Counties in Oklahoma by employer firms

Oklahoma County had the highest employer firms of 77 counties in 2018, at 17,698. Harmon County had the lowest, at 42. The median was 414 and the figure for Oklahoma was 65,459. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest17,698Oklahoma County
Median41477 counties
Oklahoma65,459History

Map of counties, 2018

Adair County: 184 countAlfalfa County: 112 countAtoka County: 219 countBeaver County: 124 countBeckham County: 653 countBlaine County: 222 countBryan County: 675 countCaddo County: 419 countCanadian County: 2,245 countCarter County: 1,365 countCherokee County: 599 countChoctaw County: 246 countCimarron County: 63 countCleveland County: 4,464 countCoal County: 80 countComanche County: 1,679 countCotton County: 75 countCraig County: 289 countCreek County: 1,205 countCuster County: 749 countDelaware County: 638 countDewey County: 130 countEllis County: 105 countGarfield County: 1,368 countGarvin County: 577 countGrady County: 1,011 countGrant County: 106 countGreer County: 68 countHarmon County: 42 countHarper County: 85 countHaskell County: 170 countHughes County: 170 countJackson County: 448 countJefferson County: 77 countJohnston County: 145 countKay County: 895 countKingfisher County: 414 countKiowa County: 152 countLatimer County: 135 countLe Flore County: 654 countLincoln County: 484 countLogan County: 767 countLove County: 131 countMcClain County: 768 countMcCurtain County: 497 countMcIntosh County: 296 countMajor County: 218 countMarshall County: 254 countMayes County: 676 countMurray County: 240 countMuskogee County: 1,138 countNoble County: 185 countNowata County: 132 countOkfuskee County: 127 countOklahoma County: 17,698 countOkmulgee County: 563 countOsage County: 531 countOttawa County: 479 countPawnee County: 216 countPayne County: 1,550 countPittsburg County: 801 countPontotoc County: 835 countPottawatomie County: 1,099 countPushmataha County: 153 countRoger Mills County: 85 countRogers County: 1,414 countSeminole County: 394 countSequoyah County: 486 countStephens County: 928 countTexas County: 399 countTillman County: 109 countTulsa County: 13,871 countWagoner County: 815 countWashington County: 942 countWashita County: 209 countWoods County: 242 countWoodward County: 646 count
  • Under 100
  • 100 to 200
  • 200 to 400
  • 400 to 700
  • 700 to 1,000
  • 1,000 and over
count, 2018. 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, 2018

Oklahoma County: 17,698 countOklahoma County17,698Tulsa County: 13,871 countTulsa County13,871Cleveland County: 4,464 countCleveland County4,464Canadian County: 2,245 countCanadian County2,245Comanche County: 1,679 countComanche County1,679Payne County: 1,550 countPayne County1,550Rogers County: 1,414 countRogers County1,414Garfield County: 1,368 countGarfield County1,368Carter County: 1,365 countCarter County1,365Creek County: 1,205 countCreek County1,205Muskogee County: 1,138 countMuskogee County1,138Pottawatomie County: 1,099 countPottawatomie County1,099Grady County: 1,011 countGrady County1,011Washington County: 942 countWashington County942Stephens County: 928 countStephens County928Kay County: 895 countKay County895Pontotoc County: 835 countPontotoc County835Wagoner County: 815 countWagoner County815Pittsburg County: 801 countPittsburg County801McClain County: 768 countMcClain County768Logan County: 767 countLogan County767Custer County: 749 countCuster County749Mayes County: 676 countMayes County676Bryan County: 675 countBryan County675Le Flore County: 654 countLe Flore County654Beckham County: 653 countBeckham County653Woodward County: 646 countWoodward County646Delaware County: 638 countDelaware County638Cherokee County: 599 countCherokee County599Garvin County: 577 countGarvin County577Okmulgee County: 563 countOkmulgee County563Osage County: 531 countOsage County531McCurtain County: 497 countMcCurtain County497Sequoyah County: 486 countSequoyah County486Lincoln County: 484 countLincoln County484Ottawa County: 479 countOttawa County479Jackson County: 448 countJackson County448Caddo County: 419 countCaddo County419Kingfisher County: 414 countKingfisher County414Texas County: 399 countTexas County399Oklahoma County: 17,698 countOklahoma County17,698Tulsa County: 13,871 countTulsa County13,871Cleveland County: 4,464 countCleveland County4,464Canadian County: 2,245 countCanadian County2,245Comanche County: 1,679 countComanche County1,679Payne County: 1,550 countPayne County1,550Rogers County: 1,414 countRogers County1,414Garfield County: 1,368 countGarfield County1,368Carter County: 1,365 countCarter County1,365Creek County: 1,205 countCreek County1,205Muskogee County: 1,138 countMuskogee County1,138Pottawatomie County: 1,099 countPottawatomie County1,099Grady County: 1,011 countGrady County1,011Washington County: 942 countWashington County942Stephens County: 928 countStephens County928Kay County: 895 countKay County895Pontotoc County: 835 countPontotoc County835Wagoner County: 815 countWagoner County815Pittsburg County: 801 countPittsburg County801McClain County: 768 countMcClain County768Logan County: 767 countLogan County767Custer County: 749 countCuster County749Mayes County: 676 countMayes County676Bryan County: 675 countBryan County675Le Flore County: 654 countLe Flore County654Beckham County: 653 countBeckham County653Woodward County: 646 countWoodward County646Delaware County: 638 countDelaware County638Cherokee County: 599 countCherokee County599Garvin County: 577 countGarvin County577Okmulgee County: 563 countOkmulgee County563Osage County: 531 countOsage County531McCurtain County: 497 countMcCurtain County497Sequoyah County: 486 countSequoyah County486Lincoln County: 484 countLincoln County484Ottawa County: 479 countOttawa County479Jackson County: 448 countJackson County448Caddo County: 419 countCaddo County419Kingfisher County: 414 countKingfisher County414Texas County: 399 countTexas County399
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Full ranking

