Los Angeles County reached 604,743 private establishments across all industries in the third quarter of 2025, according to data published March 10, 2026, by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and made available through the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis's FRED database. The figure marks the highest level on record and caps a seven-year climb from fewer than 482,000 establishments at the start of 2018. The data comes from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, which tracks economic units such as factories, stores, mines, and offices operating in the county.

Quarterly count of private establishments across all industries in Los Angeles County, California, from Q1 2018 through Q3 2025, showing steady growth from 481,353 to a record 604,743.

The third quarter 2025 count represents a jump of 13,844 establishments from Q2 2025's 590,899, and 33,088 more than the 571,655 recorded in Q3 2024—a year-over-year increase of 5.8%. The county has added more than 123,000 private establishments since the first quarter of 2018, when the count stood at 481,353. Growth accelerated notably starting in 2024: the county added 17,929 establishments between Q3 2024 and Q4 2024 alone, then tacked on another 19,085 establishments across the first three quarters of 2025. Quarter-to-quarter changes have been consistently positive since Q2 2024, with the sole exception of a minor dip of 984 establishments between Q4 2024 and Q1 2025.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics defines an establishment as "an economic unit, such as a factory, mine, store, or office that produces goods or services" and notes that it "generally is at a single location and is engaged predominantly in one type of economic activity." The data notes specify that where a single location encompasses two or more distinct activities, "these are treated as separate establishments, if separate payroll records are available, and the various activities are classified under different industry codes." The figures are not seasonally adjusted and were retrieved from the BLS API on the update date of March 10, 2026.

The steady rise in private establishments reflects Los Angeles County's expanding business footprint, though the data itself doesn't break down which industries or sectors are driving the growth. The establishment count captures the breadth of economic activity—each new store, office, or production facility adds to the total, signaling more locations where goods are made or services delivered. The consistent upward trajectory since early 2024, with gains of nearly 20,000 establishments in just the past year, suggests businesses are opening new locations faster than they're closing them. With the Q3 2025 figure now topping 604,000, Los Angeles County's private sector has rebuilt well beyond pre-pandemic levels and continues to expand its operational base across all industries combined.