Counties in Alabama by employer firm births

Jefferson County had the highest employer firm births of 66 counties in 2016, at 750. Perry County had the lowest, at 3. The median was 27 and the figure for Alabama was 4,730. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Median2766 counties
Alabama4,730History

Map of counties, 2016

Autauga County: 34 countBaldwin County: 337 countBarbour County: 17 countBibb County: 10 countBlount County: 43 countBullock County: 5 countButler County: 12 countCalhoun County: 105 countChambers County: 37 countCherokee County: 19 countChilton County: 39 countChoctaw County: 13 countClarke County: 19 countClay County: 8 countCleburne County: 10 countCoffee County: 34 countColbert County: 51 countConecuh County: 8 countCoosa County: 7 countCovington County: 23 countCrenshaw County: 11 countCullman County: 75 countDale County: 33 countDallas County: 21 countDeKalb County: 48 countElmore County: 69 countEscambia County: 28 countEtowah County: 90 countFayette County: 10 countFranklin County: 16 countGeneva County: 27 countGreene County: 6 countHale County: 6 countHenry County: 22 countHouston County: 126 countJackson County: 38 countJefferson County: 750 countLamar County: 5 countLauderdale County: 93 countLawrence County: 16 countLee County: 174 countLimestone County: 95 countMacon County: 15 countMadison County: 416 countMarengo County: 19 countMarion County: 18 countMarshall County: 76 countMobile County: 404 countMonroe County: 13 countMontgomery County: 244 countMorgan County: 105 countPerry County: 3 countPickens County: 9 countPike County: 27 countRandolph County: 14 countRussell County: 29 countSt. Clair County: 82 countShelby County: 318 countSumter County: 7 countTalladega County: 43 countTallapoosa County: 33 countTuscaloosa County: 183 countWalker County: 53 countWashington County: 14 countWilcox County: 12 countWinston County: 21 count
  • Under 10
  • 10 to 16
  • 16 to 27
  • 27 to 43
  • 43 to 97
  • 97 and over
  • No data
count, 2016. Hatched areas have no value for this period. 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. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 2016

Jefferson County: 750 countJefferson County750Madison County: 416 countMadison County416Mobile County: 404 countMobile County404Baldwin County: 337 countBaldwin County337Shelby County: 318 countShelby County318Montgomery County: 244 countMontgomery County244Tuscaloosa County: 183 countTuscaloosa County183Lee County: 174 countLee County174Houston County: 126 countHouston County126Calhoun County: 105 countCalhoun County105Morgan County: 105 countMorgan County105Limestone County: 95 countLimestone County95Lauderdale County: 93 countLauderdale County93Etowah County: 90 countEtowah County90St. Clair County: 82 countSt. Clair County82Marshall County: 76 countMarshall County76Cullman County: 75 countCullman County75Elmore County: 69 countElmore County69Walker County: 53 countWalker County53Colbert County: 51 countColbert County51DeKalb County: 48 countDeKalb County48Blount County: 43 countBlount County43Talladega County: 43 countTalladega County43Chilton County: 39 countChilton County39Jackson County: 38 countJackson County38Chambers County: 37 countChambers County37Autauga County: 34 countAutauga County34Coffee County: 34 countCoffee County34Dale County: 33 countDale County33Tallapoosa County: 33 countTallapoosa County33Russell County: 29 countRussell County29Escambia County: 28 countEscambia County28Geneva County: 27 countGeneva County27Pike County: 27 countPike County27Covington County: 23 countCovington County23Henry County: 22 countHenry County22Dallas County: 21 countDallas County21Winston County: 21 countWinston County21Cherokee County: 19 countCherokee County19Clarke County: 19 countClarke County19Jefferson County: 750 countJefferson County750Madison County: 416 countMadison County416Mobile County: 404 countMobile County404Baldwin County: 337 countBaldwin County337Shelby County: 318 countShelby County318Montgomery County: 244 countMontgomery County244Tuscaloosa County: 183 countTuscaloosa County183Lee County: 174 countLee County174Houston County: 126 countHouston County126Calhoun County: 105 countCalhoun County105Morgan County: 105 countMorgan County105Limestone County: 95 countLimestone County95Lauderdale County: 93 countLauderdale County93Etowah County: 90 countEtowah County90St. Clair County: 82 countSt. Clair County82Marshall County: 76 countMarshall County76Cullman County: 75 countCullman County75Elmore County: 69 countElmore County69Walker County: 53 countWalker County53Colbert County: 51 countColbert County51DeKalb County: 48 countDeKalb County48Blount County: 43 countBlount County43Talladega County: 43 countTalladega County43Chilton County: 39 countChilton County39Jackson County: 38 countJackson County38Chambers County: 37 countChambers County37Autauga County: 34 countAutauga County34Coffee County: 34 countCoffee County34Dale County: 33 countDale County33Tallapoosa County: 33 countTallapoosa County33Russell County: 29 countRussell County29Escambia County: 28 countEscambia County28Geneva County: 27 countGeneva County27Pike County: 27 countPike County27Covington County: 23 countCovington County23Henry County: 22 countHenry County22Dallas County: 21 countDallas County21Winston County: 21 countWinston County21Cherokee County: 19 countCherokee County19Clarke County: 19 countClarke County19
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.

