Data / Rankings / Employer firms / Counties in Nebraska

Counties in Nebraska by employer firms

Douglas County had the highest employer firms of 93 counties in 2016, at 11,171. McPherson County had the lowest, at 6. The median was 162 and the figure for Nebraska was 38,547. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest11,171Douglas County
Lowest6McPherson County
Median16293 counties
Nebraska38,547History

Map of counties, 2016

Adams County: 836 countAntelope County: 209 countArthur County: 9 countBanner County: 7 countBlaine County: 9 countBoone County: 169 countBox Butte County: 274 countBoyd County: 58 countBrown County: 122 countBuffalo County: 1,362 countBurt County: 175 countButler County: 179 countCass County: 461 countCedar County: 258 countChase County: 136 countCherry County: 195 countCheyenne County: 255 countClay County: 152 countColfax County: 241 countCuming County: 311 countCuster County: 338 countDakota County: 395 countDawes County: 233 countDawson County: 581 countDeuel County: 46 countDixon County: 91 countDodge County: 870 countDouglas County: 11,171 countDundy County: 55 countFillmore County: 203 countFranklin County: 67 countFrontier County: 59 countFurnas County: 129 countGage County: 575 countGarden County: 49 countGarfield County: 89 countGosper County: 51 countGrant County: 25 countGreeley County: 59 countHall County: 1,514 countHamilton County: 263 countHarlan County: 102 countHayes County: 14 countHitchcock County: 58 countHolt County: 378 countHooker County: 25 countHoward County: 140 countJefferson County: 212 countJohnson County: 102 countKearney County: 161 countKeith County: 296 countKeya Paha County: 19 countKimball County: 104 countKnox County: 227 countLancaster County: 6,464 countLincoln County: 873 countLogan County: 22 countLoup County: 10 countMcPherson County: 6 countMadison County: 1,141 countMerrick County: 209 countMorrill County: 93 countNance County: 83 countNemaha County: 162 countNuckolls County: 147 countOtoe County: 410 countPawnee County: 57 countPerkins County: 113 countPhelps County: 305 countPierce County: 198 countPlatte County: 878 countPolk County: 132 countRed Willow County: 352 countRichardson County: 246 countRock County: 45 countSaline County: 254 countSarpy County: 2,871 countSaunders County: 476 countScotts Bluff County: 906 countSeward County: 393 countSheridan County: 142 countSherman County: 71 countSioux County: 12 countStanton County: 101 countThayer County: 175 countThomas County: 21 countThurston County: 88 countValley County: 159 countWashington County: 523 countWayne County: 217 countWebster County: 78 countWheeler County: 14 countYork County: 426 count
  • Under 100
  • 100 to 200
  • 200 to 400
  • 400 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

