Counties in Pennsylvania by employer firms

Allegheny County had the highest employer firms of 67 counties in 2018, at 23,239. Forest County had the lowest, at 79. The median was 1,522 and the figure for Pennsylvania was 207,343. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest23,239Allegheny County
Median1,52267 counties
Pennsylvania207,343History

Map of counties, 2018

Adams County: 1,606 countAllegheny County: 23,239 countArmstrong County: 1,055 countBeaver County: 2,636 countBedford County: 869 countBerks County: 6,528 countBlair County: 2,506 countBradford County: 1,046 countBucks County: 15,123 countButler County: 3,853 countCambria County: 2,346 countCameron County: 105 countCarbon County: 944 countCentre County: 2,649 countChester County: 11,262 countClarion County: 753 countClearfield County: 1,522 countClinton County: 673 countColumbia County: 1,156 countCrawford County: 1,598 countCumberland County: 4,601 countDauphin County: 5,156 countDelaware County: 10,035 countElk County: 710 countErie County: 4,545 countFayette County: 2,042 countForest County: 79 countFranklin County: 2,464 countFulton County: 226 countGreene County: 555 countHuntingdon County: 663 countIndiana County: 1,460 countJefferson County: 934 countJuniata County: 413 countLackawanna County: 4,003 countLancaster County: 10,315 countLawrence County: 1,525 countLebanon County: 2,180 countLehigh County: 6,393 countLuzerne County: 5,309 countLycoming County: 2,160 countMcKean County: 769 countMercer County: 2,115 countMifflin County: 807 countMonroe County: 2,644 countMontgomery County: 19,619 countMontour County: 286 countNorthampton County: 4,998 countNorthumberland County: 1,357 countPerry County: 659 countPhiladelphia County: 20,915 countPike County: 776 countPotter County: 304 countSchuylkill County: 2,138 countSnyder County: 745 countSomerset County: 1,392 countSullivan County: 140 countSusquehanna County: 688 countTioga County: 684 countUnion County: 781 countVenango County: 911 countWarren County: 672 countWashington County: 4,051 countWayne County: 1,023 countWestmoreland County: 6,535 countWyoming County: 527 countYork County: 6,384 count
  • Under 700
  • 700 to 900
  • 900 to 1,500
  • 1,500 to 2,500
  • 2,500 to 5,300
  • 5,300 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.

Top 40 counties, 2018

Allegheny County: 23,239 countAllegheny County23,239Philadelphia County: 20,915 countPhiladelphia County20,915Montgomery County: 19,619 countMontgomery County19,619Bucks County: 15,123 countBucks County15,123Chester County: 11,262 countChester County11,262Lancaster County: 10,315 countLancaster County10,315Delaware County: 10,035 countDelaware County10,035Westmoreland County: 6,535 countWestmoreland County6,535Berks County: 6,528 countBerks County6,528Lehigh County: 6,393 countLehigh County6,393York County: 6,384 countYork County6,384Luzerne County: 5,309 countLuzerne County5,309Dauphin County: 5,156 countDauphin County5,156Northampton County: 4,998 countNorthampton County4,998Cumberland County: 4,601 countCumberland County4,601Erie County: 4,545 countErie County4,545Washington County: 4,051 countWashington County4,051Lackawanna County: 4,003 countLackawanna County4,003Butler County: 3,853 countButler County3,853Centre County: 2,649 countCentre County2,649Monroe County: 2,644 countMonroe County2,644Beaver County: 2,636 countBeaver County2,636Blair County: 2,506 countBlair County2,506Franklin County: 2,464 countFranklin County2,464Cambria County: 2,346 countCambria County2,346Lebanon County: 2,180 countLebanon County2,180Lycoming County: 2,160 countLycoming County2,160Schuylkill County: 2,138 countSchuylkill County2,138Mercer County: 2,115 countMercer County2,115Fayette County: 2,042 countFayette County2,042Adams County: 1,606 countAdams County1,606Crawford County: 1,598 countCrawford County1,598Lawrence County: 1,525 countLawrence County1,525Clearfield County: 1,522 countClearfield County1,522Indiana County: 1,460 countIndiana County1,460Somerset County: 1,392 countSomerset County1,392Northumberland County: 1,357 countNorthumberland County1,357Columbia County: 1,156 countColumbia County1,156Armstrong County: 1,055 countArmstrong County1,055Bradford County: 1,046 countBradford County1,046Allegheny County: 23,239 countAllegheny County23,239Philadelphia County: 20,915 countPhiladelphia County20,915Montgomery County: 19,619 countMontgomery County19,619Bucks County: 15,123 countBucks County15,123Chester County: 11,262 countChester County11,262Lancaster County: 10,315 countLancaster County10,315Delaware County: 10,035 countDelaware County10,035Westmoreland County: 6,535 countWestmoreland County6,535Berks County: 6,528 countBerks County6,528Lehigh County: 6,393 countLehigh County6,393York County: 6,384 countYork County6,384Luzerne County: 5,309 countLuzerne County5,309Dauphin County: 5,156 countDauphin County5,156Northampton County: 4,998 countNorthampton County4,998Cumberland County: 4,601 countCumberland County4,601Erie County: 4,545 countErie County4,545Washington County: 4,051 countWashington County4,051Lackawanna County: 4,003 countLackawanna County4,003Butler County: 3,853 countButler County3,853Centre County: 2,649 countCentre County2,649Monroe County: 2,644 countMonroe County2,644Beaver County: 2,636 countBeaver County2,636Blair County: 2,506 countBlair County2,506Franklin County: 2,464 countFranklin County2,464Cambria County: 2,346 countCambria County2,346Lebanon County: 2,180 countLebanon County2,180Lycoming County: 2,160 countLycoming County2,160Schuylkill County: 2,138 countSchuylkill County2,138Mercer County: 2,115 countMercer County2,115Fayette County: 2,042 countFayette County2,042Adams County: 1,606 countAdams County1,606Crawford County: 1,598 countCrawford County1,598Lawrence County: 1,525 countLawrence County1,525Clearfield County: 1,522 countClearfield County1,522Indiana County: 1,460 countIndiana County1,460Somerset County: 1,392 countSomerset County1,392Northumberland County: 1,357 countNorthumberland County1,357Columbia County: 1,156 countColumbia County1,156Armstrong County: 1,055 countArmstrong County1,055Bradford County: 1,046 countBradford County1,046
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Full ranking

