Counties in Oregon by employer firms

Multnomah County had the highest employer firms of 36 counties in 2018, at 20,583. Wheeler County had the lowest, at 31. The median was 1,026 and the figure for Oregon was 85,154. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest20,583Multnomah County

Lowest31Wheeler County

Median1,02636 counties

Oregon85,154History

Map of counties, 2018

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

All counties, 2018

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	2018 count	Change on 2017
1	Multnomah County	20,583	+1%
2	Washington County	11,882	+1.8%
3	Clackamas County	9,650	+2.2%
4	Lane County	7,776	+0.2%
5	Marion County	6,517	+2.3%
6	Deschutes County	6,081	+4.3%
7	Jackson County	5,048	+2.2%
8	Linn County	2,204	+1.5%
9	Yamhill County	2,167	+3.1%
10	Douglas County	2,088	+0.6%
11	Benton County	1,811	+0.1%
12	Josephine County	1,673	+3.2%
13	Lincoln County	1,314	0%
14	Clatsop County	1,289	+2.9%
15	Umatilla County	1,283	+1.3%
16	Coos County	1,279	+0.7%
17	Klamath County	1,273	+2.7%
18	Polk County	1,197	+3%
19	Hood River County	855	+0.8%
20	Columbia County	801	+3.4%
21	Union County	636	+2.3%
22	Tillamook County	631	-2.3%
23	Malheur County	591	-1.7%
24	Curry County	589	+1.2%
25	Wasco County	587	+0.9%
26	Crook County	486	+3.4%
27	Baker County	445	+1.4%
28	Jefferson County	359	+1.7%
29	Wallowa County	284	-2.4%
30	Grant County	182	-5.2%
31	Harney County	177	+5.4%
32	Lake County	173	+0.6%
33	Morrow County	141	-4.1%
34	Gilliam County	53	-5.4%
35	Sherman County	40	-4.8%
36	Wheeler County	31	+6.9%

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, 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 Oregon 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/oregon-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 Oregon 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/oregon-counties?period=2018.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties, Counties in Oregon 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/oregon-counties?period=2018 (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_counties_in_oregon_by_2018,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Counties in Oregon 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/oregon-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 Oregon 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/oregon-counties?period=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/oregon-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?

Multnomah County, with 20,583 in 2018, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firms?

Wheeler County, with 31 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.