Counties in Wisconsin by employer firms

Milwaukee County had the highest employer firms of 72 counties in 2012, at 13,515. Menominee County had the lowest, at 20. The median was 784 and the figure for Wisconsin was 96,784. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest13,515Milwaukee County
Median78472 counties
Wisconsin96,784History

Map of counties, 2012

Adams County: 321 countAshland County: 450 countBarron County: 1,076 countBayfield County: 328 countBrown County: 4,904 countBuffalo County: 264 countBurnett County: 328 countCalumet County: 779 countChippewa County: 1,297 countClark County: 644 countColumbia County: 1,117 countCrawford County: 346 countDane County: 9,977 countDodge County: 1,460 countDoor County: 977 countDouglas County: 878 countDunn County: 747 countEau Claire County: 2,092 countFlorence County: 105 countFond du Lac County: 1,890 countForest County: 201 countGrant County: 1,010 countGreen County: 812 countGreen Lake County: 417 countIowa County: 467 countIron County: 186 countJackson County: 340 countJefferson County: 1,572 countJuneau County: 446 countKenosha County: 2,479 countKewaunee County: 390 countLa Crosse County: 2,332 countLafayette County: 298 countLanglade County: 480 countLincoln County: 574 countManitowoc County: 1,473 countMarathon County: 2,614 countMarinette County: 876 countMarquette County: 239 countMenominee County: 20 countMilwaukee County: 13,515 countMonroe County: 789 countOconto County: 626 countOneida County: 1,083 countOutagamie County: 3,902 countOzaukee County: 2,256 countPepin County: 183 countPierce County: 637 countPolk County: 908 countPortage County: 1,315 countPrice County: 356 countRacine County: 3,190 countRichland County: 340 countRock County: 2,590 countRusk County: 258 countSt. Croix County: 1,782 countSauk County: 1,403 countSawyer County: 525 countShawano County: 762 countSheboygan County: 2,119 countTaylor County: 415 countTrempealeau County: 559 countVernon County: 484 countVilas County: 709 countWalworth County: 2,190 countWashburn County: 395 countWashington County: 2,664 countWaukesha County: 9,729 countWaupaca County: 1,009 countWaushara County: 418 countWinnebago County: 2,747 countWood County: 1,469 count
  • Under 300
  • 300 to 500
  • 500 to 800
  • 800 to 1,300
  • 1,300 to 2,300
  • 2,300 and over
count, 2012. 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, 2012

Milwaukee County: 13,515 countMilwaukee County13,515Dane County: 9,977 countDane County9,977Waukesha County: 9,729 countWaukesha County9,729Brown County: 4,904 countBrown County4,904Outagamie County: 3,902 countOutagamie County3,902Racine County: 3,190 countRacine County3,190Winnebago County: 2,747 countWinnebago County2,747Washington County: 2,664 countWashington County2,664Marathon County: 2,614 countMarathon County2,614Rock County: 2,590 countRock County2,590Kenosha County: 2,479 countKenosha County2,479La Crosse County: 2,332 countLa Crosse County2,332Ozaukee County: 2,256 countOzaukee County2,256Walworth County: 2,190 countWalworth County2,190Sheboygan County: 2,119 countSheboygan County2,119Eau Claire County: 2,092 countEau Claire County2,092Fond du Lac County: 1,890 countFond du Lac County1,890St. Croix County: 1,782 countSt. Croix County1,782Jefferson County: 1,572 countJefferson County1,572Manitowoc County: 1,473 countManitowoc County1,473Wood County: 1,469 countWood County1,469Dodge County: 1,460 countDodge County1,460Sauk County: 1,403 countSauk County1,403Portage County: 1,315 countPortage County1,315Chippewa County: 1,297 countChippewa County1,297Columbia County: 1,117 countColumbia County1,117Oneida County: 1,083 countOneida County1,083Barron County: 1,076 countBarron County1,076Grant County: 1,010 countGrant County1,010Waupaca County: 1,009 countWaupaca County1,009Door County: 977 countDoor County977Polk County: 908 countPolk County908Douglas County: 878 countDouglas County878Marinette County: 876 countMarinette County876Green County: 812 countGreen County812Monroe County: 789 countMonroe County789Calumet County: 779 countCalumet County779Shawano County: 762 countShawano County762Dunn County: 747 countDunn County747Vilas County: 709 countVilas County709Milwaukee County: 13,515 countMilwaukee County13,515Dane County: 9,977 countDane County9,977Waukesha County: 9,729 countWaukesha County9,729Brown County: 4,904 countBrown County4,904Outagamie County: 3,902 countOutagamie County3,902Racine County: 3,190 countRacine County3,190Winnebago County: 2,747 countWinnebago County2,747Washington County: 2,664 countWashington County2,664Marathon County: 2,614 countMarathon County2,614Rock County: 2,590 countRock County2,590Kenosha County: 2,479 countKenosha County2,479La Crosse County: 2,332 countLa Crosse County2,332Ozaukee County: 2,256 countOzaukee County2,256Walworth County: 2,190 countWalworth County2,190Sheboygan County: 2,119 countSheboygan County2,119Eau Claire County: 2,092 countEau Claire County2,092Fond du Lac County: 1,890 countFond du Lac County1,890St. Croix County: 1,782 countSt. Croix County1,782Jefferson County: 1,572 countJefferson County1,572Manitowoc County: 1,473 countManitowoc County1,473Wood County: 1,469 countWood County1,469Dodge County: 1,460 countDodge County1,460Sauk County: 1,403 countSauk County1,403Portage County: 1,315 countPortage County1,315Chippewa County: 1,297 countChippewa County1,297Columbia County: 1,117 countColumbia County1,117Oneida County: 1,083 countOneida County1,083Barron County: 1,076 countBarron County1,076Grant County: 1,010 countGrant County1,010Waupaca County: 1,009 countWaupaca County1,009Door County: 977 countDoor County977Polk County: 908 countPolk County908Douglas County: 878 countDouglas County878Marinette County: 876 countMarinette County876Green County: 812 countGreen County812Monroe County: 789 countMonroe County789Calumet County: 779 countCalumet County779Shawano County: 762 countShawano County762Dunn County: 747 countDunn County747Vilas County: 709 countVilas County709
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Full ranking

