Business Formation Pulse · ND counties
North Dakota Business Applications by County
Explore annual Census business applications across North Dakota. Bubble size shows application volume; color can show volume or year-over-year change.
Latest year: 2025 · 53 countiesInteractive county map
Where are business applications concentrated?
Choose a year and map view, then select a bubble or ranking bar for exact county context.
Light to dark: lower to higher application volumeBubble size: applications
County points use official Census internal coordinates. Values are protected estimates from the published annual BFS county file.
County ranking
Highest application counties
The ranking follows the selected year and map measure. Select a bar to inspect that county.
All counties
Ranked by 2025 business applications
| Rank | County | Applications | vs. prior year | Share of state |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cass County | 2,650 | +8.3% | 29.7% |
| 2 | Burleigh County | 1,058 | +2.4% | 11.9% |
| 3 | Williams County | 749 | +7.6% | 8.4% |
| 4 | Grand Forks County | 628 | +15.0% | 7.0% |
| 5 | Ward County | 623 | +8.5% | 7.0% |
| 6 | Stark County | 463 | +9.2% | 5.2% |
| 7 | Morton County | 353 | +1.4% | 4.0% |
| 8 | McKenzie County | 264 | +1.9% | 3.0% |
| 9 | Stutsman County | 183 | +12.3% | 2.1% |
| 10 | Mountrail County | 138 | +2.2% | 1.5% |
| 11 | Richland County | 124 | +2.5% | 1.4% |
| 12 | Barnes County | 115 | +16.2% | 1.3% |
| 13 | Walsh County | 107 | +12.6% | 1.2% |
| 14 | Pembina County | 85 | +30.8% | 1.0% |
| 15 | Ransom County | 80 | +35.6% | 0.9% |
| 16 | McLean County | 76 | -14.6% | 0.9% |
| 17 | Mercer County | 75 | +33.9% | 0.8% |
| 18 | Rolette County | 75 | -29.9% | 0.8% |
| 19 | Ramsey County | 73 | -14.1% | 0.8% |
| 20 | Bottineau County | 71 | -16.5% | 0.8% |
| 21 | Dunn County | 67 | -23.9% | 0.8% |
| 22 | Traill County | 62 | -27.1% | 0.7% |
| 23 | McHenry County | 50 | -13.8% | 0.6% |
| 24 | Sargent County | 44 | +4.8% | 0.5% |
| 25 | Bowman County | 40 | +8.1% | 0.4% |
| 26 | LaMoure County | 38 | +65.2% | 0.4% |
| 27 | Cavalier County | 36 | -5.3% | 0.4% |
| 28 | Dickey County | 34 | -17.1% | 0.4% |
| 29 | Pierce County | 34 | +112.5% | 0.4% |
| 30 | Nelson County | 32 | -5.9% | 0.4% |
| 31 | Wells County | 32 | -3.0% | 0.4% |
| 32 | Adams County | 31 | +19.2% | 0.3% |
| 33 | McIntosh County | 30 | +50.0% | 0.3% |
| 34 | Logan County | 28 | +12.0% | 0.3% |
| 35 | Foster County | 27 | -6.9% | 0.3% |
| 36 | Grant County | 27 | +22.7% | 0.3% |
| 37 | Benson County | 26 | 0.0% | 0.3% |
| 38 | Hettinger County | 25 | +38.9% | 0.3% |
| 39 | Oliver County | 25 | +25.0% | 0.3% |
| 40 | Steele County | 25 | +150.0% | 0.3% |
| 41 | Renville County | 23 | +91.7% | 0.3% |
| 42 | Emmons County | 22 | -24.1% | 0.2% |
| 43 | Towner County | 22 | -18.5% | 0.2% |
| 44 | Griggs County | 20 | +11.1% | 0.2% |
| 45 | Billings County | 19 | +35.7% | 0.2% |
| 46 | Divide County | 19 | -9.5% | 0.2% |
| 47 | Kidder County | 19 | -45.7% | 0.2% |
| 48 | Burke County | 16 | -51.5% | 0.2% |
| 49 | Slope County | 11 | +37.5% | 0.1% |
| 50 | Golden Valley County | 10 | -66.7% | 0.1% |
| 51 | Eddy County | 9 | -40.0% | 0.1% |
| 52 | Sioux County | 8 | -68.0% | 0.1% |
| 53 | Sheridan County | 7 | -58.8% | 0.1% |
