Counties in Iowa by employer firms
Polk County had the highest employer firms of 99 counties in 2017, at 9,038. Adams County had the lowest, at 94. The median was 345 and the figure for Iowa was 55,862. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.
Map of counties, 2017
- Under 180
- 180 to 270
- 270 to 350
- 350 to 470
- 470 to 710
- 710 and over
Top 40 counties, 2017
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 Iowa by employer firms, 2017) [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 Iowa by employer firms, 2017. 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/iowa-counties?period=2017. 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 Iowa by employer firms, 2017. 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/iowa-counties?period=2017.
Harvard
U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties, Counties in Iowa by employer firms, 2017 [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/iowa-counties?period=2017 (Accessed: 11 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_iowa_by_2017,
author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Counties in Iowa by employer firms, 2017}},
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/iowa-counties?period=2017. 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 Iowa by employer firms, 2017
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/iowa-counties?period=2017
Y2 - 2026/10/11
N1 - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/iowa-counties?period=2017.
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 Iowa by employer firms using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"employer_firms","level":"province","within":"Iowa","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=employer_firms&level=province&within=Iowa&limit=10Questions
Which county has the highest employer firms?
Polk County, with 9,038 in 2017, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Which county has the lowest employer firms?
Adams County, with 94 in 2017.
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 Iowa: more rankings
- Business revenue: educational services (Economic Census)
- Business revenue: accommodation and food services (Economic Census)
- Business revenue: other services (Economic Census)
- Job destruction rate
- Labor force participation rate (US five-year survey estimate)
- Covered employment (QCEW)
- Gross domestic product (GDP), US dollars
- Unemployment rate