Counties in Virginia by employer firms

Fairfax County had the highest employer firms of 133 counties in 2020, at 22,871. Craig County had the lowest, at 56. The median was 476 and the figure for Virginia was 138,570. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest22,871Fairfax County
Lowest56Craig County
Median476133 counties
Virginia138,570History

Map of counties, 2020

Accomack County: 551 countAlbemarle County: 2,310 countAlleghany County: 225 countAmelia County: 236 countAmherst County: 480 countAppomattox County: 264 countArlington County: 4,521 countAugusta County: 1,198 countBath County: 104 countBedford County: 1,448 countBland County: 71 countBotetourt County: 621 countBrunswick County: 215 countBuchanan County: 315 countBuckingham County: 219 countCampbell County: 978 countCaroline County: 324 countCarroll County: 352 countCharles City County: 135 countCharlotte County: 167 countChesterfield County: 5,797 countClarke County: 336 countCraig County: 56 countCulpeper County: 901 countCumberland County: 121 countDickenson County: 170 countDinwiddie County: 312 countEssex County: 259 countFairfax County: 22,871 countFauquier County: 1,677 countFloyd County: 286 countFluvanna County: 341 countFranklin County: 1,010 countFrederick County: 1,309 countGiles County: 240 countGloucester County: 741 countGoochland County: 639 countGrayson County: 138 countGreene County: 323 countGreensville County: 77 countHalifax County: 583 countHanover County: 2,842 countHenrico County: 6,891 countHenry County: 663 countHighland County: 75 countIsle of Wight County: 579 countJames City County: 1,399 countKing and Queen County: 98 countKing George County: 376 countKing William County: 322 countLancaster County: 395 countLee County: 205 countLoudoun County: 8,788 countLouisa County: 508 countLunenburg County: 140 countMadison County: 244 countMathews County: 163 countMecklenburg County: 655 countMiddlesex County: 256 countMontgomery County: 1,607 countNelson County: 310 countNew Kent County: 372 countNorthampton County: 262 countNorthumberland County: 266 countNottoway County: 261 countOrange County: 559 countPage County: 354 countPatrick County: 241 countPittsylvania County: 743 countPowhatan County: 654 countPrince Edward County: 458 countPrince George County: 395 countPrince William County: 6,597 countPulaski County: 513 countRappahannock County: 178 countRichmond County: 151 countRoanoke County: 1,684 countRockbridge County: 373 countRockingham County: 1,297 countRussell County: 344 countScott County: 210 countShenandoah County: 725 countSmyth County: 416 countSouthampton County: 191 countSpotsylvania County: 2,095 countStafford County: 1,926 countSurry County: 71 countSussex County: 148 countTazewell County: 770 countWarren County: 713 countWashington County: 937 countWestmoreland County: 261 countWise County: 476 countWythe County: 563 countYork County: 1,212 countAlexandria city: 3,676 countBristol city: 516 countBuena Vista city: 91 countCharlottesville city: 1,765 countChesapeake city: 4,337 countColonial Heights city: 516 countCovington city: 171 countDanville city: 995 countEmporia city: 209 countFairfax city: 1,516 countFalls Church city: 764 countFranklin city: 246 countFredericksburg city: 1,141 countGalax city: 279 countHampton city: 1,789 countHarrisonburg city: 1,381 countHopewell city: 375 countLexington city: 221 countLynchburg city: 1,787 countManassas city: 1,257 countManassas Park city: 267 countMartinsville city: 422 countNewport News city: 2,787 countNorfolk city: 3,886 countNorton city: 173 countPetersburg city: 605 countPoquoson city: 189 countPortsmouth city: 1,309 countRadford city: 229 countRichmond city: 4,989 countRoanoke city: 2,419 countSalem city: 843 countStaunton city: 682 countSuffolk city: 1,339 countVirginia Beach city: 8,417 countWaynesboro city: 560 countWilliamsburg city: 473 countWinchester city: 1,173 count
  • Under 200
  • 200 to 300
  • 300 to 500
  • 500 to 700
  • 700 to 1,600
  • 1,600 and over
count, 2020. 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, 2020

