Counties in Oregon by employer firms

Multnomah County had the highest employer firms of 36 counties in 2016, at 20,140. Wheeler County had the lowest, at 26. The median was 995 and the figure for Oregon was 82,660. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest20,140Multnomah County

Lowest26Wheeler County

Median99536 counties

Oregon82,660History

Map of counties, 2016

Under 200
200 to 600
600 to 1,000
1,000 to 1,400
1,400 to 5,000
5,000 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.

All counties, 2016

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	2016 count	Change on 2015
1	Multnomah County	20,140	+3.2%
2	Washington County	11,523	+1.5%
3	Clackamas County	9,295	+2.5%
4	Lane County	7,722	+0.9%
5	Marion County	6,260	+1.9%
6	Deschutes County	5,630	+5.2%
7	Jackson County	4,867	+0.8%
8	Linn County	2,147	+1.8%
9	Douglas County	2,069	+2.1%
10	Yamhill County	2,046	+2.2%
11	Benton County	1,811	+2.7%
12	Josephine County	1,577	+2%
13	Lincoln County	1,288	-0.7%
14	Umatilla County	1,280	-1.3%
15	Coos County	1,269	-0.9%
16	Klamath County	1,251	-0.4%
17	Clatsop County	1,220	-0.1%
18	Polk County	1,151	+0.8%
19	Hood River County	839	+1.6%
20	Columbia County	768	+1.1%
21	Tillamook County	638	+3.4%
22	Union County	636	+1.6%
23	Malheur County	590	-2.6%
23	Wasco County	590	+0.7%
25	Curry County	581	+2.1%
26	Crook County	462	+4.3%
27	Baker County	447	+4.9%
28	Jefferson County	338	+3.7%
29	Wallowa County	299	+4.9%
30	Grant County	188	-2.1%
31	Harney County	166	+1.8%
32	Lake County	159	-0.6%
33	Morrow County	150	+1.4%
34	Gilliam County	54	-6.9%
35	Sherman County	43	+4.9%
36	Wheeler County	26	+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 Oregon 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 Oregon 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/oregon-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 Oregon 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/oregon-counties?period=2016.

Harvard

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

BibTeX

@misc{census_counties_in_oregon_by_2016,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Counties in Oregon 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/oregon-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 Oregon 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/oregon-counties?period=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/oregon-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?

Multnomah County, with 20,140 in 2016, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firms?

Wheeler County, with 26 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.