Counties in Pennsylvania by employer firms

Allegheny County had the highest employer firms of 67 counties in 2012, at 23,501. Forest County had the lowest, at 87. The median was 1,567 and the figure for Pennsylvania was 208,231. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest23,501Allegheny County
Median1,56767 counties
Pennsylvania208,231History

Map of counties, 2012

Adams County: 1,518 countAllegheny County: 23,501 countArmstrong County: 1,092 countBeaver County: 2,684 countBedford County: 872 countBerks County: 6,581 countBlair County: 2,607 countBradford County: 1,148 countBucks County: 14,788 countButler County: 3,815 countCambria County: 2,593 countCameron County: 106 countCarbon County: 971 countCentre County: 2,557 countChester County: 10,919 countClarion County: 781 countClearfield County: 1,567 countClinton County: 671 countColumbia County: 1,185 countCrawford County: 1,698 countCumberland County: 4,453 countDauphin County: 5,157 countDelaware County: 9,902 countElk County: 759 countErie County: 4,728 countFayette County: 2,148 countForest County: 87 countFranklin County: 2,467 countFulton County: 249 countGreene County: 576 countHuntingdon County: 683 countIndiana County: 1,584 countJefferson County: 962 countJuniata County: 395 countLackawanna County: 4,207 countLancaster County: 9,594 countLawrence County: 1,672 countLebanon County: 2,201 countLehigh County: 6,355 countLuzerne County: 5,548 countLycoming County: 2,315 countMcKean County: 832 countMercer County: 2,202 countMifflin County: 785 countMonroe County: 2,699 countMontgomery County: 19,248 countMontour County: 305 countNorthampton County: 4,925 countNorthumberland County: 1,412 countPerry County: 665 countPhiladelphia County: 19,661 countPike County: 760 countPotter County: 319 countSchuylkill County: 2,272 countSnyder County: 754 countSomerset County: 1,474 countSullivan County: 140 countSusquehanna County: 722 countTioga County: 724 countUnion County: 750 countVenango County: 996 countWarren County: 741 countWashington County: 4,040 countWayne County: 1,087 countWestmoreland County: 6,888 countWyoming County: 548 countYork County: 6,515 count
  • Under 700
  • 700 to 900
  • 900 to 1,600
  • 1,600 to 2,600
  • 2,600 to 5,500
  • 5,500 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.

Top 40 counties, 2012

Allegheny County: 23,501 countAllegheny County23,501Philadelphia County: 19,661 countPhiladelphia County19,661Montgomery County: 19,248 countMontgomery County19,248Bucks County: 14,788 countBucks County14,788Chester County: 10,919 countChester County10,919Delaware County: 9,902 countDelaware County9,902Lancaster County: 9,594 countLancaster County9,594Westmoreland County: 6,888 countWestmoreland County6,888Berks County: 6,581 countBerks County6,581York County: 6,515 countYork County6,515Lehigh County: 6,355 countLehigh County6,355Luzerne County: 5,548 countLuzerne County5,548Dauphin County: 5,157 countDauphin County5,157Northampton County: 4,925 countNorthampton County4,925Erie County: 4,728 countErie County4,728Cumberland County: 4,453 countCumberland County4,453Lackawanna County: 4,207 countLackawanna County4,207Washington County: 4,040 countWashington County4,040Butler County: 3,815 countButler County3,815Monroe County: 2,699 countMonroe County2,699Beaver County: 2,684 countBeaver County2,684Blair County: 2,607 countBlair County2,607Cambria County: 2,593 countCambria County2,593Centre County: 2,557 countCentre County2,557Franklin County: 2,467 countFranklin County2,467Lycoming County: 2,315 countLycoming County2,315Schuylkill County: 2,272 countSchuylkill County2,272Mercer County: 2,202 countMercer County2,202Lebanon County: 2,201 countLebanon County2,201Fayette County: 2,148 countFayette County2,148Crawford County: 1,698 countCrawford County1,698Lawrence County: 1,672 countLawrence County1,672Indiana County: 1,584 countIndiana County1,584Clearfield County: 1,567 countClearfield County1,567Adams County: 1,518 countAdams County1,518Somerset County: 1,474 countSomerset County1,474Northumberland County: 1,412 countNorthumberland County1,412Columbia County: 1,185 countColumbia County1,185Bradford County: 1,148 countBradford County1,148Armstrong County: 1,092 countArmstrong County1,092Allegheny County: 23,501 countAllegheny County23,501Philadelphia County: 19,661 countPhiladelphia County19,661Montgomery County: 19,248 countMontgomery County19,248Bucks County: 14,788 countBucks County14,788Chester County: 10,919 countChester County10,919Delaware County: 9,902 countDelaware County9,902Lancaster County: 9,594 countLancaster County9,594Westmoreland County: 6,888 countWestmoreland County6,888Berks County: 6,581 countBerks County6,581York County: 6,515 countYork County6,515Lehigh County: 6,355 countLehigh County6,355Luzerne County: 5,548 countLuzerne County5,548Dauphin County: 5,157 countDauphin County5,157Northampton County: 4,925 countNorthampton County4,925Erie County: 4,728 countErie County4,728Cumberland County: 4,453 countCumberland County4,453Lackawanna County: 4,207 countLackawanna County4,207Washington County: 4,040 countWashington County4,040Butler County: 3,815 countButler County3,815Monroe County: 2,699 countMonroe County2,699Beaver County: 2,684 countBeaver County2,684Blair County: 2,607 countBlair County2,607Cambria County: 2,593 countCambria County2,593Centre County: 2,557 countCentre County2,557Franklin County: 2,467 countFranklin County2,467Lycoming County: 2,315 countLycoming County2,315Schuylkill County: 2,272 countSchuylkill County2,272Mercer County: 2,202 countMercer County2,202Lebanon County: 2,201 countLebanon County2,201Fayette County: 2,148 countFayette County2,148Crawford County: 1,698 countCrawford County1,698Lawrence County: 1,672 countLawrence County1,672Indiana County: 1,584 countIndiana County1,584Clearfield County: 1,567 countClearfield County1,567Adams County: 1,518 countAdams County1,518Somerset County: 1,474 countSomerset County1,474Northumberland County: 1,412 countNorthumberland County1,412Columbia County: 1,185 countColumbia County1,185Bradford County: 1,148 countBradford County1,148Armstrong County: 1,092 countArmstrong County1,092
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Full ranking