Fairfax County: 22,871 countFairfax County22,871Loudoun County: 8,788 countLoudoun County8,788Virginia Beach city: 8,417 countVirginia Beach city8,417Henrico County: 6,891 countHenrico County6,891Prince William County: 6,597 countPrince William County6,597Chesterfield County: 5,797 countChesterfield County5,797Richmond city: 4,989 countRichmond city4,989Arlington County: 4,521 countArlington County4,521Chesapeake city: 4,337 countChesapeake city4,337Norfolk city: 3,886 countNorfolk city3,886Alexandria city: 3,676 countAlexandria city3,676Hanover County: 2,842 countHanover County2,842Newport News city: 2,787 countNewport News city2,787Roanoke city: 2,419 countRoanoke city2,419Albemarle County: 2,310 countAlbemarle County2,310Spotsylvania County: 2,095 countSpotsylvania County2,095Stafford County: 1,926 countStafford County1,926Hampton city: 1,789 countHampton city1,789Lynchburg city: 1,787 countLynchburg city1,787Charlottesville city: 1,765 countCharlottesville city1,765Roanoke County: 1,684 countRoanoke County1,684Fauquier County: 1,677 countFauquier County1,677Montgomery County: 1,607 countMontgomery County1,607Fairfax city: 1,516 countFairfax city1,516Bedford County: 1,448 countBedford County1,448James City County: 1,399 countJames City County1,399Harrisonburg city: 1,381 countHarrisonburg city1,381Suffolk city: 1,339 countSuffolk city1,339Frederick County: 1,309 countFrederick County1,309Portsmouth city: 1,309 countPortsmouth city1,309Rockingham County: 1,297 countRockingham County1,297Manassas city: 1,257 countManassas city1,257York County: 1,212 countYork County1,212Augusta County: 1,198 countAugusta County1,198Winchester city: 1,173 countWinchester city1,173Fredericksburg city: 1,141 countFredericksburg city1,141Franklin County: 1,010 countFranklin County1,010Danville city: 995 countDanville city995Campbell County: 978 countCampbell County978Washington County: 937 countWashington County937Fairfax County: 22,871 countFairfax County22,871Loudoun County: 8,788 countLoudoun County8,788Virginia Beach city: 8,417 countVirginia Beach city8,417Henrico County: 6,891 countHenrico County6,891Prince William County: 6,597 countPrince William County6,597Chesterfield County: 5,797 countChesterfield County5,797Richmond city: 4,989 countRichmond city4,989Arlington County: 4,521 countArlington County4,521Chesapeake city: 4,337 countChesapeake city4,337Norfolk city: 3,886 countNorfolk city3,886Alexandria city: 3,676 countAlexandria city3,676Hanover County: 2,842 countHanover County2,842Newport News city: 2,787 countNewport News city2,787Roanoke city: 2,419 countRoanoke city2,419Albemarle County: 2,310 countAlbemarle County2,310Spotsylvania County: 2,095 countSpotsylvania County2,095Stafford County: 1,926 countStafford County1,926Hampton city: 1,789 countHampton city1,789Lynchburg city: 1,787 countLynchburg city1,787Charlottesville city: 1,765 countCharlottesville city1,765Roanoke County: 1,684 countRoanoke County1,684Fauquier County: 1,677 countFauquier County1,677Montgomery County: 1,607 countMontgomery County1,607Fairfax city: 1,516 countFairfax city1,516Bedford County: 1,448 countBedford County1,448James City County: 1,399 countJames City County1,399Harrisonburg city: 1,381 countHarrisonburg city1,381Suffolk city: 1,339 countSuffolk city1,339Frederick County: 1,309 countFrederick County1,309Portsmouth city: 1,309 countPortsmouth city1,309Rockingham County: 1,297 countRockingham County1,297Manassas city: 1,257 countManassas city1,257York County: 1,212 countYork County1,212Augusta County: 1,198 countAugusta County1,198Winchester city: 1,173 countWinchester city1,173Fredericksburg city: 1,141 countFredericksburg city1,141Franklin County: 1,010 countFranklin County1,010Danville city: 995 countDanville city995Campbell County: 978 countCampbell County978Washington County: 937 countWashington County937
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Full ranking

