Counties in Oklahoma by employer firms

Oklahoma County had the highest employer firms of 77 counties in 2016, at 17,664. Harmon County had the lowest, at 47. The median was 418 and the figure for Oklahoma was 65,600. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest17,664Oklahoma County
Median41877 counties
Oklahoma65,600History

Map of counties, 2016

Adair County: 201 countAlfalfa County: 114 countAtoka County: 232 countBeaver County: 131 countBeckham County: 674 countBlaine County: 232 countBryan County: 657 countCaddo County: 418 countCanadian County: 2,124 countCarter County: 1,388 countCherokee County: 604 countChoctaw County: 241 countCimarron County: 62 countCleveland County: 4,400 countCoal County: 79 countComanche County: 1,737 countCotton County: 76 countCraig County: 293 countCreek County: 1,222 countCuster County: 766 countDelaware County: 640 countDewey County: 131 countEllis County: 113 countGarfield County: 1,388 countGarvin County: 597 countGrady County: 982 countGrant County: 107 countGreer County: 75 countHarmon County: 47 countHarper County: 87 countHaskell County: 183 countHughes County: 183 countJackson County: 451 countJefferson County: 82 countJohnston County: 148 countKay County: 926 countKingfisher County: 398 countKiowa County: 155 countLatimer County: 143 countLe Flore County: 626 countLincoln County: 481 countLogan County: 735 countLove County: 124 countMcClain County: 741 countMcCurtain County: 500 countMcIntosh County: 284 countMajor County: 228 countMarshall County: 249 countMayes County: 663 countMurray County: 247 countMuskogee County: 1,170 countNoble County: 189 countNowata County: 133 countOkfuskee County: 134 countOklahoma County: 17,664 countOkmulgee County: 569 countOsage County: 525 countOttawa County: 479 countPawnee County: 221 countPayne County: 1,546 countPittsburg County: 810 countPontotoc County: 823 countPottawatomie County: 1,109 countPushmataha County: 158 countRoger Mills County: 80 countRogers County: 1,417 countSeminole County: 393 countSequoyah County: 499 countStephens County: 918 countTexas County: 435 countTillman County: 116 countTulsa County: 14,014 countWagoner County: 795 countWashington County: 968 countWashita County: 203 countWoods County: 239 countWoodward County: 661 count
  • Under 100
  • 100 to 200
  • 200 to 400
  • 400 to 700
  • 700 to 1,000
  • 1,000 and over
count, 2016. 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.

Top 40 counties, 2016

Oklahoma County: 17,664 countOklahoma County17,664Tulsa County: 14,014 countTulsa County14,014Cleveland County: 4,400 countCleveland County4,400Canadian County: 2,124 countCanadian County2,124Comanche County: 1,737 countComanche County1,737Payne County: 1,546 countPayne County1,546Rogers County: 1,417 countRogers County1,417Carter County: 1,388 countCarter County1,388Garfield County: 1,388 countGarfield County1,388Creek County: 1,222 countCreek County1,222Muskogee County: 1,170 countMuskogee County1,170Pottawatomie County: 1,109 countPottawatomie County1,109Grady County: 982 countGrady County982Washington County: 968 countWashington County968Kay County: 926 countKay County926Stephens County: 918 countStephens County918Pontotoc County: 823 countPontotoc County823Pittsburg County: 810 countPittsburg County810Wagoner County: 795 countWagoner County795Custer County: 766 countCuster County766McClain County: 741 countMcClain County741Logan County: 735 countLogan County735Beckham County: 674 countBeckham County674Mayes County: 663 countMayes County663Woodward County: 661 countWoodward County661Bryan County: 657 countBryan County657Delaware County: 640 countDelaware County640Le Flore County: 626 countLe Flore County626Cherokee County: 604 countCherokee County604Garvin County: 597 countGarvin County597Okmulgee County: 569 countOkmulgee County569Osage County: 525 countOsage County525McCurtain County: 500 countMcCurtain County500Sequoyah County: 499 countSequoyah County499Lincoln County: 481 countLincoln County481Ottawa County: 479 countOttawa County479Jackson County: 451 countJackson County451Texas County: 435 countTexas County435Caddo County: 418 countCaddo County418Kingfisher County: 398 countKingfisher County398Oklahoma County: 17,664 countOklahoma County17,664Tulsa County: 14,014 countTulsa County14,014Cleveland County: 4,400 countCleveland County4,400Canadian County: 2,124 countCanadian County2,124Comanche County: 1,737 countComanche County1,737Payne County: 1,546 countPayne County1,546Rogers County: 1,417 countRogers County1,417Carter County: 1,388 countCarter County1,388Garfield County: 1,388 countGarfield County1,388Creek County: 1,222 countCreek County1,222Muskogee County: 1,170 countMuskogee County1,170Pottawatomie County: 1,109 countPottawatomie County1,109Grady County: 982 countGrady County982Washington County: 968 countWashington County968Kay County: 926 countKay County926Stephens County: 918 countStephens County918Pontotoc County: 823 countPontotoc County823Pittsburg County: 810 countPittsburg County810Wagoner County: 795 countWagoner County795Custer County: 766 countCuster County766McClain County: 741 countMcClain County741Logan County: 735 countLogan County735Beckham County: 674 countBeckham County674Mayes County: 663 countMayes County663Woodward County: 661 countWoodward County661Bryan County: 657 countBryan County657Delaware County: 640 countDelaware County640Le Flore County: 626 countLe Flore County626Cherokee County: 604 countCherokee County604Garvin County: 597 countGarvin County597Okmulgee County: 569 countOkmulgee County569Osage County: 525 countOsage County525McCurtain County: 500 countMcCurtain County500Sequoyah County: 499 countSequoyah County499Lincoln County: 481 countLincoln County481Ottawa County: 479 countOttawa County479Jackson County: 451 countJackson County451Texas County: 435 countTexas County435Caddo County: 418 countCaddo County418Kingfisher County: 398 countKingfisher County398
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Full ranking