RankCounties2018
count
Change on 2017
1Oklahoma County17,698-0.3%
2Tulsa County13,871-0.1%
3Cleveland County4,464-0.3%
4Canadian County2,245+3.1%
5Comanche County1,679-1.6%
6Payne County1,550+0.5%
7Rogers County1,414+0.6%
8Garfield County1,368-1%
9Carter County1,365-1.7%
10Creek County1,205+1.1%
11Muskogee County1,138-1.6%
12Pottawatomie County1,099-0.1%
13Grady County1,011+2.8%
14Washington County942-0.2%
15Stephens County928-0.5%
16Kay County895-1.1%
17Pontotoc County835+1.3%
18Wagoner County815+1.7%
19Pittsburg County801-1.8%
20McClain County768+2.7%
21Logan County767+0.7%
22Custer County749-1.3%
23Mayes County676+1.7%
24Bryan County675+2.9%
25Le Flore County654+5.5%
26Beckham County653+0.3%
27Woodward County646+0.8%
28Delaware County638-0.2%
29Cherokee County599-1.8%
30Garvin County577+1.9%
31Okmulgee County563+1.3%
32Osage County531+2.7%
33McCurtain County497-1%
34Sequoyah County4860%
35Lincoln County484+1.3%
36Ottawa County4790%
37Jackson County448-2.8%
38Caddo County419+0.7%
39Kingfisher County414-1%
40Texas County399-3.4%
41Seminole County394+1.8%
42McIntosh County296+4.2%
43Craig County289+0.3%
44Marshall County254-0.4%
45Choctaw County246+2.1%
46Woods County242+1.7%
47Murray County240-1.2%
48Blaine County222-0.9%
49Atoka County219-3.5%
50Major County2180%
51Pawnee County216-0.9%
52Washita County209+6.6%
53Noble County185-3.6%
54Adair County184-2.6%
55Haskell County170-5.6%
55Hughes County170-3.4%
57Pushmataha County153-0.6%
58Kiowa County152-2.6%
59Johnston County145-2.7%
60Latimer County135-4.9%
61Nowata County132+0.8%
62Love County131+5.6%
63Dewey County130+1.6%
64Okfuskee County127-2.3%
65Beaver County124-2.4%
66Alfalfa County1120%
67Tillman County1090%
68Grant County106+1.9%
69Ellis County105+1%
70Harper County85+1.2%
70Roger Mills County85+4.9%
72Coal County80+3.9%
73Jefferson County77+5.5%
74Cotton County75+5.6%
75Greer County68-6.8%
76Cimarron County63-3.1%
77Harmon County42-4.5%

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, 2018) [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, 2018. 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=2018. 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, 2018. 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=2018.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties, Counties in Oklahoma by employer firms, 2018 [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=2018 (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_oklahoma_by_2018,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Counties in Oklahoma by employer firms, 2018}},
  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=2018. 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, 2018
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=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/oklahoma-counties?period=2018.
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 17,698 in 2018, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firms?

Harmon County, with 42 in 2018.

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