Counties in Montana by employer firms

Yellowstone County had the highest employer firms of 56 counties in 2014, at 4,372. Petroleum County had the lowest, at 7. The median was 161 and the figure for Montana was 27,116. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest4,372Yellowstone County
Median16156 counties
Montana27,116History

Map of counties, 2014

Beaverhead County: 300 countBig Horn County: 168 countBlaine County: 123 countBroadwater County: 105 countCarbon County: 317 countCarter County: 23 countCascade County: 1,957 countChouteau County: 112 countCuster County: 367 countDaniels County: 63 countDawson County: 283 countDeer Lodge County: 195 countFallon County: 138 countFergus County: 374 countFlathead County: 3,097 countGallatin County: 3,999 countGarfield County: 18 countGlacier County: 194 countGolden Valley County: 10 countGranite County: 88 countHill County: 448 countJefferson County: 215 countJudith Basin County: 49 countLake County: 670 countLewis and Clark County: 1,824 countLiberty County: 53 countLincoln County: 515 countMcCone County: 48 countMadison County: 253 countMeagher County: 49 countMineral County: 93 countMissoula County: 3,431 countMusselshell County: 102 countPark County: 597 countPetroleum County: 7 countPhillips County: 114 countPondera County: 150 countPowder River County: 57 countPowell County: 139 countPrairie County: 34 countRavalli County: 1,139 countRichland County: 487 countRoosevelt County: 181 countRosebud County: 155 countSanders County: 283 countSheridan County: 154 countSilver Bow County: 954 countStillwater County: 216 countSweet Grass County: 129 countTeton County: 154 countToole County: 167 countTreasure County: 14 countValley County: 234 countWheatland County: 50 countWibaux County: 30 countYellowstone County: 4,372 count
  • Under 50
  • 50 to 110
  • 110 to 160
  • 160 to 270
  • 270 to 580
  • 580 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.

