Counties in Minnesota by employer firms

Hennepin County had the highest employer firms of 87 counties in 2016, at 27,718. Red Lake County had the lowest, at 83. The median was 484 and the figure for Minnesota was 102,226. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest27,718Hennepin County
Median48487 counties
Minnesota102,226History

Map of counties, 2016

Aitkin County: 331 countAnoka County: 5,799 countBecker County: 783 countBeltrami County: 942 countBenton County: 730 countBig Stone County: 153 countBlue Earth County: 1,601 countBrown County: 640 countCarlton County: 546 countCarver County: 1,960 countCass County: 633 countChippewa County: 338 countChisago County: 975 countClay County: 1,046 countClearwater County: 182 countCook County: 216 countCottonwood County: 289 countCrow Wing County: 1,695 countDakota County: 7,622 countDodge County: 341 countDouglas County: 1,156 countFaribault County: 351 countFillmore County: 484 countFreeborn County: 682 countGoodhue County: 1,040 countGrant County: 175 countHennepin County: 27,718 countHouston County: 333 countHubbard County: 471 countIsanti County: 722 countItasca County: 943 countJackson County: 260 countKanabec County: 261 countKandiyohi County: 1,113 countKittson County: 115 countKoochiching County: 339 countLac qui Parle County: 182 countLake County: 251 countLake of the Woods County: 142 countLe Sueur County: 537 countLincoln County: 185 countLyon County: 639 countMcLeod County: 813 countMahnomen County: 97 countMarshall County: 211 countMartin County: 509 countMeeker County: 454 countMille Lacs County: 563 countMorrison County: 737 countMower County: 695 countMurray County: 257 countNicollet County: 548 countNobles County: 509 countNorman County: 160 countOlmsted County: 2,748 countOtter Tail County: 1,335 countPennington County: 324 countPine County: 485 countPipestone County: 286 countPolk County: 608 countPope County: 281 countRamsey County: 9,796 countRed Lake County: 83 countRedwood County: 441 countRenville County: 399 countRice County: 1,236 countRock County: 233 countRoseau County: 332 countSt. Louis County: 4,015 countScott County: 2,692 countSherburne County: 1,664 countSibley County: 296 countStearns County: 3,604 countSteele County: 839 countStevens County: 252 countSwift County: 270 countTodd County: 457 countTraverse County: 102 countWabasha County: 468 countWadena County: 343 countWaseca County: 390 countWashington County: 4,451 countWatonwan County: 257 countWilkin County: 138 countWinona County: 935 countWright County: 2,599 countYellow Medicine County: 282 count
  • Under 200
  • 200 to 300
  • 300 to 500
  • 500 to 700
  • 700 to 1,300
  • 1,300 and over
count, 2016. 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, 2016

Hennepin County: 27,718 countHennepin County27,718Ramsey County: 9,796 countRamsey County9,796Dakota County: 7,622 countDakota County7,622Anoka County: 5,799 countAnoka County5,799Washington County: 4,451 countWashington County4,451St. Louis County: 4,015 countSt. Louis County4,015Stearns County: 3,604 countStearns County3,604Olmsted County: 2,748 countOlmsted County2,748Scott County: 2,692 countScott County2,692Wright County: 2,599 countWright County2,599Carver County: 1,960 countCarver County1,960Crow Wing County: 1,695 countCrow Wing County1,695Sherburne County: 1,664 countSherburne County1,664Blue Earth County: 1,601 countBlue Earth County1,601Otter Tail County: 1,335 countOtter Tail County1,335Rice County: 1,236 countRice County1,236Douglas County: 1,156 countDouglas County1,156Kandiyohi County: 1,113 countKandiyohi County1,113Clay County: 1,046 countClay County1,046Goodhue County: 1,040 countGoodhue County1,040Chisago County: 975 countChisago County975Itasca County: 943 countItasca County943Beltrami County: 942 countBeltrami County942Winona County: 935 countWinona County935Steele County: 839 countSteele County839McLeod County: 813 countMcLeod County813Becker County: 783 countBecker County783Morrison County: 737 countMorrison County737Benton County: 730 countBenton County730Isanti County: 722 countIsanti County722Mower County: 695 countMower County695Freeborn County: 682 countFreeborn County682Brown County: 640 countBrown County640Lyon County: 639 countLyon County639Cass County: 633 countCass County633Polk County: 608 countPolk County608Mille Lacs County: 563 countMille Lacs County563Nicollet County: 548 countNicollet County548Carlton County: 546 countCarlton County546Le Sueur County: 537 countLe Sueur County537Hennepin County: 27,718 countHennepin County27,718Ramsey County: 9,796 countRamsey County9,796Dakota County: 7,622 countDakota County7,622Anoka County: 5,799 countAnoka County5,799Washington County: 4,451 countWashington County4,451St. Louis County: 4,015 countSt. Louis County4,015Stearns County: 3,604 countStearns County3,604Olmsted County: 2,748 countOlmsted County2,748Scott County: 2,692 countScott County2,692Wright County: 2,599 countWright County2,599Carver County: 1,960 countCarver County1,960Crow Wing County: 1,695 countCrow Wing County1,695Sherburne County: 1,664 countSherburne County1,664Blue Earth County: 1,601 countBlue Earth County1,601Otter Tail County: 1,335 countOtter Tail County1,335Rice County: 1,236 countRice County1,236Douglas County: 1,156 countDouglas County1,156Kandiyohi County: 1,113 countKandiyohi County1,113Clay County: 1,046 countClay County1,046Goodhue County: 1,040 countGoodhue County1,040Chisago County: 975 countChisago County975Itasca County: 943 countItasca County943Beltrami County: 942 countBeltrami County942Winona County: 935 countWinona County935Steele County: 839 countSteele County839McLeod County: 813 countMcLeod County813Becker County: 783 countBecker County783Morrison County: 737 countMorrison County737Benton County: 730 countBenton County730Isanti County: 722 countIsanti County722Mower County: 695 countMower County695Freeborn County: 682 countFreeborn County682Brown County: 640 countBrown County640Lyon County: 639 countLyon County639Cass County: 633 countCass County633Polk County: 608 countPolk County608Mille Lacs County: 563 countMille Lacs County563Nicollet County: 548 countNicollet County548Carlton County: 546 countCarlton County546Le Sueur County: 537 countLe Sueur County537
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Full ranking