RankCounties2016
count
Change on 2015
1Oklahoma County17,664+0.7%
2Tulsa County14,014+0.7%
3Cleveland County4,400+0.5%
4Canadian County2,124+0.6%
5Comanche County1,737-0.3%
6Payne County1,546+0.7%
7Rogers County1,417+0.9%
8Carter County1,388+0.2%
8Garfield County1,388-2.2%
10Creek County1,222-1%
11Muskogee County1,170-0.9%
12Pottawatomie County1,109+3.2%
13Grady County982-1.3%
14Washington County968-1.4%
15Kay County926-0.5%
16Stephens County918-3.8%
17Pontotoc County823-1.1%
18Pittsburg County810-1.1%
19Wagoner County795+0.1%
20Custer County766-2.4%
21McClain County741+0.4%
22Logan County735+0.5%
23Beckham County674-6.6%
24Mayes County663-2.5%
25Woodward County661-4.6%
26Bryan County657+2%
27Delaware County640+1.4%
28Le Flore County626-6.3%
29Cherokee County604-0.2%
30Garvin County597-2.6%
31Okmulgee County569-0.9%
32Osage County525-2.1%
33McCurtain County500+1.2%
34Sequoyah County499+0.2%
35Lincoln County4810%
36Ottawa County479-2.8%
37Jackson County451-3.6%
38Texas County435+3.1%
39Caddo County418+1.2%
40Kingfisher County398-2.9%
41Seminole County393-2.7%
42Craig County293+0.3%
43McIntosh County284+2.5%
44Marshall County249-2.4%
45Murray County247-0.4%
46Choctaw County241-2.4%
47Woods County239-7%
48Atoka County232-2.9%
48Blaine County232-6.1%
50Major County228+0.9%
51Pawnee County221+0.9%
52Washita County203-9%
53Adair County201+9.2%
54Noble County189-2.6%
55Haskell County183-6.2%
55Hughes County183-4.7%
57Pushmataha County158-4.2%
58Kiowa County155-6.6%
59Johnston County1480%
60Latimer County143-0.7%
61Okfuskee County134+1.5%
62Nowata County133-4.3%
63Beaver County131-0.8%
63Dewey County131+0.8%
65Love County124-4.6%
66Tillman County116-3.3%
67Alfalfa County114-2.6%
68Ellis County113+1.8%
69Grant County107-0.9%
70Harper County87-5.4%
71Jefferson County82+2.5%
72Roger Mills County80-7%
73Coal County79+1.3%
74Cotton County760%
75Greer County75+2.7%
76Cimarron County62-7.5%
77Harmon County470%

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 Oklahoma by employer firms, 2016) [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 Oklahoma by employer firms, 2016. 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/oklahoma-counties?period=2016. 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 Oklahoma by employer firms, 2016. 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/oklahoma-counties?period=2016.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties, Counties in Oklahoma by employer firms, 2016 [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/oklahoma-counties?period=2016 (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_oklahoma_by_2016,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Counties in Oklahoma by employer firms, 2016}},
  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/oklahoma-counties?period=2016. 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 Oklahoma by employer firms, 2016
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/oklahoma-counties?period=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/oklahoma-counties?period=2016.
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?

Oklahoma County, with 17,664 in 2016, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firms?

Harmon County, with 47 in 2016.

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 Oklahoma: more rankings