Counties in Minnesota by employer firms

Hennepin County had the highest employer firms of 87 counties in 2022, at 28,219. Red Lake County had the lowest, at 78. The median was 475 and the figure for Minnesota was 103,681. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest28,219Hennepin County
Median47587 counties
Minnesota103,681History

Map of counties, 2022

Aitkin County: 324 countAnoka County: 6,193 countBecker County: 776 countBeltrami County: 980 countBenton County: 756 countBig Stone County: 144 countBlue Earth County: 1,567 countBrown County: 625 countCarlton County: 542 countCarver County: 2,034 countCass County: 680 countChippewa County: 323 countChisago County: 1,039 countClay County: 1,039 countClearwater County: 159 countCook County: 235 countCottonwood County: 268 countCrow Wing County: 1,801 countDakota County: 7,793 countDodge County: 333 countDouglas County: 1,164 countFaribault County: 330 countFillmore County: 458 countFreeborn County: 630 countGoodhue County: 1,020 countGrant County: 175 countHennepin County: 28,219 countHouston County: 330 countHubbard County: 497 countIsanti County: 807 countItasca County: 928 countJackson County: 236 countKanabec County: 262 countKandiyohi County: 1,084 countKittson County: 117 countKoochiching County: 299 countLac qui Parle County: 169 countLake County: 266 countLake of the Woods County: 133 countLe Sueur County: 579 countLincoln County: 160 countLyon County: 655 countMcLeod County: 789 countMahnomen County: 88 countMarshall County: 208 countMartin County: 471 countMeeker County: 475 countMille Lacs County: 565 countMorrison County: 770 countMower County: 652 countMurray County: 230 countNicollet County: 568 countNobles County: 477 countNorman County: 155 countOlmsted County: 2,816 countOtter Tail County: 1,347 countPennington County: 301 countPine County: 495 countPipestone County: 272 countPolk County: 570 countPope County: 289 countRamsey County: 9,987 countRed Lake County: 78 countRedwood County: 421 countRenville County: 375 countRice County: 1,239 countRock County: 241 countRoseau County: 336 countSt. Louis County: 3,910 countScott County: 2,874 countSherburne County: 1,776 countSibley County: 294 countStearns County: 3,539 countSteele County: 803 countStevens County: 263 countSwift County: 264 countTodd County: 453 countTraverse County: 99 countWabasha County: 465 countWadena County: 330 countWaseca County: 366 countWashington County: 4,706 countWatonwan County: 252 countWilkin County: 121 countWinona County: 901 countWright County: 2,838 countYellow Medicine County: 267 count
  • Under 200
  • 200 to 300
  • 300 to 500
  • 500 to 800
  • 800 to 1,300
  • 1,300 and over
count, 2022. 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, 2022

Hennepin County: 28,219 countHennepin County28,219Ramsey County: 9,987 countRamsey County9,987Dakota County: 7,793 countDakota County7,793Anoka County: 6,193 countAnoka County6,193Washington County: 4,706 countWashington County4,706St. Louis County: 3,910 countSt. Louis County3,910Stearns County: 3,539 countStearns County3,539Scott County: 2,874 countScott County2,874Wright County: 2,838 countWright County2,838Olmsted County: 2,816 countOlmsted County2,816Carver County: 2,034 countCarver County2,034Crow Wing County: 1,801 countCrow Wing County1,801Sherburne County: 1,776 countSherburne County1,776Blue Earth County: 1,567 countBlue Earth County1,567Otter Tail County: 1,347 countOtter Tail County1,347Rice County: 1,239 countRice County1,239Douglas County: 1,164 countDouglas County1,164Kandiyohi County: 1,084 countKandiyohi County1,084Chisago County: 1,039 countChisago County1,039Clay County: 1,039 countClay County1,039Goodhue County: 1,020 countGoodhue County1,020Beltrami County: 980 countBeltrami County980Itasca County: 928 countItasca County928Winona County: 901 countWinona County901Isanti County: 807 countIsanti County807Steele County: 803 countSteele County803McLeod County: 789 countMcLeod County789Becker County: 776 countBecker County776Morrison County: 770 countMorrison County770Benton County: 756 countBenton County756Cass County: 680 countCass County680Lyon County: 655 countLyon County655Mower County: 652 countMower County652Freeborn County: 630 countFreeborn County630Brown County: 625 countBrown County625Le Sueur County: 579 countLe Sueur County579Polk County: 570 countPolk County570Nicollet County: 568 countNicollet County568Mille Lacs County: 565 countMille Lacs County565Carlton County: 542 countCarlton County542Hennepin County: 28,219 countHennepin County28,219Ramsey County: 9,987 countRamsey County9,987Dakota County: 7,793 countDakota County7,793Anoka County: 6,193 countAnoka County6,193Washington County: 4,706 countWashington County4,706St. Louis County: 3,910 countSt. Louis County3,910Stearns County: 3,539 countStearns County3,539Scott County: 2,874 countScott County2,874Wright County: 2,838 countWright County2,838Olmsted County: 2,816 countOlmsted County2,816Carver County: 2,034 countCarver County2,034Crow Wing County: 1,801 countCrow Wing County1,801Sherburne County: 1,776 countSherburne County1,776Blue Earth County: 1,567 countBlue Earth County1,567Otter Tail County: 1,347 countOtter Tail County1,347Rice County: 1,239 countRice County1,239Douglas County: 1,164 countDouglas County1,164Kandiyohi County: 1,084 countKandiyohi County1,084Chisago County: 1,039 countChisago County1,039Clay County: 1,039 countClay County1,039Goodhue County: 1,020 countGoodhue County1,020Beltrami County: 980 countBeltrami County980Itasca County: 928 countItasca County928Winona County: 901 countWinona County901Isanti County: 807 countIsanti County807Steele County: 803 countSteele County803McLeod County: 789 countMcLeod County789Becker County: 776 countBecker County776Morrison County: 770 countMorrison County770Benton County: 756 countBenton County756Cass County: 680 countCass County680Lyon County: 655 countLyon County655Mower County: 652 countMower County652Freeborn County: 630 countFreeborn County630Brown County: 625 countBrown County625Le Sueur County: 579 countLe Sueur County579Polk County: 570 countPolk County570Nicollet County: 568 countNicollet County568Mille Lacs County: 565 countMille Lacs County565Carlton County: 542 countCarlton County542
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Full ranking

