Data / Employer firm births / Shelby County

Employer firm births in Shelby County

Employer firm births in Shelby County was 969 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That is down 1% from 2022. That is the 2nd highest of 92 counties in 2023.

2023, count969
Change on 2022-1%
Rank2nd of 92Counties in Tennessee ranked
Series high1,6221984
Series low7872014
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Employer firm births in Shelby County, 1978 to 2023

6008001,0001,2001,4001,6001,80019781985199219992006201320231978: 1,471 count1979: 1,451 count1980: 1,396 count1981: 1,249 count1982: 1,279 count1983: 1,350 count1984: 1,622 count1985: 1,487 count1986: 1,586 count1987: 1,478 count1988: 1,496 count1989: 1,493 count1990: 1,397 count1991: 1,268 count1992: 1,232 count1993: 1,315 count1994: 1,338 count1995: 1,284 count1996: 1,268 count1997: 1,265 count1998: 1,212 count1999: 1,145 count2000: 1,085 count2001: 1,049 count2002: 1,100 count2003: 1,135 count2004: 1,231 count2005: 1,166 count2006: 1,208 count2007: 1,043 count2008: 993 count2009: 801 count2010: 804 count2011: 873 count2012: 814 count2013: 818 count2014: 787 count2015: 843 count2016: 822 count2017: 866 count2018: 866 count2019: 848 count2020: 969 count2021: 1,262 count2022: 979 count2023: 969 count7501,0001,2501,5001,75019781994201020231978: 1,471 count1979: 1,451 count1980: 1,396 count1981: 1,249 count1982: 1,279 count1983: 1,350 count1984: 1,622 count1985: 1,487 count1986: 1,586 count1987: 1,478 count1988: 1,496 count1989: 1,493 count1990: 1,397 count1991: 1,268 count1992: 1,232 count1993: 1,315 count1994: 1,338 count1995: 1,284 count1996: 1,268 count1997: 1,265 count1998: 1,212 count1999: 1,145 count2000: 1,085 count2001: 1,049 count2002: 1,100 count2003: 1,135 count2004: 1,231 count2005: 1,166 count2006: 1,208 count2007: 1,043 count2008: 993 count2009: 801 count2010: 804 count2011: 873 count2012: 814 count2013: 818 count2014: 787 count2015: 843 count2016: 822 count2017: 866 count2018: 866 count2019: 848 count2020: 969 count2021: 1,262 count2022: 979 count2023: 969 count
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978. Retrieved 2026-10-22, published 2025-09-25.
All 46 values
Periodcount
2023969
2022979
20211,262
2020969
2019848
2018866
2017866
2016822
2015843
2014787
2013818
2012814
2011873
2010804
2009801
2008993
20071,043
20061,208
20051,166
20041,231
20031,135
20021,100
20011,049
20001,085
19991,145
19981,212
19971,265
19961,268
19951,284
19941,338
19931,315
19921,232
19911,268
19901,397
19891,493
19881,496
19871,478
19861,586
19851,487
19841,622
19831,350
19821,279
19811,249
19801,396
19791,451
19781,471

