Counties in North Dakota by employer firms

Cass County had the highest employer firms of 53 counties in 2014, at 4,177. Slope County had the lowest, at 14. The median was 125 and the figure for North Dakota was 17,707. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest4,177Cass County
Lowest14Slope County
Median12553 counties
North Dakota17,707History

Map of counties, 2014

Adams County: 89 countBarnes County: 329 countBenson County: 102 countBillings County: 52 countBottineau County: 224 countBowman County: 142 countBurke County: 77 countBurleigh County: 2,439 countCass County: 4,177 countCavalier County: 138 countDickey County: 190 countDivide County: 102 countDunn County: 153 countEddy County: 70 countEmmons County: 108 countFoster County: 125 countGolden Valley County: 72 countGrand Forks County: 1,530 countGrant County: 65 countGriggs County: 83 countHettinger County: 73 countKidder County: 57 countLaMoure County: 125 countLogan County: 56 countMcHenry County: 110 countMcIntosh County: 99 countMcKenzie County: 400 countMcLean County: 217 countMercer County: 214 countMorton County: 727 countMountrail County: 317 countNelson County: 98 countOliver County: 41 countPembina County: 229 countPierce County: 112 countRamsey County: 354 countRansom County: 164 countRenville County: 89 countRichland County: 455 countRolette County: 159 countSargent County: 105 countSheridan County: 38 countSioux County: 25 countSlope County: 14 countStark County: 1,018 countSteele County: 42 countStutsman County: 558 countTowner County: 63 countTraill County: 254 countWalsh County: 334 countWard County: 1,688 countWells County: 154 countWilliams County: 1,194 count
  • Under 60
  • 60 to 100
  • 100 to 130
  • 130 to 220
  • 220 to 420
  • 420 and over
count, 2014. 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, 2014

Cass County: 4,177 countCass County4,177Burleigh County: 2,439 countBurleigh County2,439Ward County: 1,688 countWard County1,688Grand Forks County: 1,530 countGrand Forks County1,530Williams County: 1,194 countWilliams County1,194Stark County: 1,018 countStark County1,018Morton County: 727 countMorton County727Stutsman County: 558 countStutsman County558Richland County: 455 countRichland County455McKenzie County: 400 countMcKenzie County400Ramsey County: 354 countRamsey County354Walsh County: 334 countWalsh County334Barnes County: 329 countBarnes County329Mountrail County: 317 countMountrail County317Traill County: 254 countTraill County254Pembina County: 229 countPembina County229Bottineau County: 224 countBottineau County224McLean County: 217 countMcLean County217Mercer County: 214 countMercer County214Dickey County: 190 countDickey County190Ransom County: 164 countRansom County164Rolette County: 159 countRolette County159Wells County: 154 countWells County154Dunn County: 153 countDunn County153Bowman County: 142 countBowman County142Cavalier County: 138 countCavalier County138Foster County: 125 countFoster County125LaMoure County: 125 countLaMoure County125Pierce County: 112 countPierce County112McHenry County: 110 countMcHenry County110Emmons County: 108 countEmmons County108Sargent County: 105 countSargent County105Benson County: 102 countBenson County102Divide County: 102 countDivide County102McIntosh County: 99 countMcIntosh County99Nelson County: 98 countNelson County98Adams County: 89 countAdams County89Renville County: 89 countRenville County89Griggs County: 83 countGriggs County83Burke County: 77 countBurke County77Hettinger County: 73 countHettinger County73Golden Valley County: 72 countGolden Valley County72Eddy County: 70 countEddy County70Grant County: 65 countGrant County65Towner County: 63 countTowner County63Kidder County: 57 countKidder County57Logan County: 56 countLogan County56Billings County: 52 countBillings County52Steele County: 42 countSteele County42Oliver County: 41 countOliver County41Sheridan County: 38 countSheridan County38Sioux County: 25 countSioux County25Slope County: 14 countSlope County14Cass County: 4,177 countCass County4,177Burleigh County: 2,439 countBurleigh County2,439Ward County: 1,688 countWard County1,688Grand Forks County: 1,530 countGrand Forks County1,530Williams County: 1,194 countWilliams County1,194Stark County: 1,018 countStark County1,018Morton County: 727 countMorton County727Stutsman County: 558 countStutsman County558Richland County: 455 countRichland County455McKenzie County: 400 countMcKenzie County400Ramsey County: 354 countRamsey County354Walsh County: 334 countWalsh County334Barnes County: 329 countBarnes County329Mountrail County: 317 countMountrail County317Traill County: 254 countTraill County254Pembina County: 229 countPembina County229Bottineau County: 224 countBottineau County224McLean County: 217 countMcLean County217Mercer County: 214 countMercer County214Dickey County: 190 countDickey County190Ransom County: 164 countRansom County164Rolette County: 159 countRolette County159Wells County: 154 countWells County154Dunn County: 153 countDunn County153Bowman County: 142 countBowman County142Cavalier County: 138 countCavalier County138Foster County: 125 countFoster County125LaMoure County: 125 countLaMoure County125Pierce County: 112 countPierce County112McHenry County: 110 countMcHenry County110Emmons County: 108 countEmmons County108Sargent County: 105 countSargent County105Benson County: 102 countBenson County102Divide County: 102 countDivide County102McIntosh County: 99 countMcIntosh County99Nelson County: 98 countNelson County98Adams County: 89 countAdams County89Renville County: 89 countRenville County89Griggs County: 83 countGriggs County83Burke County: 77 countBurke County77Hettinger County: 73 countHettinger County73Golden Valley County: 72 countGolden Valley County72Eddy County: 70 countEddy County70Grant County: 65 countGrant County65Towner County: 63 countTowner County63Kidder County: 57 countKidder County57Logan County: 56 countLogan County56Billings County: 52 countBillings County52Steele County: 42 countSteele County42Oliver County: 41 countOliver County41Sheridan County: 38 countSheridan County38Sioux County: 25 countSioux County25Slope County: 14 countSlope County14
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Full ranking

