Counties in Pennsylvania by employer firms

Allegheny County had the highest employer firms of 67 counties in 2021, at 22,875. Forest County had the lowest, at 71. The median was 1,446 and the figure for Pennsylvania was 205,854. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest22,875Allegheny County
Median1,44667 counties
Pennsylvania205,854History

Map of counties, 2021

Adams County: 1,558 countAllegheny County: 22,875 countArmstrong County: 987 countBeaver County: 2,528 countBedford County: 835 countBerks County: 6,414 countBlair County: 2,512 countBradford County: 1,017 countBucks County: 15,318 countButler County: 3,828 countCambria County: 2,211 countCameron County: 101 countCarbon County: 935 countCentre County: 2,579 countChester County: 11,363 countClarion County: 740 countClearfield County: 1,446 countClinton County: 675 countColumbia County: 1,106 countCrawford County: 1,575 countCumberland County: 4,683 countDauphin County: 5,126 countDelaware County: 10,063 countElk County: 716 countErie County: 4,416 countFayette County: 1,966 countForest County: 71 countFranklin County: 2,454 countFulton County: 219 countGreene County: 535 countHuntingdon County: 654 countIndiana County: 1,406 countJefferson County: 883 countJuniata County: 429 countLackawanna County: 3,887 countLancaster County: 10,574 countLawrence County: 1,473 countLebanon County: 2,178 countLehigh County: 6,386 countLuzerne County: 5,146 countLycoming County: 2,106 countMcKean County: 721 countMercer County: 2,038 countMifflin County: 811 countMonroe County: 2,670 countMontgomery County: 19,670 countMontour County: 293 countNorthampton County: 5,028 countNorthumberland County: 1,298 countPerry County: 662 countPhiladelphia County: 21,514 countPike County: 789 countPotter County: 293 countSchuylkill County: 2,078 countSnyder County: 757 countSomerset County: 1,323 countSullivan County: 142 countSusquehanna County: 684 countTioga County: 654 countUnion County: 764 countVenango County: 882 countWarren County: 633 countWashington County: 4,011 countWayne County: 1,025 countWestmoreland County: 6,314 countWyoming County: 523 countYork County: 6,341 count
  • Under 700
  • 700 to 800
  • 800 to 1,400
  • 1,400 to 2,500
  • 2,500 to 5,100
  • 5,100 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.

Top 40 counties, 2021

Allegheny County: 22,875 countAllegheny County22,875Philadelphia County: 21,514 countPhiladelphia County21,514Montgomery County: 19,670 countMontgomery County19,670Bucks County: 15,318 countBucks County15,318Chester County: 11,363 countChester County11,363Lancaster County: 10,574 countLancaster County10,574Delaware County: 10,063 countDelaware County10,063Berks County: 6,414 countBerks County6,414Lehigh County: 6,386 countLehigh County6,386York County: 6,341 countYork County6,341Westmoreland County: 6,314 countWestmoreland County6,314Luzerne County: 5,146 countLuzerne County5,146Dauphin County: 5,126 countDauphin County5,126Northampton County: 5,028 countNorthampton County5,028Cumberland County: 4,683 countCumberland County4,683Erie County: 4,416 countErie County4,416Washington County: 4,011 countWashington County4,011Lackawanna County: 3,887 countLackawanna County3,887Butler County: 3,828 countButler County3,828Monroe County: 2,670 countMonroe County2,670Centre County: 2,579 countCentre County2,579Beaver County: 2,528 countBeaver County2,528Blair County: 2,512 countBlair County2,512Franklin County: 2,454 countFranklin County2,454Cambria County: 2,211 countCambria County2,211Lebanon County: 2,178 countLebanon County2,178Lycoming County: 2,106 countLycoming County2,106Schuylkill County: 2,078 countSchuylkill County2,078Mercer County: 2,038 countMercer County2,038Fayette County: 1,966 countFayette County1,966Crawford County: 1,575 countCrawford County1,575Adams County: 1,558 countAdams County1,558Lawrence County: 1,473 countLawrence County1,473Clearfield County: 1,446 countClearfield County1,446Indiana County: 1,406 countIndiana County1,406Somerset County: 1,323 countSomerset County1,323Northumberland County: 1,298 countNorthumberland County1,298Columbia County: 1,106 countColumbia County1,106Wayne County: 1,025 countWayne County1,025Bradford County: 1,017 countBradford County1,017Allegheny County: 22,875 countAllegheny County22,875Philadelphia County: 21,514 countPhiladelphia County21,514Montgomery County: 19,670 countMontgomery County19,670Bucks County: 15,318 countBucks County15,318Chester County: 11,363 countChester County11,363Lancaster County: 10,574 countLancaster County10,574Delaware County: 10,063 countDelaware County10,063Berks County: 6,414 countBerks County6,414Lehigh County: 6,386 countLehigh County6,386York County: 6,341 countYork County6,341Westmoreland County: 6,314 countWestmoreland County6,314Luzerne County: 5,146 countLuzerne County5,146Dauphin County: 5,126 countDauphin County5,126Northampton County: 5,028 countNorthampton County5,028Cumberland County: 4,683 countCumberland County4,683Erie County: 4,416 countErie County4,416Washington County: 4,011 countWashington County4,011Lackawanna County: 3,887 countLackawanna County3,887Butler County: 3,828 countButler County3,828Monroe County: 2,670 countMonroe County2,670Centre County: 2,579 countCentre County2,579Beaver County: 2,528 countBeaver County2,528Blair County: 2,512 countBlair County2,512Franklin County: 2,454 countFranklin County2,454Cambria County: 2,211 countCambria County2,211Lebanon County: 2,178 countLebanon County2,178Lycoming County: 2,106 countLycoming County2,106Schuylkill County: 2,078 countSchuylkill County2,078Mercer County: 2,038 countMercer County2,038Fayette County: 1,966 countFayette County1,966Crawford County: 1,575 countCrawford County1,575Adams County: 1,558 countAdams County1,558Lawrence County: 1,473 countLawrence County1,473Clearfield County: 1,446 countClearfield County1,446Indiana County: 1,406 countIndiana County1,406Somerset County: 1,323 countSomerset County1,323Northumberland County: 1,298 countNorthumberland County1,298Columbia County: 1,106 countColumbia County1,106Wayne County: 1,025 countWayne County1,025Bradford County: 1,017 countBradford County1,017
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Full ranking

