Counties in Wisconsin by employer firms

Milwaukee County had the highest employer firms of 72 counties in 2018, at 13,716. Menominee County had the lowest, at 20. The median was 791 and the figure for Wisconsin was 97,541. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest13,716Milwaukee County
Median79172 counties
Wisconsin97,541History

Map of counties, 2018

Adams County: 332 countAshland County: 417 countBarron County: 1,124 countBayfield County: 347 countBrown County: 5,013 countBuffalo County: 249 countBurnett County: 330 countCalumet County: 776 countChippewa County: 1,291 countClark County: 656 countColumbia County: 1,113 countCrawford County: 303 countDane County: 10,588 countDodge County: 1,434 countDoor County: 997 countDouglas County: 849 countDunn County: 736 countEau Claire County: 2,100 countFlorence County: 102 countFond du Lac County: 1,786 countForest County: 185 countGrant County: 974 countGreen County: 821 countGreen Lake County: 388 countIowa County: 499 countIron County: 164 countJackson County: 323 countJefferson County: 1,638 countJuneau County: 446 countKenosha County: 2,611 countKewaunee County: 390 countLa Crosse County: 2,393 countLafayette County: 288 countLanglade County: 468 countLincoln County: 569 countManitowoc County: 1,448 countMarathon County: 2,617 countMarinette County: 849 countMarquette County: 230 countMenominee County: 20 countMilwaukee County: 13,716 countMonroe County: 801 countOconto County: 612 countOneida County: 1,122 countOutagamie County: 3,938 countOzaukee County: 2,299 countPepin County: 192 countPierce County: 664 countPolk County: 928 countPortage County: 1,368 countPrice County: 344 countRacine County: 3,201 countRichland County: 340 countRock County: 2,597 countRusk County: 243 countSt. Croix County: 1,921 countSauk County: 1,438 countSawyer County: 514 countShawano County: 779 countSheboygan County: 2,104 countTaylor County: 414 countTrempealeau County: 540 countVernon County: 491 countVilas County: 781 countWalworth County: 2,279 countWashburn County: 410 countWashington County: 2,739 countWaukesha County: 9,831 countWaupaca County: 974 countWaushara County: 395 countWinnebago County: 2,732 countWood County: 1,465 count
  • Under 300
  • 300 to 500
  • 500 to 800
  • 800 to 1,300
  • 1,300 to 2,300
  • 2,300 and over
count, 2018. 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, 2018

Milwaukee County: 13,716 countMilwaukee County13,716Dane County: 10,588 countDane County10,588Waukesha County: 9,831 countWaukesha County9,831Brown County: 5,013 countBrown County5,013Outagamie County: 3,938 countOutagamie County3,938Racine County: 3,201 countRacine County3,201Washington County: 2,739 countWashington County2,739Winnebago County: 2,732 countWinnebago County2,732Marathon County: 2,617 countMarathon County2,617Kenosha County: 2,611 countKenosha County2,611Rock County: 2,597 countRock County2,597La Crosse County: 2,393 countLa Crosse County2,393Ozaukee County: 2,299 countOzaukee County2,299Walworth County: 2,279 countWalworth County2,279Sheboygan County: 2,104 countSheboygan County2,104Eau Claire County: 2,100 countEau Claire County2,100St. Croix County: 1,921 countSt. Croix County1,921Fond du Lac County: 1,786 countFond du Lac County1,786Jefferson County: 1,638 countJefferson County1,638Wood County: 1,465 countWood County1,465Manitowoc County: 1,448 countManitowoc County1,448Sauk County: 1,438 countSauk County1,438Dodge County: 1,434 countDodge County1,434Portage County: 1,368 countPortage County1,368Chippewa County: 1,291 countChippewa County1,291Barron County: 1,124 countBarron County1,124Oneida County: 1,122 countOneida County1,122Columbia County: 1,113 countColumbia County1,113Door County: 997 countDoor County997Grant County: 974 countGrant County974Waupaca County: 974 countWaupaca County974Polk County: 928 countPolk County928Douglas County: 849 countDouglas County849Marinette County: 849 countMarinette County849Green County: 821 countGreen County821Monroe County: 801 countMonroe County801Vilas County: 781 countVilas County781Shawano County: 779 countShawano County779Calumet County: 776 countCalumet County776Dunn County: 736 countDunn County736Milwaukee County: 13,716 countMilwaukee County13,716Dane County: 10,588 countDane County10,588Waukesha County: 9,831 countWaukesha County9,831Brown County: 5,013 countBrown County5,013Outagamie County: 3,938 countOutagamie County3,938Racine County: 3,201 countRacine County3,201Washington County: 2,739 countWashington County2,739Winnebago County: 2,732 countWinnebago County2,732Marathon County: 2,617 countMarathon County2,617Kenosha County: 2,611 countKenosha County2,611Rock County: 2,597 countRock County2,597La Crosse County: 2,393 countLa Crosse County2,393Ozaukee County: 2,299 countOzaukee County2,299Walworth County: 2,279 countWalworth County2,279Sheboygan County: 2,104 countSheboygan County2,104Eau Claire County: 2,100 countEau Claire County2,100St. Croix County: 1,921 countSt. Croix County1,921Fond du Lac County: 1,786 countFond du Lac County1,786Jefferson County: 1,638 countJefferson County1,638Wood County: 1,465 countWood County1,465Manitowoc County: 1,448 countManitowoc County1,448Sauk County: 1,438 countSauk County1,438Dodge County: 1,434 countDodge County1,434Portage County: 1,368 countPortage County1,368Chippewa County: 1,291 countChippewa County1,291Barron County: 1,124 countBarron County1,124Oneida County: 1,122 countOneida County1,122Columbia County: 1,113 countColumbia County1,113Door County: 997 countDoor County997Grant County: 974 countGrant County974Waupaca County: 974 countWaupaca County974Polk County: 928 countPolk County928Douglas County: 849 countDouglas County849Marinette County: 849 countMarinette County849Green County: 821 countGreen County821Monroe County: 801 countMonroe County801Vilas County: 781 countVilas County781Shawano County: 779 countShawano County779Calumet County: 776 countCalumet County776Dunn County: 736 countDunn County736
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Full ranking