All counties, 2014

Yellowstone County: 4,372 countYellowstone County4,372Gallatin County: 3,999 countGallatin County3,999Missoula County: 3,431 countMissoula County3,431Flathead County: 3,097 countFlathead County3,097Cascade County: 1,957 countCascade County1,957Lewis and Clark County: 1,824 countLewis and Clark County1,824Ravalli County: 1,139 countRavalli County1,139Silver Bow County: 954 countSilver Bow County954Lake County: 670 countLake County670Park County: 597 countPark County597Lincoln County: 515 countLincoln County515Richland County: 487 countRichland County487Hill County: 448 countHill County448Fergus County: 374 countFergus County374Custer County: 367 countCuster County367Carbon County: 317 countCarbon County317Beaverhead County: 300 countBeaverhead County300Dawson County: 283 countDawson County283Sanders County: 283 countSanders County283Madison County: 253 countMadison County253Valley County: 234 countValley County234Stillwater County: 216 countStillwater County216Jefferson County: 215 countJefferson County215Deer Lodge County: 195 countDeer Lodge County195Glacier County: 194 countGlacier County194Roosevelt County: 181 countRoosevelt County181Big Horn County: 168 countBig Horn County168Toole County: 167 countToole County167Rosebud County: 155 countRosebud County155Sheridan County: 154 countSheridan County154Teton County: 154 countTeton County154Pondera County: 150 countPondera County150Powell County: 139 countPowell County139Fallon County: 138 countFallon County138Sweet Grass County: 129 countSweet Grass County129Blaine County: 123 countBlaine County123Phillips County: 114 countPhillips County114Chouteau County: 112 countChouteau County112Broadwater County: 105 countBroadwater County105Musselshell County: 102 countMusselshell County102Mineral County: 93 countMineral County93Granite County: 88 countGranite County88Daniels County: 63 countDaniels County63Powder River County: 57 countPowder River County57Liberty County: 53 countLiberty County53Wheatland County: 50 countWheatland County50Judith Basin County: 49 countJudith Basin County49Meagher County: 49 countMeagher County49McCone County: 48 countMcCone County48Prairie County: 34 countPrairie County34Wibaux County: 30 countWibaux County30Carter County: 23 countCarter County23Garfield County: 18 countGarfield County18Treasure County: 14 countTreasure County14Golden Valley County: 10 countGolden Valley County10Petroleum County: 7 countPetroleum County7Yellowstone County: 4,372 countYellowstone County4,372Gallatin County: 3,999 countGallatin County3,999Missoula County: 3,431 countMissoula County3,431Flathead County: 3,097 countFlathead County3,097Cascade County: 1,957 countCascade County1,957Lewis and Clark County: 1,824 countLewis and Clark County1,824Ravalli County: 1,139 countRavalli County1,139Silver Bow County: 954 countSilver Bow County954Lake County: 670 countLake County670Park County: 597 countPark County597Lincoln County: 515 countLincoln County515Richland County: 487 countRichland County487Hill County: 448 countHill County448Fergus County: 374 countFergus County374Custer County: 367 countCuster County367Carbon County: 317 countCarbon County317Beaverhead County: 300 countBeaverhead County300Dawson County: 283 countDawson County283Sanders County: 283 countSanders County283Madison County: 253 countMadison County253Valley County: 234 countValley County234Stillwater County: 216 countStillwater County216Jefferson County: 215 countJefferson County215Deer Lodge County: 195 countDeer Lodge County195Glacier County: 194 countGlacier County194Roosevelt County: 181 countRoosevelt County181Big Horn County: 168 countBig Horn County168Toole County: 167 countToole County167Rosebud County: 155 countRosebud County155Sheridan County: 154 countSheridan County154Teton County: 154 countTeton County154Pondera County: 150 countPondera County150Powell County: 139 countPowell County139Fallon County: 138 countFallon County138Sweet Grass County: 129 countSweet Grass County129Blaine County: 123 countBlaine County123Phillips County: 114 countPhillips County114Chouteau County: 112 countChouteau County112Broadwater County: 105 countBroadwater County105Musselshell County: 102 countMusselshell County102Mineral County: 93 countMineral County93Granite County: 88 countGranite County88Daniels County: 63 countDaniels County63Powder River County: 57 countPowder River County57Liberty County: 53 countLiberty County53Wheatland County: 50 countWheatland County50Judith Basin County: 49 countJudith Basin County49Meagher County: 49 countMeagher County49McCone County: 48 countMcCone County48Prairie County: 34 countPrairie County34Wibaux County: 30 countWibaux County30Carter County: 23 countCarter County23Garfield County: 18 countGarfield County18Treasure County: 14 countTreasure County14Golden Valley County: 10 countGolden Valley County10Petroleum County: 7 countPetroleum County7
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
1Yellowstone County4,372-0.4%
2Gallatin County3,999+4%
3Missoula County3,431+1.5%
4Flathead County3,097+0.9%
5Cascade County1,957-0.6%
6Lewis and Clark County1,824+0.6%
7Ravalli County1,139+1.4%
8Silver Bow County954-1.8%
9Lake County670-0.9%
10Park County597+0.5%
11Lincoln County515+4.3%
12Richland County487+4.3%
13Hill County448+1.1%
14Fergus County374+1.6%
15Custer County367+1.4%
16Carbon County317-4.5%
17Beaverhead County300+4.9%
18Dawson County283+2.5%
18Sanders County283-6%
20Madison County253-5.2%
21Valley County234+2.6%
22Stillwater County216-1.4%
23Jefferson County215-2.7%
24Deer Lodge County195-5.3%
25Glacier County194-3.5%
26Roosevelt County181-4.7%
27Big Horn County168-1.8%
28Toole County167+0.6%
29Rosebud County155-2.5%
30Sheridan County1540%
30Teton County154+0.7%
32Pondera County150-0.7%
33Powell County139+1.5%
34Fallon County138+1.5%
35Sweet Grass County129+6.6%
36Blaine County123-1.6%
37Phillips County114+0.9%
38Chouteau County112-5.9%
39Broadwater County105-11%
40Musselshell County102+3%
41Mineral County930%
42Granite County88+6%
43Daniels County63+3.3%
44Powder River County57-10.9%
45Liberty County53-3.6%
46Wheatland County50-3.8%
47Judith Basin County49+16.7%
47Meagher County49-5.8%
49McCone County48+4.3%
50Prairie County34+6.3%
51Wibaux County30-3.2%
52Carter County23-25.8%
53Garfield County18-18.2%
54Treasure County14-6.7%
55Golden Valley County10-9.1%
56Petroleum County7-12.5%

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 Montana 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 Montana 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/montana-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 Montana 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/montana-counties?period=2014.

Harvard

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

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_montana_by_2014,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Counties in Montana 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/montana-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 Montana 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/montana-counties?period=2014
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/montana-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  - 
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 Montana by employer firms using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"employer_firms","level":"province","within":"Montana","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=employer_firms&level=province&within=Montana&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?

Yellowstone County, with 4,372 in 2014, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firms?

Petroleum County, with 7 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 Montana: more rankings