Counties in Minnesota by employer firms

Hennepin County had the highest employer firms of 87 counties in 2014, at 27,217. Red Lake County had the lowest, at 84. The median was 482 and the figure for Minnesota was 100,792. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest27,217Hennepin County
Median48287 counties
Minnesota100,792History

Map of counties, 2014

Aitkin County: 330 countAnoka County: 5,569 countBecker County: 776 countBeltrami County: 931 countBenton County: 743 countBig Stone County: 155 countBlue Earth County: 1,572 countBrown County: 629 countCarlton County: 544 countCarver County: 1,900 countCass County: 616 countChippewa County: 360 countChisago County: 942 countClay County: 994 countClearwater County: 172 countCook County: 219 countCottonwood County: 295 countCrow Wing County: 1,635 countDakota County: 7,482 countDodge County: 351 countDouglas County: 1,120 countFaribault County: 353 countFillmore County: 473 countFreeborn County: 693 countGoodhue County: 1,052 countGrant County: 174 countHennepin County: 27,217 countHouston County: 341 countHubbard County: 482 countIsanti County: 698 countItasca County: 920 countJackson County: 268 countKanabec County: 253 countKandiyohi County: 1,115 countKittson County: 121 countKoochiching County: 326 countLac qui Parle County: 183 countLake County: 248 countLake of the Woods County: 140 countLe Sueur County: 529 countLincoln County: 181 countLyon County: 660 countMcLeod County: 811 countMahnomen County: 98 countMarshall County: 207 countMartin County: 498 countMeeker County: 467 countMille Lacs County: 535 countMorrison County: 745 countMower County: 715 countMurray County: 258 countNicollet County: 528 countNobles County: 516 countNorman County: 152 countOlmsted County: 2,728 countOtter Tail County: 1,351 countPennington County: 334 countPine County: 487 countPipestone County: 277 countPolk County: 619 countPope County: 274 countRamsey County: 9,651 countRed Lake County: 84 countRedwood County: 435 countRenville County: 393 countRice County: 1,181 countRock County: 229 countRoseau County: 327 countSt. Louis County: 3,988 countScott County: 2,598 countSherburne County: 1,574 countSibley County: 293 countStearns County: 3,543 countSteele County: 843 countStevens County: 265 countSwift County: 279 countTodd County: 448 countTraverse County: 109 countWabasha County: 471 countWadena County: 323 countWaseca County: 380 countWashington County: 4,250 countWatonwan County: 257 countWilkin County: 142 countWinona County: 961 countWright County: 2,522 countYellow Medicine County: 278 count
  • Under 200
  • 200 to 300
  • 300 to 500
  • 500 to 700
  • 700 to 1,300
  • 1,300 and over
count, 2014. 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, 2014

Hennepin County: 27,217 countHennepin County27,217Ramsey County: 9,651 countRamsey County9,651Dakota County: 7,482 countDakota County7,482Anoka County: 5,569 countAnoka County5,569Washington County: 4,250 countWashington County4,250St. Louis County: 3,988 countSt. Louis County3,988Stearns County: 3,543 countStearns County3,543Olmsted County: 2,728 countOlmsted County2,728Scott County: 2,598 countScott County2,598Wright County: 2,522 countWright County2,522Carver County: 1,900 countCarver County1,900Crow Wing County: 1,635 countCrow Wing County1,635Sherburne County: 1,574 countSherburne County1,574Blue Earth County: 1,572 countBlue Earth County1,572Otter Tail County: 1,351 countOtter Tail County1,351Rice County: 1,181 countRice County1,181Douglas County: 1,120 countDouglas County1,120Kandiyohi County: 1,115 countKandiyohi County1,115Goodhue County: 1,052 countGoodhue County1,052Clay County: 994 countClay County994Winona County: 961 countWinona County961Chisago County: 942 countChisago County942Beltrami County: 931 countBeltrami County931Itasca County: 920 countItasca County920Steele County: 843 countSteele County843McLeod County: 811 countMcLeod County811Becker County: 776 countBecker County776Morrison County: 745 countMorrison County745Benton County: 743 countBenton County743Mower County: 715 countMower County715Isanti County: 698 countIsanti County698Freeborn County: 693 countFreeborn County693Lyon County: 660 countLyon County660Brown County: 629 countBrown County629Polk County: 619 countPolk County619Cass County: 616 countCass County616Carlton County: 544 countCarlton County544Mille Lacs County: 535 countMille Lacs County535Le Sueur County: 529 countLe Sueur County529Nicollet County: 528 countNicollet County528Hennepin County: 27,217 countHennepin County27,217Ramsey County: 9,651 countRamsey County9,651Dakota County: 7,482 countDakota County7,482Anoka County: 5,569 countAnoka County5,569Washington County: 4,250 countWashington County4,250St. Louis County: 3,988 countSt. Louis County3,988Stearns County: 3,543 countStearns County3,543Olmsted County: 2,728 countOlmsted County2,728Scott County: 2,598 countScott County2,598Wright County: 2,522 countWright County2,522Carver County: 1,900 countCarver County1,900Crow Wing County: 1,635 countCrow Wing County1,635Sherburne County: 1,574 countSherburne County1,574Blue Earth County: 1,572 countBlue Earth County1,572Otter Tail County: 1,351 countOtter Tail County1,351Rice County: 1,181 countRice County1,181Douglas County: 1,120 countDouglas County1,120Kandiyohi County: 1,115 countKandiyohi County1,115Goodhue County: 1,052 countGoodhue County1,052Clay County: 994 countClay County994Winona County: 961 countWinona County961Chisago County: 942 countChisago County942Beltrami County: 931 countBeltrami County931Itasca County: 920 countItasca County920Steele County: 843 countSteele County843McLeod County: 811 countMcLeod County811Becker County: 776 countBecker County776Morrison County: 745 countMorrison County745Benton County: 743 countBenton County743Mower County: 715 countMower County715Isanti County: 698 countIsanti County698Freeborn County: 693 countFreeborn County693Lyon County: 660 countLyon County660Brown County: 629 countBrown County629Polk County: 619 countPolk County619Cass County: 616 countCass County616Carlton County: 544 countCarlton County544Mille Lacs County: 535 countMille Lacs County535Le Sueur County: 529 countLe Sueur County529Nicollet County: 528 countNicollet County528
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Full ranking

