Counties in North Dakota by employer firms

Cass County had the highest employer firms of 53 counties in 2021, at 4,468. Slope County had the lowest, at 13. The median was 121 and the figure for North Dakota was 17,594. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest4,468Cass County
Lowest13Slope County
Median12153 counties
North Dakota17,594History

Map of counties, 2021

Adams County: 78 countBarnes County: 303 countBenson County: 87 countBillings County: 48 countBottineau County: 213 countBowman County: 127 countBurke County: 64 countBurleigh County: 2,538 countCass County: 4,468 countCavalier County: 114 countDickey County: 161 countDivide County: 74 countDunn County: 138 countEddy County: 61 countEmmons County: 96 countFoster County: 121 countGolden Valley County: 56 countGrand Forks County: 1,513 countGrant County: 72 countGriggs County: 70 countHettinger County: 80 countKidder County: 68 countLaMoure County: 119 countLogan County: 57 countMcHenry County: 124 countMcIntosh County: 94 countMcKenzie County: 471 countMcLean County: 211 countMercer County: 202 countMorton County: 746 countMountrail County: 311 countNelson County: 89 countOliver County: 42 countPembina County: 206 countPierce County: 104 countRamsey County: 353 countRansom County: 172 countRenville County: 85 countRichland County: 444 countRolette County: 165 countSargent County: 97 countSheridan County: 31 countSioux County: 27 countSlope County: 13 countStark County: 1,016 countSteele County: 42 countStutsman County: 527 countTowner County: 58 countTraill County: 241 countWalsh County: 305 countWard County: 1,616 countWells County: 140 countWilliams County: 1,230 count
  • Under 60
  • 60 to 90
  • 90 to 120
  • 120 to 200
  • 200 to 450
  • 450 and over
count, 2021. 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, 2021

Cass County: 4,468 countCass County4,468Burleigh County: 2,538 countBurleigh County2,538Ward County: 1,616 countWard County1,616Grand Forks County: 1,513 countGrand Forks County1,513Williams County: 1,230 countWilliams County1,230Stark County: 1,016 countStark County1,016Morton County: 746 countMorton County746Stutsman County: 527 countStutsman County527McKenzie County: 471 countMcKenzie County471Richland County: 444 countRichland County444Ramsey County: 353 countRamsey County353Mountrail County: 311 countMountrail County311Walsh County: 305 countWalsh County305Barnes County: 303 countBarnes County303Traill County: 241 countTraill County241Bottineau County: 213 countBottineau County213McLean County: 211 countMcLean County211Pembina County: 206 countPembina County206Mercer County: 202 countMercer County202Ransom County: 172 countRansom County172Rolette County: 165 countRolette County165Dickey County: 161 countDickey County161Wells County: 140 countWells County140Dunn County: 138 countDunn County138Bowman County: 127 countBowman County127McHenry County: 124 countMcHenry County124Foster County: 121 countFoster County121LaMoure County: 119 countLaMoure County119Cavalier County: 114 countCavalier County114Pierce County: 104 countPierce County104Sargent County: 97 countSargent County97Emmons County: 96 countEmmons County96McIntosh County: 94 countMcIntosh County94Nelson County: 89 countNelson County89Benson County: 87 countBenson County87Renville County: 85 countRenville County85Hettinger County: 80 countHettinger County80Adams County: 78 countAdams County78Divide County: 74 countDivide County74Grant County: 72 countGrant County72Griggs County: 70 countGriggs County70Kidder County: 68 countKidder County68Burke County: 64 countBurke County64Eddy County: 61 countEddy County61Towner County: 58 countTowner County58Logan County: 57 countLogan County57Golden Valley County: 56 countGolden Valley County56Billings County: 48 countBillings County48Oliver County: 42 countOliver County42Steele County: 42 countSteele County42Sheridan County: 31 countSheridan County31Sioux County: 27 countSioux County27Slope County: 13 countSlope County13Cass County: 4,468 countCass County4,468Burleigh County: 2,538 countBurleigh County2,538Ward County: 1,616 countWard County1,616Grand Forks County: 1,513 countGrand Forks County1,513Williams County: 1,230 countWilliams County1,230Stark County: 1,016 countStark County1,016Morton County: 746 countMorton County746Stutsman County: 527 countStutsman County527McKenzie County: 471 countMcKenzie County471Richland County: 444 countRichland County444Ramsey County: 353 countRamsey County353Mountrail County: 311 countMountrail County311Walsh County: 305 countWalsh County305Barnes County: 303 countBarnes County303Traill County: 241 countTraill County241Bottineau County: 213 countBottineau County213McLean County: 211 countMcLean County211Pembina County: 206 countPembina County206Mercer County: 202 countMercer County202Ransom County: 172 countRansom County172Rolette County: 165 countRolette County165Dickey County: 161 countDickey County161Wells County: 140 countWells County140Dunn County: 138 countDunn County138Bowman County: 127 countBowman County127McHenry County: 124 countMcHenry County124Foster County: 121 countFoster County121LaMoure County: 119 countLaMoure County119Cavalier County: 114 countCavalier County114Pierce County: 104 countPierce County104Sargent County: 97 countSargent County97Emmons County: 96 countEmmons County96McIntosh County: 94 countMcIntosh County94Nelson County: 89 countNelson County89Benson County: 87 countBenson County87Renville County: 85 countRenville County85Hettinger County: 80 countHettinger County80Adams County: 78 countAdams County78Divide County: 74 countDivide County74Grant County: 72 countGrant County72Griggs County: 70 countGriggs County70Kidder County: 68 countKidder County68Burke County: 64 countBurke County64Eddy County: 61 countEddy County61Towner County: 58 countTowner County58Logan County: 57 countLogan County57Golden Valley County: 56 countGolden Valley County56Billings County: 48 countBillings County48Oliver County: 42 countOliver County42Steele County: 42 countSteele County42Sheridan County: 31 countSheridan County31Sioux County: 27 countSioux County27Slope 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

