Counties in Oregon by employer firms

Multnomah County had the highest employer firms of 36 counties in 2017, at 20,388. Wheeler County had the lowest, at 29. The median was 1,005 and the figure for Oregon was 83,732. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest20,388Multnomah County

Lowest29Wheeler County

Median1,00536 counties

Oregon83,732History

Map of counties, 2017

Under 200
200 to 600
600 to 1,000
1,000 to 1,400
1,400 to 5,100
5,100 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.

All counties, 2017

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	2017 count	Change on 2016
1	Multnomah County	20,388	+1.2%
2	Washington County	11,673	+1.3%
3	Clackamas County	9,441	+1.6%
4	Lane County	7,760	+0.5%
5	Marion County	6,372	+1.8%
6	Deschutes County	5,831	+3.6%
7	Jackson County	4,941	+1.5%
8	Linn County	2,171	+1.1%
9	Yamhill County	2,101	+2.7%
10	Douglas County	2,075	+0.3%
11	Benton County	1,810	-0.1%
12	Josephine County	1,621	+2.8%
13	Lincoln County	1,314	+2%
14	Coos County	1,270	+0.1%
15	Umatilla County	1,266	-1.1%
16	Clatsop County	1,253	+2.7%
17	Klamath County	1,239	-1%
18	Polk County	1,162	+1%
19	Hood River County	848	+1.1%
20	Columbia County	775	+0.9%
21	Tillamook County	646	+1.3%
22	Union County	622	-2.2%
23	Malheur County	601	+1.9%
24	Curry County	582	+0.2%
24	Wasco County	582	-1.4%
26	Crook County	470	+1.7%
27	Baker County	439	-1.8%
28	Jefferson County	353	+4.4%
29	Wallowa County	291	-2.7%
30	Grant County	192	+2.1%
31	Lake County	172	+8.2%
32	Harney County	168	+1.2%
33	Morrow County	147	-2%
34	Gilliam County	56	+3.7%
35	Sherman County	42	-2.3%
36	Wheeler County	29	+11.5%

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 Oregon 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 Oregon 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/oregon-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 Oregon 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/oregon-counties?period=2017.

Harvard

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

BibTeX

@misc{census_counties_in_oregon_by_2017,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Counties in Oregon 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/oregon-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 Oregon 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/oregon-counties?period=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/oregon-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?

Multnomah County, with 20,388 in 2017, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firms?

Wheeler County, with 29 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.