Counties in Pennsylvania by employer firms

Allegheny County had the highest employer firms of 67 counties in 2016, at 23,427. Forest County had the lowest, at 84. The median was 1,558 and the figure for Pennsylvania was 208,189. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest23,427Allegheny County
Median1,55867 counties
Pennsylvania208,189History

Map of counties, 2016

Adams County: 1,588 countAllegheny County: 23,427 countArmstrong County: 1,085 countBeaver County: 2,639 countBedford County: 856 countBerks County: 6,612 countBlair County: 2,552 countBradford County: 1,080 countBucks County: 15,085 countButler County: 3,886 countCambria County: 2,446 countCameron County: 102 countCarbon County: 968 countCentre County: 2,649 countChester County: 11,162 countClarion County: 767 countClearfield County: 1,558 countClinton County: 662 countColumbia County: 1,176 countCrawford County: 1,628 countCumberland County: 4,583 countDauphin County: 5,116 countDelaware County: 9,996 countElk County: 737 countErie County: 4,573 countFayette County: 2,088 countForest County: 84 countFranklin County: 2,487 countFulton County: 239 countGreene County: 595 countHuntingdon County: 660 countIndiana County: 1,512 countJefferson County: 945 countJuniata County: 405 countLackawanna County: 4,128 countLancaster County: 10,121 countLawrence County: 1,576 countLebanon County: 2,220 countLehigh County: 6,367 countLuzerne County: 5,475 countLycoming County: 2,206 countMcKean County: 803 countMercer County: 2,142 countMifflin County: 813 countMonroe County: 2,654 countMontgomery County: 19,679 countMontour County: 297 countNorthampton County: 5,016 countNorthumberland County: 1,372 countPerry County: 650 countPhiladelphia County: 20,373 countPike County: 767 countPotter County: 317 countSchuylkill County: 2,175 countSnyder County: 736 countSomerset County: 1,432 countSullivan County: 140 countSusquehanna County: 729 countTioga County: 696 countUnion County: 768 countVenango County: 948 countWarren County: 700 countWashington County: 4,077 countWayne County: 1,033 countWestmoreland County: 6,710 countWyoming County: 544 countYork County: 6,463 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, 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.

Top 40 counties, 2016

Allegheny County: 23,427 countAllegheny County23,427Philadelphia County: 20,373 countPhiladelphia County20,373Montgomery County: 19,679 countMontgomery County19,679Bucks County: 15,085 countBucks County15,085Chester County: 11,162 countChester County11,162Lancaster County: 10,121 countLancaster County10,121Delaware County: 9,996 countDelaware County9,996Westmoreland County: 6,710 countWestmoreland County6,710Berks County: 6,612 countBerks County6,612York County: 6,463 countYork County6,463Lehigh County: 6,367 countLehigh County6,367Luzerne County: 5,475 countLuzerne County5,475Dauphin County: 5,116 countDauphin County5,116Northampton County: 5,016 countNorthampton County5,016Cumberland County: 4,583 countCumberland County4,583Erie County: 4,573 countErie County4,573Lackawanna County: 4,128 countLackawanna County4,128Washington County: 4,077 countWashington County4,077Butler County: 3,886 countButler County3,886Monroe County: 2,654 countMonroe County2,654Centre County: 2,649 countCentre County2,649Beaver County: 2,639 countBeaver County2,639Blair County: 2,552 countBlair County2,552Franklin County: 2,487 countFranklin County2,487Cambria County: 2,446 countCambria County2,446Lebanon County: 2,220 countLebanon County2,220Lycoming County: 2,206 countLycoming County2,206Schuylkill County: 2,175 countSchuylkill County2,175Mercer County: 2,142 countMercer County2,142Fayette County: 2,088 countFayette County2,088Crawford County: 1,628 countCrawford County1,628Adams County: 1,588 countAdams County1,588Lawrence County: 1,576 countLawrence County1,576Clearfield County: 1,558 countClearfield County1,558Indiana County: 1,512 countIndiana County1,512Somerset County: 1,432 countSomerset County1,432Northumberland County: 1,372 countNorthumberland County1,372Columbia County: 1,176 countColumbia County1,176Armstrong County: 1,085 countArmstrong County1,085Bradford County: 1,080 countBradford County1,080Allegheny County: 23,427 countAllegheny County23,427Philadelphia County: 20,373 countPhiladelphia County20,373Montgomery County: 19,679 countMontgomery County19,679Bucks County: 15,085 countBucks County15,085Chester County: 11,162 countChester County11,162Lancaster County: 10,121 countLancaster County10,121Delaware County: 9,996 countDelaware County9,996Westmoreland County: 6,710 countWestmoreland County6,710Berks County: 6,612 countBerks County6,612York County: 6,463 countYork County6,463Lehigh County: 6,367 countLehigh County6,367Luzerne County: 5,475 countLuzerne County5,475Dauphin County: 5,116 countDauphin County5,116Northampton County: 5,016 countNorthampton County5,016Cumberland County: 4,583 countCumberland County4,583Erie County: 4,573 countErie County4,573Lackawanna County: 4,128 countLackawanna County4,128Washington County: 4,077 countWashington County4,077Butler County: 3,886 countButler County3,886Monroe County: 2,654 countMonroe County2,654Centre County: 2,649 countCentre County2,649Beaver County: 2,639 countBeaver County2,639Blair County: 2,552 countBlair County2,552Franklin County: 2,487 countFranklin County2,487Cambria County: 2,446 countCambria County2,446Lebanon County: 2,220 countLebanon County2,220Lycoming County: 2,206 countLycoming County2,206Schuylkill County: 2,175 countSchuylkill County2,175Mercer County: 2,142 countMercer County2,142Fayette County: 2,088 countFayette County2,088Crawford County: 1,628 countCrawford County1,628Adams County: 1,588 countAdams County1,588Lawrence County: 1,576 countLawrence County1,576Clearfield County: 1,558 countClearfield County1,558Indiana County: 1,512 countIndiana County1,512Somerset County: 1,432 countSomerset County1,432Northumberland County: 1,372 countNorthumberland County1,372Columbia County: 1,176 countColumbia County1,176Armstrong County: 1,085 countArmstrong County1,085Bradford County: 1,080 countBradford County1,080
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Full ranking

