Counties in Wisconsin by employer firms

Milwaukee County had the highest employer firms of 72 counties in 2020, at 13,712. Menominee County had the lowest, at 19. The median was 783 and the figure for Wisconsin was 97,028. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest13,712Milwaukee County
Median78372 counties
Wisconsin97,028History

Map of counties, 2020

Adams County: 331 countAshland County: 409 countBarron County: 1,107 countBayfield County: 359 countBrown County: 4,891 countBuffalo County: 241 countBurnett County: 324 countCalumet County: 775 countChippewa County: 1,276 countClark County: 649 countColumbia County: 1,088 countCrawford County: 296 countDane County: 10,609 countDodge County: 1,422 countDoor County: 1,011 countDouglas County: 825 countDunn County: 757 countEau Claire County: 2,101 countFlorence County: 96 countFond du Lac County: 1,779 countForest County: 180 countGrant County: 956 countGreen County: 830 countGreen Lake County: 378 countIowa County: 481 countIron County: 160 countJackson County: 320 countJefferson County: 1,643 countJuneau County: 434 countKenosha County: 2,618 countKewaunee County: 384 countLa Crosse County: 2,425 countLafayette County: 284 countLanglade County: 480 countLincoln County: 563 countManitowoc County: 1,428 countMarathon County: 2,609 countMarinette County: 822 countMarquette County: 232 countMenominee County: 19 countMilwaukee County: 13,712 countMonroe County: 791 countOconto County: 605 countOneida County: 1,098 countOutagamie County: 3,989 countOzaukee County: 2,294 countPepin County: 184 countPierce County: 642 countPolk County: 947 countPortage County: 1,377 countPrice County: 329 countRacine County: 3,196 countRichland County: 328 countRock County: 2,629 countRusk County: 240 countSt. Croix County: 1,901 countSauk County: 1,440 countSawyer County: 499 countShawano County: 763 countSheboygan County: 2,106 countTaylor County: 408 countTrempealeau County: 534 countVernon County: 485 countVilas County: 775 countWalworth County: 2,270 countWashburn County: 410 countWashington County: 2,741 countWaukesha County: 9,803 countWaupaca County: 976 countWaushara County: 394 countWinnebago County: 2,774 countWood County: 1,440 count
  • Under 300
  • 300 to 500
  • 500 to 800
  • 800 to 1,300
  • 1,300 to 2,300
  • 2,300 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

