Counties in Colorado by employer firms

Denver County had the highest employer firms of 64 counties in 2022, at 20,479. Kiowa County had the lowest, at 31. The median was 414 and the figure for Colorado was 127,773. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest20,479Denver County
Lowest31Kiowa County
Median41464 counties
Colorado127,773History

Map of counties, 2022

Adams County: 8,208 countAlamosa County: 412 countArapahoe County: 14,981 countArchuleta County: 458 countBaca County: 73 countBent County: 50 countBoulder County: 10,311 countBroomfield County: 1,913 countChaffee County: 894 countCheyenne County: 52 countClear Creek County: 280 countConejos County: 103 countCostilla County: 42 countCrowley County: 39 countCuster County: 141 countDelta County: 708 countDenver County: 20,479 countDolores County: 58 countDouglas County: 7,649 countEagle County: 2,735 countElbert County: 562 countEl Paso County: 13,677 countFremont County: 796 countGarfield County: 2,080 countGilpin County: 112 countGrand County: 786 countGunnison County: 967 countHinsdale County: 50 countHuerfano County: 132 countJackson County: 61 countJefferson County: 13,592 countKiowa County: 31 countKit Carson County: 232 countLake County: 201 countLa Plata County: 2,029 countLarimer County: 9,193 countLas Animas County: 319 countLincoln County: 138 countLogan County: 486 countMesa County: 3,764 countMineral County: 55 countMoffat County: 329 countMontezuma County: 676 countMontrose County: 1,224 countMorgan County: 620 countOtero County: 350 countOuray County: 267 countPark County: 416 countPhillips County: 119 countPitkin County: 1,257 countProwers County: 296 countPueblo County: 2,619 countRio Blanco County: 169 countRio Grande County: 314 countRoutt County: 1,489 countSaguache County: 105 countSan Juan County: 58 countSan Miguel County: 561 countSedgwick County: 65 countSummit County: 1,679 countTeller County: 698 countWashington County: 98 countWeld County: 5,705 countYuma County: 266 count
  • Under 100
  • 100 to 200
  • 200 to 400
  • 400 to 800
  • 800 to 2,700
  • 2,700 and over
count, 2022. 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, 2022