RankCounties2012
count
Change on 2011
1Milwaukee County13,515-1.2%
2Dane County9,977-0.1%
3Waukesha County9,729-0.5%
4Brown County4,904-1%
5Outagamie County3,902+0.7%
6Racine County3,190-0.6%
7Winnebago County2,747-1.2%
8Washington County2,664+0.8%
9Marathon County2,614-1.7%
10Rock County2,590-0.6%
11Kenosha County2,479+0.4%
12La Crosse County2,332+0.6%
13Ozaukee County2,256-0.3%
14Walworth County2,190+1.1%
15Sheboygan County2,1190%
16Eau Claire County2,092+1.2%
17Fond du Lac County1,890-0.6%
18St. Croix County1,782+4%
19Jefferson County1,572-0.4%
20Manitowoc County1,473-1.7%
21Wood County1,469-0.7%
22Dodge County1,460-0.9%
23Sauk County1,403+0.8%
24Portage County1,315-1.4%
25Chippewa County1,297+4.4%
26Columbia County1,1170%
27Oneida County1,083-2.7%
28Barron County1,076+0.7%
29Grant County1,010-0.5%
30Waupaca County1,009-1.6%
31Door County977+0.5%
32Polk County908-0.4%
33Douglas County878+0.2%
34Marinette County876-2%
35Green County812-0.2%
36Monroe County789-1.6%
37Calumet County779-0.9%
38Shawano County762-0.7%
39Dunn County747+3%
40Vilas County709-0.8%
41Clark County644+1.4%
42Pierce County637+0.2%
43Oconto County626-0.2%
44Lincoln County574-1.9%
45Trempealeau County559+2.8%
46Sawyer County525-2.1%
47Vernon County484-2.4%
48Langlade County480-3.2%
49Iowa County467+2%
50Ashland County450-3%
51Juneau County446-0.4%
52Waushara County418+2.7%
53Green Lake County417-1%
54Taylor County415+1.7%
55Washburn County395-2.5%
56Kewaunee County390+0.5%
57Price County356-0.6%
58Crawford County346+3%
59Jackson County340+1.5%
59Richland County340+0.3%
61Bayfield County328-1.2%
61Burnett County328+1.5%
63Adams County321+1.9%
64Lafayette County298-1%
65Buffalo County264-0.8%
66Rusk County258+6.2%
67Marquette County239-0.8%
68Forest County201-3.4%
69Iron County186-1.6%
70Pepin County183+4%
71Florence County105-1.9%
72Menominee County20+11.1%

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 Wisconsin by employer firms, 2012) [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 Wisconsin by employer firms, 2012. 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/wisconsin-counties?period=2012. 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 Wisconsin by employer firms, 2012. 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/wisconsin-counties?period=2012.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties, Counties in Wisconsin by employer firms, 2012 [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/wisconsin-counties?period=2012 (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_wisconsin_by_2012,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Counties in Wisconsin by employer firms, 2012}},
  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/wisconsin-counties?period=2012. 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 Wisconsin by employer firms, 2012
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/wisconsin-counties?period=2012
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/wisconsin-counties?period=2012.
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?

Milwaukee County, with 13,515 in 2012, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firms?

Menominee County, with 20 in 2012.

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 Wisconsin: more rankings