Counties in West Virginia by employer firms

Kanawha County had the highest employer firms of 55 counties in 2019, at 3,431. Wirt County had the lowest, at 51. The median was 278 and the figure for West Virginia was 24,055. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest3,431Kanawha County
Lowest51Wirt County
Median27855 counties
West Virginia24,055History

Map of counties, 2019

Barbour County: 178 countBerkeley County: 1,335 countBoone County: 209 countBraxton County: 206 countBrooke County: 332 countCabell County: 1,710 countCalhoun County: 76 countClay County: 61 countDoddridge County: 68 countFayette County: 595 countGilmer County: 106 countGrant County: 211 countGreenbrier County: 709 countHampshire County: 265 countHancock County: 434 countHardy County: 226 countHarrison County: 1,430 countJackson County: 395 countJefferson County: 768 countKanawha County: 3,431 countLewis County: 291 countLincoln County: 133 countLogan County: 477 countMcDowell County: 179 countMarion County: 923 countMarshall County: 370 countMason County: 274 countMercer County: 915 countMineral County: 352 countMingo County: 301 countMonongalia County: 1,831 countMonroe County: 147 countMorgan County: 200 countNicholas County: 481 countOhio County: 1,067 countPendleton County: 116 countPleasants County: 105 countPocahontas County: 184 countPreston County: 427 countPutnam County: 967 countRaleigh County: 1,302 countRandolph County: 552 countRitchie County: 157 countRoane County: 182 countSummers County: 152 countTaylor County: 192 countTucker County: 134 countTyler County: 108 countUpshur County: 443 countWayne County: 491 countWebster County: 102 countWetzel County: 278 countWirt County: 51 countWood County: 1,547 countWyoming County: 226 count
  • Under 130
  • 130 to 190
  • 190 to 280
  • 280 to 440
  • 440 to 920
  • 920 and over
count, 2019. 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, 2019

Kanawha County: 3,431 countKanawha County3,431Monongalia County: 1,831 countMonongalia County1,831Cabell County: 1,710 countCabell County1,710Wood County: 1,547 countWood County1,547Harrison County: 1,430 countHarrison County1,430Berkeley County: 1,335 countBerkeley County1,335Raleigh County: 1,302 countRaleigh County1,302Ohio County: 1,067 countOhio County1,067Putnam County: 967 countPutnam County967Marion County: 923 countMarion County923Mercer County: 915 countMercer County915Jefferson County: 768 countJefferson County768Greenbrier County: 709 countGreenbrier County709Fayette County: 595 countFayette County595Randolph County: 552 countRandolph County552Wayne County: 491 countWayne County491Nicholas County: 481 countNicholas County481Logan County: 477 countLogan County477Upshur County: 443 countUpshur County443Hancock County: 434 countHancock County434Preston County: 427 countPreston County427Jackson County: 395 countJackson County395Marshall County: 370 countMarshall County370Mineral County: 352 countMineral County352Brooke County: 332 countBrooke County332Mingo County: 301 countMingo County301Lewis County: 291 countLewis County291Wetzel County: 278 countWetzel County278Mason County: 274 countMason County274Hampshire County: 265 countHampshire County265Hardy County: 226 countHardy County226Wyoming County: 226 countWyoming County226Grant County: 211 countGrant County211Boone County: 209 countBoone County209Braxton County: 206 countBraxton County206Morgan County: 200 countMorgan County200Taylor County: 192 countTaylor County192Pocahontas County: 184 countPocahontas County184Roane County: 182 countRoane County182McDowell County: 179 countMcDowell County179Barbour County: 178 countBarbour County178Ritchie County: 157 countRitchie County157Summers County: 152 countSummers County152Monroe County: 147 countMonroe County147Tucker County: 134 countTucker County134Lincoln County: 133 countLincoln County133Pendleton County: 116 countPendleton County116Tyler County: 108 countTyler County108Gilmer County: 106 countGilmer County106Pleasants County: 105 countPleasants County105Webster County: 102 countWebster County102Calhoun County: 76 countCalhoun County76Doddridge County: 68 countDoddridge County68Clay County: 61 countClay County61Wirt County: 51 countWirt County51Kanawha County: 3,431 countKanawha County3,431Monongalia County: 1,831 countMonongalia County1,831Cabell County: 1,710 countCabell County1,710Wood County: 1,547 countWood County1,547Harrison County: 1,430 countHarrison County1,430Berkeley County: 1,335 countBerkeley County1,335Raleigh County: 1,302 countRaleigh County1,302Ohio County: 1,067 countOhio County1,067Putnam County: 967 countPutnam County967Marion County: 923 countMarion County923Mercer County: 915 countMercer County915Jefferson County: 768 countJefferson County768Greenbrier County: 709 countGreenbrier County709Fayette County: 595 countFayette County595Randolph County: 552 countRandolph County552Wayne County: 491 countWayne County491Nicholas County: 481 countNicholas County481Logan County: 477 countLogan County477Upshur County: 443 countUpshur County443Hancock County: 434 countHancock County434Preston County: 427 countPreston County427Jackson County: 395 countJackson County395Marshall County: 370 countMarshall County370Mineral County: 352 countMineral County352Brooke County: 332 countBrooke County332Mingo County: 301 countMingo County301Lewis County: 291 countLewis County291Wetzel County: 278 countWetzel County278Mason County: 274 countMason County274Hampshire County: 265 countHampshire County265Hardy County: 226 countHardy County226Wyoming County: 226 countWyoming County226Grant County: 211 countGrant County211Boone County: 209 countBoone County209Braxton County: 206 countBraxton County206Morgan County: 200 countMorgan County200Taylor County: 192 countTaylor County192Pocahontas County: 184 countPocahontas County184Roane County: 182 countRoane County182McDowell County: 179 countMcDowell County179Barbour County: 178 countBarbour County178Ritchie County: 157 countRitchie County157Summers County: 152 countSummers County152Monroe County: 147 countMonroe County147Tucker County: 134 countTucker County134Lincoln County: 133 countLincoln County133Pendleton County: 116 countPendleton County116Tyler County: 108 countTyler County108Gilmer County: 106 countGilmer County106Pleasants County: 105 countPleasants County105Webster County: 102 countWebster County102Calhoun County: 76 countCalhoun County76Doddridge County: 68 countDoddridge County68Clay County: 61 countClay County61Wirt County: 51 countWirt County51
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Full ranking

