Counties in Wisconsin by employer firms

Milwaukee County had the highest employer firms of 72 counties in 2016, at 13,739. Menominee County had the lowest, at 20. The median was 803 and the figure for Wisconsin was 97,694. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest13,739Milwaukee County
Median80372 counties
Wisconsin97,694History

Map of counties, 2016

Adams County: 342 countAshland County: 445 countBarron County: 1,133 countBayfield County: 355 countBrown County: 5,020 countBuffalo County: 260 countBurnett County: 330 countCalumet County: 805 countChippewa County: 1,299 countClark County: 653 countColumbia County: 1,123 countCrawford County: 324 countDane County: 10,462 countDodge County: 1,434 countDoor County: 1,000 countDouglas County: 864 countDunn County: 749 countEau Claire County: 2,144 countFlorence County: 98 countFond du Lac County: 1,834 countForest County: 200 countGrant County: 1,002 countGreen County: 831 countGreen Lake County: 413 countIowa County: 487 countIron County: 167 countJackson County: 344 countJefferson County: 1,619 countJuneau County: 454 countKenosha County: 2,556 countKewaunee County: 389 countLa Crosse County: 2,366 countLafayette County: 300 countLanglade County: 483 countLincoln County: 575 countManitowoc County: 1,474 countMarathon County: 2,603 countMarinette County: 849 countMarquette County: 231 countMenominee County: 20 countMilwaukee County: 13,739 countMonroe County: 800 countOconto County: 625 countOneida County: 1,131 countOutagamie County: 3,967 countOzaukee County: 2,296 countPepin County: 187 countPierce County: 660 countPolk County: 920 countPortage County: 1,382 countPrice County: 358 countRacine County: 3,197 countRichland County: 336 countRock County: 2,602 countRusk County: 261 countSt. Croix County: 1,868 countSauk County: 1,461 countSawyer County: 536 countShawano County: 763 countSheboygan County: 2,135 countTaylor County: 428 countTrempealeau County: 536 countVernon County: 506 countVilas County: 768 countWalworth County: 2,232 countWashburn County: 417 countWashington County: 2,720 countWaukesha County: 9,835 countWaupaca County: 989 countWaushara County: 397 countWinnebago County: 2,729 countWood County: 1,486 count
  • Under 300
  • 300 to 500
  • 500 to 800
  • 800 to 1,300
  • 1,300 to 2,300
  • 2,300 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.

Top 40 counties, 2016

Milwaukee County: 13,739 countMilwaukee County13,739Dane County: 10,462 countDane County10,462Waukesha County: 9,835 countWaukesha County9,835Brown County: 5,020 countBrown County5,020Outagamie County: 3,967 countOutagamie County3,967Racine County: 3,197 countRacine County3,197Winnebago County: 2,729 countWinnebago County2,729Washington County: 2,720 countWashington County2,720Marathon County: 2,603 countMarathon County2,603Rock County: 2,602 countRock County2,602Kenosha County: 2,556 countKenosha County2,556La Crosse County: 2,366 countLa Crosse County2,366Ozaukee County: 2,296 countOzaukee County2,296Walworth County: 2,232 countWalworth County2,232Eau Claire County: 2,144 countEau Claire County2,144Sheboygan County: 2,135 countSheboygan County2,135St. Croix County: 1,868 countSt. Croix County1,868Fond du Lac County: 1,834 countFond du Lac County1,834Jefferson County: 1,619 countJefferson County1,619Wood County: 1,486 countWood County1,486Manitowoc County: 1,474 countManitowoc County1,474Sauk County: 1,461 countSauk County1,461Dodge County: 1,434 countDodge County1,434Portage County: 1,382 countPortage County1,382Chippewa County: 1,299 countChippewa County1,299Barron County: 1,133 countBarron County1,133Oneida County: 1,131 countOneida County1,131Columbia County: 1,123 countColumbia County1,123Grant County: 1,002 countGrant County1,002Door County: 1,000 countDoor County1,000Waupaca County: 989 countWaupaca County989Polk County: 920 countPolk County920Douglas County: 864 countDouglas County864Marinette County: 849 countMarinette County849Green County: 831 countGreen County831Calumet County: 805 countCalumet County805Monroe County: 800 countMonroe County800Vilas County: 768 countVilas County768Shawano County: 763 countShawano County763Dunn County: 749 countDunn County749Milwaukee County: 13,739 countMilwaukee County13,739Dane County: 10,462 countDane County10,462Waukesha County: 9,835 countWaukesha County9,835Brown County: 5,020 countBrown County5,020Outagamie County: 3,967 countOutagamie County3,967Racine County: 3,197 countRacine County3,197Winnebago County: 2,729 countWinnebago County2,729Washington County: 2,720 countWashington County2,720Marathon County: 2,603 countMarathon County2,603Rock County: 2,602 countRock County2,602Kenosha County: 2,556 countKenosha County2,556La Crosse County: 2,366 countLa Crosse County2,366Ozaukee County: 2,296 countOzaukee County2,296Walworth County: 2,232 countWalworth County2,232Eau Claire County: 2,144 countEau Claire County2,144Sheboygan County: 2,135 countSheboygan County2,135St. Croix County: 1,868 countSt. Croix County1,868Fond du Lac County: 1,834 countFond du Lac County1,834Jefferson County: 1,619 countJefferson County1,619Wood County: 1,486 countWood County1,486Manitowoc County: 1,474 countManitowoc County1,474Sauk County: 1,461 countSauk County1,461Dodge County: 1,434 countDodge County1,434Portage County: 1,382 countPortage County1,382Chippewa County: 1,299 countChippewa County1,299Barron County: 1,133 countBarron County1,133Oneida County: 1,131 countOneida County1,131Columbia County: 1,123 countColumbia County1,123Grant County: 1,002 countGrant County1,002Door County: 1,000 countDoor County1,000Waupaca County: 989 countWaupaca County989Polk County: 920 countPolk County920Douglas County: 864 countDouglas County864Marinette County: 849 countMarinette County849Green County: 831 countGreen County831Calumet County: 805 countCalumet County805Monroe County: 800 countMonroe County800Vilas County: 768 countVilas County768Shawano County: 763 countShawano County763Dunn County: 749 countDunn County749
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Full ranking