RankCounties2022
count
Change on 2021
1Hennepin County28,219+0.8%
2Ramsey County9,987+1.5%
3Dakota County7,793+1.5%
4Anoka County6,193+2.2%
5Washington County4,706+2.1%
6St. Louis County3,910+0.2%
7Stearns County3,539+0.7%
8Scott County2,874+2.4%
9Wright County2,838+1.4%
10Olmsted County2,816+1.1%
11Carver County2,034+0.1%
12Crow Wing County1,801+2.3%
13Sherburne County1,776-1.3%
14Blue Earth County1,567-0.2%
15Otter Tail County1,347+0.7%
16Rice County1,239+1.1%
17Douglas County1,164+1.7%
18Kandiyohi County1,084+0.3%
19Chisago County1,039+0.3%
19Clay County1,039-2.2%
21Goodhue County1,020+0.7%
22Beltrami County980-0.5%
23Itasca County9280%
24Winona County901-0.6%
25Isanti County807+3.3%
26Steele County803-1.6%
27McLeod County789-0.4%
28Becker County776+0.1%
29Morrison County770+2.3%
30Benton County756+1.1%
31Cass County680+2.3%
32Lyon County655+1.6%
33Mower County6520%
34Freeborn County630-0.5%
35Brown County625-1%
36Le Sueur County579+2.7%
37Polk County570+1.1%
38Nicollet County568+1.8%
39Mille Lacs County565+1.6%
40Carlton County542+1.5%
41Hubbard County497+3.8%
42Pine County495-0.4%
43Nobles County477-1%
44Meeker County475+0.8%
45Martin County471-0.6%
46Wabasha County465+1.3%
47Fillmore County458+0.4%
48Todd County453-0.2%
49Redwood County421-0.5%
50Renville County375-0.8%
51Waseca County366+0.5%
52Roseau County336+1.5%
53Dodge County333+2.1%
54Faribault County330-1.2%
54Houston County330-0.9%
54Wadena County330+0.9%
57Aitkin County3240%
58Chippewa County323+1.9%
59Pennington County301+1%
60Koochiching County299-4.2%
61Sibley County294+2.8%
62Pope County289+3.2%
63Pipestone County272-1.1%
64Cottonwood County268-3.6%
65Yellow Medicine County267+1.1%
66Lake County266+5.1%
67Swift County264-1.1%
68Stevens County263+6.9%
69Kanabec County262+4%
70Watonwan County252-2.7%
71Rock County241+2.6%
72Jackson County236-1.7%
73Cook County235+5.9%
74Murray County230+3.1%
75Marshall County2080%
76Grant County175+3.6%
77Lac qui Parle County169+0.6%
78Lincoln County1600%
79Clearwater County159-2.5%
80Norman County155+0.6%
81Big Stone County144-4%
82Lake of the Woods County133-2.2%
83Wilkin County121-6.2%
84Kittson County117-0.8%
85Traverse County99+2.1%
86Mahnomen County88-5.4%
87Red Lake County780%

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, 2022) [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, 2022. 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=2022. 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, 2022. 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=2022.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties, Counties in Minnesota by employer firms, 2022 [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=2022 (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_minnesota_by_2022,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Counties in Minnesota by employer firms, 2022}},
  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=2022. 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, 2022
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=2022
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/minnesota-counties?period=2022.
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 28,219 in 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firms?

Red Lake County, with 78 in 2022.

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