Denver County: 20,479 countDenver County20,479Arapahoe County: 14,981 countArapahoe County14,981El Paso County: 13,677 countEl Paso County13,677Jefferson County: 13,592 countJefferson County13,592Boulder County: 10,311 countBoulder County10,311Larimer County: 9,193 countLarimer County9,193Adams County: 8,208 countAdams County8,208Douglas County: 7,649 countDouglas County7,649Weld County: 5,705 countWeld County5,705Mesa County: 3,764 countMesa County3,764Eagle County: 2,735 countEagle County2,735Pueblo County: 2,619 countPueblo County2,619Garfield County: 2,080 countGarfield County2,080La Plata County: 2,029 countLa Plata County2,029Broomfield County: 1,913 countBroomfield County1,913Summit County: 1,679 countSummit County1,679Routt County: 1,489 countRoutt County1,489Pitkin County: 1,257 countPitkin County1,257Montrose County: 1,224 countMontrose County1,224Gunnison County: 967 countGunnison County967Chaffee County: 894 countChaffee County894Fremont County: 796 countFremont County796Grand County: 786 countGrand County786Delta County: 708 countDelta County708Teller County: 698 countTeller County698Montezuma County: 676 countMontezuma County676Morgan County: 620 countMorgan County620Elbert County: 562 countElbert County562San Miguel County: 561 countSan Miguel County561Logan County: 486 countLogan County486Archuleta County: 458 countArchuleta County458Park County: 416 countPark County416Alamosa County: 412 countAlamosa County412Otero County: 350 countOtero County350Moffat County: 329 countMoffat County329Las Animas County: 319 countLas Animas County319Rio Grande County: 314 countRio Grande County314Prowers County: 296 countProwers County296Clear Creek County: 280 countClear Creek County280Ouray County: 267 countOuray County267Denver County: 20,479 countDenver County20,479Arapahoe County: 14,981 countArapahoe County14,981El Paso County: 13,677 countEl Paso County13,677Jefferson County: 13,592 countJefferson County13,592Boulder County: 10,311 countBoulder County10,311Larimer County: 9,193 countLarimer County9,193Adams County: 8,208 countAdams County8,208Douglas County: 7,649 countDouglas County7,649Weld County: 5,705 countWeld County5,705Mesa County: 3,764 countMesa County3,764Eagle County: 2,735 countEagle County2,735Pueblo County: 2,619 countPueblo County2,619Garfield County: 2,080 countGarfield County2,080La Plata County: 2,029 countLa Plata County2,029Broomfield County: 1,913 countBroomfield County1,913Summit County: 1,679 countSummit County1,679Routt County: 1,489 countRoutt County1,489Pitkin County: 1,257 countPitkin County1,257Montrose County: 1,224 countMontrose County1,224Gunnison County: 967 countGunnison County967Chaffee County: 894 countChaffee County894Fremont County: 796 countFremont County796Grand County: 786 countGrand County786Delta County: 708 countDelta County708Teller County: 698 countTeller County698Montezuma County: 676 countMontezuma County676Morgan County: 620 countMorgan County620Elbert County: 562 countElbert County562San Miguel County: 561 countSan Miguel County561Logan County: 486 countLogan County486Archuleta County: 458 countArchuleta County458Park County: 416 countPark County416Alamosa County: 412 countAlamosa County412Otero County: 350 countOtero County350Moffat County: 329 countMoffat County329Las Animas County: 319 countLas Animas County319Rio Grande County: 314 countRio Grande County314Prowers County: 296 countProwers County296Clear Creek County: 280 countClear Creek County280Ouray County: 267 countOuray County267
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
1Denver County20,479+2%
2Arapahoe County14,981+1.8%
3El Paso County13,677+1.6%
4Jefferson County13,592+0.5%
5Boulder County10,311+1.4%
6Larimer County9,193+2.1%
7Adams County8,208+1.5%
8Douglas County7,649+1.9%
9Weld County5,705+2.5%
10Mesa County3,764+1.4%
11Eagle County2,735+1.4%
12Pueblo County2,619+0.1%
13Garfield County2,080+1.6%
14La Plata County2,029+0.4%
15Broomfield County1,913+1.5%
16Summit County1,679+0.8%
17Routt County1,489+1.2%
18Pitkin County1,257-0.3%
19Montrose County1,224+4.9%
20Gunnison County967+0.1%
21Chaffee County894+3.5%
22Fremont County796+1.9%
23Grand County7860%
24Delta County708+2.6%
25Teller County698+5.3%
26Montezuma County676+1%
27Morgan County620+0.3%
28Elbert County562+2.4%
29San Miguel County561+4.1%
30Logan County486-0.2%
31Archuleta County458+2%
32Park County4160%
33Alamosa County4120%
34Otero County350+0.3%
35Moffat County329-1.5%
36Las Animas County319+1.9%
37Rio Grande County314-0.3%
38Prowers County296+1%
39Clear Creek County280+8.5%
40Ouray County267+3.9%
41Yuma County266-5.3%
42Kit Carson County232-3.3%
43Lake County201+0.5%
44Rio Blanco County169+3%
45Custer County141+6.8%
46Lincoln County138-0.7%
47Huerfano County132-4.3%
48Phillips County119+1.7%
49Gilpin County112-4.3%
50Saguache County105-6.3%
51Conejos County103+5.1%
52Washington County98+2.1%
53Baca County73+7.4%
54Sedgwick County65-1.5%
55Jackson County61+10.9%
56Dolores County58+16%
56San Juan County58+1.8%
58Mineral County55+3.8%
59Cheyenne County52+4%
60Bent County50+4.2%
60Hinsdale County50-2%
62Costilla County42+5%
63Crowley County39-2.5%
64Kiowa County31-8.8%

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 Colorado 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 Colorado 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/colorado-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 Colorado 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/colorado-counties?period=2022.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties, Counties in Colorado 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/colorado-counties?period=2022 (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_colorado_by_2022,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Counties in Colorado 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/colorado-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 Colorado 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/colorado-counties?period=2022
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/colorado-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?

Denver County, with 20,479 in 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firms?

Kiowa County, with 31 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 Colorado: more rankings