RankCounties2014
count
Change on 2013
1Hennepin County27,217+0.4%
2Ramsey County9,651+0.3%
3Dakota County7,482+2.5%
4Anoka County5,569+1.8%
5Washington County4,250+1.4%
6St. Louis County3,988-1%
7Stearns County3,543+0.4%
8Olmsted County2,728+2.1%
9Scott County2,598+2.2%
10Wright County2,522+3.2%
11Carver County1,900+3.3%
12Crow Wing County1,635+0.8%
13Sherburne County1,574+1.6%
14Blue Earth County1,5720%
15Otter Tail County1,351-0.1%
16Rice County1,181-0.6%
17Douglas County1,120-2.3%
18Kandiyohi County1,115-2.2%
19Goodhue County1,052-0.5%
20Clay County994-0.3%
21Winona County961-0.8%
22Chisago County942+0.7%
23Beltrami County931-0.1%
24Itasca County920-1.4%
25Steele County843-0.2%
26McLeod County811-0.9%
27Becker County776-0.3%
28Morrison County745+0.3%
29Benton County743+0.3%
30Mower County715+0.6%
31Isanti County698+0.9%
32Freeborn County693+0.7%
33Lyon County660+0.9%
34Brown County629-0.3%
35Polk County619+1.6%
36Cass County616-1%
37Carlton County544-0.2%
38Mille Lacs County535-0.6%
39Le Sueur County529-0.6%
40Nicollet County528-0.4%
41Nobles County516-0.8%
42Martin County4980%
43Pine County487+1%
44Hubbard County482-2%
45Fillmore County4730%
46Wabasha County471-1.7%
47Meeker County467+0.9%
48Todd County448-2.6%
49Redwood County435-0.9%
50Renville County393-2%
51Waseca County380-0.3%
52Chippewa County360+0.6%
53Faribault County353-3.6%
54Dodge County351+3.5%
55Houston County341-1.2%
56Pennington County334+1.2%
57Aitkin County330-0.3%
58Roseau County327-0.9%
59Koochiching County326-0.9%
60Wadena County323+2.5%
61Cottonwood County295+0.7%
62Sibley County293-1.3%
63Swift County279+2.6%
64Yellow Medicine County278+3.7%
65Pipestone County277-0.7%
66Pope County274+1.1%
67Jackson County268-1.1%
68Stevens County265-2.2%
69Murray County258+2.8%
70Watonwan County257-2.3%
71Kanabec County253+2%
72Lake County248-0.8%
73Rock County229-1.3%
74Cook County219+1.9%
75Marshall County207-1%
76Lac qui Parle County183+5.8%
77Lincoln County181-3.2%
78Grant County174+1.2%
79Clearwater County172+0.6%
80Big Stone County1550%
81Norman County1520%
82Wilkin County142+1.4%
83Lake of the Woods County140+2.9%
84Kittson County121+2.5%
85Traverse County109-1.8%
86Mahnomen County98+3.2%
87Red Lake County84+3.7%

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, 2014) [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, 2014. 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?period=2014. 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, 2014. 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?period=2014.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties, Counties in Minnesota by employer firms, 2014 [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?period=2014 (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_minnesota_by_2014,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Counties in Minnesota by employer firms, 2014}},
  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?period=2014. 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, 2014
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?period=2014
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/minnesota-counties?period=2014.
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 27,217 in 2014, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firms?

Red Lake County, with 84 in 2014.

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