Counties in Minnesota by employer firms, 2023

Hennepin County had the highest employer firms of 87 counties in 2023, at 28,121. Red Lake County had the lowest, at 73. The median was 477 and the figure for Minnesota was 103,804. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest28,121Hennepin County
Median47787 counties
Minnesota103,804History

Top 40 counties, 2023

Hennepin County: 28,121 countHennepin County28,121Ramsey County: 10,015 countRamsey County10,015Dakota County: 7,786 countDakota County7,786Anoka County: 6,253 countAnoka County6,253Washington County: 4,742 countWashington County4,742St. Louis County: 3,926 countSt. Louis County3,926Stearns County: 3,569 countStearns County3,569Scott County: 2,913 countScott County2,913Olmsted County: 2,873 countOlmsted County2,873Wright County: 2,829 countWright County2,829Carver County: 2,071 countCarver County2,071Crow Wing County: 1,796 countCrow Wing County1,796Sherburne County: 1,793 countSherburne County1,793Blue Earth County: 1,588 countBlue Earth County1,588Otter Tail County: 1,343 countOtter Tail County1,343Rice County: 1,270 countRice County1,270Douglas County: 1,175 countDouglas County1,175Kandiyohi County: 1,090 countKandiyohi County1,090Chisago County: 1,031 countChisago County1,031Clay County: 1,026 countClay County1,026Goodhue County: 1,022 countGoodhue County1,022Beltrami County: 981 countBeltrami County981Itasca County: 937 countItasca County937Winona County: 917 countWinona County917Isanti County: 828 countIsanti County828Steele County: 816 countSteele County816McLeod County: 789 countMcLeod County789Benton County: 779 countBenton County779Morrison County: 778 countMorrison County778Becker County: 755 countBecker County755Cass County: 675 countCass County675Mower County: 645 countMower County645Lyon County: 640 countLyon County640Freeborn County: 627 countFreeborn County627Brown County: 620 countBrown County620Mille Lacs County: 581 countMille Lacs County581Le Sueur County: 573 countLe Sueur County573Nicollet County: 569 countNicollet County569Polk County: 567 countPolk County567Carlton County: 561 countCarlton County561
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Full ranking

RankCounties2023
count
Change on 2022
1Hennepin County28,121-0.3%
2Ramsey County10,015+0.3%
3Dakota County7,786-0.1%
4Anoka County6,253+1%
5Washington County4,742+0.8%
6St. Louis County3,926+0.4%
7Stearns County3,569+0.8%
8Scott County2,913+1.4%
9Olmsted County2,873+2%
10Wright County2,829-0.3%
11Carver County2,071+1.8%
12Crow Wing County1,796-0.3%
13Sherburne County1,793+1%
14Blue Earth County1,588+1.3%
15Otter Tail County1,343-0.3%
16Rice County1,270+2.5%
17Douglas County1,175+0.9%
18Kandiyohi County1,090+0.6%
19Chisago County1,031-0.8%
20Clay County1,026-1.3%
21Goodhue County1,022+0.2%
22Beltrami County981+0.1%
23Itasca County937+1%
24Winona County917+1.8%
25Isanti County828+2.6%
26Steele County816+1.6%
27McLeod County7890%
28Benton County779+3%
29Morrison County778+1%
30Becker County755-2.7%
31Cass County675-0.7%
32Mower County645-1.1%
33Lyon County640-2.3%
34Freeborn County627-0.5%
35Brown County620-0.8%
36Mille Lacs County581+2.8%
37Le Sueur County573-1%
38Nicollet County569+0.2%
39Polk County567-0.5%
40Carlton County561+3.5%
41Hubbard County496-0.2%
42Pine County487-1.6%
43Meeker County483+1.7%
44Martin County477+1.3%
45Nobles County473-0.8%
46Wabasha County4650%
47Todd County463+2.2%
48Fillmore County452-1.3%
49Redwood County422+0.2%
50Renville County388+3.5%
51Waseca County364-0.5%
52Dodge County341+2.4%
53Roseau County339+0.9%
54Aitkin County325+0.3%
55Houston County324-1.8%
56Wadena County322-2.4%
57Faribault County320-3%
58Koochiching County311+4%
59Chippewa County309-4.3%
60Pennington County303+0.7%
61Sibley County291-1%
62Pope County275-4.8%
63Lake County274+3%
63Pipestone County274+0.7%
65Cottonwood County2680%
65Stevens County268+1.9%
67Swift County261-1.1%
67Yellow Medicine County261-2.2%
69Kanabec County250-4.6%
69Watonwan County250-0.8%
71Jackson County238+0.8%
72Rock County236-2.1%
73Cook County230-2.1%
73Murray County2300%
75Marshall County205-1.4%
76Grant County1750%
77Lac qui Parle County167-1.2%
78Lincoln County162+1.3%
79Clearwater County160+0.6%
80Norman County152-1.9%
81Big Stone County141-2.1%
82Lake of the Woods County127-4.5%
83Wilkin County125+3.3%
84Kittson County1170%
85Traverse County98-1%
86Mahnomen County880%
87Red Lake County73-6.4%

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 Minnesota by employer firms, 2023) [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 Minnesota by employer firms, 2023. 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/minnesota-counties. 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 Minnesota by employer firms, 2023. 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/minnesota-counties.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties, Counties in Minnesota by employer firms, 2023 [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/minnesota-counties (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_minnesota_by_2023,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Counties in Minnesota by employer firms, 2023}},
  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/minnesota-counties. 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 Minnesota by employer firms, 2023
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/minnesota-counties
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/minnesota-counties.
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?

Hennepin County, with 28,121 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firms?

Red Lake County, with 73 in 2023.

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 Minnesota: more rankings