Douglas County: 11,171 countDouglas County11,171Lancaster County: 6,464 countLancaster County6,464Sarpy County: 2,871 countSarpy County2,871Hall County: 1,514 countHall County1,514Buffalo County: 1,362 countBuffalo County1,362Madison County: 1,141 countMadison County1,141Scotts Bluff County: 906 countScotts Bluff County906Platte County: 878 countPlatte County878Lincoln County: 873 countLincoln County873Dodge County: 870 countDodge County870Adams County: 836 countAdams County836Dawson County: 581 countDawson County581Gage County: 575 countGage County575Washington County: 523 countWashington County523Saunders County: 476 countSaunders County476Cass County: 461 countCass County461York County: 426 countYork County426Otoe County: 410 countOtoe County410Dakota County: 395 countDakota County395Seward County: 393 countSeward County393Holt County: 378 countHolt County378Red Willow County: 352 countRed Willow County352Custer County: 338 countCuster County338Cuming County: 311 countCuming County311Phelps County: 305 countPhelps County305Keith County: 296 countKeith County296Box Butte County: 274 countBox Butte County274Hamilton County: 263 countHamilton County263Cedar County: 258 countCedar County258Cheyenne County: 255 countCheyenne County255Saline County: 254 countSaline County254Richardson County: 246 countRichardson County246Colfax County: 241 countColfax County241Dawes County: 233 countDawes County233Knox County: 227 countKnox County227Wayne County: 217 countWayne County217Jefferson County: 212 countJefferson County212Antelope County: 209 countAntelope County209Merrick County: 209 countMerrick County209Fillmore County: 203 countFillmore County203Douglas County: 11,171 countDouglas County11,171Lancaster County: 6,464 countLancaster County6,464Sarpy County: 2,871 countSarpy County2,871Hall County: 1,514 countHall County1,514Buffalo County: 1,362 countBuffalo County1,362Madison County: 1,141 countMadison County1,141Scotts Bluff County: 906 countScotts Bluff County906Platte County: 878 countPlatte County878Lincoln County: 873 countLincoln County873Dodge County: 870 countDodge County870Adams County: 836 countAdams County836Dawson County: 581 countDawson County581Gage County: 575 countGage County575Washington County: 523 countWashington County523Saunders County: 476 countSaunders County476Cass County: 461 countCass County461York County: 426 countYork County426Otoe County: 410 countOtoe County410Dakota County: 395 countDakota County395Seward County: 393 countSeward County393Holt County: 378 countHolt County378Red Willow County: 352 countRed Willow County352Custer County: 338 countCuster County338Cuming County: 311 countCuming County311Phelps County: 305 countPhelps County305Keith County: 296 countKeith County296Box Butte County: 274 countBox Butte County274Hamilton County: 263 countHamilton County263Cedar County: 258 countCedar County258Cheyenne County: 255 countCheyenne County255Saline County: 254 countSaline County254Richardson County: 246 countRichardson County246Colfax County: 241 countColfax County241Dawes County: 233 countDawes County233Knox County: 227 countKnox County227Wayne County: 217 countWayne County217Jefferson County: 212 countJefferson County212Antelope County: 209 countAntelope County209Merrick County: 209 countMerrick County209Fillmore County: 203 countFillmore County203
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
1Douglas County11,171+1.7%
2Lancaster County6,464+2.6%
3Sarpy County2,871+3.7%
4Hall County1,514+0.5%
5Buffalo County1,362+1.7%
6Madison County1,141-0.2%
7Scotts Bluff County906-0.9%
8Platte County878+0.8%
9Lincoln County873-0.9%
10Dodge County870+0.7%
11Adams County836+1.2%
12Dawson County581+1%
13Gage County575-2.4%
14Washington County523+4.8%
15Saunders County476-1.2%
16Cass County461+0.7%
17York County426-3.6%
18Otoe County410+2.5%
19Dakota County395+0.3%
20Seward County393+0.3%
21Holt County378+3%
22Red Willow County352+2.6%
23Custer County338-5.1%
24Cuming County311+0.6%
25Phelps County305+3%
26Keith County296+1.7%
27Box Butte County274-0.7%
28Hamilton County2630%
29Cedar County258+1.2%
30Cheyenne County2550%
31Saline County254-1.6%
32Richardson County246+3.4%
33Colfax County241+4.8%
34Dawes County233-4.9%
35Knox County227+3.2%
36Wayne County217+0.9%
37Jefferson County212+2.9%
38Antelope County209-0.5%
38Merrick County209-0.9%
40Fillmore County203+0.5%
41Pierce County198-1%
42Cherry County195+0.5%
43Butler County179+2.3%
44Burt County175+4.8%
44Thayer County175+1.2%
46Boone County169-2.3%
47Nemaha County162-1.8%
48Kearney County161+3.9%
49Valley County159-0.6%
50Clay County152-3.8%
51Nuckolls County147-2%
52Sheridan County142+1.4%
53Howard County140+1.4%
54Chase County136+3%
55Polk County132-2.2%
56Furnas County129+4.9%
57Brown County122-2.4%
58Perkins County113+0.9%
59Kimball County104-1.9%
60Harlan County102+1%
60Johnson County102-4.7%
62Stanton County101+8.6%
63Morrill County93-4.1%
64Dixon County91+2.2%
65Garfield County890%
66Thurston County88+4.8%
67Nance County83-6.7%
68Webster County78-1.3%
69Sherman County71+4.4%
70Franklin County67+3.1%
71Frontier County590%
71Greeley County590%
73Boyd County580%
73Hitchcock County58+3.6%
75Pawnee County57+1.8%
76Dundy County55-1.8%
77Gosper County51-8.9%
78Garden County49+6.5%
79Deuel County46-6.1%
80Rock County45+4.7%
81Grant County250%
81Hooker County250%
83Logan County22-15.4%
84Thomas County210%
85Keya Paha County19-13.6%
86Hayes County14+7.7%
86Wheeler County14-12.5%
88Sioux County120%
89Loup County100%
90Arthur County9+12.5%
90Blaine County9+28.6%
92Banner County7-22.2%
93McPherson County6+20%

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 Nebraska 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 Nebraska 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/nebraska-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 Nebraska 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/nebraska-counties?period=2016.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties, Counties in Nebraska 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/nebraska-counties?period=2016 (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_nebraska_by_2016,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Counties in Nebraska 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/nebraska-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 Nebraska 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/nebraska-counties?period=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/nebraska-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?

Douglas County, with 11,171 in 2016, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firms?

McPherson County, with 6 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 Nebraska: more rankings