Counties in Alabama by employer firm births

Jefferson County had the highest employer firm births of 66 counties in 2021, at 850. Conecuh County had the lowest, at 4. The median was 30 and the figure for Alabama was 5,442. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Median3066 counties
Alabama5,442History

Map of counties, 2021

Autauga County: 63 countBaldwin County: 416 countBarbour County: 16 countBibb County: 10 countBlount County: 63 countBullock County: 5 countButler County: 17 countCalhoun County: 102 countChambers County: 66 countCherokee County: 16 countChilton County: 38 countChoctaw County: 13 countClarke County: 19 countClay County: 10 countCleburne County: 9 countCoffee County: 55 countColbert County: 53 countConecuh County: 4 countCoosa County: 7 countCovington County: 40 countCrenshaw County: 18 countCullman County: 82 countDale County: 31 countDallas County: 26 countDeKalb County: 65 countElmore County: 83 countEscambia County: 38 countEtowah County: 103 countFayette County: 10 countFranklin County: 25 countGeneva County: 28 countGreene County: 9 countHale County: 9 countHenry County: 15 countHouston County: 112 countJackson County: 39 countJefferson County: 850 countLamar County: 11 countLauderdale County: 78 countLawrence County: 12 countLee County: 194 countLimestone County: 99 countMacon County: 22 countMadison County: 535 countMarengo County: 11 countMarion County: 24 countMarshall County: 103 countMobile County: 488 countMonroe County: 24 countMontgomery County: 251 countMorgan County: 111 countPerry County: 5 countPickens County: 6 countPike County: 24 countRandolph County: 20 countRussell County: 50 countSt. Clair County: 99 countShelby County: 320 countSumter County: 10 countTalladega County: 57 countTallapoosa County: 44 countTuscaloosa County: 198 countWalker County: 62 countWashington County: 7 countWilcox County: 11 countWinston County: 12 count
  • Under 10
  • 10 to 17
  • 17 to 30
  • 30 to 62
  • 62 to 100
  • 100 and over
  • No data
count, 2021. 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, 2021

Jefferson County: 850 countJefferson County850Madison County: 535 countMadison County535Mobile County: 488 countMobile County488Baldwin County: 416 countBaldwin County416Shelby County: 320 countShelby County320Montgomery County: 251 countMontgomery County251Tuscaloosa County: 198 countTuscaloosa County198Lee County: 194 countLee County194Houston County: 112 countHouston County112Morgan County: 111 countMorgan County111Etowah County: 103 countEtowah County103Marshall County: 103 countMarshall County103Calhoun County: 102 countCalhoun County102Limestone County: 99 countLimestone County99St. Clair County: 99 countSt. Clair County99Elmore County: 83 countElmore County83Cullman County: 82 countCullman County82Lauderdale County: 78 countLauderdale County78Chambers County: 66 countChambers County66DeKalb County: 65 countDeKalb County65Autauga County: 63 countAutauga County63Blount County: 63 countBlount County63Walker County: 62 countWalker County62Talladega County: 57 countTalladega County57Coffee County: 55 countCoffee County55Colbert County: 53 countColbert County53Russell County: 50 countRussell County50Tallapoosa County: 44 countTallapoosa County44Covington County: 40 countCovington County40Jackson County: 39 countJackson County39Chilton County: 38 countChilton County38Escambia County: 38 countEscambia County38Dale County: 31 countDale County31Geneva County: 28 countGeneva County28Dallas County: 26 countDallas County26Franklin County: 25 countFranklin County25Marion County: 24 countMarion County24Monroe County: 24 countMonroe County24Pike County: 24 countPike County24Macon County: 22 countMacon County22Jefferson County: 850 countJefferson County850Madison County: 535 countMadison County535Mobile County: 488 countMobile County488Baldwin County: 416 countBaldwin County416Shelby County: 320 countShelby County320Montgomery County: 251 countMontgomery County251Tuscaloosa County: 198 countTuscaloosa County198Lee County: 194 countLee County194Houston County: 112 countHouston County112Morgan County: 111 countMorgan County111Etowah County: 103 countEtowah County103Marshall County: 103 countMarshall County103Calhoun County: 102 countCalhoun County102Limestone County: 99 countLimestone County99St. Clair County: 99 countSt. Clair County99Elmore County: 83 countElmore County83Cullman County: 82 countCullman County82Lauderdale County: 78 countLauderdale County78Chambers County: 66 countChambers County66DeKalb County: 65 countDeKalb County65Autauga County: 63 countAutauga County63Blount County: 63 countBlount County63Walker County: 62 countWalker County62Talladega County: 57 countTalladega County57Coffee County: 55 countCoffee County55Colbert County: 53 countColbert County53Russell County: 50 countRussell County50Tallapoosa County: 44 countTallapoosa County44Covington County: 40 countCovington County40Jackson County: 39 countJackson County39Chilton County: 38 countChilton County38Escambia County: 38 countEscambia County38Dale County: 31 countDale County31Geneva County: 28 countGeneva County28Dallas County: 26 countDallas County26Franklin County: 25 countFranklin County25Marion County: 24 countMarion County24Monroe County: 24 countMonroe County24Pike County: 24 countPike County24Macon County: 22 countMacon County22
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

