Counties in Colorado by employer firms

Denver County had the highest employer firms of 64 counties in 2021, at 20,086. Kiowa County had the lowest, at 34. The median was 414 and the figure for Colorado was 125,816. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest20,086Denver County
Lowest34Kiowa County
Median41464 counties
Colorado125,816History

Map of counties, 2021

Adams County: 8,084 countAlamosa County: 412 countArapahoe County: 14,715 countArchuleta County: 449 countBaca County: 68 countBent County: 48 countBoulder County: 10,173 countBroomfield County: 1,885 countChaffee County: 864 countCheyenne County: 50 countClear Creek County: 258 countConejos County: 98 countCostilla County: 40 countCrowley County: 40 countCuster County: 132 countDelta County: 690 countDenver County: 20,086 countDolores County: 50 countDouglas County: 7,503 countEagle County: 2,696 countElbert County: 549 countEl Paso County: 13,462 countFremont County: 781 countGarfield County: 2,047 countGilpin County: 117 countGrand County: 786 countGunnison County: 966 countHinsdale County: 51 countHuerfano County: 138 countJackson County: 55 countJefferson County: 13,520 countKiowa County: 34 countKit Carson County: 240 countLake County: 200 countLa Plata County: 2,021 countLarimer County: 9,007 countLas Animas County: 313 countLincoln County: 139 countLogan County: 487 countMesa County: 3,712 countMineral County: 53 countMoffat County: 334 countMontezuma County: 669 countMontrose County: 1,167 countMorgan County: 618 countOtero County: 349 countOuray County: 257 countPark County: 416 countPhillips County: 117 countPitkin County: 1,261 countProwers County: 293 countPueblo County: 2,616 countRio Blanco County: 164 countRio Grande County: 315 countRoutt County: 1,471 countSaguache County: 112 countSan Juan County: 57 countSan Miguel County: 539 countSedgwick County: 66 countSummit County: 1,665 countTeller County: 663 countWashington County: 96 countWeld County: 5,565 countYuma County: 281 count
  • Under 100
  • 100 to 200
  • 200 to 400
  • 400 to 800
  • 800 to 2,700
  • 2,700 and over
count, 2021. 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, 2021

Denver County: 20,086 countDenver County20,086Arapahoe County: 14,715 countArapahoe County14,715Jefferson County: 13,520 countJefferson County13,520El Paso County: 13,462 countEl Paso County13,462Boulder County: 10,173 countBoulder County10,173Larimer County: 9,007 countLarimer County9,007Adams County: 8,084 countAdams County8,084Douglas County: 7,503 countDouglas County7,503Weld County: 5,565 countWeld County5,565Mesa County: 3,712 countMesa County3,712Eagle County: 2,696 countEagle County2,696Pueblo County: 2,616 countPueblo County2,616Garfield County: 2,047 countGarfield County2,047La Plata County: 2,021 countLa Plata County2,021Broomfield County: 1,885 countBroomfield County1,885Summit County: 1,665 countSummit County1,665Routt County: 1,471 countRoutt County1,471Pitkin County: 1,261 countPitkin County1,261Montrose County: 1,167 countMontrose County1,167Gunnison County: 966 countGunnison County966Chaffee County: 864 countChaffee County864Grand County: 786 countGrand County786Fremont County: 781 countFremont County781Delta County: 690 countDelta County690Montezuma County: 669 countMontezuma County669Teller County: 663 countTeller County663Morgan County: 618 countMorgan County618Elbert County: 549 countElbert County549San Miguel County: 539 countSan Miguel County539Logan County: 487 countLogan County487Archuleta County: 449 countArchuleta County449Park County: 416 countPark County416Alamosa County: 412 countAlamosa County412Otero County: 349 countOtero County349Moffat County: 334 countMoffat County334Rio Grande County: 315 countRio Grande County315Las Animas County: 313 countLas Animas County313Prowers County: 293 countProwers County293Yuma County: 281 countYuma County281Clear Creek County: 258 countClear Creek County258Denver County: 20,086 countDenver County20,086Arapahoe County: 14,715 countArapahoe County14,715Jefferson County: 13,520 countJefferson County13,520El Paso County: 13,462 countEl Paso County13,462Boulder County: 10,173 countBoulder County10,173Larimer County: 9,007 countLarimer County9,007Adams County: 8,084 countAdams County8,084Douglas County: 7,503 countDouglas County7,503Weld County: 5,565 countWeld County5,565Mesa County: 3,712 countMesa County3,712Eagle County: 2,696 countEagle County2,696Pueblo County: 2,616 countPueblo County2,616Garfield County: 2,047 countGarfield County2,047La Plata County: 2,021 countLa Plata County2,021Broomfield County: 1,885 countBroomfield County1,885Summit County: 1,665 countSummit County1,665Routt County: 1,471 countRoutt County1,471Pitkin County: 1,261 countPitkin County1,261Montrose County: 1,167 countMontrose County1,167Gunnison County: 966 countGunnison County966Chaffee County: 864 countChaffee County864Grand County: 786 countGrand County786Fremont County: 781 countFremont County781Delta County: 690 countDelta County690Montezuma County: 669 countMontezuma County669Teller County: 663 countTeller County663Morgan County: 618 countMorgan County618Elbert County: 549 countElbert County549San Miguel County: 539 countSan Miguel County539Logan County: 487 countLogan County487Archuleta County: 449 countArchuleta County449Park County: 416 countPark County416Alamosa County: 412 countAlamosa County412Otero County: 349 countOtero County349Moffat County: 334 countMoffat County334Rio Grande County: 315 countRio Grande County315Las Animas County: 313 countLas Animas County313Prowers County: 293 countProwers County293Yuma County: 281 countYuma County281Clear Creek County: 258 countClear Creek County258
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Full ranking

