Counties in North Dakota by employer firms

Cass County had the highest employer firms of 53 counties in 2015, at 4,269. Slope County had the lowest, at 13. The median was 128 and the figure for North Dakota was 17,934. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest4,269Cass County
Lowest13Slope County
Median12853 counties
North Dakota17,934History

Map of counties, 2015

Adams County: 85 countBarnes County: 325 countBenson County: 103 countBillings County: 50 countBottineau County: 232 countBowman County: 134 countBurke County: 67 countBurleigh County: 2,489 countCass County: 4,269 countCavalier County: 134 countDickey County: 184 countDivide County: 98 countDunn County: 151 countEddy County: 72 countEmmons County: 108 countFoster County: 128 countGolden Valley County: 71 countGrand Forks County: 1,523 countGrant County: 69 countGriggs County: 82 countHettinger County: 77 countKidder County: 60 countLaMoure County: 126 countLogan County: 59 countMcHenry County: 108 countMcIntosh County: 99 countMcKenzie County: 441 countMcLean County: 208 countMercer County: 207 countMorton County: 734 countMountrail County: 336 countNelson County: 100 countOliver County: 38 countPembina County: 235 countPierce County: 109 countRamsey County: 354 countRansom County: 164 countRenville County: 92 countRichland County: 458 countRolette County: 168 countSargent County: 105 countSheridan County: 35 countSioux County: 25 countSlope County: 13 countStark County: 1,038 countSteele County: 43 countStutsman County: 560 countTowner County: 60 countTraill County: 246 countWalsh County: 335 countWard County: 1,716 countWells County: 158 countWilliams County: 1,270 count
  • Under 60
  • 60 to 100
  • 100 to 130
  • 130 to 210
  • 210 to 450
  • 450 and over
count, 2015. 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, 2015

Cass County: 4,269 countCass County4,269Burleigh County: 2,489 countBurleigh County2,489Ward County: 1,716 countWard County1,716Grand Forks County: 1,523 countGrand Forks County1,523Williams County: 1,270 countWilliams County1,270Stark County: 1,038 countStark County1,038Morton County: 734 countMorton County734Stutsman County: 560 countStutsman County560Richland County: 458 countRichland County458McKenzie County: 441 countMcKenzie County441Ramsey County: 354 countRamsey County354Mountrail County: 336 countMountrail County336Walsh County: 335 countWalsh County335Barnes County: 325 countBarnes County325Traill County: 246 countTraill County246Pembina County: 235 countPembina County235Bottineau County: 232 countBottineau County232McLean County: 208 countMcLean County208Mercer County: 207 countMercer County207Dickey County: 184 countDickey County184Rolette County: 168 countRolette County168Ransom County: 164 countRansom County164Wells County: 158 countWells County158Dunn County: 151 countDunn County151Bowman County: 134 countBowman County134Cavalier County: 134 countCavalier County134Foster County: 128 countFoster County128LaMoure County: 126 countLaMoure County126Pierce County: 109 countPierce County109Emmons County: 108 countEmmons County108McHenry County: 108 countMcHenry County108Sargent County: 105 countSargent County105Benson County: 103 countBenson County103Nelson County: 100 countNelson County100McIntosh County: 99 countMcIntosh County99Divide County: 98 countDivide County98Renville County: 92 countRenville County92Adams County: 85 countAdams County85Griggs County: 82 countGriggs County82Hettinger County: 77 countHettinger County77Eddy County: 72 countEddy County72Golden Valley County: 71 countGolden Valley County71Grant County: 69 countGrant County69Burke County: 67 countBurke County67Kidder County: 60 countKidder County60Towner County: 60 countTowner County60Logan County: 59 countLogan County59Billings County: 50 countBillings County50Steele County: 43 countSteele County43Oliver County: 38 countOliver County38Sheridan County: 35 countSheridan County35Sioux County: 25 countSioux County25Slope County: 13 countSlope County13Cass County: 4,269 countCass County4,269Burleigh County: 2,489 countBurleigh County2,489Ward County: 1,716 countWard County1,716Grand Forks County: 1,523 countGrand Forks County1,523Williams County: 1,270 countWilliams County1,270Stark County: 1,038 countStark County1,038Morton County: 734 countMorton County734Stutsman County: 560 countStutsman County560Richland County: 458 countRichland County458McKenzie County: 441 countMcKenzie County441Ramsey County: 354 countRamsey County354Mountrail County: 336 countMountrail County336Walsh County: 335 countWalsh County335Barnes County: 325 countBarnes County325Traill County: 246 countTraill County246Pembina County: 235 countPembina County235Bottineau County: 232 countBottineau County232McLean County: 208 countMcLean County208Mercer County: 207 countMercer County207Dickey County: 184 countDickey County184Rolette County: 168 countRolette County168Ransom County: 164 countRansom County164Wells County: 158 countWells County158Dunn County: 151 countDunn County151Bowman County: 134 countBowman County134Cavalier County: 134 countCavalier County134Foster County: 128 countFoster County128LaMoure County: 126 countLaMoure County126Pierce County: 109 countPierce County109Emmons County: 108 countEmmons County108McHenry County: 108 countMcHenry County108Sargent County: 105 countSargent County105Benson County: 103 countBenson County103Nelson County: 100 countNelson County100McIntosh County: 99 countMcIntosh County99Divide County: 98 countDivide County98Renville County: 92 countRenville County92Adams County: 85 countAdams County85Griggs County: 82 countGriggs County82Hettinger County: 77 countHettinger County77Eddy County: 72 countEddy County72Golden Valley County: 71 countGolden Valley County71Grant County: 69 countGrant County69Burke County: 67 countBurke County67Kidder County: 60 countKidder County60Towner County: 60 countTowner County60Logan County: 59 countLogan County59Billings County: 50 countBillings County50Steele County: 43 countSteele County43Oliver County: 38 countOliver County38Sheridan County: 35 countSheridan County35Sioux County: 25 countSioux County25Slope County: 13 countSlope County13
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Full ranking

