Counties in Oregon by employer firms

Multnomah County had the highest employer firms of 36 counties in 2012, at 18,511. Wheeler County had the lowest, at 27. The median was 931 and the figure for Oregon was 77,544. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest18,511Multnomah County

Lowest27Wheeler County

Median93136 counties

Oregon77,544History

Map of counties, 2012

Under 200
200 to 600
600 to 900
900 to 1,400
1,400 to 4,600
4,600 and over

count, 2012. 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, 2012

count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Full ranking

Rank	Counties	2012 count	Change on 2011
1	Multnomah County	18,511	+1.6%
2	Washington County	10,648	+0.5%
3	Clackamas County	8,608	+0.3%
4	Lane County	7,420	-0.4%
5	Marion County	5,936	+0.6%
6	Deschutes County	4,704	+2.8%
7	Jackson County	4,579	+0.3%
8	Douglas County	2,019	-1.4%
9	Linn County	2,007	-0.6%
10	Yamhill County	1,892	+0.7%
11	Benton County	1,737	+1.8%
12	Josephine County	1,602	-2%
13	Lincoln County	1,326	-2%
14	Coos County	1,317	-4.8%
15	Klamath County	1,297	-3.1%
16	Umatilla County	1,270	-0.5%
17	Clatsop County	1,203	-0.8%
18	Polk County	1,091	+1.9%
19	Hood River County	770	+1.2%
20	Columbia County	751	+0.3%
21	Union County	641	-0.3%
22	Wasco County	619	+2.7%
23	Malheur County	613	+3%
24	Tillamook County	599	-3.2%
25	Curry County	557	+0.2%
26	Baker County	447	+0.7%
27	Crook County	431	+2.6%
28	Jefferson County	318	+2.3%
29	Wallowa County	280	-2.1%
30	Grant County	211	+6.6%
31	Harney County	177	+2.3%
32	Lake County	165	-2.9%
33	Morrow County	146	0%
34	Gilliam County	59	+5.4%
35	Sherman County	40	-4.8%
36	Wheeler County	27	0%

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 Oregon by employer firms, 2012) [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 Oregon by employer firms, 2012. 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/oregon-counties?period=2012. 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 Oregon by employer firms, 2012. 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/oregon-counties?period=2012.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties, Counties in Oregon by employer firms, 2012 [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/oregon-counties?period=2012 (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_counties_in_oregon_by_2012,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Counties in Oregon by employer firms, 2012}},
  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/oregon-counties?period=2012. 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 Oregon by employer firms, 2012
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/oregon-counties?period=2012
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/oregon-counties?period=2012.
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?

Multnomah County, with 18,511 in 2012, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firms?

Wheeler County, with 27 in 2012.

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.