Counties in Arkansas by employer firm births

Pulaski County had the highest employer firm births of 72 counties in 2012, at 535. Newton County had the lowest, at 3. The median was 18 and the figure for Arkansas was 3,136. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest535Pulaski County
Median1872 counties
Arkansas3,136History

Map of counties, 2012

Arkansas County: 16 countAshley County: 11 countBaxter County: 48 countBenton County: 289 countBoone County: 44 countBradley County: 7 countCalhoun County: 3 countCarroll County: 36 countChicot County: 8 countClark County: 19 countClay County: 13 countCleburne County: 26 countCleveland County: 7 countColumbia County: 33 countConway County: 21 countCraighead County: 121 countCrawford County: 53 countCrittenden County: 41 countCross County: 19 countDallas County: 6 countDesha County: 8 countDrew County: 15 countFaulkner County: 160 countFranklin County: 14 countFulton County: 9 countGarland County: 142 countGrant County: 12 countGreene County: 44 countHempstead County: 22 countHot Spring County: 21 countHoward County: 20 countIndependence County: 37 countIzard County: 12 countJackson County: 16 countJefferson County: 42 countJohnson County: 24 countLafayette County: 5 countLee County: 6 countLincoln County: 10 countLittle River County: 5 countLogan County: 14 countLonoke County: 65 countMadison County: 14 countMarion County: 11 countMiller County: 44 countMississippi County: 25 countMontgomery County: 7 countNewton County: 3 countOuachita County: 21 countPerry County: 6 countPhillips County: 15 countPike County: 7 countPoinsett County: 14 countPolk County: 23 countPope County: 68 countPrairie County: 5 countPulaski County: 535 countRandolph County: 18 countSt. Francis County: 18 countSaline County: 105 countScott County: 4 countSearcy County: 5 countSebastian County: 153 countSevier County: 9 countSharp County: 15 countStone County: 9 countUnion County: 55 countVan Buren County: 19 countWashington County: 296 countWhite County: 94 countWoodruff County: 5 countYell County: 17 count
  • Under 7
  • 7 to 12
  • 12 to 18
  • 18 to 24
  • 24 to 53
  • 53 and over
  • No data
count, 2012. 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, 2012

Pulaski County: 535 countPulaski County535Washington County: 296 countWashington County296Benton County: 289 countBenton County289Faulkner County: 160 countFaulkner County160Sebastian County: 153 countSebastian County153Garland County: 142 countGarland County142Craighead County: 121 countCraighead County121Saline County: 105 countSaline County105White County: 94 countWhite County94Pope County: 68 countPope County68Lonoke County: 65 countLonoke County65Union County: 55 countUnion County55Crawford County: 53 countCrawford County53Baxter County: 48 countBaxter County48Boone County: 44 countBoone County44Greene County: 44 countGreene County44Miller County: 44 countMiller County44Jefferson County: 42 countJefferson County42Crittenden County: 41 countCrittenden County41Independence County: 37 countIndependence County37Carroll County: 36 countCarroll County36Columbia County: 33 countColumbia County33Cleburne County: 26 countCleburne County26Mississippi County: 25 countMississippi County25Johnson County: 24 countJohnson County24Polk County: 23 countPolk County23Hempstead County: 22 countHempstead County22Conway County: 21 countConway County21Hot Spring County: 21 countHot Spring County21Ouachita County: 21 countOuachita County21Howard County: 20 countHoward County20Clark County: 19 countClark County19Cross County: 19 countCross County19Van Buren County: 19 countVan Buren County19Randolph County: 18 countRandolph County18St. Francis County: 18 countSt. Francis County18Yell County: 17 countYell County17Arkansas County: 16 countArkansas County16Jackson County: 16 countJackson County16Drew County: 15 countDrew County15Pulaski County: 535 countPulaski County535Washington County: 296 countWashington County296Benton County: 289 countBenton County289Faulkner County: 160 countFaulkner County160Sebastian County: 153 countSebastian County153Garland County: 142 countGarland County142Craighead County: 121 countCraighead County121Saline County: 105 countSaline County105White County: 94 countWhite County94Pope County: 68 countPope County68Lonoke County: 65 countLonoke County65Union County: 55 countUnion County55Crawford County: 53 countCrawford County53Baxter County: 48 countBaxter County48Boone County: 44 countBoone County44Greene County: 44 countGreene County44Miller County: 44 countMiller County44Jefferson County: 42 countJefferson County42Crittenden County: 41 countCrittenden County41Independence County: 37 countIndependence County37Carroll County: 36 countCarroll County36Columbia County: 33 countColumbia County33Cleburne County: 26 countCleburne County26Mississippi County: 25 countMississippi County25Johnson County: 24 countJohnson County24Polk County: 23 countPolk County23Hempstead County: 22 countHempstead County22Conway County: 21 countConway County21Hot Spring County: 21 countHot Spring County21Ouachita County: 21 countOuachita County21Howard County: 20 countHoward County20Clark County: 19 countClark County19Cross County: 19 countCross County19Van Buren County: 19 countVan Buren County19Randolph County: 18 countRandolph County18St. Francis County: 18 countSt. Francis County18Yell County: 17 countYell County17Arkansas County: 16 countArkansas County16Jackson County: 16 countJackson County16Drew County: 15 countDrew County15
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