Compared with Tennessee and United States

Place2023
Shelby County969
Tennessee8,740
United States508,777

Shelby County compared with nearby places

Anderson County: 90 countBedford County: 58 countBenton County: 8 countBledsoe County: 4 countBlount County: 138 countBradley County: 97 countCampbell County: 38 countCannon County: 14 countCarroll County: 23 countCarter County: 47 countCheatham County: 48 countChester County: 8 countClaiborne County: 25 countClay County: 6 countCocke County: 21 countCoffee County: 60 countCrockett County: 12 countCumberland County: 66 countDavidson County: 1,394 countDecatur County: 15 countDeKalb County: 24 countDickson County: 68 countDyer County: 32 countFayette County: 51 countFentress County: 25 countFranklin County: 53 countGibson County: 46 countGiles County: 31 countGrainger County: 17 countGreene County: 57 countGrundy County: 6 countHamblen County: 64 countHamilton County: 563 countHardeman County: 9 countHardin County: 36 countHawkins County: 36 countHaywood County: 14 countHenderson County: 31 countHenry County: 39 countHickman County: 20 countHouston County: 12 countHumphreys County: 14 countJackson County: 12 countJefferson County: 52 countJohnson County: 20 countKnox County: 688 countLauderdale County: 14 countLawrence County: 36 countLewis County: 15 countLincoln County: 41 countLoudon County: 71 countMcMinn County: 40 countMcNairy County: 25 countMacon County: 22 countMadison County: 108 countMarion County: 29 countMarshall County: 35 countMaury County: 127 countMeigs County: 4 countMonroe County: 45 countMontgomery County: 260 countMoore County: 4 countMorgan County: 8 countObion County: 27 countOverton County: 24 countPerry County: 9 countPickett County: 5 countPolk County: 17 countPutnam County: 106 countRhea County: 34 countRoane County: 41 countRobertson County: 101 countRutherford County: 430 countScott County: 26 countSequatchie County: 18 countSevier County: 158 countShelby County: 969 countSmith County: 24 countStewart County: 12 countSullivan County: 140 countSumner County: 285 countTipton County: 39 countTrousdale County: 9 countUnicoi County: 11 countUnion County: 10 countWarren County: 36 countWashington County: 160 countWayne County: 13 countWeakley County: 33 countWhite County: 25 countWilliamson County: 673 countWilson County: 244 count
  • Under 10
  • 10 to 20
  • 20 to 30
  • 30 to 50
  • 50 to 110
  • 110 and over
  • No data
Employer firm births, 2023, count. Shelby County is outlined. Same source and period for every area shown. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Rankings

Definition

New employer firms: firms of age zero in March of the year, meaning that every establishment of the firm had its first employees during the previous twelve months. United States: Census Bureau Business Dynamics Statistics, which calls these firms startups.

A firm counts only when it has employees, so a business without staff is not a birth, and a new branch, merger or change of ownership of an existing firm is not a birth either. Not the same as business_applications (requests for an employer number) or enterprise_births (European business demography). The year is the twelve months to March: 2023 compares March 2022 with March 2023.

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How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty_fac.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-22.

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 by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978 (Employer firm births, Shelby County, 1978 to 2023) [Data set]. Retrieved October 22, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty_fac.csv

MLA 9

Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978, Employer firm births, Shelby County, 1978 to 2023. U.S. Census Bureau, 25 Sept. 2025, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty_fac.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/employer-firm-births/shelby-county-tennessee. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2025. Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978. Employer firm births, Shelby County, 1978 to 2023. Dataset. Accessed October 22, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty_fac.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/employer-firm-births/shelby-county-tennessee.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978, Employer firm births, Shelby County, 1978 to 2023 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty_fac.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/en/employer-firm-births/shelby-county-tennessee (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_employer_firm_births_shelby_2023,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978: Employer firm births, Shelby County, 1978 to 2023}},
  year = {2025},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty_fac.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-22},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/employer-firm-births/shelby-county-tennessee. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023\_st\_cty\_fac.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-22.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978: Employer firm births, Shelby County, 1978 to 2023
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_fac.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/en/employer-firm-births/shelby-county-tennessee
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/employer-firm-births/shelby-county-tennessee.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty_fac.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-22.
ER  -
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Questions

What is the employer firm births in Shelby County?

Employer firm births in Shelby County was 969 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That is down 1% from 2022. That is the 2nd highest of 92 counties in 2023.

Where does this figure come from?

U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978. Retrieved by Invokely on 2026-10-22.

What was the highest employer firm births in Shelby County?

1,622 in 1984, the highest value since 1978 in this series.

Related statistics for Shelby County

All statistics for Shelby County | Shelby County in figures