Counties in Colorado by employer firm births

Denver County had the highest employer firm births of 58 counties in 2011, at 1,354. Washington County had the lowest, at 3. The median was 29 and the figure for Colorado was 9,064. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest1,354Denver County
Median2958 counties
Colorado9,064History

Map of counties, 2011

Adams County: 510 countAlamosa County: 13 countArapahoe County: 1,017 countArchuleta County: 36 countBaca County: 5 countBent County: 3 countBoulder County: 791 countBroomfield County: 133 countChaffee County: 36 countClear Creek County: 23 countConejos County: 5 countCostilla County: 4 countCrowley County: 4 countCuster County: 8 countDelta County: 57 countDenver County: 1,354 countDolores County: 3 countDouglas County: 596 countEagle County: 151 countElbert County: 28 countEl Paso County: 919 countFremont County: 50 countGarfield County: 127 countGilpin County: 9 countGrand County: 45 countGunnison County: 58 countHinsdale County: 3 countHuerfano County: 9 countJefferson County: 938 countKit Carson County: 5 countLake County: 4 countLa Plata County: 140 countLarimer County: 605 countLas Animas County: 15 countLogan County: 19 countMesa County: 254 countMoffat County: 20 countMontezuma County: 30 countMontrose County: 48 countMorgan County: 31 countOtero County: 16 countOuray County: 18 countPark County: 24 countPhillips County: 6 countPitkin County: 80 countProwers County: 10 countPueblo County: 138 countRio Blanco County: 12 countRio Grande County: 14 countRoutt County: 82 countSaguache County: 9 countSan Juan County: 5 countSan Miguel County: 41 countSummit County: 102 countTeller County: 55 countWashington County: 3 countWeld County: 319 countYuma County: 19 count
  • Under 10
  • 10 to 30
  • 30 to 60
  • 60 to 200
  • 200 and over
  • No data
count, 2011. 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.

All counties, 2011

Denver County: 1,354 countDenver County1,354Arapahoe County: 1,017 countArapahoe County1,017Jefferson County: 938 countJefferson County938El Paso County: 919 countEl Paso County919Boulder County: 791 countBoulder County791Larimer County: 605 countLarimer County605Douglas County: 596 countDouglas County596Adams County: 510 countAdams County510Weld County: 319 countWeld County319Mesa County: 254 countMesa County254Eagle County: 151 countEagle County151La Plata County: 140 countLa Plata County140Pueblo County: 138 countPueblo County138Broomfield County: 133 countBroomfield County133Garfield County: 127 countGarfield County127Summit County: 102 countSummit County102Routt County: 82 countRoutt County82Pitkin County: 80 countPitkin County80Gunnison County: 58 countGunnison County58Delta County: 57 countDelta County57Teller County: 55 countTeller County55Fremont County: 50 countFremont County50Montrose County: 48 countMontrose County48Grand County: 45 countGrand County45San Miguel County: 41 countSan Miguel County41Archuleta County: 36 countArchuleta County36Chaffee County: 36 countChaffee County36Morgan County: 31 countMorgan County31Montezuma County: 30 countMontezuma County30Elbert County: 28 countElbert County28Park County: 24 countPark County24Clear Creek County: 23 countClear Creek County23Moffat County: 20 countMoffat County20Logan County: 19 countLogan County19Yuma County: 19 countYuma County19Ouray County: 18 countOuray County18Otero County: 16 countOtero County16Las Animas County: 15 countLas Animas County15Rio Grande County: 14 countRio Grande County14Alamosa County: 13 countAlamosa County13Rio Blanco County: 12 countRio Blanco County12Prowers County: 10 countProwers County10Gilpin County: 9 countGilpin County9Huerfano County: 9 countHuerfano County9Saguache County: 9 countSaguache County9Custer County: 8 countCuster County8Phillips County: 6 countPhillips County6Baca County: 5 countBaca County5Conejos County: 5 countConejos County5Kit Carson County: 5 countKit Carson County5San Juan County: 5 countSan Juan County5Costilla County: 4 countCostilla County4Crowley County: 4 countCrowley County4Lake County: 4 countLake County4Bent County: 3 countBent County3Dolores County: 3 countDolores County3Hinsdale County: 3 countHinsdale County3Washington County: 3 countWashington County3Denver County: 1,354 countDenver County1,354Arapahoe County: 1,017 countArapahoe County1,017Jefferson County: 938 countJefferson County938El Paso County: 919 countEl Paso County919Boulder County: 791 countBoulder County791Larimer County: 605 countLarimer County605Douglas County: 596 countDouglas County596Adams County: 510 countAdams County510Weld County: 319 countWeld County319Mesa County: 254 countMesa County254Eagle County: 151 countEagle County151La Plata County: 140 countLa Plata County140Pueblo County: 138 countPueblo County138Broomfield County: 133 countBroomfield County133Garfield County: 127 countGarfield County127Summit County: 102 countSummit County102Routt County: 82 countRoutt County82Pitkin County: 80 countPitkin County80Gunnison County: 58 countGunnison County58Delta County: 57 countDelta County57Teller County: 55 countTeller County55Fremont County: 50 countFremont County50Montrose County: 48 countMontrose County48Grand County: 45 countGrand County45San Miguel County: 41 countSan Miguel County41Archuleta County: 36 countArchuleta County36Chaffee County: 36 countChaffee County36Morgan County: 31 countMorgan County31Montezuma County: 30 countMontezuma County30Elbert County: 28 countElbert County28Park County: 24 countPark County24Clear Creek County: 23 countClear Creek County23Moffat County: 20 countMoffat County20Logan County: 19 countLogan County19Yuma County: 19 countYuma County19Ouray County: 18 countOuray County18Otero County: 16 countOtero County16Las Animas County: 15 countLas Animas County15Rio Grande County: 14 countRio Grande County14Alamosa County: 13 countAlamosa County13Rio Blanco County: 12 countRio Blanco County12Prowers County: 10 countProwers County10Gilpin County: 9 countGilpin County9Huerfano County: 9 countHuerfano County9Saguache County: 9 countSaguache County9Custer County: 8 countCuster County8Phillips County: 6 countPhillips County6Baca County: 5 countBaca County5Conejos County: 5 countConejos County5Kit Carson County: 5 countKit Carson County5San Juan County: 5 countSan Juan County5Costilla County: 4 countCostilla County4Crowley County: 4 countCrowley County4Lake County: 4 countLake County4Bent County: 3 countBent County3Dolores County: 3 countDolores County3Hinsdale County: 3 countHinsdale County3Washington County: 3 countWashington County3
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

