Counties in Wisconsin by employer firms

Milwaukee County had the highest employer firms of 72 counties in 2021, at 13,911. Menominee County had the lowest, at 20. The median was 794 and the figure for Wisconsin was 96,988. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest13,911Milwaukee County
Median79472 counties
Wisconsin96,988History

Map of counties, 2021

Adams County: 343 countAshland County: 412 countBarron County: 1,102 countBayfield County: 351 countBrown County: 4,918 countBuffalo County: 243 countBurnett County: 343 countCalumet County: 784 countChippewa County: 1,277 countClark County: 647 countColumbia County: 1,105 countCrawford County: 307 countDane County: 10,596 countDodge County: 1,401 countDoor County: 996 countDouglas County: 817 countDunn County: 745 countEau Claire County: 2,098 countFlorence County: 94 countFond du Lac County: 1,764 countForest County: 180 countGrant County: 936 countGreen County: 834 countGreen Lake County: 373 countIowa County: 483 countIron County: 154 countJackson County: 317 countJefferson County: 1,638 countJuneau County: 427 countKenosha County: 2,643 countKewaunee County: 384 countLa Crosse County: 2,363 countLafayette County: 284 countLanglade County: 479 countLincoln County: 556 countManitowoc County: 1,410 countMarathon County: 2,589 countMarinette County: 803 countMarquette County: 226 countMenominee County: 20 countMilwaukee County: 13,911 countMonroe County: 809 countOconto County: 601 countOneida County: 1,079 countOutagamie County: 3,995 countOzaukee County: 2,274 countPepin County: 174 countPierce County: 645 countPolk County: 936 countPortage County: 1,336 countPrice County: 318 countRacine County: 3,194 countRichland County: 311 countRock County: 2,626 countRusk County: 245 countSt. Croix County: 1,912 countSauk County: 1,418 countSawyer County: 499 countShawano County: 762 countSheboygan County: 2,090 countTaylor County: 418 countTrempealeau County: 538 countVernon County: 509 countVilas County: 758 countWalworth County: 2,279 countWashburn County: 407 countWashington County: 2,763 countWaukesha County: 9,764 countWaupaca County: 967 countWaushara County: 385 countWinnebago County: 2,766 countWood County: 1,423 count
  • Under 300
  • 300 to 500
  • 500 to 800
  • 800 to 1,300
  • 1,300 to 2,300
  • 2,300 and over
count, 2021. 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, 2021

Milwaukee County: 13,911 countMilwaukee County13,911Dane County: 10,596 countDane County10,596Waukesha County: 9,764 countWaukesha County9,764Brown County: 4,918 countBrown County4,918Outagamie County: 3,995 countOutagamie County3,995Racine County: 3,194 countRacine County3,194Winnebago County: 2,766 countWinnebago County2,766Washington County: 2,763 countWashington County2,763Kenosha County: 2,643 countKenosha County2,643Rock County: 2,626 countRock County2,626Marathon County: 2,589 countMarathon County2,589La Crosse County: 2,363 countLa Crosse County2,363Walworth County: 2,279 countWalworth County2,279Ozaukee County: 2,274 countOzaukee County2,274Eau Claire County: 2,098 countEau Claire County2,098Sheboygan County: 2,090 countSheboygan County2,090St. Croix County: 1,912 countSt. Croix County1,912Fond du Lac County: 1,764 countFond du Lac County1,764Jefferson County: 1,638 countJefferson County1,638Wood County: 1,423 countWood County1,423Sauk County: 1,418 countSauk County1,418Manitowoc County: 1,410 countManitowoc County1,410Dodge County: 1,401 countDodge County1,401Portage County: 1,336 countPortage County1,336Chippewa County: 1,277 countChippewa County1,277Columbia County: 1,105 countColumbia County1,105Barron County: 1,102 countBarron County1,102Oneida County: 1,079 countOneida County1,079Door County: 996 countDoor County996Waupaca County: 967 countWaupaca County967Grant County: 936 countGrant County936Polk County: 936 countPolk County936Green County: 834 countGreen County834Douglas County: 817 countDouglas County817Monroe County: 809 countMonroe County809Marinette County: 803 countMarinette County803Calumet County: 784 countCalumet County784Shawano County: 762 countShawano County762Vilas County: 758 countVilas County758Dunn County: 745 countDunn County745Milwaukee County: 13,911 countMilwaukee County13,911Dane County: 10,596 countDane County10,596Waukesha County: 9,764 countWaukesha County9,764Brown County: 4,918 countBrown County4,918Outagamie County: 3,995 countOutagamie County3,995Racine County: 3,194 countRacine County3,194Winnebago County: 2,766 countWinnebago County2,766Washington County: 2,763 countWashington County2,763Kenosha County: 2,643 countKenosha County2,643Rock County: 2,626 countRock County2,626Marathon County: 2,589 countMarathon County2,589La Crosse County: 2,363 countLa Crosse County2,363Walworth County: 2,279 countWalworth County2,279Ozaukee County: 2,274 countOzaukee County2,274Eau Claire County: 2,098 countEau Claire County2,098Sheboygan County: 2,090 countSheboygan County2,090St. Croix County: 1,912 countSt. Croix County1,912Fond du Lac County: 1,764 countFond du Lac County1,764Jefferson County: 1,638 countJefferson County1,638Wood County: 1,423 countWood County1,423Sauk County: 1,418 countSauk County1,418Manitowoc County: 1,410 countManitowoc County1,410Dodge County: 1,401 countDodge County1,401Portage County: 1,336 countPortage County1,336Chippewa County: 1,277 countChippewa County1,277Columbia County: 1,105 countColumbia County1,105Barron County: 1,102 countBarron County1,102Oneida County: 1,079 countOneida County1,079Door County: 996 countDoor County996Waupaca County: 967 countWaupaca County967Grant County: 936 countGrant County936Polk County: 936 countPolk County936Green County: 834 countGreen County834Douglas County: 817 countDouglas County817Monroe County: 809 countMonroe County809Marinette County: 803 countMarinette County803Calumet County: 784 countCalumet County784Shawano County: 762 countShawano County762Vilas County: 758 countVilas County758Dunn County: 745 countDunn County745
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Full ranking

