Data / Rankings / Employer firms / Counties in Nebraska

Counties in Nebraska by employer firms

Douglas County had the highest employer firms of 93 counties in 2017, at 11,310. McPherson County had the lowest, at 6. The median was 168 and the figure for Nebraska was 38,790. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest11,310Douglas County
Lowest6McPherson County
Median16893 counties
Nebraska38,790History

Map of counties, 2017

Adams County: 831 countAntelope County: 203 countArthur County: 8 countBanner County: 6 countBlaine County: 10 countBoone County: 170 countBox Butte County: 268 countBoyd County: 54 countBrown County: 129 countBuffalo County: 1,386 countBurt County: 177 countButler County: 181 countCass County: 479 countCedar County: 253 countChase County: 127 countCherry County: 203 countCheyenne County: 256 countClay County: 168 countColfax County: 242 countCuming County: 306 countCuster County: 329 countDakota County: 397 countDawes County: 232 countDawson County: 566 countDeuel County: 46 countDixon County: 89 countDodge County: 867 countDouglas County: 11,310 countDundy County: 50 countFillmore County: 201 countFranklin County: 58 countFrontier County: 61 countFurnas County: 126 countGage County: 582 countGarden County: 49 countGarfield County: 90 countGosper County: 51 countGrant County: 26 countGreeley County: 59 countHall County: 1,549 countHamilton County: 254 countHarlan County: 106 countHayes County: 14 countHitchcock County: 57 countHolt County: 372 countHooker County: 27 countHoward County: 140 countJefferson County: 206 countJohnson County: 100 countKearney County: 163 countKeith County: 304 countKeya Paha County: 20 countKimball County: 107 countKnox County: 225 countLancaster County: 6,485 countLincoln County: 882 countLogan County: 22 countLoup County: 12 countMcPherson County: 6 countMadison County: 1,128 countMerrick County: 202 countMorrill County: 94 countNance County: 78 countNemaha County: 166 countNuckolls County: 143 countOtoe County: 405 countPawnee County: 57 countPerkins County: 111 countPhelps County: 312 countPierce County: 206 countPlatte County: 884 countPolk County: 130 countRed Willow County: 346 countRichardson County: 245 countRock County: 42 countSaline County: 252 countSarpy County: 2,930 countSaunders County: 486 countScotts Bluff County: 907 countSeward County: 405 countSheridan County: 141 countSherman County: 73 countSioux County: 13 countStanton County: 92 countThayer County: 178 countThomas County: 24 countThurston County: 95 countValley County: 166 countWashington County: 536 countWayne County: 219 countWebster County: 77 countWheeler County: 15 countYork County: 426 count
  • Under 100
  • 100 to 200
  • 200 to 500
  • 500 and over
count, 2017. 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, 2017

Douglas County: 11,310 countDouglas County11,310Lancaster County: 6,485 countLancaster County6,485Sarpy County: 2,930 countSarpy County2,930Hall County: 1,549 countHall County1,549Buffalo County: 1,386 countBuffalo County1,386Madison County: 1,128 countMadison County1,128Scotts Bluff County: 907 countScotts Bluff County907Platte County: 884 countPlatte County884Lincoln County: 882 countLincoln County882Dodge County: 867 countDodge County867Adams County: 831 countAdams County831Gage County: 582 countGage County582Dawson County: 566 countDawson County566Washington County: 536 countWashington County536Saunders County: 486 countSaunders County486Cass County: 479 countCass County479York County: 426 countYork County426Otoe County: 405 countOtoe County405Seward County: 405 countSeward County405Dakota County: 397 countDakota County397Holt County: 372 countHolt County372Red Willow County: 346 countRed Willow County346Custer County: 329 countCuster County329Phelps County: 312 countPhelps County312Cuming County: 306 countCuming County306Keith County: 304 countKeith County304Box Butte County: 268 countBox Butte County268Cheyenne County: 256 countCheyenne County256Hamilton County: 254 countHamilton County254Cedar County: 253 countCedar County253Saline County: 252 countSaline County252Richardson County: 245 countRichardson County245Colfax County: 242 countColfax County242Dawes County: 232 countDawes County232Knox County: 225 countKnox County225Wayne County: 219 countWayne County219Jefferson County: 206 countJefferson County206Pierce County: 206 countPierce County206Antelope County: 203 countAntelope County203Cherry County: 203 countCherry County203Douglas County: 11,310 countDouglas County11,310Lancaster County: 6,485 countLancaster County6,485Sarpy County: 2,930 countSarpy County2,930Hall County: 1,549 countHall County1,549Buffalo County: 1,386 countBuffalo County1,386Madison County: 1,128 countMadison County1,128Scotts Bluff County: 907 countScotts Bluff County907Platte County: 884 countPlatte County884Lincoln County: 882 countLincoln County882Dodge County: 867 countDodge County867Adams County: 831 countAdams County831Gage County: 582 countGage County582Dawson County: 566 countDawson County566Washington County: 536 countWashington County536Saunders County: 486 countSaunders County486Cass County: 479 countCass County479York County: 426 countYork County426Otoe County: 405 countOtoe County405Seward County: 405 countSeward County405Dakota County: 397 countDakota County397Holt County: 372 countHolt County372Red Willow County: 346 countRed Willow County346Custer County: 329 countCuster County329Phelps County: 312 countPhelps County312Cuming County: 306 countCuming County306Keith County: 304 countKeith County304Box Butte County: 268 countBox Butte County268Cheyenne County: 256 countCheyenne County256Hamilton County: 254 countHamilton County254Cedar County: 253 countCedar County253Saline County: 252 countSaline County252Richardson County: 245 countRichardson County245Colfax County: 242 countColfax County242Dawes County: 232 countDawes County232Knox County: 225 countKnox County225Wayne County: 219 countWayne County219Jefferson County: 206 countJefferson County206Pierce County: 206 countPierce County206Antelope County: 203 countAntelope County203Cherry County: 203 countCherry 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

