Counties in Rhode Island by employer firms

Providence County had the highest employer firms of 5 counties in 2016, at 12,126. Bristol County had the lowest, at 1,009. The median was 3,016 and the figure for Rhode Island was 21,516. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest12,126Providence County

Lowest1,009Bristol County

Median3,0165 counties

Rhode Island21,516History

Map of counties, 2016

Under 2,000
2,000 to 2,700
2,700 to 3,300
3,300 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.

All counties, 2016

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	2016 count	Change on 2015
1	Providence County	12,126	+1.5%
2	Kent County	3,828	+1.4%
3	Washington County	3,016	+2%
4	Newport County	2,241	+1.7%
5	Bristol County	1,009	+1%

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 Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island 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/rhode-island-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 Rhode Island 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/rhode-island-counties?period=2016.

Harvard

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

BibTeX

@misc{census_counties_in_rhode_island_2016,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Counties in Rhode Island 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/rhode-island-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 Rhode Island 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/rhode-island-counties?period=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/rhode-island-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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Rank Counties in Rhode Island by employer firms using official data, and cite the source.

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Questions

Which county has the highest employer firms?

Providence County, with 12,126 in 2016, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firms?

Bristol County, with 1,009 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.