RankCounties2011
count
Change on 2010
1Denver County1,354-4.7%
2Arapahoe County1,017-1.5%
3Jefferson County938+4.1%
4El Paso County919-2.5%
5Boulder County791+7.6%
6Larimer County605+9%
7Douglas County596+3.8%
8Adams County510+9.2%
9Weld County319-3.9%
10Mesa County254+13.4%
11Eagle County151-1.3%
12La Plata County140+34.6%
13Pueblo County138-3.5%
14Broomfield County133+14.7%
15Garfield County127-5.9%
16Summit County102-25.5%
17Routt County82-5.7%
18Pitkin County80+14.3%
19Gunnison County58-10.8%
20Delta County57+14%
21Teller County55+10%
22Fremont County50+85.2%
23Montrose County48-36.8%
24Grand County45-4.3%
25San Miguel County41+46.4%
26Archuleta County36+20%
26Chaffee County36-5.3%
28Morgan County31+3.3%
29Montezuma County30-28.6%
30Elbert County28-41.7%
31Park County24-27.3%
32Clear Creek County230%
33Moffat County20+33.3%
34Logan County19-5%
34Yuma County19+26.7%
36Ouray County18-10%
37Otero County16-27.3%
38Las Animas County15+7.1%
39Rio Grande County140%
40Alamosa County13-38.1%
41Rio Blanco County12+20%
42Prowers County10-23.1%
43Gilpin County9-18.2%
43Huerfano County9-25%
43Saguache County9+125%
46Custer County80%
47Phillips County60%
48Baca County5+66.7%
48Conejos County5-50%
48Kit Carson County5-64.3%
48San Juan County5-37.5%
52Costilla County4+33.3%
52Crowley County4n/a
52Lake County4-66.7%
55Bent County3-25%
55Dolores County3-25%
55Hinsdale County3n/a
55Washington County30%

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. 6 counties with data in other periods have no value for 2011 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 Colorado by employer firm births, 2011) [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 Colorado by employer firm births, 2011. 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/colorado-counties?period=2011. 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 Colorado by employer firm births, 2011. 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/colorado-counties?period=2011.

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 Colorado by employer firm births, 2011 [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/colorado-counties?period=2011 (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_colorado_by_2011,
  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 Colorado by employer firm births, 2011}},
  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/colorado-counties?period=2011. 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 Colorado by employer firm births, 2011
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/colorado-counties?period=2011
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/colorado-counties?period=2011.
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?

Denver County, with 1,354 in 2011, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firm births?

Washington County, with 3 in 2011.

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. 6 counties have no value for 2011 and are not ranked.

Employer firm births: other rankings

Counties in Colorado: more rankings