Counties in North Dakota by employer firms

Cass County had the highest employer firms of 53 counties in 2017, at 4,371. Slope County had the lowest, at 13. The median was 122 and the figure for North Dakota was 17,504. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest4,371Cass County
Lowest13Slope County
Median12253 counties
North Dakota17,504History

Map of counties, 2017

Adams County: 88 countBarnes County: 319 countBenson County: 99 countBillings County: 49 countBottineau County: 206 countBowman County: 131 countBurke County: 63 countBurleigh County: 2,478 countCass County: 4,371 countCavalier County: 133 countDickey County: 184 countDivide County: 83 countDunn County: 121 countEddy County: 66 countEmmons County: 106 countFoster County: 131 countGolden Valley County: 63 countGrand Forks County: 1,526 countGrant County: 65 countGriggs County: 73 countHettinger County: 81 countKidder County: 62 countLaMoure County: 122 countLogan County: 57 countMcHenry County: 113 countMcIntosh County: 98 countMcKenzie County: 404 countMcLean County: 221 countMercer County: 205 countMorton County: 733 countMountrail County: 311 countNelson County: 97 countOliver County: 40 countPembina County: 218 countPierce County: 116 countRamsey County: 362 countRansom County: 171 countRenville County: 90 countRichland County: 446 countRolette County: 159 countSargent County: 98 countSheridan County: 31 countSioux County: 28 countSlope County: 13 countStark County: 968 countSteele County: 43 countStutsman County: 552 countTowner County: 64 countTraill County: 245 countWalsh County: 335 countWard County: 1,647 countWells County: 158 countWilliams County: 1,159 count
  • Under 60
  • 60 to 90
  • 90 to 120
  • 120 to 210
  • 210 to 420
  • 420 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.

All counties, 2017

Cass County: 4,371 countCass County4,371Burleigh County: 2,478 countBurleigh County2,478Ward County: 1,647 countWard County1,647Grand Forks County: 1,526 countGrand Forks County1,526Williams County: 1,159 countWilliams County1,159Stark County: 968 countStark County968Morton County: 733 countMorton County733Stutsman County: 552 countStutsman County552Richland County: 446 countRichland County446McKenzie County: 404 countMcKenzie County404Ramsey County: 362 countRamsey County362Walsh County: 335 countWalsh County335Barnes County: 319 countBarnes County319Mountrail County: 311 countMountrail County311Traill County: 245 countTraill County245McLean County: 221 countMcLean County221Pembina County: 218 countPembina County218Bottineau County: 206 countBottineau County206Mercer County: 205 countMercer County205Dickey County: 184 countDickey County184Ransom County: 171 countRansom County171Rolette County: 159 countRolette County159Wells County: 158 countWells County158Cavalier County: 133 countCavalier County133Bowman County: 131 countBowman County131Foster County: 131 countFoster County131LaMoure County: 122 countLaMoure County122Dunn County: 121 countDunn County121Pierce County: 116 countPierce County116McHenry County: 113 countMcHenry County113Emmons County: 106 countEmmons County106Benson County: 99 countBenson County99McIntosh County: 98 countMcIntosh County98Sargent County: 98 countSargent County98Nelson County: 97 countNelson County97Renville County: 90 countRenville County90Adams County: 88 countAdams County88Divide County: 83 countDivide County83Hettinger County: 81 countHettinger County81Griggs County: 73 countGriggs County73Eddy County: 66 countEddy County66Grant County: 65 countGrant County65Towner County: 64 countTowner County64Burke County: 63 countBurke County63Golden Valley County: 63 countGolden Valley County63Kidder County: 62 countKidder County62Logan County: 57 countLogan County57Billings County: 49 countBillings County49Steele County: 43 countSteele County43Oliver County: 40 countOliver County40Sheridan County: 31 countSheridan County31Sioux County: 28 countSioux County28Slope County: 13 countSlope County13Cass County: 4,371 countCass County4,371Burleigh County: 2,478 countBurleigh County2,478Ward County: 1,647 countWard County1,647Grand Forks County: 1,526 countGrand Forks County1,526Williams County: 1,159 countWilliams County1,159Stark County: 968 countStark County968Morton County: 733 countMorton County733Stutsman County: 552 countStutsman County552Richland County: 446 countRichland County446McKenzie County: 404 countMcKenzie County404Ramsey County: 362 countRamsey County362Walsh County: 335 countWalsh County335Barnes County: 319 countBarnes County319Mountrail County: 311 countMountrail County311Traill County: 245 countTraill County245McLean County: 221 countMcLean County221Pembina County: 218 countPembina County218Bottineau County: 206 countBottineau County206Mercer County: 205 countMercer County205Dickey County: 184 countDickey County184Ransom County: 171 countRansom County171Rolette County: 159 countRolette County159Wells County: 158 countWells County158Cavalier County: 133 countCavalier County133Bowman County: 131 countBowman County131Foster County: 131 countFoster County131LaMoure County: 122 countLaMoure County122Dunn County: 121 countDunn County121Pierce County: 116 countPierce County116McHenry County: 113 countMcHenry County113Emmons County: 106 countEmmons County106Benson County: 99 countBenson County99McIntosh County: 98 countMcIntosh County98Sargent County: 98 countSargent County98Nelson County: 97 countNelson County97Renville County: 90 countRenville County90Adams County: 88 countAdams County88Divide County: 83 countDivide County83Hettinger County: 81 countHettinger County81Griggs County: 73 countGriggs County73Eddy County: 66 countEddy County66Grant County: 65 countGrant County65Towner County: 64 countTowner County64Burke County: 63 countBurke County63Golden Valley County: 63 countGolden Valley County63Kidder County: 62 countKidder County62Logan County: 57 countLogan County57Billings County: 49 countBillings County49Steele County: 43 countSteele County43Oliver County: 40 countOliver County40Sheridan County: 31 countSheridan County31Sioux County: 28 countSioux County28Slope 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

