Counties in North Dakota by employer firms

Cass County had the highest employer firms of 53 counties in 2012, at 3,992. Slope County had the lowest, at 10. The median was 127 and the figure for North Dakota was 16,983. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest3,992Cass County
Lowest10Slope County
Median12753 counties
North Dakota16,983History

Map of counties, 2012

Adams County: 93 countBarnes County: 315 countBenson County: 111 countBillings County: 45 countBottineau County: 225 countBowman County: 135 countBurke County: 70 countBurleigh County: 2,343 countCass County: 3,992 countCavalier County: 136 countDickey County: 189 countDivide County: 92 countDunn County: 120 countEddy County: 63 countEmmons County: 112 countFoster County: 131 countGolden Valley County: 65 countGrand Forks County: 1,521 countGrant County: 65 countGriggs County: 80 countHettinger County: 75 countKidder County: 51 countLaMoure County: 127 countLogan County: 61 countMcHenry County: 100 countMcIntosh County: 98 countMcKenzie County: 306 countMcLean County: 212 countMercer County: 206 countMorton County: 671 countMountrail County: 249 countNelson County: 105 countOliver County: 45 countPembina County: 236 countPierce County: 111 countRamsey County: 347 countRansom County: 167 countRenville County: 91 countRichland County: 460 countRolette County: 167 countSargent County: 108 countSheridan County: 38 countSioux County: 22 countSlope County: 10 countStark County: 943 countSteele County: 45 countStutsman County: 540 countTowner County: 69 countTraill County: 252 countWalsh County: 353 countWard County: 1,603 countWells County: 155 countWilliams County: 1,041 count
  • Under 60
  • 60 to 90
  • 90 to 130
  • 130 to 210
  • 210 to 390
  • 390 and over
count, 2012. 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, 2012

Cass County: 3,992 countCass County3,992Burleigh County: 2,343 countBurleigh County2,343Ward County: 1,603 countWard County1,603Grand Forks County: 1,521 countGrand Forks County1,521Williams County: 1,041 countWilliams County1,041Stark County: 943 countStark County943Morton County: 671 countMorton County671Stutsman County: 540 countStutsman County540Richland County: 460 countRichland County460Walsh County: 353 countWalsh County353Ramsey County: 347 countRamsey County347Barnes County: 315 countBarnes County315McKenzie County: 306 countMcKenzie County306Traill County: 252 countTraill County252Mountrail County: 249 countMountrail County249Pembina County: 236 countPembina County236Bottineau County: 225 countBottineau County225McLean County: 212 countMcLean County212Mercer County: 206 countMercer County206Dickey County: 189 countDickey County189Ransom County: 167 countRansom County167Rolette County: 167 countRolette County167Wells County: 155 countWells County155Cavalier County: 136 countCavalier County136Bowman County: 135 countBowman County135Foster County: 131 countFoster County131LaMoure County: 127 countLaMoure County127Dunn County: 120 countDunn County120Emmons County: 112 countEmmons County112Benson County: 111 countBenson County111Pierce County: 111 countPierce County111Sargent County: 108 countSargent County108Nelson County: 105 countNelson County105McHenry County: 100 countMcHenry County100McIntosh County: 98 countMcIntosh County98Adams County: 93 countAdams County93Divide County: 92 countDivide County92Renville County: 91 countRenville County91Griggs County: 80 countGriggs County80Hettinger County: 75 countHettinger County75Burke County: 70 countBurke County70Towner County: 69 countTowner County69Golden Valley County: 65 countGolden Valley County65Grant County: 65 countGrant County65Eddy County: 63 countEddy County63Logan County: 61 countLogan County61Kidder County: 51 countKidder County51Billings County: 45 countBillings County45Oliver County: 45 countOliver County45Steele County: 45 countSteele County45Sheridan County: 38 countSheridan County38Sioux County: 22 countSioux County22Slope County: 10 countSlope County10Cass County: 3,992 countCass County3,992Burleigh County: 2,343 countBurleigh County2,343Ward County: 1,603 countWard County1,603Grand Forks County: 1,521 countGrand Forks County1,521Williams County: 1,041 countWilliams County1,041Stark County: 943 countStark County943Morton County: 671 countMorton County671Stutsman County: 540 countStutsman County540Richland County: 460 countRichland County460Walsh County: 353 countWalsh County353Ramsey County: 347 countRamsey County347Barnes County: 315 countBarnes County315McKenzie County: 306 countMcKenzie County306Traill County: 252 countTraill County252Mountrail County: 249 countMountrail County249Pembina County: 236 countPembina County236Bottineau County: 225 countBottineau County225McLean County: 212 countMcLean County212Mercer County: 206 countMercer County206Dickey County: 189 countDickey County189Ransom County: 167 countRansom County167Rolette County: 167 countRolette County167Wells County: 155 countWells County155Cavalier County: 136 countCavalier County136Bowman County: 135 countBowman County135Foster County: 131 countFoster County131LaMoure County: 127 countLaMoure County127Dunn County: 120 countDunn County120Emmons County: 112 countEmmons County112Benson County: 111 countBenson County111Pierce County: 111 countPierce County111Sargent County: 108 countSargent County108Nelson County: 105 countNelson County105McHenry County: 100 countMcHenry County100McIntosh County: 98 countMcIntosh County98Adams County: 93 countAdams County93Divide County: 92 countDivide County92Renville County: 91 countRenville County91Griggs County: 80 countGriggs County80Hettinger County: 75 countHettinger County75Burke County: 70 countBurke County70Towner County: 69 countTowner County69Golden Valley County: 65 countGolden Valley County65Grant County: 65 countGrant County65Eddy County: 63 countEddy County63Logan County: 61 countLogan County61Kidder County: 51 countKidder County51Billings County: 45 countBillings County45Oliver County: 45 countOliver County45Steele County: 45 countSteele County45Sheridan County: 38 countSheridan County38Sioux County: 22 countSioux County22Slope County: 10 countSlope County10
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Full ranking