RankCounties2020
count
Change on 2019
1Fairfax County22,871-0%
2Loudoun County8,788+2.2%
3Virginia Beach city8,417+0.9%
4Henrico County6,891-0.5%
5Prince William County6,597+1.1%
6Chesterfield County5,797+0.4%
7Richmond city4,989+0.4%
8Arlington County4,521+0.3%
9Chesapeake city4,337+0.1%
10Norfolk city3,886-1.3%
11Alexandria city3,676+0.8%
12Hanover County2,842+0.8%
13Newport News city2,787-0.8%
14Roanoke city2,419-0.9%
15Albemarle County2,310+0.8%
16Spotsylvania County2,095+0.1%
17Stafford County1,926+0.7%
18Hampton city1,789-0.5%
19Lynchburg city1,787+1.6%
20Charlottesville city1,765-1.1%
21Roanoke County1,684-2.1%
22Fauquier County1,677-0.7%
23Montgomery County1,607-0.2%
24Fairfax city1,516+0.9%
25Bedford County1,448-1%
26James City County1,399+0.3%
27Harrisonburg city1,381+0.7%
28Suffolk city1,339-0.5%
29Frederick County1,309+2%
29Portsmouth city1,309-0.5%
31Rockingham County1,297+0.4%
32Manassas city1,257-2.7%
33York County1,212+0.7%
34Augusta County1,198+0.7%
35Winchester city1,173+0.3%
36Fredericksburg city1,141-1.9%
37Franklin County1,010+1%
38Danville city995-2.2%
39Campbell County978-0.9%
40Washington County937-1%
41Culpeper County901+0.1%
42Salem city843-0.5%
43Tazewell County770-2.4%
44Falls Church city764-0.4%
45Pittsylvania County743-0.8%
46Gloucester County741-0.1%
47Shenandoah County725-1.4%
48Warren County713+2.3%
49Staunton city682-2.7%
50Henry County663+0.5%
51Mecklenburg County655-2.2%
52Powhatan County654+2.5%
53Goochland County639+1.8%
54Botetourt County621-1.6%
55Petersburg city605-1.8%
56Halifax County583-1%
57Isle of Wight County579+1%
58Wythe County563-0.5%
59Waynesboro city560-1.4%
60Orange County559-1.1%
61Accomack County551-0.4%
62Bristol city516+0.4%
62Colonial Heights city516-2.1%
64Pulaski County513-0.2%
65Louisa County508+0.4%
66Amherst County480-3.6%
67Wise County476-3.4%
68Williamsburg city473-0.8%
69Prince Edward County458-0.2%
70Martinsville city422-3.7%
71Smyth County416+0.5%
72Lancaster County395+2.6%
72Prince George County3950%
74King George County376-2.8%
75Hopewell city375-2.8%
76Rockbridge County373-2.4%
77New Kent County372+1.9%
78Page County354+0.9%
79Carroll County352-1.4%
80Russell County344-2.5%
81Fluvanna County341-0.6%
82Clarke County336+0.3%
83Caroline County324-0.9%
84Greene County323+5.2%
85King William County322+2.2%
86Buchanan County315-4.5%
87Dinwiddie County312+0.3%
88Nelson County310-2.5%
89Floyd County286-2.4%
90Galax city279-1.4%
91Manassas Park city267-4.6%
92Northumberland County266+1.9%
93Appomattox County264+1.5%
94Northampton County262-1.1%
95Nottoway County261-2.2%
95Westmoreland County2610%
97Essex County259-1.1%
98Middlesex County256-4.1%
99Franklin city246+2.9%
100Madison County244-1.2%
101Patrick County241-1.6%
102Giles County240+0.8%
103Amelia County236-6%
104Radford city229-3%
105Alleghany County225-0.4%
106Lexington city221-2.2%
107Buckingham County219+0.9%
108Brunswick County215+0.5%
109Scott County210-0.9%
110Emporia city209-0.5%
111Lee County205-4.2%
112Southampton County191+2.7%
113Poquoson city189-3.1%
114Rappahannock County178-4.8%
115Norton city173-4.4%
116Covington city171-5%
117Dickenson County170-1.2%
118Charlotte County167-2.9%
119Mathews County163-2.4%
120Richmond County151+1.3%
121Sussex County148-5.1%
122Lunenburg County140-2.8%
123Grayson County138-1.4%
124Charles City County135+4.7%
125Cumberland County121-3.2%
126Bath County1040%
127King and Queen County98-3.9%
128Buena Vista city91-2.2%
129Greensville County77+1.3%
130Highland County75+2.7%
131Bland County710%
131Surry County710%
133Craig County56-5.1%

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 Virginia by employer firms, 2020) [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 Virginia by employer firms, 2020. 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/virginia-counties?period=2020. 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 Virginia by employer firms, 2020. 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/virginia-counties?period=2020.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties, Counties in Virginia by employer firms, 2020 [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/virginia-counties?period=2020 (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_virginia_by_2020,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Counties in Virginia by employer firms, 2020}},
  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/virginia-counties?period=2020. 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 Virginia by employer firms, 2020
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/virginia-counties?period=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/virginia-counties?period=2020.
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?

Fairfax County, with 22,871 in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firms?

Craig County, with 56 in 2020.

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 Virginia: more rankings