RankCounties2016
count
Change on 2015
1Allegheny County23,427+0.4%
2Philadelphia County20,373+1.6%
3Montgomery County19,679+0.9%
4Bucks County15,085+1.6%
5Chester County11,162+1%
6Lancaster County10,121+2.6%
7Delaware County9,996+0.9%
8Westmoreland County6,710-0.3%
9Berks County6,612+0.8%
10York County6,463-0.3%
11Lehigh County6,367+1.4%
12Luzerne County5,475+0.5%
13Dauphin County5,116+0.5%
14Northampton County5,016+2%
15Cumberland County4,583+1.7%
16Erie County4,573-0%
17Lackawanna County4,128-0.7%
18Washington County4,077+1.2%
19Butler County3,886+0.1%
20Monroe County2,654+0.7%
21Centre County2,649+2.3%
22Beaver County2,639-1.1%
23Blair County2,552-0.9%
24Franklin County2,487+1.9%
25Cambria County2,446-2.4%
26Lebanon County2,220+1.9%
27Lycoming County2,206-3.3%
28Schuylkill County2,175-2%
29Mercer County2,142-0.5%
30Fayette County2,088-0.5%
31Crawford County1,628-1%
32Adams County1,588-0.6%
33Lawrence County1,576-2.2%
34Clearfield County1,558-1.1%
35Indiana County1,512-1.6%
36Somerset County1,432-0.1%
37Northumberland County1,372+0.7%
38Columbia County1,176-0.7%
39Armstrong County1,085+0.3%
40Bradford County1,080-1.4%
41Wayne County1,033+0.2%
42Carbon County968+2%
43Venango County948-1.7%
44Jefferson County945-0.2%
45Bedford County856+1.5%
46Mifflin County813+2.1%
47McKean County803-1.4%
48Union County768+2.8%
49Clarion County767-0.6%
49Pike County767+4.1%
51Elk County737+3.2%
52Snyder County736-1.3%
53Susquehanna County729+0.4%
54Warren County700-1.3%
55Tioga County696-0.3%
56Clinton County6620%
57Huntingdon County660-1.2%
58Perry County650-0.2%
59Greene County595-1.2%
60Wyoming County544-2.2%
61Juniata County405+3.6%
62Potter County317+1.3%
63Montour County297-2%
64Fulton County239+3%
65Sullivan County140+0.7%
66Cameron County102-2.9%
67Forest County840%

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, 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 Pennsylvania 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/pennsylvania-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 Pennsylvania 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/pennsylvania-counties?period=2016.

Harvard

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

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_pennsylvania_by_2016,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Counties in Pennsylvania 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/pennsylvania-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 Pennsylvania 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/pennsylvania-counties?period=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/pennsylvania-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?

Allegheny County, with 23,427 in 2016, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firms?

Forest County, with 84 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.

Employer firms: other rankings

Counties in Pennsylvania: more rankings