Counties in Oregon by employer firms

Multnomah County had the highest employer firms of 36 counties in 2021, at 20,194. Wheeler County had the lowest, at 26. The median was 1,041 and the figure for Oregon was 85,959. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest20,194Multnomah County

Lowest26Wheeler County

Median1,04136 counties

Oregon85,959History

Map of counties, 2021

Under 200
200 to 600
600 to 1,000
1,000 to 1,400
1,400 to 5,300
5,300 and over

count, 2021. 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, 2021

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	2021 count	Change on 2020
1	Multnomah County	20,194	-2%
2	Washington County	12,056	+0.4%
3	Clackamas County	9,817	+0.7%
4	Lane County	7,826	-0.3%
5	Marion County	6,827	+1.3%
6	Deschutes County	6,505	+2.9%
7	Jackson County	5,104	+0.8%
8	Linn County	2,297	+1%
9	Yamhill County	2,217	+0.8%
10	Douglas County	2,105	+0.7%
11	Benton County	1,789	-0.8%
12	Josephine County	1,702	+2%
13	Lincoln County	1,305	-0.9%
14	Umatilla County	1,292	+0.9%
15	Coos County	1,289	-0.2%
16	Clatsop County	1,271	+0.2%
17	Polk County	1,256	+1.4%
18	Klamath County	1,231	-0.6%
19	Hood River County	850	+1.8%
20	Columbia County	819	+1.2%
21	Union County	638	-2%
22	Tillamook County	632	+1.4%
23	Malheur County	595	-0.3%
24	Wasco County	588	-2.3%
25	Curry County	562	-1.9%
26	Crook County	511	+3.4%
27	Baker County	450	+2.7%
28	Jefferson County	371	-1.9%
29	Wallowa County	290	-2.7%
30	Harney County	182	+1.7%
31	Grant County	178	-1.7%
32	Lake County	159	-4.2%
33	Morrow County	153	+2.7%
34	Gilliam County	52	-3.7%
35	Sherman County	43	-2.3%
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, 2021) [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, 2021. 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=2021. 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, 2021. 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=2021.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties, Counties in Oregon by employer firms, 2021 [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=2021 (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_counties_in_oregon_by_2021,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Counties in Oregon by employer firms, 2021}},
  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=2021. 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, 2021
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=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/oregon-counties?period=2021.
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 20,194 in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firms?

Wheeler County, with 26 in 2021.

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.