Counties in Colorado by employer firms

Denver County had the highest employer firms of 64 counties in 2015, at 17,864. Kiowa County had the lowest, at 31. The median was 381 and the figure for Colorado was 113,172. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest17,864Denver County
Lowest31Kiowa County
Median38164 counties
Colorado113,172History

Map of counties, 2015

Adams County: 6,932 countAlamosa County: 417 countArapahoe County: 13,303 countArchuleta County: 404 countBaca County: 71 countBent County: 55 countBoulder County: 9,255 countBroomfield County: 1,610 countChaffee County: 742 countCheyenne County: 55 countClear Creek County: 259 countConejos County: 93 countCostilla County: 36 countCrowley County: 32 countCuster County: 124 countDelta County: 683 countDenver County: 17,864 countDolores County: 37 countDouglas County: 6,313 countEagle County: 2,461 countElbert County: 497 countEl Paso County: 11,891 countFremont County: 723 countGarfield County: 1,911 countGilpin County: 110 countGrand County: 717 countGunnison County: 839 countHinsdale County: 57 countHuerfano County: 123 countJackson County: 64 countJefferson County: 12,668 countKiowa County: 31 countKit Carson County: 236 countLake County: 172 countLa Plata County: 1,937 countLarimer County: 8,037 countLas Animas County: 323 countLincoln County: 115 countLogan County: 515 countMesa County: 3,620 countMineral County: 50 countMoffat County: 355 countMontezuma County: 658 countMontrose County: 1,068 countMorgan County: 585 countOtero County: 357 countOuray County: 217 countPark County: 345 countPhillips County: 118 countPitkin County: 1,158 countProwers County: 304 countPueblo County: 2,463 countRio Blanco County: 194 countRio Grande County: 282 countRoutt County: 1,302 countSaguache County: 101 countSan Juan County: 43 countSan Miguel County: 481 countSedgwick County: 67 countSummit County: 1,548 countTeller County: 567 countWashington County: 97 countWeld County: 4,783 countYuma County: 281 count
  • Under 100
  • 100 to 200
  • 200 to 400
  • 400 to 700
  • 700 to 2,500
  • 2,500 and over
count, 2015. 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, 2015