RankCounties2015
count
Change on 2014
1Cass County4,269+2.2%
2Burleigh County2,489+2.1%
3Ward County1,716+1.7%
4Grand Forks County1,523-0.5%
5Williams County1,270+6.4%
6Stark County1,038+2%
7Morton County734+1%
8Stutsman County560+0.4%
9Richland County458+0.7%
10McKenzie County441+10.3%
11Ramsey County3540%
12Mountrail County336+6%
13Walsh County335+0.3%
14Barnes County325-1.2%
15Traill County246-3.1%
16Pembina County235+2.6%
17Bottineau County232+3.6%
18McLean County208-4.1%
19Mercer County207-3.3%
20Dickey County184-3.2%
21Rolette County168+5.7%
22Ransom County1640%
23Wells County158+2.6%
24Dunn County151-1.3%
25Bowman County134-5.6%
25Cavalier County134-2.9%
27Foster County128+2.4%
28LaMoure County126+0.8%
29Pierce County109-2.7%
30Emmons County1080%
30McHenry County108-1.8%
32Sargent County1050%
33Benson County103+1%
34Nelson County100+2%
35McIntosh County990%
36Divide County98-3.9%
37Renville County92+3.4%
38Adams County85-4.5%
39Griggs County82-1.2%
40Hettinger County77+5.5%
41Eddy County72+2.9%
42Golden Valley County71-1.4%
43Grant County69+6.2%
44Burke County67-13%
45Kidder County60+5.3%
45Towner County60-4.8%
47Logan County59+5.4%
48Billings County50-3.8%
49Steele County43+2.4%
50Oliver County38-7.3%
51Sheridan County35-7.9%
52Sioux County250%
53Slope County13-7.1%

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, 2015) [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, 2015. 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=2015. 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, 2015. 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=2015.

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, 2015 [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=2015 (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_north_dakota_2015,
  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, 2015}},
  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=2015. 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, 2015
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=2015
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/north-dakota-counties?period=2015.
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 4,269 in 2015, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firms?

Slope County, with 13 in 2015.

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