Data / Rankings / Employer firms / Counties in Nebraska

Counties in Nebraska by employer firms

Douglas County had the highest employer firms of 93 counties in 2020, at 11,590. McPherson County had the lowest, at 5. The median was 159 and the figure for Nebraska was 38,700. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest11,590Douglas County
Lowest5McPherson County
Median15993 counties
Nebraska38,700History

Map of counties, 2020

Adams County: 819 countAntelope County: 194 countArthur County: 10 countBanner County: 5 countBlaine County: 12 countBoone County: 159 countBox Butte County: 258 countBoyd County: 53 countBrown County: 123 countBuffalo County: 1,399 countBurt County: 160 countButler County: 175 countCass County: 492 countCedar County: 246 countChase County: 139 countCherry County: 193 countCheyenne County: 228 countClay County: 159 countColfax County: 233 countCuming County: 286 countCuster County: 309 countDakota County: 377 countDawes County: 217 countDawson County: 554 countDeuel County: 45 countDixon County: 98 countDodge County: 844 countDouglas County: 11,590 countDundy County: 53 countFillmore County: 185 countFranklin County: 59 countFrontier County: 60 countFurnas County: 120 countGage County: 550 countGarden County: 40 countGarfield County: 92 countGosper County: 49 countGrant County: 25 countGreeley County: 62 countHall County: 1,522 countHamilton County: 260 countHarlan County: 88 countHayes County: 17 countHitchcock County: 56 countHolt County: 382 countHooker County: 23 countHoward County: 144 countJefferson County: 193 countJohnson County: 97 countKearney County: 156 countKeith County: 287 countKeya Paha County: 15 countKimball County: 107 countKnox County: 215 countLancaster County: 6,674 countLincoln County: 868 countLogan County: 21 countLoup County: 13 countMcPherson County: 5 countMadison County: 1,080 countMerrick County: 207 countMorrill County: 96 countNance County: 81 countNemaha County: 154 countNuckolls County: 135 countOtoe County: 395 countPawnee County: 60 countPerkins County: 107 countPhelps County: 303 countPierce County: 203 countPlatte County: 868 countPolk County: 120 countRed Willow County: 328 countRichardson County: 223 countRock County: 39 countSaline County: 252 countSarpy County: 3,031 countSaunders County: 475 countScotts Bluff County: 877 countSeward County: 403 countSheridan County: 130 countSherman County: 68 countSioux County: 12 countStanton County: 89 countThayer County: 172 countThomas County: 23 countThurston County: 89 countValley County: 165 countWashington County: 518 countWayne County: 216 countWebster County: 72 countWheeler County: 15 countYork County: 436 count
  • Under 100
  • 100 to 200
  • 200 to 500
  • 500 and over
count, 2020. 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, 2020

Douglas County: 11,590 countDouglas County11,590Lancaster County: 6,674 countLancaster County6,674Sarpy County: 3,031 countSarpy County3,031Hall County: 1,522 countHall County1,522Buffalo County: 1,399 countBuffalo County1,399Madison County: 1,080 countMadison County1,080Scotts Bluff County: 877 countScotts Bluff County877Lincoln County: 868 countLincoln County868Platte County: 868 countPlatte County868Dodge County: 844 countDodge County844Adams County: 819 countAdams County819Dawson County: 554 countDawson County554Gage County: 550 countGage County550Washington County: 518 countWashington County518Cass County: 492 countCass County492Saunders County: 475 countSaunders County475York County: 436 countYork County436Seward County: 403 countSeward County403Otoe County: 395 countOtoe County395Holt County: 382 countHolt County382Dakota County: 377 countDakota County377Red Willow County: 328 countRed Willow County328Custer County: 309 countCuster County309Phelps County: 303 countPhelps County303Keith County: 287 countKeith County287Cuming County: 286 countCuming County286Hamilton County: 260 countHamilton County260Box Butte County: 258 countBox Butte County258Saline County: 252 countSaline County252Cedar County: 246 countCedar County246Colfax County: 233 countColfax County233Cheyenne County: 228 countCheyenne County228Richardson County: 223 countRichardson County223Dawes County: 217 countDawes County217Wayne County: 216 countWayne County216Knox County: 215 countKnox County215Merrick County: 207 countMerrick County207Pierce County: 203 countPierce County203Antelope County: 194 countAntelope County194Cherry County: 193 countCherry County193Douglas County: 11,590 countDouglas County11,590Lancaster County: 6,674 countLancaster County6,674Sarpy County: 3,031 countSarpy County3,031Hall County: 1,522 countHall County1,522Buffalo County: 1,399 countBuffalo County1,399Madison County: 1,080 countMadison County1,080Scotts Bluff County: 877 countScotts Bluff County877Lincoln County: 868 countLincoln County868Platte County: 868 countPlatte County868Dodge County: 844 countDodge County844Adams County: 819 countAdams County819Dawson County: 554 countDawson County554Gage County: 550 countGage County550Washington County: 518 countWashington County518Cass County: 492 countCass County492Saunders County: 475 countSaunders County475York County: 436 countYork County436Seward County: 403 countSeward County403Otoe County: 395 countOtoe County395Holt County: 382 countHolt County382Dakota County: 377 countDakota County377Red Willow County: 328 countRed Willow County328Custer County: 309 countCuster County309Phelps County: 303 countPhelps County303Keith County: 287 countKeith County287Cuming County: 286 countCuming County286Hamilton County: 260 countHamilton County260Box Butte County: 258 countBox Butte County258Saline County: 252 countSaline County252Cedar County: 246 countCedar County246Colfax County: 233 countColfax County233Cheyenne County: 228 countCheyenne County228Richardson County: 223 countRichardson County223Dawes County: 217 countDawes County217Wayne County: 216 countWayne County216Knox County: 215 countKnox County215Merrick County: 207 countMerrick County207Pierce County: 203 countPierce County203Antelope County: 194 countAntelope County194Cherry County: 193 countCherry County193
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Full ranking