RankCounties2021
count
Change on 2020
1Denver County20,086+2.8%
2Arapahoe County14,715+3.1%
3Jefferson County13,520+2.2%
4El Paso County13,462+3%
5Boulder County10,173+2.1%
6Larimer County9,007+2%
7Adams County8,084+3%
8Douglas County7,503+4.4%
9Weld County5,565+3%
10Mesa County3,712+1.8%
11Eagle County2,696+3.7%
12Pueblo County2,616+1.3%
13Garfield County2,047+3.3%
14La Plata County2,021+1.9%
15Broomfield County1,885+1.4%
16Summit County1,665+3.4%
17Routt County1,471+1.9%
18Pitkin County1,261+3.2%
19Montrose County1,167+4.9%
20Gunnison County966+4.4%
21Chaffee County864+6.8%
22Grand County786+3.1%
23Fremont County781+2.8%
24Delta County690-1.7%
25Montezuma County669+1.5%
26Teller County663+4.4%
27Morgan County618+1.3%
28Elbert County549+2.2%
29San Miguel County539+2.9%
30Logan County487-0.8%
31Archuleta County449+1.6%
32Park County416+4.3%
33Alamosa County412-0.5%
34Otero County3490%
35Moffat County334+6%
36Rio Grande County315+4.7%
37Las Animas County313-4.6%
38Prowers County2930%
39Yuma County281+3.3%
40Clear Creek County258-1.1%
41Ouray County257+3.6%
42Kit Carson County240+1.7%
43Lake County200+4.2%
44Rio Blanco County164-2.4%
45Lincoln County139+6.9%
46Huerfano County138+4.5%
47Custer County132+5.6%
48Gilpin County117+5.4%
48Phillips County117-0.8%
50Saguache County112+5.7%
51Conejos County98+3.2%
52Washington County96-3%
53Baca County68-1.4%
54Sedgwick County66+4.8%
55San Juan County57+14%
56Jackson County55-8.3%
57Mineral County530%
58Hinsdale County51-8.9%
59Cheyenne County50-5.7%
59Dolores County50-7.4%
61Bent County48-2%
62Costilla County40-4.8%
62Crowley County40+14.3%
64Kiowa County340%

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, 2021) [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, 2021. 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=2021. 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, 2021. 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=2021.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties, Counties in Colorado by employer firms, 2021 [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=2021 (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_colorado_by_2021,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Counties in Colorado by employer firms, 2021}},
  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=2021. 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, 2021
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=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/colorado-counties?period=2021.
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 20,086 in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firms?

Kiowa County, with 34 in 2021.

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