Milwaukee County: 13,712 countMilwaukee County13,712Dane County: 10,609 countDane County10,609Waukesha County: 9,803 countWaukesha County9,803Brown County: 4,891 countBrown County4,891Outagamie County: 3,989 countOutagamie County3,989Racine County: 3,196 countRacine County3,196Winnebago County: 2,774 countWinnebago County2,774Washington County: 2,741 countWashington County2,741Rock County: 2,629 countRock County2,629Kenosha County: 2,618 countKenosha County2,618Marathon County: 2,609 countMarathon County2,609La Crosse County: 2,425 countLa Crosse County2,425Ozaukee County: 2,294 countOzaukee County2,294Walworth County: 2,270 countWalworth County2,270Sheboygan County: 2,106 countSheboygan County2,106Eau Claire County: 2,101 countEau Claire County2,101St. Croix County: 1,901 countSt. Croix County1,901Fond du Lac County: 1,779 countFond du Lac County1,779Jefferson County: 1,643 countJefferson County1,643Sauk County: 1,440 countSauk County1,440Wood County: 1,440 countWood County1,440Manitowoc County: 1,428 countManitowoc County1,428Dodge County: 1,422 countDodge County1,422Portage County: 1,377 countPortage County1,377Chippewa County: 1,276 countChippewa County1,276Barron County: 1,107 countBarron County1,107Oneida County: 1,098 countOneida County1,098Columbia County: 1,088 countColumbia County1,088Door County: 1,011 countDoor County1,011Waupaca County: 976 countWaupaca County976Grant County: 956 countGrant County956Polk County: 947 countPolk County947Green County: 830 countGreen County830Douglas County: 825 countDouglas County825Marinette County: 822 countMarinette County822Monroe County: 791 countMonroe County791Calumet County: 775 countCalumet County775Vilas County: 775 countVilas County775Shawano County: 763 countShawano County763Dunn County: 757 countDunn County757Milwaukee County: 13,712 countMilwaukee County13,712Dane County: 10,609 countDane County10,609Waukesha County: 9,803 countWaukesha County9,803Brown County: 4,891 countBrown County4,891Outagamie County: 3,989 countOutagamie County3,989Racine County: 3,196 countRacine County3,196Winnebago County: 2,774 countWinnebago County2,774Washington County: 2,741 countWashington County2,741Rock County: 2,629 countRock County2,629Kenosha County: 2,618 countKenosha County2,618Marathon County: 2,609 countMarathon County2,609La Crosse County: 2,425 countLa Crosse County2,425Ozaukee County: 2,294 countOzaukee County2,294Walworth County: 2,270 countWalworth County2,270Sheboygan County: 2,106 countSheboygan County2,106Eau Claire County: 2,101 countEau Claire County2,101St. Croix County: 1,901 countSt. Croix County1,901Fond du Lac County: 1,779 countFond du Lac County1,779Jefferson County: 1,643 countJefferson County1,643Sauk County: 1,440 countSauk County1,440Wood County: 1,440 countWood County1,440Manitowoc County: 1,428 countManitowoc County1,428Dodge County: 1,422 countDodge County1,422Portage County: 1,377 countPortage County1,377Chippewa County: 1,276 countChippewa County1,276Barron County: 1,107 countBarron County1,107Oneida County: 1,098 countOneida County1,098Columbia County: 1,088 countColumbia County1,088Door County: 1,011 countDoor County1,011Waupaca County: 976 countWaupaca County976Grant County: 956 countGrant County956Polk County: 947 countPolk County947Green County: 830 countGreen County830Douglas County: 825 countDouglas County825Marinette County: 822 countMarinette County822Monroe County: 791 countMonroe County791Calumet County: 775 countCalumet County775Vilas County: 775 countVilas County775Shawano County: 763 countShawano County763Dunn County: 757 countDunn County757
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
1Milwaukee County13,712-0.2%
2Dane County10,609-0.3%
3Waukesha County9,803+0.3%
4Brown County4,891-2%
5Outagamie County3,989+0.9%
6Racine County3,196-1.1%
7Winnebago County2,774-0.8%
8Washington County2,741+0.2%
9Rock County2,629-0.4%
10Kenosha County2,618-1.5%
11Marathon County2,609-0.5%
12La Crosse County2,425+2.2%
13Ozaukee County2,294-0.6%
14Walworth County2,270-0%
15Sheboygan County2,106-0.3%
16Eau Claire County2,101-0.3%
17St. Croix County1,901-1.4%
18Fond du Lac County1,779-0.7%
19Jefferson County1,643-0.4%
20Sauk County1,440-0.5%
20Wood County1,440-0.7%
22Manitowoc County1,428-1.2%
23Dodge County1,422-0.6%
24Portage County1,377+0.3%
25Chippewa County1,276+0.1%
26Barron County1,107-1.2%
27Oneida County1,098-0.1%
28Columbia County1,088-0.5%
29Door County1,011+0.6%
30Waupaca County976+0.4%
31Grant County956-1.7%
32Polk County947+2.3%
33Green County830-0.1%
34Douglas County825-1%
35Marinette County822-4.2%
36Monroe County791-1.2%
37Calumet County775+0.8%
37Vilas County775-0.3%
39Shawano County763-2.2%
40Dunn County757+1.5%
41Clark County649-0.5%
42Pierce County642-0.3%
43Oconto County605-2.7%
44Lincoln County563-0.9%
45Trempealeau County534-1.8%
46Sawyer County499-2.5%
47Vernon County485-1.2%
48Iowa County481+0.4%
49Langlade County480+0.6%
50Juneau County434-4.6%
51Washburn County410+1%
52Ashland County409+0.5%
53Taylor County4080%
54Waushara County394-0.8%
55Kewaunee County384-2.3%
56Green Lake County378-0.3%
57Bayfield County359+0.8%
58Adams County331+0.3%
59Price County329-2.9%
60Richland County328-2.7%
61Burnett County324+1.3%
62Jackson County320-3%
63Crawford County296-2.3%
64Lafayette County284-3.1%
65Buffalo County241-2.8%
66Rusk County240-3.2%
67Marquette County232-1.3%
68Pepin County184-1.6%
69Forest County180-2.2%
70Iron County160-1.8%
71Florence County96-5%
72Menominee County190%

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, 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 Wisconsin 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/wisconsin-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 Wisconsin 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/wisconsin-counties?period=2020.

Harvard

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

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_wisconsin_by_2020,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Counties in Wisconsin 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/wisconsin-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 Wisconsin 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/wisconsin-counties?period=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/wisconsin-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?

Milwaukee County, with 13,712 in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firms?

Menominee County, with 19 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 Wisconsin: more rankings