Counties in Alabama by employer firm births

Jefferson County had the highest employer firm births of 67 counties in 2020, at 753. Bullock County had the lowest, at 3. The median was 23 and the figure for Alabama was 4,621. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Median2367 counties
Alabama4,621History

Map of counties, 2020

Autauga County: 22 countBaldwin County: 367 countBarbour County: 10 countBibb County: 11 countBlount County: 31 countBullock County: 3 countButler County: 11 countCalhoun County: 72 countChambers County: 30 countCherokee County: 18 countChilton County: 48 countChoctaw County: 10 countClarke County: 19 countClay County: 10 countCleburne County: 13 countCoffee County: 44 countColbert County: 56 countConecuh County: 6 countCoosa County: 6 countCovington County: 39 countCrenshaw County: 11 countCullman County: 74 countDale County: 33 countDallas County: 24 countDeKalb County: 47 countElmore County: 73 countEscambia County: 24 countEtowah County: 73 countFayette County: 8 countFranklin County: 19 countGeneva County: 23 countGreene County: 5 countHale County: 10 countHenry County: 10 countHouston County: 115 countJackson County: 42 countJefferson County: 753 countLamar County: 9 countLauderdale County: 71 countLawrence County: 20 countLee County: 181 countLimestone County: 88 countLowndes County: 7 countMacon County: 13 countMadison County: 413 countMarengo County: 11 countMarion County: 16 countMarshall County: 91 countMobile County: 387 countMonroe County: 16 countMontgomery County: 232 countMorgan County: 93 countPerry County: 7 countPickens County: 11 countPike County: 17 countRandolph County: 16 countRussell County: 34 countSt. Clair County: 73 countShelby County: 316 countSumter County: 5 countTalladega County: 46 countTallapoosa County: 38 countTuscaloosa County: 185 countWalker County: 42 countWashington County: 8 countWilcox County: 6 countWinston County: 18 count
  • Under 10
  • 10 to 13
  • 13 to 23
  • 23 to 44
  • 44 to 88
  • 88 and over
count, 2020. 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, 2020

Jefferson County: 753 countJefferson County753Madison County: 413 countMadison County413Mobile County: 387 countMobile County387Baldwin County: 367 countBaldwin County367Shelby County: 316 countShelby County316Montgomery County: 232 countMontgomery County232Tuscaloosa County: 185 countTuscaloosa County185Lee County: 181 countLee County181Houston County: 115 countHouston County115Morgan County: 93 countMorgan County93Marshall County: 91 countMarshall County91Limestone County: 88 countLimestone County88Cullman County: 74 countCullman County74Elmore County: 73 countElmore County73Etowah County: 73 countEtowah County73St. Clair County: 73 countSt. Clair County73Calhoun County: 72 countCalhoun County72Lauderdale County: 71 countLauderdale County71Colbert County: 56 countColbert County56Chilton County: 48 countChilton County48DeKalb County: 47 countDeKalb County47Talladega County: 46 countTalladega County46Coffee County: 44 countCoffee County44Jackson County: 42 countJackson County42Walker County: 42 countWalker County42Covington County: 39 countCovington County39Tallapoosa County: 38 countTallapoosa County38Russell County: 34 countRussell County34Dale County: 33 countDale County33Blount County: 31 countBlount County31Chambers County: 30 countChambers County30Dallas County: 24 countDallas County24Escambia County: 24 countEscambia County24Geneva County: 23 countGeneva County23Autauga County: 22 countAutauga County22Lawrence County: 20 countLawrence County20Clarke County: 19 countClarke County19Franklin County: 19 countFranklin County19Cherokee County: 18 countCherokee County18Winston County: 18 countWinston County18Jefferson County: 753 countJefferson County753Madison County: 413 countMadison County413Mobile County: 387 countMobile County387Baldwin County: 367 countBaldwin County367Shelby County: 316 countShelby County316Montgomery County: 232 countMontgomery County232Tuscaloosa County: 185 countTuscaloosa County185Lee County: 181 countLee County181Houston County: 115 countHouston County115Morgan County: 93 countMorgan County93Marshall County: 91 countMarshall County91Limestone County: 88 countLimestone County88Cullman County: 74 countCullman County74Elmore County: 73 countElmore County73Etowah County: 73 countEtowah County73St. Clair County: 73 countSt. Clair County73Calhoun County: 72 countCalhoun County72Lauderdale County: 71 countLauderdale County71Colbert County: 56 countColbert County56Chilton County: 48 countChilton County48DeKalb County: 47 countDeKalb County47Talladega County: 46 countTalladega County46Coffee County: 44 countCoffee County44Jackson County: 42 countJackson County42Walker County: 42 countWalker County42Covington County: 39 countCovington County39Tallapoosa County: 38 countTallapoosa County38Russell County: 34 countRussell County34Dale County: 33 countDale County33Blount County: 31 countBlount County31Chambers County: 30 countChambers County30Dallas County: 24 countDallas County24Escambia County: 24 countEscambia County24Geneva County: 23 countGeneva County23Autauga County: 22 countAutauga County22Lawrence County: 20 countLawrence County20Clarke County: 19 countClarke County19Franklin County: 19 countFranklin County19Cherokee County: 18 countCherokee County18Winston County: 18 countWinston County18
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

