Counties in Oklahoma by employer firms

Oklahoma County had the highest employer firms of 77 counties in 2017, at 17,751. Harmon County had the lowest, at 44. The median was 416 and the figure for Oklahoma was 65,408. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest17,751Oklahoma County
Median41677 counties
Oklahoma65,408History

Map of counties, 2017

Adair County: 189 countAlfalfa County: 112 countAtoka County: 227 countBeaver County: 127 countBeckham County: 651 countBlaine County: 224 countBryan County: 656 countCaddo County: 416 countCanadian County: 2,177 countCarter County: 1,389 countCherokee County: 610 countChoctaw County: 241 countCimarron County: 65 countCleveland County: 4,478 countCoal County: 77 countComanche County: 1,707 countCotton County: 71 countCraig County: 288 countCreek County: 1,192 countCuster County: 759 countDelaware County: 639 countDewey County: 128 countEllis County: 104 countGarfield County: 1,382 countGarvin County: 566 countGrady County: 983 countGrant County: 104 countGreer County: 73 countHarmon County: 44 countHarper County: 84 countHaskell County: 180 countHughes County: 176 countJackson County: 461 countJefferson County: 73 countJohnston County: 149 countKay County: 905 countKingfisher County: 418 countKiowa County: 156 countLatimer County: 142 countLe Flore County: 620 countLincoln County: 478 countLogan County: 762 countLove County: 124 countMcClain County: 748 countMcCurtain County: 502 countMcIntosh County: 284 countMajor County: 218 countMarshall County: 255 countMayes County: 665 countMurray County: 243 countMuskogee County: 1,157 countNoble County: 192 countNowata County: 131 countOkfuskee County: 130 countOklahoma County: 17,751 countOkmulgee County: 556 countOsage County: 517 countOttawa County: 479 countPawnee County: 218 countPayne County: 1,542 countPittsburg County: 816 countPontotoc County: 824 countPottawatomie County: 1,100 countPushmataha County: 154 countRoger Mills County: 81 countRogers County: 1,406 countSeminole County: 387 countSequoyah County: 486 countStephens County: 933 countTexas County: 413 countTillman County: 109 countTulsa County: 13,886 countWagoner County: 801 countWashington County: 944 countWashita County: 196 countWoods County: 238 countWoodward County: 641 count
  • Under 100
  • 100 to 200
  • 200 to 400
  • 400 to 600
  • 600 to 1,000
  • 1,000 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.