RankCounties2016
count
Change on 2015
1Milwaukee County13,739+0.7%
2Dane County10,462+1.8%
3Waukesha County9,835+0.9%
4Brown County5,020+0.9%
5Outagamie County3,967+0.9%
6Racine County3,197+1.4%
7Winnebago County2,729+1.6%
8Washington County2,720+1.7%
9Marathon County2,6030%
10Rock County2,602+0.9%
11Kenosha County2,556+1%
12La Crosse County2,366+1%
13Ozaukee County2,296+0.3%
14Walworth County2,232+2.4%
15Eau Claire County2,144-0.2%
16Sheboygan County2,135+2.2%
17St. Croix County1,868+0.5%
18Fond du Lac County1,834-0.7%
19Jefferson County1,619+2.5%
20Wood County1,486+1.3%
21Manitowoc County1,474-0.9%
22Sauk County1,461+2.8%
23Dodge County1,434+0.7%
24Portage County1,382+1.7%
25Chippewa County1,299+2%
26Barron County1,133+2.5%
27Oneida County1,131+3.7%
28Columbia County1,123+3.4%
29Grant County1,002+1.1%
30Door County1,000+2.4%
31Waupaca County989+0.4%
32Polk County920-0.2%
33Douglas County864+1.1%
34Marinette County849+1.2%
35Green County831+2.3%
36Calumet County805+0.9%
37Monroe County800+2.8%
38Vilas County768+3.6%
39Shawano County763+0.5%
40Dunn County749+0.5%
41Pierce County660+2%
42Clark County653+2.8%
43Oconto County625+1.1%
44Lincoln County575-0.2%
45Sawyer County536-0.4%
45Trempealeau County536+1.9%
47Vernon County506+1.6%
48Iowa County487+3.4%
49Langlade County483+0.2%
50Juneau County454+2.9%
51Ashland County445+1.6%
52Taylor County428+4.1%
53Washburn County417+1.7%
54Green Lake County413+1.5%
55Waushara County397+1.3%
56Kewaunee County389+0.3%
57Price County358+1.1%
58Bayfield County355+2.3%
59Jackson County344+1.8%
60Adams County342+1.5%
61Richland County336+0.6%
62Burnett County330+0.3%
63Crawford County324+2.2%
64Lafayette County300+1%
65Rusk County261+1.6%
66Buffalo County260+1.6%
67Marquette County231-4.1%
68Forest County200+2%
69Pepin County187+5.1%
70Iron County167-1.8%
71Florence County98-7.5%
72Menominee County20-4.8%

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, 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 Wisconsin 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/wisconsin-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 Wisconsin 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/wisconsin-counties?period=2016.

Harvard

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

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_wisconsin_by_2016,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Counties in Wisconsin 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/wisconsin-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 Wisconsin 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/wisconsin-counties?period=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/wisconsin-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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Questions

Which county has the highest employer firms?

Milwaukee County, with 13,739 in 2016, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firms?

Menominee County, with 20 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.

Employer firms: other rankings

Counties in Wisconsin: more rankings