RankCounties2019
count
Change on 2018
1Kanawha County3,431-1.5%
2Monongalia County1,831-0.3%
3Cabell County1,710-0.8%
4Wood County1,547-0.6%
5Harrison County1,430+1.4%
6Berkeley County1,335+0.9%
7Raleigh County1,302-1.5%
8Ohio County1,067-1.9%
9Putnam County967+0.5%
10Marion County923+0.3%
11Mercer County915+0.9%
12Jefferson County768+0.9%
13Greenbrier County709-1.3%
14Fayette County595+2.1%
15Randolph County552-0.5%
16Wayne County491-1.4%
17Nicholas County481+1.7%
18Logan County477+1.7%
19Upshur County443-0.9%
20Hancock County434-1.1%
21Preston County427-2.5%
22Jackson County395+0.8%
23Marshall County370+1.4%
24Mineral County352-3%
25Brooke County332+0.6%
26Mingo County301+1.3%
27Lewis County291+1.7%
28Wetzel County2780%
29Mason County274-0.4%
30Hampshire County265-1.5%
31Hardy County226+1.3%
31Wyoming County226-2.2%
33Grant County211+2.4%
34Boone County209+0.5%
35Braxton County206+2.5%
36Morgan County200+1.5%
37Taylor County1920%
38Pocahontas County184+3.4%
39Roane County1820%
40McDowell County179-4.3%
41Barbour County178-1.7%
42Ritchie County157-3.1%
43Summers County152+9.4%
44Monroe County147+3.5%
45Tucker County134-2.9%
46Lincoln County133-2.2%
47Pendleton County116+0.9%
48Tyler County108+5.9%
49Gilmer County106+1%
50Pleasants County105+2.9%
51Webster County102-6.4%
52Calhoun County76+1.3%
53Doddridge County68+3%
54Clay County61+5.2%
55Wirt County51+15.9%

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 West Virginia by employer firms, 2019) [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 West Virginia by employer firms, 2019. 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/west-virginia-counties?period=2019. 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 West Virginia by employer firms, 2019. 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/west-virginia-counties?period=2019.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties, Counties in West Virginia by employer firms, 2019 [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/west-virginia-counties?period=2019 (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_west_virginia_2019,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Counties in West Virginia by employer firms, 2019}},
  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/west-virginia-counties?period=2019. 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 West Virginia by employer firms, 2019
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/west-virginia-counties?period=2019
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/west-virginia-counties?period=2019.
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?

Kanawha County, with 3,431 in 2019, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firms?

Wirt County, with 51 in 2019.

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 West Virginia: more rankings