RankCounties2012
count
Change on 2011
1Cass County3,992+1.3%
2Burleigh County2,343+3.5%
3Ward County1,603+3.8%
4Grand Forks County1,521+0.9%
5Williams County1,041+17.6%
6Stark County943+8.3%
7Morton County671+2%
8Stutsman County540-1.1%
9Richland County460+0.9%
10Walsh County353+0.3%
11Ramsey County347-1.4%
12Barnes County315+1%
13McKenzie County306+43%
14Traill County252+2.4%
15Mountrail County249+22.1%
16Pembina County236+3.5%
17Bottineau County225+3.2%
18McLean County212+2.9%
19Mercer County206+3%
20Dickey County189+1.6%
21Ransom County167+3.7%
21Rolette County167+1.2%
23Wells County155+6.9%
24Cavalier County136+1.5%
25Bowman County135-0.7%
26Foster County131-1.5%
27LaMoure County127+7.6%
28Dunn County120+26.3%
29Emmons County112+4.7%
30Benson County111+9.9%
30Pierce County111-4.3%
32Sargent County108+1.9%
33Nelson County105+8.2%
34McHenry County100-3.8%
35McIntosh County98+4.3%
36Adams County93+5.7%
37Divide County92+29.6%
38Renville County91+5.8%
39Griggs County80-7%
40Hettinger County750%
41Burke County700%
42Towner County690%
43Golden Valley County65+3.2%
43Grant County65+8.3%
45Eddy County630%
46Logan County61-1.6%
47Kidder County51-8.9%
48Billings County45+15.4%
48Oliver County45+9.8%
48Steele County45-2.2%
51Sheridan County38+11.8%
52Sioux County220%
53Slope County100%

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 North Dakota by employer firms, 2012) [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 North Dakota by employer firms, 2012. 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/north-dakota-counties?period=2012. 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 North Dakota by employer firms, 2012. 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/north-dakota-counties?period=2012.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties, Counties in North Dakota by employer firms, 2012 [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/north-dakota-counties?period=2012 (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_north_dakota_2012,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Counties in North Dakota by employer firms, 2012}},
  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/north-dakota-counties?period=2012. 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 North Dakota by employer firms, 2012
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/north-dakota-counties?period=2012
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/north-dakota-counties?period=2012.
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?

Cass County, with 3,992 in 2012, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firms?

Slope County, with 10 in 2012.

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 North Dakota: more rankings