Counties in Montana by employer firms

Gallatin County had the highest employer firms of 56 counties in 2019, at 4,621. Petroleum County had the lowest, at 7. The median was 149 and the figure for Montana was 28,394. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest4,621Gallatin County
Median14956 counties
Montana28,394History

Map of counties, 2019

Beaverhead County: 327 countBig Horn County: 154 countBlaine County: 110 countBroadwater County: 134 countCarbon County: 328 countCarter County: 22 countCascade County: 1,968 countChouteau County: 111 countCuster County: 357 countDaniels County: 59 countDawson County: 259 countDeer Lodge County: 203 countFallon County: 117 countFergus County: 369 countFlathead County: 3,348 countGallatin County: 4,621 countGarfield County: 20 countGlacier County: 172 countGolden Valley County: 8 countGranite County: 91 countHill County: 422 countJefferson County: 246 countJudith Basin County: 46 countLake County: 701 countLewis and Clark County: 1,969 countLiberty County: 57 countLincoln County: 510 countMcCone County: 42 countMadison County: 290 countMeagher County: 51 countMineral County: 100 countMissoula County: 3,708 countMusselshell County: 96 countPark County: 641 countPetroleum County: 7 countPhillips County: 108 countPondera County: 151 countPowder River County: 53 countPowell County: 143 countPrairie County: 30 countRavalli County: 1,250 countRichland County: 432 countRoosevelt County: 172 countRosebud County: 147 countSanders County: 296 countSheridan County: 142 countSilver Bow County: 946 countStillwater County: 203 countSweet Grass County: 133 countTeton County: 146 countToole County: 140 countTreasure County: 11 countValley County: 228 countWheatland County: 58 countWibaux County: 21 countYellowstone County: 4,470 count
  • Under 50
  • 50 to 110
  • 110 to 150
  • 150 to 280
  • 280 to 620
  • 620 and over
count, 2019. 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, 2019

Gallatin County: 4,621 countGallatin County4,621Yellowstone County: 4,470 countYellowstone County4,470Missoula County: 3,708 countMissoula County3,708Flathead County: 3,348 countFlathead County3,348Lewis and Clark County: 1,969 countLewis and Clark County1,969Cascade County: 1,968 countCascade County1,968Ravalli County: 1,250 countRavalli County1,250Silver Bow County: 946 countSilver Bow County946Lake County: 701 countLake County701Park County: 641 countPark County641Lincoln County: 510 countLincoln County510Richland County: 432 countRichland County432Hill County: 422 countHill County422Fergus County: 369 countFergus County369Custer County: 357 countCuster County357Carbon County: 328 countCarbon County328Beaverhead County: 327 countBeaverhead County327Sanders County: 296 countSanders County296Madison County: 290 countMadison County290Dawson County: 259 countDawson County259Jefferson County: 246 countJefferson County246Valley County: 228 countValley County228Deer Lodge County: 203 countDeer Lodge County203Stillwater County: 203 countStillwater County203Glacier County: 172 countGlacier County172Roosevelt County: 172 countRoosevelt County172Big Horn County: 154 countBig Horn County154Pondera County: 151 countPondera County151Rosebud County: 147 countRosebud County147Teton County: 146 countTeton County146Powell County: 143 countPowell County143Sheridan County: 142 countSheridan County142Toole County: 140 countToole County140Broadwater County: 134 countBroadwater County134Sweet Grass County: 133 countSweet Grass County133Fallon County: 117 countFallon County117Chouteau County: 111 countChouteau County111Blaine County: 110 countBlaine County110Phillips County: 108 countPhillips County108Mineral County: 100 countMineral County100Musselshell County: 96 countMusselshell County96Granite County: 91 countGranite County91Daniels County: 59 countDaniels County59Wheatland County: 58 countWheatland County58Liberty County: 57 countLiberty County57Powder River County: 53 countPowder River County53Meagher County: 51 countMeagher County51Judith Basin County: 46 countJudith Basin County46McCone County: 42 countMcCone County42Prairie County: 30 countPrairie County30Carter County: 22 countCarter County22Wibaux County: 21 countWibaux County21Garfield County: 20 countGarfield County20Treasure County: 11 countTreasure County11Golden Valley County: 8 countGolden Valley County8Petroleum County: 7 countPetroleum County7Gallatin County: 4,621 countGallatin County4,621Yellowstone County: 4,470 countYellowstone County4,470Missoula County: 3,708 countMissoula County3,708Flathead County: 3,348 countFlathead County3,348Lewis and Clark County: 1,969 countLewis and Clark County1,969Cascade County: 1,968 countCascade County1,968Ravalli County: 1,250 countRavalli County1,250Silver Bow County: 946 countSilver Bow County946Lake County: 701 countLake County701Park County: 641 countPark County641Lincoln County: 510 countLincoln County510Richland County: 432 countRichland County432Hill County: 422 countHill County422Fergus County: 369 countFergus County369Custer County: 357 countCuster County357Carbon County: 328 countCarbon County328Beaverhead County: 327 countBeaverhead County327Sanders County: 296 countSanders County296Madison County: 290 countMadison County290Dawson County: 259 countDawson County259Jefferson County: 246 countJefferson County246Valley County: 228 countValley County228Deer Lodge County: 203 countDeer Lodge County203Stillwater County: 203 countStillwater County203Glacier County: 172 countGlacier County172Roosevelt County: 172 countRoosevelt County172Big Horn County: 154 countBig Horn County154Pondera County: 151 countPondera County151Rosebud County: 147 countRosebud County147Teton County: 146 countTeton County146Powell County: 143 countPowell County143Sheridan County: 142 countSheridan County142Toole County: 140 countToole County140Broadwater County: 134 countBroadwater County134Sweet Grass County: 133 countSweet Grass County133Fallon County: 117 countFallon County117Chouteau County: 111 countChouteau County111Blaine County: 110 countBlaine County110Phillips County: 108 countPhillips County108Mineral County: 100 countMineral County100Musselshell County: 96 countMusselshell County96Granite County: 91 countGranite County91Daniels County: 59 countDaniels County59Wheatland County: 58 countWheatland County58Liberty County: 57 countLiberty County57Powder River County: 53 countPowder River County53Meagher County: 51 countMeagher County51Judith Basin County: 46 countJudith Basin County46McCone County: 42 countMcCone County42Prairie County: 30 countPrairie County30Carter County: 22 countCarter County22Wibaux County: 21 countWibaux County21Garfield County: 20 countGarfield County20Treasure County: 11 countTreasure County11Golden Valley County: 8 countGolden Valley County8Petroleum 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

