Counties in Illinois by employer firms
Cook County had the highest employer firms of 102 counties in 2021, at 94,781. Pope County had the lowest, at 42. The median was 471 and the figure for Illinois was 218,884. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.
Map of counties, 2021
- Under 200
- 200 to 300
- 300 to 500
- 500 to 700
- 700 to 1,800
- 1,800 and over
Top 40 counties, 2021
Full ranking
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
APA 7
U.S. Census Bureau. (2025). Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties (Counties in Illinois 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 Illinois 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/illinois-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 Illinois 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/illinois-counties?period=2021.
Harvard
U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties, Counties in Illinois 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/illinois-counties?period=2021 (Accessed: 11 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_illinois_by_2021,
author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Counties in Illinois 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/illinois-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 Illinois 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/illinois-counties?period=2021
Y2 - 2026/10/11
N1 - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/illinois-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 -
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 Illinois by employer firms using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"employer_firms","level":"province","within":"Illinois","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=employer_firms&level=province&within=Illinois&limit=10Questions
Which county has the highest employer firms?
Cook County, with 94,781 in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Which county has the lowest employer firms?
Pope County, with 42 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 Illinois: more rankings
- Business revenue: professional, scientific and technical services (Economic Census)
- Job creation rate
- Business revenue: real estate, rental and leasing (Economic Census)
- Establishment entry rate
- Mean travel time to work
- Covered employment (QCEW)
- Labor force participation rate (US five-year survey estimate)
- GDP per capita, US dollars