RankCounties2017
count		Change on 2016
1Douglas County11,310+1.2%
2Lancaster County6,485+0.3%
3Sarpy County2,930+2.1%
4Hall County1,549+2.3%
5Buffalo County1,386+1.8%
6Madison County1,128-1.1%
7Scotts Bluff County907+0.1%
8Platte County884+0.7%
9Lincoln County882+1%
10Dodge County867-0.3%
11Adams County831-0.6%
12Gage County582+1.2%
13Dawson County566-2.6%
14Washington County536+2.5%
15Saunders County486+2.1%
16Cass County479+3.9%
17York County4260%
18Otoe County405-1.2%
18Seward County405+3.1%
20Dakota County397+0.5%
21Holt County372-1.6%
22Red Willow County346-1.7%
23Custer County329-2.7%
24Phelps County312+2.3%
25Cuming County306-1.6%
26Keith County304+2.7%
27Box Butte County268-2.2%
28Cheyenne County256+0.4%
29Hamilton County254-3.4%
30Cedar County253-1.9%
31Saline County252-0.8%
32Richardson County245-0.4%
33Colfax County242+0.4%
34Dawes County232-0.4%
35Knox County225-0.9%
36Wayne County219+0.9%
37Jefferson County206-2.8%
37Pierce County206+4%
39Antelope County203-2.9%
39Cherry County203+4.1%
41Merrick County202-3.3%
42Fillmore County201-1%
43Butler County181+1.1%
44Thayer County178+1.7%
45Burt County177+1.1%
46Boone County170+0.6%
47Clay County168+10.5%
48Nemaha County166+2.5%
48Valley County166+4.4%
50Kearney County163+1.2%
51Nuckolls County143-2.7%
52Sheridan County141-0.7%
53Howard County1400%
54Polk County130-1.5%
55Brown County129+5.7%
56Chase County127-6.6%
57Furnas County126-2.3%
58Perkins County111-1.8%
59Kimball County107+2.9%
60Harlan County106+3.9%
61Johnson County100-2%
62Thurston County95+8%
63Morrill County94+1.1%
64Stanton County92-8.9%
65Garfield County90+1.1%
66Dixon County89-2.2%
67Nance County78-6%
68Webster County77-1.3%
69Sherman County73+2.8%
70Frontier County61+3.4%
71Greeley County590%
72Franklin County58-13.4%
73Hitchcock County57-1.7%
73Pawnee County570%
75Boyd County54-6.9%
76Gosper County510%
77Dundy County50-9.1%
78Garden County490%
79Deuel County460%
80Rock County42-6.7%
81Hooker County27+8%
82Grant County26+4%
83Thomas County24+14.3%
84Logan County220%
85Keya Paha County20+5.3%
86Wheeler County15+7.1%
87Hayes County140%
88Sioux County13+8.3%
89Loup County12+20%
90Blaine County10+11.1%
91Arthur County8-11.1%
92Banner County6-14.3%
92McPherson County60%

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, 2017) [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, 2017. 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=2017. 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, 2017. 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=2017.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties, Counties in Nebraska by employer firms, 2017 [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=2017 (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_nebraska_by_2017,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Counties in Nebraska by employer firms, 2017}},
  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=2017. 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, 2017
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=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/nebraska-counties?period=2017.
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 11,310 in 2017, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firms?

McPherson County, with 6 in 2017.

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