Top 40 counties, 2017

Oklahoma County: 17,751 countOklahoma County17,751Tulsa County: 13,886 countTulsa County13,886Cleveland County: 4,478 countCleveland County4,478Canadian County: 2,177 countCanadian County2,177Comanche County: 1,707 countComanche County1,707Payne County: 1,542 countPayne County1,542Rogers County: 1,406 countRogers County1,406Carter County: 1,389 countCarter County1,389Garfield County: 1,382 countGarfield County1,382Creek County: 1,192 countCreek County1,192Muskogee County: 1,157 countMuskogee County1,157Pottawatomie County: 1,100 countPottawatomie County1,100Grady County: 983 countGrady County983Washington County: 944 countWashington County944Stephens County: 933 countStephens County933Kay County: 905 countKay County905Pontotoc County: 824 countPontotoc County824Pittsburg County: 816 countPittsburg County816Wagoner County: 801 countWagoner County801Logan County: 762 countLogan County762Custer County: 759 countCuster County759McClain County: 748 countMcClain County748Mayes County: 665 countMayes County665Bryan County: 656 countBryan County656Beckham County: 651 countBeckham County651Woodward County: 641 countWoodward County641Delaware County: 639 countDelaware County639Le Flore County: 620 countLe Flore County620Cherokee County: 610 countCherokee County610Garvin County: 566 countGarvin County566Okmulgee County: 556 countOkmulgee County556Osage County: 517 countOsage County517McCurtain County: 502 countMcCurtain County502Sequoyah County: 486 countSequoyah County486Ottawa County: 479 countOttawa County479Lincoln County: 478 countLincoln County478Jackson County: 461 countJackson County461Kingfisher County: 418 countKingfisher County418Caddo County: 416 countCaddo County416Texas County: 413 countTexas County413Oklahoma County: 17,751 countOklahoma County17,751Tulsa County: 13,886 countTulsa County13,886Cleveland County: 4,478 countCleveland County4,478Canadian County: 2,177 countCanadian County2,177Comanche County: 1,707 countComanche County1,707Payne County: 1,542 countPayne County1,542Rogers County: 1,406 countRogers County1,406Carter County: 1,389 countCarter County1,389Garfield County: 1,382 countGarfield County1,382Creek County: 1,192 countCreek County1,192Muskogee County: 1,157 countMuskogee County1,157Pottawatomie County: 1,100 countPottawatomie County1,100Grady County: 983 countGrady County983Washington County: 944 countWashington County944Stephens County: 933 countStephens County933Kay County: 905 countKay County905Pontotoc County: 824 countPontotoc County824Pittsburg County: 816 countPittsburg County816Wagoner County: 801 countWagoner County801Logan County: 762 countLogan County762Custer County: 759 countCuster County759McClain County: 748 countMcClain County748Mayes County: 665 countMayes County665Bryan County: 656 countBryan County656Beckham County: 651 countBeckham County651Woodward County: 641 countWoodward County641Delaware County: 639 countDelaware County639Le Flore County: 620 countLe Flore County620Cherokee County: 610 countCherokee County610Garvin County: 566 countGarvin County566Okmulgee County: 556 countOkmulgee County556Osage County: 517 countOsage County517McCurtain County: 502 countMcCurtain County502Sequoyah County: 486 countSequoyah County486Ottawa County: 479 countOttawa County479Lincoln County: 478 countLincoln County478Jackson County: 461 countJackson County461Kingfisher County: 418 countKingfisher County418Caddo County: 416 countCaddo County416Texas County: 413 countTexas County413
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
1Oklahoma County17,751+0.5%
2Tulsa County13,886-0.9%
3Cleveland County4,478+1.8%
4Canadian County2,177+2.5%
5Comanche County1,707-1.7%
6Payne County1,542-0.3%
7Rogers County1,406-0.8%
8Carter County1,389+0.1%
9Garfield County1,382-0.4%
10Creek County1,192-2.5%
11Muskogee County1,157-1.1%
12Pottawatomie County1,100-0.8%
13Grady County983+0.1%
14Washington County944-2.5%
15Stephens County933+1.6%
16Kay County905-2.3%
17Pontotoc County824+0.1%
18Pittsburg County816+0.7%
19Wagoner County801+0.8%
20Logan County762+3.7%
21Custer County759-0.9%
22McClain County748+0.9%
23Mayes County665+0.3%
24Bryan County656-0.2%
25Beckham County651-3.4%
26Woodward County641-3%
27Delaware County639-0.2%
28Le Flore County620-1%
29Cherokee County610+1%
30Garvin County566-5.2%
31Okmulgee County556-2.3%
32Osage County517-1.5%
33McCurtain County502+0.4%
34Sequoyah County486-2.6%
35Ottawa County4790%
36Lincoln County478-0.6%
37Jackson County461+2.2%
38Kingfisher County418+5%
39Caddo County416-0.5%
40Texas County413-5.1%
41Seminole County387-1.5%
42Craig County288-1.7%
43McIntosh County2840%
44Marshall County255+2.4%
45Murray County243-1.6%
46Choctaw County2410%
47Woods County238-0.4%
48Atoka County227-2.2%
49Blaine County224-3.4%
50Major County218-4.4%
50Pawnee County218-1.4%
52Washita County196-3.4%
53Noble County192+1.6%
54Adair County189-6%
55Haskell County180-1.6%
56Hughes County176-3.8%
57Kiowa County156+0.6%
58Pushmataha County154-2.5%
59Johnston County149+0.7%
60Latimer County142-0.7%
61Nowata County131-1.5%
62Okfuskee County130-3%
63Dewey County128-2.3%
64Beaver County127-3.1%
65Love County1240%
66Alfalfa County112-1.8%
67Tillman County109-6%
68Ellis County104-8%
68Grant County104-2.8%
70Harper County84-3.4%
71Roger Mills County81+1.3%
72Coal County77-2.5%
73Greer County73-2.7%
73Jefferson County73-11%
75Cotton County71-6.6%
76Cimarron County65+4.8%
77Harmon County44-6.4%

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, 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 Oklahoma 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/oklahoma-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 Oklahoma 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/oklahoma-counties?period=2017.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties, Counties in Oklahoma 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/oklahoma-counties?period=2017 (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_oklahoma_by_2017,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Counties in Oklahoma 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/oklahoma-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 Oklahoma 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/oklahoma-counties?period=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/oklahoma-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?

Oklahoma County, with 17,751 in 2017, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firms?

Harmon County, with 44 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 Oklahoma: more rankings