Denver County: 17,864 countDenver County17,864Arapahoe County: 13,303 countArapahoe County13,303Jefferson County: 12,668 countJefferson County12,668El Paso County: 11,891 countEl Paso County11,891Boulder County: 9,255 countBoulder County9,255Larimer County: 8,037 countLarimer County8,037Adams County: 6,932 countAdams County6,932Douglas County: 6,313 countDouglas County6,313Weld County: 4,783 countWeld County4,783Mesa County: 3,620 countMesa County3,620Pueblo County: 2,463 countPueblo County2,463Eagle County: 2,461 countEagle County2,461La Plata County: 1,937 countLa Plata County1,937Garfield County: 1,911 countGarfield County1,911Broomfield County: 1,610 countBroomfield County1,610Summit County: 1,548 countSummit County1,548Routt County: 1,302 countRoutt County1,302Pitkin County: 1,158 countPitkin County1,158Montrose County: 1,068 countMontrose County1,068Gunnison County: 839 countGunnison County839Chaffee County: 742 countChaffee County742Fremont County: 723 countFremont County723Grand County: 717 countGrand County717Delta County: 683 countDelta County683Montezuma County: 658 countMontezuma County658Morgan County: 585 countMorgan County585Teller County: 567 countTeller County567Logan County: 515 countLogan County515Elbert County: 497 countElbert County497San Miguel County: 481 countSan Miguel County481Alamosa County: 417 countAlamosa County417Archuleta County: 404 countArchuleta County404Otero County: 357 countOtero County357Moffat County: 355 countMoffat County355Park County: 345 countPark County345Las Animas County: 323 countLas Animas County323Prowers County: 304 countProwers County304Rio Grande County: 282 countRio Grande County282Yuma County: 281 countYuma County281Clear Creek County: 259 countClear Creek County259Denver County: 17,864 countDenver County17,864Arapahoe County: 13,303 countArapahoe County13,303Jefferson County: 12,668 countJefferson County12,668El Paso County: 11,891 countEl Paso County11,891Boulder County: 9,255 countBoulder County9,255Larimer County: 8,037 countLarimer County8,037Adams County: 6,932 countAdams County6,932Douglas County: 6,313 countDouglas County6,313Weld County: 4,783 countWeld County4,783Mesa County: 3,620 countMesa County3,620Pueblo County: 2,463 countPueblo County2,463Eagle County: 2,461 countEagle County2,461La Plata County: 1,937 countLa Plata County1,937Garfield County: 1,911 countGarfield County1,911Broomfield County: 1,610 countBroomfield County1,610Summit County: 1,548 countSummit County1,548Routt County: 1,302 countRoutt County1,302Pitkin County: 1,158 countPitkin County1,158Montrose County: 1,068 countMontrose County1,068Gunnison County: 839 countGunnison County839Chaffee County: 742 countChaffee County742Fremont County: 723 countFremont County723Grand County: 717 countGrand County717Delta County: 683 countDelta County683Montezuma County: 658 countMontezuma County658Morgan County: 585 countMorgan County585Teller County: 567 countTeller County567Logan County: 515 countLogan County515Elbert County: 497 countElbert County497San Miguel County: 481 countSan Miguel County481Alamosa County: 417 countAlamosa County417Archuleta County: 404 countArchuleta County404Otero County: 357 countOtero County357Moffat County: 355 countMoffat County355Park County: 345 countPark County345Las Animas County: 323 countLas Animas County323Prowers County: 304 countProwers County304Rio Grande County: 282 countRio Grande County282Yuma County: 281 countYuma County281Clear Creek County: 259 countClear Creek County259
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
1Denver County17,864+2.3%
2Arapahoe County13,303+2.4%
3Jefferson County12,668+1.6%
4El Paso County11,891+0.4%
5Boulder County9,255+0.9%
6Larimer County8,037+3.4%
7Adams County6,932+3.8%
8Douglas County6,313+4.6%
9Weld County4,783+2.3%
10Mesa County3,6200%
11Pueblo County2,463+1.1%
12Eagle County2,461+3.1%
13La Plata County1,937+1.1%
14Garfield County1,911+3.1%
15Broomfield County1,610+2.4%
16Summit County1,548+2.5%
17Routt County1,302+2.8%
18Pitkin County1,158+1%
19Montrose County1,068-0.7%
20Gunnison County839+1.1%
21Chaffee County742+1.9%
22Fremont County723+1.1%
23Grand County717+1.7%
24Delta County683-1.2%
25Montezuma County658-0.6%
26Morgan County585-1.2%
27Teller County567+0.7%
28Logan County515+4.7%
29Elbert County497+0.4%
30San Miguel County481+2.3%
31Alamosa County4170%
32Archuleta County404+2%
33Otero County357-1.9%
34Moffat County355-0.6%
35Park County345+5.8%
36Las Animas County323+0.9%
37Prowers County304-0.3%
38Rio Grande County282-2.4%
39Yuma County281-0.7%
40Clear Creek County2590%
41Kit Carson County236+4.9%
42Ouray County217+0.9%
43Rio Blanco County194-2%
44Lake County172+0.6%
45Custer County124+10.7%
46Huerfano County123-6.1%
47Phillips County118+2.6%
48Lincoln County115+0.9%
49Gilpin County110-3.5%
50Saguache County101+5.2%
51Washington County97+4.3%
52Conejos County93+5.7%
53Baca County71+4.4%
54Sedgwick County670%
55Jackson County64+8.5%
56Hinsdale County57-1.7%
57Bent County55-1.8%
57Cheyenne County55+12.2%
59Mineral County50+6.4%
60San Juan County43-8.5%
61Dolores County37+19.4%
62Costilla County36+5.9%
63Crowley County32+3.2%
64Kiowa County31-6.1%

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 Colorado 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 Colorado 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/colorado-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 Colorado 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/colorado-counties?period=2015.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties, Counties in Colorado 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/colorado-counties?period=2015 (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_colorado_by_2015,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Counties in Colorado 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/colorado-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 Colorado 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/colorado-counties?period=2015
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/colorado-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  - 
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Questions

Which county has the highest employer firms?

Denver County, with 17,864 in 2015, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firms?

Kiowa County, with 31 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 Colorado: more rankings