RankCounties2018
count
Change on 2017
1Allegheny County23,239-0.1%
2Philadelphia County20,915+1%
3Montgomery County19,619+0.1%
4Bucks County15,123+0.4%
5Chester County11,262+0.4%
6Lancaster County10,315+1.2%
7Delaware County10,035+0.2%
8Westmoreland County6,535-0.9%
9Berks County6,528-0.8%
10Lehigh County6,393-0.3%
11York County6,384-0.5%
12Luzerne County5,309-0.9%
13Dauphin County5,156+0.5%
14Northampton County4,998-0.6%
15Cumberland County4,601-0.3%
16Erie County4,545+0.2%
17Washington County4,051-0.1%
18Lackawanna County4,003-0.8%
19Butler County3,853+0.4%
20Centre County2,649+0.6%
21Monroe County2,644-0.2%
22Beaver County2,636-0%
23Blair County2,506-0.6%
24Franklin County2,464+0.2%
25Cambria County2,346-1.7%
26Lebanon County2,180-0.4%
27Lycoming County2,160-0.5%
28Schuylkill County2,138-0.5%
29Mercer County2,115-0.5%
30Fayette County2,042-1%
31Adams County1,606+0.1%
32Crawford County1,598-2.8%
33Lawrence County1,525-1.5%
34Clearfield County1,522-1.1%
35Indiana County1,460-0.5%
36Somerset County1,392-1.3%
37Northumberland County1,357-0.7%
38Columbia County1,156-1.4%
39Armstrong County1,055-0.5%
40Bradford County1,046-2.3%
41Wayne County1,023-1.1%
42Carbon County944-0.8%
43Jefferson County934-0.1%
44Venango County911-2%
45Bedford County869+0.9%
46Mifflin County807+1.4%
47Union County781+1.8%
48Pike County776+1.3%
49McKean County769+0.7%
50Clarion County753-1.1%
51Snyder County745-1.5%
52Elk County710-2.6%
53Susquehanna County688-4.2%
54Tioga County684+1%
55Clinton County673+0.7%
56Warren County672-1.5%
57Huntingdon County663-0.3%
58Perry County659+1.2%
59Greene County555-2.6%
60Wyoming County527-1.5%
61Juniata County413-0.7%
62Potter County304-1.6%
63Montour County286-1%
64Fulton County226-3.4%
65Sullivan County140+1.4%
66Cameron County105+2.9%
67Forest County79-1.3%

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, 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 Pennsylvania 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/pennsylvania-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 Pennsylvania 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/pennsylvania-counties?period=2018.

Harvard

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

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_pennsylvania_by_2018,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Counties in Pennsylvania 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/pennsylvania-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 Pennsylvania 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/pennsylvania-counties?period=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/pennsylvania-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?

Allegheny County, with 23,239 in 2018, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firms?

Forest County, with 79 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.

Employer firms: other rankings

Counties in Pennsylvania: more rankings