Counties in California by employer firms

Los Angeles County had the highest employer firms of 58 counties in 2022, at 217,418. Alpine County had the lowest, at 29. The median was 3,618 and the figure for California was 718,289. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest217,418Los Angeles County
Median3,61858 counties
California718,289History

All counties, 2022

Los Angeles County: 217,418 countLos Angeles County217,418Orange County: 79,944 countOrange County79,944San Diego County: 68,089 countSan Diego County68,089Santa Clara County: 36,458 countSanta Clara County36,458Riverside County: 33,453 countRiverside County33,453Alameda County: 31,868 countAlameda County31,868San Bernardino County: 30,759 countSan Bernardino County30,759San Francisco County: 25,717 countSan Francisco County25,717Sacramento County: 24,581 countSacramento County24,581Contra Costa County: 19,225 countContra Costa County19,225Ventura County: 17,323 countVentura County17,323San Mateo County: 16,679 countSan Mateo County16,679Fresno County: 14,310 countFresno County14,310Sonoma County: 11,584 countSonoma County11,584Kern County: 10,610 countKern County10,610San Joaquin County: 9,980 countSan Joaquin County9,980Santa Barbara County: 9,697 countSanta Barbara County9,697Placer County: 9,382 countPlacer County9,382Marin County: 8,045 countMarin County8,045Stanislaus County: 7,513 countStanislaus County7,513Monterey County: 7,128 countMonterey County7,128San Luis Obispo County: 7,093 countSan Luis Obispo County7,093Solano County: 5,886 countSolano County5,886Santa Cruz County: 5,834 countSanta Cruz County5,834Tulare County: 5,331 countTulare County5,331El Dorado County: 3,971 countEl Dorado County3,971Napa County: 3,723 countNapa County3,723Butte County: 3,698 countButte County3,698Shasta County: 3,663 countShasta County3,663Yolo County: 3,572 countYolo County3,572Merced County: 2,709 countMerced County2,709Nevada County: 2,700 countNevada County2,700Humboldt County: 2,549 countHumboldt County2,549Imperial County: 2,085 countImperial County2,085Mendocino County: 2,014 countMendocino County2,014Madera County: 1,858 countMadera County1,858Sutter County: 1,779 countSutter County1,779Kings County: 1,469 countKings County1,469Tuolumne County: 1,081 countTuolumne County1,081San Benito County: 959 countSan Benito County959Lake County: 900 countLake County900Tehama County: 843 countTehama County843Siskiyou County: 831 countSiskiyou County831Calaveras County: 811 countCalaveras County811Amador County: 729 countAmador County729Yuba County: 711 countYuba County711Mono County: 509 countMono County509Plumas County: 464 countPlumas County464Inyo County: 427 countInyo County427Glenn County: 423 countGlenn County423Del Norte County: 350 countDel Norte County350Colusa County: 330 countColusa County330Lassen County: 323 countLassen County323Mariposa County: 304 countMariposa County304Trinity County: 210 countTrinity County210Modoc County: 138 countModoc County138Sierra County: 54 countSierra County54Alpine County: 29 countAlpine County29
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Full ranking

RankCounties2022
count
Change on 2021
1Los Angeles County217,418+5.9%
2Orange County79,944+4.3%
3San Diego County68,089+4.6%
4Santa Clara County36,458+3%
5Riverside County33,453+6.6%
6Alameda County31,868+3.7%
7San Bernardino County30,759+6.7%
8San Francisco County25,717+4%
9Sacramento County24,581+5.4%
10Contra Costa County19,225+3.5%
11Ventura County17,323+3.9%
12San Mateo County16,679+2.3%
13Fresno County14,310+5.2%
14Sonoma County11,584+3%
15Kern County10,610+5.5%
16San Joaquin County9,980+6.1%
17Santa Barbara County9,697+2.9%
18Placer County9,382+3.4%
19Marin County8,045+2.3%
20Stanislaus County7,513+5.2%
21Monterey County7,128+2.4%
22San Luis Obispo County7,093+2.4%
23Solano County5,886+3.9%
24Santa Cruz County5,834+4.2%
25Tulare County5,331+3.3%
26El Dorado County3,971+3.6%
27Napa County3,723+2.5%
28Butte County3,698+1%
29Shasta County3,663+2.1%
30Yolo County3,572+3.4%
31Merced County2,709+6.5%
32Nevada County2,700+3.4%
33Humboldt County2,549+2.6%
34Imperial County2,085+6.7%
35Mendocino County2,014+4.8%
36Madera County1,858+5.7%
37Sutter County1,779+6.5%
38Kings County1,469+4.3%
39Tuolumne County1,081+2.6%
40San Benito County959+3.6%
41Lake County900+2.2%
42Tehama County843+2.1%
43Siskiyou County831+0.6%
44Calaveras County811+6.4%
45Amador County729+2.4%
46Yuba County711+3%
47Mono County509+3.9%
48Plumas County464+1.5%
49Inyo County427+3.1%
50Glenn County423+1.7%
51Del Norte County350+2.3%
52Colusa County330+2.8%
53Lassen County323-0.9%
54Mariposa County304+16.5%
55Trinity County210+1%
56Modoc County138-1.4%
57Sierra County54+1.9%
58Alpine County29+3.6%

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, 2022) [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, 2022. 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=2022. 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, 2022. 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=2022.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties, Counties in California by employer firms, 2022 [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=2022 (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_california_by_2022,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Counties in California by employer firms, 2022}},
  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=2022. 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, 2022
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=2022
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/california-counties?period=2022.
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 217,418 in 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firms?

Alpine County, with 29 in 2022.

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