RankCounties2020
count
Change on 2019
1Jefferson County753-5.8%
2Madison County413+0.2%
3Mobile County387-6.7%
4Baldwin County367+1.1%
5Shelby County316+6.4%
6Montgomery County232+5%
7Tuscaloosa County185+2.2%
8Lee County181+1.1%
9Houston County115-7.3%
10Morgan County93-11.4%
11Marshall County91+5.8%
12Limestone County88+12.8%
13Cullman County74-20.4%
14Elmore County730%
14Etowah County73+5.8%
14St. Clair County73+9%
17Calhoun County72-10%
18Lauderdale County71-12.3%
19Colbert County56-5.1%
20Chilton County48+9.1%
21DeKalb County47-19%
22Talladega County46-13.2%
23Coffee County44-18.5%
24Jackson County42+2.4%
24Walker County42-33.3%
26Covington County39+8.3%
27Tallapoosa County38+18.8%
28Russell County340%
29Dale County33+106.3%
30Blount County31-22.5%
31Chambers County30-9.1%
32Dallas County24+14.3%
32Escambia County24-22.6%
34Geneva County23-11.5%
35Autauga County22-47.6%
36Lawrence County20+25%
37Clarke County19+11.8%
37Franklin County19-34.5%
39Cherokee County18+12.5%
39Winston County18-10%
41Pike County17-39.3%
42Marion County16-15.8%
42Monroe County16+14.3%
42Randolph County16+6.7%
45Cleburne County13+44.4%
45Macon County13+30%
47Bibb County11+57.1%
47Butler County11-47.6%
47Crenshaw County11+37.5%
47Marengo County11-52.2%
47Pickens County110%
52Barbour County10-28.6%
52Choctaw County10+25%
52Clay County100%
52Hale County10-16.7%
52Henry County10-37.5%
57Lamar County9-10%
58Fayette County8-27.3%
58Washington County80%
60Lowndes County7-30%
60Perry County7+16.7%
62Conecuh County60%
62Coosa County6+50%
62Wilcox County6+50%
65Greene County50%
65Sumter County5-44.4%
67Bullock 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. 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, 2020) [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, 2020. 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=2020. 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, 2020. 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=2020.

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, 2020 [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=2020 (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_alabama_by_2020,
  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, 2020}},
  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=2020. 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, 2020
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=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/alabama-counties?period=2020.
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 753 in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firm births?

Bullock County, with 3 in 2020.

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.

Employer firm births: other rankings

Counties in Alabama: more rankings