Counties in Maine by employer firms

Cumberland County had the highest employer firms of 16 counties in 2017, at 8,588. Piscataquis County had the lowest, at 354. The median was 1,213 and the figure for Maine was 29,147. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest8,588Cumberland County
Median1,21316 counties
Maine29,147History

Map of counties, 2017

Androscoggin County: 2,175 countAroostook County: 1,485 countCumberland County: 8,588 countFranklin County: 683 countHancock County: 1,662 countKennebec County: 2,522 countKnox County: 1,369 countLincoln County: 1,046 countOxford County: 1,057 countPenobscot County: 3,147 countPiscataquis County: 354 countSagadahoc County: 771 countSomerset County: 902 countWaldo County: 765 countWashington County: 617 countYork County: 4,258 count
  • Under 770
  • 770 to 1,000
  • 1,000 to 1,500
  • 1,500 to 2,500
  • 2,500 and over
count, 2017. 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.

All counties, 2017

Cumberland County: 8,588 countCumberland County8,588York County: 4,258 countYork County4,258Penobscot County: 3,147 countPenobscot County3,147Kennebec County: 2,522 countKennebec County2,522Androscoggin County: 2,175 countAndroscoggin County2,175Hancock County: 1,662 countHancock County1,662Aroostook County: 1,485 countAroostook County1,485Knox County: 1,369 countKnox County1,369Oxford County: 1,057 countOxford County1,057Lincoln County: 1,046 countLincoln County1,046Somerset County: 902 countSomerset County902Sagadahoc County: 771 countSagadahoc County771Waldo County: 765 countWaldo County765Franklin County: 683 countFranklin County683Washington County: 617 countWashington County617Piscataquis County: 354 countPiscataquis County354Cumberland County: 8,588 countCumberland County8,588York County: 4,258 countYork County4,258Penobscot County: 3,147 countPenobscot County3,147Kennebec County: 2,522 countKennebec County2,522Androscoggin County: 2,175 countAndroscoggin County2,175Hancock County: 1,662 countHancock County1,662Aroostook County: 1,485 countAroostook County1,485Knox County: 1,369 countKnox County1,369Oxford County: 1,057 countOxford County1,057Lincoln County: 1,046 countLincoln County1,046Somerset County: 902 countSomerset County902Sagadahoc County: 771 countSagadahoc County771Waldo County: 765 countWaldo County765Franklin County: 683 countFranklin County683Washington County: 617 countWashington County617Piscataquis County: 354 countPiscataquis County354
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Full ranking

RankCounties2017
count
Change on 2016
1Cumberland County8,588+0.3%
2York County4,258+0.4%
3Penobscot County3,147-1.2%
4Kennebec County2,522-0.9%
5Androscoggin County2,175+1.2%
6Hancock County1,662+0.8%
7Aroostook County1,485-2%
8Knox County1,369-0.4%
9Oxford County1,057+1%
10Lincoln County1,046-0.1%
11Somerset County902-0.6%
12Sagadahoc County771-0.5%
13Waldo County765+0.4%
14Franklin County683+0.1%
15Washington County617+0.2%
16Piscataquis County354+1.1%

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 Maine 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 Maine 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/maine-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 Maine 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/maine-counties?period=2017.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties, Counties in Maine 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/maine-counties?period=2017 (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_maine_by_2017,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Counties in Maine 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/maine-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 Maine 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/maine-counties?period=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/maine-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  - 
Embed this chart

Paste this code into a web page or a blog post. The chart shows the latest figures as they are published, with the source and a link back to this page.

Sites that read oEmbed links, such as WordPress, can show the chart when you paste the link to this page.

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 Maine by employer firms using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"employer_firms","level":"province","within":"Maine","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=employer_firms&level=province&within=Maine&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which county has the highest employer firms?

Cumberland County, with 8,588 in 2017, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firms?

Piscataquis County, with 354 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 Maine: more rankings