RankCounties2012
count
Change on 2011
1Pulaski County535-7.3%
2Washington County296+16.5%
3Benton County289+5.1%
4Faulkner County160-1.8%
5Sebastian County153-1.3%
6Garland County142-4.1%
7Craighead County1210%
8Saline County105-8.7%
9White County94+1.1%
10Pope County68+3%
11Lonoke County65+32.7%
12Union County55+10%
13Crawford County530%
14Baxter County48-15.8%
15Boone County44+37.5%
15Greene County44+18.9%
15Miller County44+15.8%
18Jefferson County42-8.7%
19Crittenden County41+20.6%
20Independence County37-9.8%
21Carroll County36+24.1%
22Columbia County33+17.9%
23Cleburne County26-25.7%
24Mississippi County25-16.7%
25Johnson County24+26.3%
26Polk County23+15%
27Hempstead County22+83.3%
28Conway County21-19.2%
28Hot Spring County21+31.3%
28Ouachita County21+16.7%
31Howard County20+150%
32Clark County19-5%
32Cross County19+58.3%
32Van Buren County19-26.9%
35Randolph County18-18.2%
35St. Francis County18-18.2%
37Yell County17+54.5%
38Arkansas County16-27.3%
38Jackson County16-5.9%
40Drew County15-11.8%
40Phillips County15-11.8%
40Sharp County15-28.6%
43Franklin County14+16.7%
43Logan County14-26.3%
43Madison County14+16.7%
43Poinsett County14-6.7%
47Clay County13+44.4%
48Grant County120%
48Izard County12+20%
50Ashley County11-60.7%
50Marion County11-8.3%
52Lincoln County10+11.1%
53Fulton County9+80%
53Sevier County9+12.5%
53Stone County9-25%
56Chicot County8+33.3%
56Desha County8-52.9%
58Bradley County7-53.3%
58Cleveland County7n/a
58Montgomery County7-41.7%
58Pike County7-50%
62Dallas County6-25%
62Lee County6+50%
62Perry County60%
65Lafayette County5+66.7%
65Little River County5n/a
65Prairie County5-28.6%
65Searcy County5-44.4%
65Woodruff County5n/a
70Scott County4-20%
71Calhoun County3-57.1%
71Newton County3-50%

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. 3 counties with data in other periods have no value for 2012 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 Arkansas by employer firm births, 2012) [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 Arkansas by employer firm births, 2012. 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/arkansas-counties?period=2012. 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 Arkansas by employer firm births, 2012. 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/arkansas-counties?period=2012.

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 Arkansas by employer firm births, 2012 [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/arkansas-counties?period=2012 (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_arkansas_by_2012,
  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 Arkansas by employer firm births, 2012}},
  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/arkansas-counties?period=2012. 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 Arkansas by employer firm births, 2012
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/arkansas-counties?period=2012
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/arkansas-counties?period=2012.
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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Rank Counties in Arkansas by employer firm births using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which county has the highest employer firm births?

Pulaski County, with 535 in 2012, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firm births?

Newton County, with 3 in 2012.

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. 3 counties have no value for 2012 and are not ranked.

Employer firm births: other rankings

Counties in Arkansas: more rankings