RankCounties2021
count
Change on 2020
1Jefferson County850+12.9%
2Madison County535+29.5%
3Mobile County488+26.1%
4Baldwin County416+13.4%
5Shelby County320+1.3%
6Montgomery County251+8.2%
7Tuscaloosa County198+7%
8Lee County194+7.2%
9Houston County112-2.6%
10Morgan County111+19.4%
11Etowah County103+41.1%
11Marshall County103+13.2%
13Calhoun County102+41.7%
14Limestone County99+12.5%
14St. Clair County99+35.6%
16Elmore County83+13.7%
17Cullman County82+10.8%
18Lauderdale County78+9.9%
19Chambers County66+120%
20DeKalb County65+38.3%
21Autauga County63+186.4%
21Blount County63+103.2%
23Walker County62+47.6%
24Talladega County57+23.9%
25Coffee County55+25%
26Colbert County53-5.4%
27Russell County50+47.1%
28Tallapoosa County44+15.8%
29Covington County40+2.6%
30Jackson County39-7.1%
31Chilton County38-20.8%
31Escambia County38+58.3%
33Dale County31-6.1%
34Geneva County28+21.7%
35Dallas County26+8.3%
36Franklin County25+31.6%
37Marion County24+50%
37Monroe County24+50%
37Pike County24+41.2%
40Macon County22+69.2%
41Randolph County20+25%
42Clarke County190%
43Crenshaw County18+63.6%
44Butler County17+54.5%
45Barbour County16+60%
45Cherokee County16-11.1%
47Henry County15+50%
48Choctaw County13+30%
49Lawrence County12-40%
49Winston County12-33.3%
51Lamar County11+22.2%
51Marengo County110%
51Wilcox County11+83.3%
54Bibb County10-9.1%
54Clay County100%
54Fayette County10+25%
54Sumter County10+100%
58Cleburne County9-30.8%
58Greene County9+80%
58Hale County9-10%
61Coosa County7+16.7%
61Washington County7-12.5%
63Pickens County6-45.5%
64Bullock County5+66.7%
64Perry County5-28.6%
66Conecuh County4-33.3%

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 2021 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, 2021) [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, 2021. 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=2021. 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, 2021. 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=2021.

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, 2021 [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=2021 (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_alabama_by_2021,
  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, 2021}},
  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=2021. 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, 2021
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=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/alabama-counties?period=2021.
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 850 in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firm births?

Conecuh County, with 4 in 2021.

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 2021 and are not ranked.

Employer firm births: other rankings

Counties in Alabama: more rankings