RankCounties2018
count
Change on 2017
1Milwaukee County13,716-0.2%
2Dane County10,588+0.5%
3Waukesha County9,831+0.4%
4Brown County5,013+0.4%
5Outagamie County3,938-1.3%
6Racine County3,201-0.1%
7Washington County2,739+1%
8Winnebago County2,732+1.2%
9Marathon County2,617+0.7%
10Kenosha County2,611+1.8%
11Rock County2,597+0.1%
12La Crosse County2,393-0.4%
13Ozaukee County2,2990%
14Walworth County2,279+0.6%
15Sheboygan County2,104+0.1%
16Eau Claire County2,100-0.8%
17St. Croix County1,921+1.8%
18Fond du Lac County1,786+0.3%
19Jefferson County1,638+0.5%
20Wood County1,465-0.8%
21Manitowoc County1,448-1.2%
22Sauk County1,438-0.1%
23Dodge County1,434+0.4%
24Portage County1,368-0.3%
25Chippewa County1,291-1.2%
26Barron County1,124+0.3%
27Oneida County1,122-0.7%
28Columbia County1,113+0.6%
29Door County997+0.4%
30Grant County974-1.7%
30Waupaca County974+1%
32Polk County928-0.7%
33Douglas County849-0.6%
33Marinette County849-1.2%
35Green County821-1.1%
36Monroe County801+0.5%
37Vilas County781+4.1%
38Shawano County779+2.1%
39Calumet County776-0.4%
40Dunn County736-2.4%
41Pierce County664+0.2%
42Clark County656+1.1%
43Oconto County612-1.4%
44Lincoln County569+0.4%
45Trempealeau County540+0.9%
46Sawyer County514-1.3%
47Iowa County499+0.2%
48Vernon County491-0.8%
49Langlade County468-3.3%
50Juneau County446-0.9%
51Ashland County417-0.5%
52Taylor County414-2.6%
53Washburn County410-0.7%
54Waushara County395+0.5%
55Kewaunee County390+1.3%
56Green Lake County388-1%
57Bayfield County347-0.3%
58Price County344-0.9%
59Richland County340-0.6%
60Adams County332-2.6%
61Burnett County330-0.3%
62Jackson County323-4.7%
63Crawford County303-1.9%
64Lafayette County288-1.4%
65Buffalo County249-1.2%
66Rusk County243-3.6%
67Marquette County230-3.4%
68Pepin County192+1.6%
69Forest County185-4.1%
70Iron County164-3%
71Florence County102+1%
72Menominee County200%

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, 2018) [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, 2018. 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=2018. 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, 2018. 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=2018.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties, Counties in Wisconsin by employer firms, 2018 [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=2018 (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_wisconsin_by_2018,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Counties in Wisconsin by employer firms, 2018}},
  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=2018. 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, 2018
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=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/wisconsin-counties?period=2018.
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 13,716 in 2018, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firms?

Menominee County, with 20 in 2018.

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