RankCounties2012
count
Change on 2011
1Allegheny County23,5010%
2Philadelphia County19,661+1.2%
3Montgomery County19,248+0.1%
4Bucks County14,788+0.4%
5Chester County10,919+0.4%
6Delaware County9,902-0.1%
7Lancaster County9,594+0.7%
8Westmoreland County6,888+0.7%
9Berks County6,581+0.9%
10York County6,515+0.4%
11Lehigh County6,355+0.6%
12Luzerne County5,548+0.1%
13Dauphin County5,157-0.3%
14Northampton County4,925+0.6%
15Erie County4,728-0%
16Cumberland County4,453-0.7%
17Lackawanna County4,207+0.6%
18Washington County4,040+1.7%
19Butler County3,815+1%
20Monroe County2,699-0.1%
21Beaver County2,684+0.3%
22Blair County2,607-0.3%
23Cambria County2,593-0.7%
24Centre County2,557+0.4%
25Franklin County2,467-0.2%
26Lycoming County2,315+1%
27Schuylkill County2,272-0.4%
28Mercer County2,202+0.9%
29Lebanon County2,201+0.5%
30Fayette County2,148-0.6%
31Crawford County1,698-0.4%
32Lawrence County1,672+0.3%
33Indiana County1,584-0.3%
34Clearfield County1,567+0.4%
35Adams County1,518-0.5%
36Somerset County1,474-0.8%
37Northumberland County1,412+0.2%
38Columbia County1,185-0.4%
39Bradford County1,148+2.2%
40Armstrong County1,092-0.7%
41Wayne County1,087+1.5%
42Venango County996+0.8%
43Carbon County971-0.8%
44Jefferson County962+1.3%
45Bedford County872-0.1%
46McKean County832-0.2%
47Mifflin County785+0.1%
48Clarion County781+0.6%
49Pike County760+0.4%
50Elk County759-2.3%
51Snyder County754+1.3%
52Union County750-2.3%
53Warren County741-0.8%
54Tioga County724+2.4%
55Susquehanna County722-0.1%
56Huntingdon County683-2.3%
57Clinton County671+3.2%
58Perry County665-0.2%
59Greene County576+1.6%
60Wyoming County548+2.8%
61Juniata County395+1.8%
62Potter County319-1.5%
63Montour County305-1.6%
64Fulton County249+2.9%
65Sullivan County140-0.7%
66Cameron County106-4.5%
67Forest County87-3.3%

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 Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania 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/pennsylvania-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 Pennsylvania 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/pennsylvania-counties?period=2012.

Harvard

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

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_pennsylvania_by_2012,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Counties in Pennsylvania 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/pennsylvania-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 Pennsylvania 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/pennsylvania-counties?period=2012
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/pennsylvania-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?

Allegheny County, with 23,501 in 2012, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firms?

Forest County, with 87 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.

Employer firms: other rankings

Counties in Pennsylvania: more rankings