Full ranking

RankCounties2016
count
Change on 2015
1Jefferson County750+10.1%
2Madison County416+13.4%
3Mobile County404+13.2%
4Baldwin County337+2.7%
5Shelby County318+13.6%
6Montgomery County244+19%
7Tuscaloosa County183-4.7%
8Lee County174+6.1%
9Houston County126+14.5%
10Calhoun County105+20.7%
10Morgan County105+12.9%
12Limestone County95+50.8%
13Lauderdale County93+22.4%
14Etowah County90+23.3%
15St. Clair County82+12.3%
16Marshall County76-7.3%
17Cullman County75+4.2%
18Elmore County69+16.9%
19Walker County53+6%
20Colbert County51-10.5%
21DeKalb County48+6.7%
22Blount County43+43.3%
22Talladega County43-8.5%
24Chilton County39-18.8%
25Jackson County38+31%
26Chambers County37+23.3%
27Autauga County34-15%
27Coffee County34-40.4%
29Dale County33+43.5%
29Tallapoosa County33-2.9%
31Russell County29-27.5%
32Escambia County28-24.3%
33Geneva County27+68.8%
33Pike County27-6.9%
35Covington County23-42.5%
36Henry County22+46.7%
37Dallas County21-32.3%
37Winston County21+16.7%
39Cherokee County19+90%
39Clarke County19+5.6%
39Marengo County19-13.6%
42Marion County18-33.3%
43Barbour County17+70%
44Franklin County16-27.3%
44Lawrence County16-15.8%
46Macon County15+36.4%
47Randolph County14-30%
47Washington County14+180%
49Choctaw County13+85.7%
49Monroe County13-7.1%
51Butler County12-7.7%
51Wilcox County12+100%
53Crenshaw County11+57.1%
54Bibb County10-37.5%
54Cleburne County10-16.7%
54Fayette County10-9.1%
57Pickens County9-10%
58Clay County8+33.3%
58Conecuh County8+14.3%
60Coosa County7+133.3%
60Sumter County7-30%
62Greene County60%
62Hale County60%
64Bullock County5n/a
64Lamar County5-58.3%
66Perry County3-25%

Other periods

About this ranking

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.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. 1 counties with data in other periods have no value for 2016 and are left out rather than filled from another source. Equal values share a rank.

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 (Counties in Alabama by employer firm births, 2016) [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, Counties in Alabama by employer firm births, 2016. 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/rankings/employer-firm-births/alabama-counties?period=2016. 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. Counties in Alabama by employer firm births, 2016. 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/rankings/employer-firm-births/alabama-counties?period=2016.

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, Counties in Alabama by employer firm births, 2016 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty_fac.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/alabama-counties?period=2016 (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_alabama_by_2016,
  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: Counties in Alabama by employer firm births, 2016}},
  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/rankings/employer-firm-births/alabama-counties?period=2016. 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: Counties in Alabama by employer firm births, 2016
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/rankings/employer-firm-births/alabama-counties?period=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/alabama-counties?period=2016.
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

Which county has the highest employer firm births?

Jefferson County, with 750 in 2016, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firm births?

Perry County, with 3 in 2016.

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 by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978. Retrieved 2026-10-22. 1 counties have no value for 2016 and are not ranked.

Employer firm births: other rankings

Counties in Alabama: more rankings