RankCounties2016
count
Change on 2015
1Hennepin County27,718+0.6%
2Ramsey County9,796+1.4%
3Dakota County7,622+1%
4Anoka County5,799+2.5%
5Washington County4,451+2.6%
6St. Louis County4,015+0.6%
7Stearns County3,604+1.8%
8Olmsted County2,7480%
9Scott County2,692+2.5%
10Wright County2,599+1.1%
11Carver County1,960+2.7%
12Crow Wing County1,695+2.5%
13Sherburne County1,664+2%
14Blue Earth County1,601+0.6%
15Otter Tail County1,335-0.7%
16Rice County1,236+2.2%
17Douglas County1,156+0.3%
18Kandiyohi County1,113+0.5%
19Clay County1,046+2%
20Goodhue County1,040-1.4%
21Chisago County975+3.9%
22Itasca County943+1.4%
23Beltrami County942+0.7%
24Winona County935-1.6%
25Steele County839-1.2%
26McLeod County813+0.6%
27Becker County783-0.6%
28Morrison County737-0.9%
29Benton County730-0.8%
30Isanti County722+2.4%
31Mower County695+1%
32Freeborn County682+0.6%
33Brown County640-0.2%
34Lyon County639-1.1%
35Cass County633+1.9%
36Polk County608-1%
37Mille Lacs County563+2%
38Nicollet County548+2.2%
39Carlton County546-1.4%
40Le Sueur County537-0.4%
41Martin County509+1.6%
41Nobles County5090%
43Pine County485+0.4%
44Fillmore County484+3.2%
45Hubbard County471-1.5%
46Wabasha County468+0.2%
47Todd County457+0.9%
48Meeker County454-0.9%
49Redwood County441+1.4%
50Renville County399+0.3%
51Waseca County390+2.9%
52Faribault County351+0.6%
53Wadena County343+3.9%
54Dodge County341-2.6%
55Koochiching County339+3.7%
56Chippewa County338-3.4%
57Houston County333-0.6%
58Roseau County332+0.6%
59Aitkin County331+0.6%
60Pennington County324-3.6%
61Sibley County296+5%
62Cottonwood County289-1.7%
63Pipestone County286+1.1%
64Yellow Medicine County282+0.7%
65Pope County281+2.6%
66Swift County270-2.2%
67Kanabec County261-0.4%
68Jackson County260-2.3%
69Murray County257-3%
69Watonwan County257+1.6%
71Stevens County252-4.5%
72Lake County251+2.9%
73Rock County233-2.9%
74Cook County216-2.3%
75Marshall County211-0.9%
76Lincoln County1850%
77Clearwater County182+5.2%
77Lac qui Parle County182+1.1%
79Grant County175+6.7%
80Norman County160-0.6%
81Big Stone County153-1.3%
82Lake of the Woods County142+4.4%
83Wilkin County138-1.4%
84Kittson County115-4.2%
85Traverse County102-1%
86Mahnomen County97-1%
87Red Lake County83+2.5%

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, 2016) [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, 2016. 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=2016. 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, 2016. 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=2016.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties, Counties in Minnesota by employer firms, 2016 [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=2016 (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_minnesota_by_2016,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Counties in Minnesota by employer firms, 2016}},
  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=2016. 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, 2016
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=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/minnesota-counties?period=2016.
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 27,718 in 2016, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firms?

Red Lake County, with 83 in 2016.

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