RankCounties2014
count
Change on 2013
1Cass County4,177+3.2%
2Burleigh County2,439+1%
3Ward County1,688+1.8%
4Grand Forks County1,530+1%
5Williams County1,194+5.6%
6Stark County1,018+4.3%
7Morton County727+2.4%
8Stutsman County558+1.1%
9Richland County455-0.4%
10McKenzie County400+13%
11Ramsey County354+2%
12Walsh County334-1.2%
13Barnes County329+3.1%
14Mountrail County317+10.8%
15Traill County2540%
16Pembina County229-0.9%
17Bottineau County2240%
18McLean County217+2.4%
19Mercer County214+2.9%
20Dickey County190+1.1%
21Ransom County164-0.6%
22Rolette County159-5.4%
23Wells County1540%
24Dunn County153+8.5%
25Bowman County142+5.2%
26Cavalier County138-1.4%
27Foster County125-1.6%
27LaMoure County125+4.2%
29Pierce County112-1.8%
30McHenry County110+5.8%
31Emmons County1080%
32Sargent County105+1%
33Benson County102+5.2%
33Divide County102+6.3%
35McIntosh County99+5.3%
36Nelson County98-5.8%
37Adams County89+4.7%
37Renville County89-4.3%
39Griggs County83-6.7%
40Burke County77-4.9%
41Hettinger County73-3.9%
42Golden Valley County72+4.3%
43Eddy County70+2.9%
44Grant County65-3%
45Towner County63-4.5%
46Kidder County57+3.6%
47Logan County56-5.1%
48Billings County52+6.1%
49Steele County42-2.3%
50Oliver County41-2.4%
51Sheridan County38+8.6%
52Sioux County25+8.7%
53Slope County14+16.7%

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, 2014) [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, 2014. 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=2014. 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, 2014. 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=2014.

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, 2014 [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=2014 (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_north_dakota_2014,
  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, 2014}},
  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=2014. 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, 2014
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=2014
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/north-dakota-counties?period=2014.
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 4,177 in 2014, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firms?

Slope County, with 14 in 2014.

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