Kern County9,488+1%
16Santa Barbara County9,051+0.9%
17San Joaquin County8,482+1.9%
18Marin County7,926+1%
19Placer County7,851+1.8%
20Monterey County6,754+0.4%
21Stanislaus County6,655+1.4%
22San Luis Obispo County6,607+2.6%
23Santa Cruz County5,621+2%
24Solano County5,345+1.7%
25Tulare County4,821+0.3%
26Butte County3,739+0.6%
27Napa County3,522+1.9%
28El Dorado County3,475+0.6%
29Shasta County3,364+0.4%
30Yolo County3,176+1.6%
31Humboldt County2,508-0.5%
32Nevada County2,472+1.7%
33Merced County2,352+2.9%
34Mendocino County2,023-0.5%
35Imperial County1,920+0.4%
36Madera County1,617+0.5%
37Sutter County1,437-1%
38Kings County1,321-1%
39Tuolumne County1,102+2.2%
40Lake County886+2.5%
41Siskiyou County855-0.1%
42San Benito County853+1.3%
43Tehama County826+3.3%
44Calaveras County746+0.3%
45Amador County712+1.1%
46Yuba County685+0.4%
47Plumas County460+3.1%
48Mono County447+3%
49Inyo County439-0.2%
50Glenn County390-0.5%
51Del Norte County367+4.9%
52Lassen County341-0.6%
53Colusa County313-0.9%
54Mariposa County262-2.6%
55Trinity County208-4.1%
56Modoc County140-0.7%
57Sierra County490%
58Alpine County27+3.8%

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 California by employer firms, 2015) [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, 2015. 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=2015. 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, 2015. 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=2015.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties, Counties in California by employer firms, 2015 [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=2015 (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_california_by_2015,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Counties in California by employer firms, 2015}},
  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=2015. 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, 2015
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=2015
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/california-counties?period=2015.
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 187,750 in 2015, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firms?

Alpine County, with 27 in 2015.

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