RankCounties2021
count
Change on 2020
1Allegheny County22,875-1.7%
2Philadelphia County21,514+0.1%
3Montgomery County19,670-0.1%
4Bucks County15,318-0%
5Chester County11,363-0.4%
6Lancaster County10,574+0.3%
7Delaware County10,063+0.4%
8Berks County6,414-1.9%
9Lehigh County6,386-0.5%
10York County6,341-1%
11Westmoreland County6,314-1.6%
12Luzerne County5,146-2.8%
13Dauphin County5,126-1.2%
14Northampton County5,028-1%
15Cumberland County4,683+0.1%
16Erie County4,416-1.8%
17Washington County4,011-0.7%
18Lackawanna County3,887-2.7%
19Butler County3,828-1.4%
20Monroe County2,670-1.7%
21Centre County2,579-2.5%
22Beaver County2,528-1.9%
23Blair County2,512+0.5%
24Franklin County2,454-0.9%
25Cambria County2,211-1.8%
26Lebanon County2,178-1.4%
27Lycoming County2,106-1.6%
28Schuylkill County2,078-2.1%
29Mercer County2,038-3.4%
30Fayette County1,966-1.8%
31Crawford County1,575-0.8%
32Adams County1,558-1.9%
33Lawrence County1,473+0.2%
34Clearfield County1,446-2.2%
35Indiana County1,406-3%
36Somerset County1,323-1.9%
37Northumberland County1,298-2.4%
38Columbia County1,106-3.2%
39Wayne County1,025-0.1%
40Bradford County1,017-0.7%
41Armstrong County987-1.2%
42Carbon County935+0.1%
43Jefferson County883-3.3%
44Venango County882-2.1%
45Bedford County835-2.8%
46Mifflin County811-1.7%
47Pike County789+2.9%
48Union County764-2.9%
49Snyder County757-0.7%
50Clarion County740-2.5%
51McKean County721+0.3%
52Elk County716-0.7%
53Susquehanna County684-0.1%
54Clinton County675+0.1%
55Perry County662-0.6%
56Huntingdon County654-2.2%
56Tioga County654-2.2%
58Warren County633-4.1%
59Greene County535-0.7%
60Wyoming County523-1.7%
61Juniata County429+0.7%
62Montour County293-1.7%
62Potter County293+2.1%
64Fulton County219+0.9%
65Sullivan County142-2.1%
66Cameron County101+4.1%
67Forest County71-2.7%

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, 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 Pennsylvania 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/pennsylvania-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 Pennsylvania 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/pennsylvania-counties?period=2021.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties, Counties in Pennsylvania 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/pennsylvania-counties?period=2021 (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_pennsylvania_by_2021,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Counties in Pennsylvania 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/pennsylvania-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 Pennsylvania 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/pennsylvania-counties?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/pennsylvania-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?

Allegheny County, with 22,875 in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firms?

Forest County, with 71 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.

Employer firms: other rankings

Counties in Pennsylvania: more rankings