RankCounties2021
count
Change on 2020
1Milwaukee County13,911+1.5%
2Dane County10,596-0.1%
3Waukesha County9,764-0.4%
4Brown County4,918+0.6%
5Outagamie County3,995+0.2%
6Racine County3,194-0.1%
7Winnebago County2,766-0.3%
8Washington County2,763+0.8%
9Kenosha County2,643+1%
10Rock County2,626-0.1%
11Marathon County2,589-0.8%
12La Crosse County2,363-2.6%
13Walworth County2,279+0.4%
14Ozaukee County2,274-0.9%
15Eau Claire County2,098-0.1%
16Sheboygan County2,090-0.8%
17St. Croix County1,912+0.6%
18Fond du Lac County1,764-0.8%
19Jefferson County1,638-0.3%
20Wood County1,423-1.2%
21Sauk County1,418-1.5%
22Manitowoc County1,410-1.3%
23Dodge County1,401-1.5%
24Portage County1,336-3%
25Chippewa County1,277+0.1%
26Columbia County1,105+1.6%
27Barron County1,102-0.5%
28Oneida County1,079-1.7%
29Door County996-1.5%
30Waupaca County967-0.9%
31Grant County936-2.1%
31Polk County936-1.2%
33Green County834+0.5%
34Douglas County817-1%
35Monroe County809+2.3%
36Marinette County803-2.3%
37Calumet County784+1.2%
38Shawano County762-0.1%
39Vilas County758-2.2%
40Dunn County745-1.6%
41Clark County647-0.3%
42Pierce County645+0.5%
43Oconto County601-0.7%
44Lincoln County556-1.2%
45Trempealeau County538+0.7%
46Vernon County509+4.9%
47Sawyer County4990%
48Iowa County483+0.4%
49Langlade County479-0.2%
50Juneau County427-1.6%
51Taylor County418+2.5%
52Ashland County412+0.7%
53Washburn County407-0.7%
54Waushara County385-2.3%
55Kewaunee County3840%
56Green Lake County373-1.3%
57Bayfield County351-2.2%
58Adams County343+3.6%
58Burnett County343+5.9%
60Price County318-3.3%
61Jackson County317-0.9%
62Richland County311-5.2%
63Crawford County307+3.7%
64Lafayette County2840%
65Rusk County245+2.1%
66Buffalo County243+0.8%
67Marquette County226-2.6%
68Forest County1800%
69Pepin County174-5.4%
70Iron County154-3.8%
71Florence County94-2.1%
72Menominee County20+5.3%

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, 2021) [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, 2021. 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=2021. 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, 2021. 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=2021.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties, Counties in Wisconsin by employer firms, 2021 [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=2021 (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_wisconsin_by_2021,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Counties in Wisconsin by employer firms, 2021}},
  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=2021. 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, 2021
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=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/wisconsin-counties?period=2021.
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 13,911 in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firms?

Menominee County, with 20 in 2021.

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