RankCounties2020
count		Change on 2019
1Douglas County11,590+1%
2Lancaster County6,674+0.4%
3Sarpy County3,031+1.1%
4Hall County1,522-0.2%
5Buffalo County1,399-1.5%
6Madison County1,080-1.3%
7Scotts Bluff County877-0.5%
8Lincoln County868-0.9%
8Platte County868-1.4%
10Dodge County844-1.6%
11Adams County8190%
12Dawson County554-0.5%
13Gage County550-1.8%
14Washington County518-1.7%
15Cass County492+0.8%
16Saunders County475-0.2%
17York County436+1.9%
18Seward County403+2.8%
19Otoe County395-2%
20Holt County382+1.9%
21Dakota County377-0.3%
22Red Willow County328-3.8%
23Custer County309-0.6%
24Phelps County303-1.9%
25Keith County287+2.1%
26Cuming County286-4%
27Hamilton County260+2%
28Box Butte County258-0.8%
29Saline County252-1.6%
30Cedar County246-2.8%
31Colfax County233+2.6%
32Cheyenne County228-2.1%
33Richardson County223-3.5%
34Dawes County2170%
35Wayne County2160%
36Knox County215-1.8%
37Merrick County207-1.4%
38Pierce County203+1.5%
39Antelope County194-1.5%
40Cherry County193-2.5%
40Jefferson County193-1.5%
42Fillmore County185-4.6%
43Butler County175-2.8%
44Thayer County172+3%
45Valley County165+0.6%
46Burt County160-5.9%
47Boone County159-3.6%
47Clay County159-2.5%
49Kearney County156+1.3%
50Nemaha County154-6.1%
51Howard County144-4%
52Chase County139+3.7%
53Nuckolls County135-4.3%
54Sheridan County130-1.5%
55Brown County123-0.8%
56Furnas County120+1.7%
56Polk County120+2.6%
58Kimball County107-2.7%
58Perkins County107-0.9%
60Dixon County98+5.4%
61Johnson County97-2%
62Morrill County96+7.9%
63Garfield County92-2.1%
64Stanton County89-3.3%
64Thurston County89-10.1%
66Harlan County88-7.4%
67Nance County81+3.8%
68Webster County72-1.4%
69Sherman County680%
70Greeley County62-3.1%
71Frontier County60-1.6%
71Pawnee County60+13.2%
73Franklin County59-1.7%
74Hitchcock County56-1.8%
75Boyd County53-11.7%
75Dundy County53+1.9%
77Gosper County490%
78Deuel County45-2.2%
79Garden County40-7%
80Rock County39-4.9%
81Grant County250%
82Hooker County23-11.5%
82Thomas County23-4.2%
84Logan County21+5%
85Hayes County17+13.3%
86Keya Paha County15-11.8%
86Wheeler County15-6.3%
88Loup County13-7.1%
89Blaine County120%
89Sioux County12-20%
91Arthur County100%
92Banner County5+25%
92McPherson County50%

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, 2020) [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, 2020. 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=2020. 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, 2020. 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=2020.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties, Counties in Nebraska by employer firms, 2020 [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=2020 (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_nebraska_by_2020,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Counties in Nebraska by employer firms, 2020}},
  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=2020. 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, 2020
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=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/nebraska-counties?period=2020.
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 11,590 in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firms?

McPherson County, with 5 in 2020.

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