RankCounties2019
count
Change on 2018
1Gallatin County4,621+1.9%
2Yellowstone County4,470+0.8%
3Missoula County3,708+1.6%
4Flathead County3,348+3.3%
5Lewis and Clark County1,969+0.6%
6Cascade County1,968+0.7%
7Ravalli County1,250+1.2%
8Silver Bow County946-1.4%
9Lake County7010%
10Park County6410%
11Lincoln County510+0.6%
12Richland County432-0.2%
13Hill County422-0.2%
14Fergus County369-0.8%
15Custer County357-0.8%
16Carbon County328+2.2%
17Beaverhead County327-1.2%
18Sanders County296+1.4%
19Madison County290+5.1%
20Dawson County259-1.9%
21Jefferson County246+2.1%
22Valley County228-3.8%
23Deer Lodge County203+2.5%
23Stillwater County2030%
25Glacier County172-1.1%
25Roosevelt County172+5.5%
27Big Horn County154-3.8%
28Pondera County151-1.3%
29Rosebud County147+0.7%
30Teton County146-4.6%
31Powell County143+2.9%
32Sheridan County142+2.2%
33Toole County1400%
34Broadwater County134-8.2%
35Sweet Grass County133+2.3%
36Fallon County117+1.7%
37Chouteau County111+1.8%
38Blaine County110-6%
39Phillips County108+1.9%
40Mineral County100+9.9%
41Musselshell County96-3%
42Granite County91+2.2%
43Daniels County59-1.7%
44Wheatland County58+5.5%
45Liberty County57+5.6%
46Powder River County53-10.2%
47Meagher County51-1.9%
48Judith Basin County46+9.5%
49McCone County42-4.5%
50Prairie County30+3.4%
51Carter County22-8.3%
52Wibaux County21-8.7%
53Garfield County20-4.8%
54Treasure County11-8.3%
55Golden Valley County8-11.1%
56Petroleum County70%

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, 2019) [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, 2019. 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=2019. 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, 2019. 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=2019.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties, Counties in Montana by employer firms, 2019 [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=2019 (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_montana_by_2019,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Counties in Montana by employer firms, 2019}},
  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=2019. 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, 2019
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=2019
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/montana-counties?period=2019.
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?

Gallatin County, with 4,621 in 2019, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firms?

Petroleum County, with 7 in 2019.

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