RankCounties2021
count
Change on 2020
1Cass County4,468+2.4%
2Burleigh County2,538+1.1%
3Ward County1,616-2.1%
4Grand Forks County1,513+0.3%
5Williams County1,230-1.8%
6Stark County1,016+0.4%
7Morton County746+3.8%
8Stutsman County527-2.8%
9McKenzie County471-1.1%
10Richland County444+0.9%
11Ramsey County353-1.7%
12Mountrail County311-1%
13Walsh County305-1.6%
14Barnes County303-3.2%
15Traill County241+7.1%
16Bottineau County213+4.9%
17McLean County211+2.9%
18Pembina County206-3.7%
19Mercer County202+1%
20Ransom County172+6.2%
21Rolette County165+4.4%
22Dickey County161-3%
23Wells County140-2.8%
24Dunn County138-8.6%
25Bowman County127+1.6%
26McHenry County124+17%
27Foster County121-1.6%
28LaMoure County119+0.8%
29Cavalier County114-4.2%
30Pierce County104-7.1%
31Sargent County97+2.1%
32Emmons County96-8.6%
33McIntosh County94-1.1%
34Nelson County890%
35Benson County87+1.2%
36Renville County85-3.4%
37Hettinger County80+8.1%
38Adams County78-7.1%
39Divide County74-5.1%
40Grant County72+5.9%
41Griggs County70-1.4%
42Kidder County680%
43Burke County640%
44Eddy County61-9%
45Towner County580%
46Logan County57-6.6%
47Golden Valley County56-1.8%
48Billings County48+14.3%
49Oliver County42+7.7%
49Steele County42-6.7%
51Sheridan County31+3.3%
52Sioux County27+8%
53Slope County13+18.2%

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, 2021) [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, 2021. 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=2021. 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, 2021. 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=2021.

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, 2021 [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=2021 (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_north_dakota_2021,
  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, 2021}},
  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=2021. 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, 2021
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=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/north-dakota-counties?period=2021.
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 4,468 in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firms?

Slope County, with 13 in 2021.

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