RankCounties2017
count
Change on 2016
1Cass County4,371+1%
2Burleigh County2,478-0.5%
3Ward County1,647-1.5%
4Grand Forks County1,526-1.1%
5Williams County1,159-4.8%
6Stark County968-2.8%
7Morton County733+0.5%
8Stutsman County552-2.8%
9Richland County446-3.7%
10McKenzie County404-2.4%
11Ramsey County362-0.8%
12Walsh County335+0.9%
13Barnes County319-0.9%
14Mountrail County311-2.8%
15Traill County245-2%
16McLean County221+3.3%
17Pembina County218-4.4%
18Bottineau County206-6.8%
19Mercer County205+0.5%
20Dickey County184+2.2%
21Ransom County171+3%
22Rolette County159-2.5%
23Wells County158+1.3%
24Cavalier County133-0.7%
25Bowman County131-2.2%
25Foster County131-2.2%
27LaMoure County122-1.6%
28Dunn County121-12.9%
29Pierce County116+3.6%
30McHenry County113+5.6%
31Emmons County106-1.9%
32Benson County990%
33McIntosh County98+3.2%
33Sargent County98-1%
35Nelson County97-4.9%
36Renville County90-7.2%
37Adams County88+2.3%
38Divide County83-5.7%
39Hettinger County81+3.8%
40Griggs County73-6.4%
41Eddy County66-5.7%
42Grant County65-4.4%
43Towner County64+6.7%
44Burke County63-4.5%
44Golden Valley County63-4.5%
46Kidder County620%
47Logan County57-6.6%
48Billings County49-2%
49Steele County430%
50Oliver County40+5.3%
51Sheridan County31-6.1%
52Sioux County28+16.7%
53Slope County130%

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, 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 North Dakota 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/north-dakota-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 North Dakota 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/north-dakota-counties?period=2017.

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, 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/north-dakota-counties?period=2017 (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_north_dakota_2017,
  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, 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/north-dakota-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 North Dakota 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/north-dakota-counties?period=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/north-dakota-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?

Cass County, with 4,371 in 2017, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firms?

Slope County, with 13 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 North Dakota: more rankings