Counties in Colorado by employer firm births

Denver County had the highest employer firm births of 58 counties in 2015, at 1,698. Bent County had the lowest, at 3. The median was 34 and the figure for Colorado was 10,469. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest1,698Denver County
Median3458 counties
Colorado10,469History

Map of counties, 2015

Adams County: 649 countAlamosa County: 19 countArapahoe County: 1,193 countArchuleta County: 34 countBaca County: 10 countBent County: 3 countBoulder County: 772 countBroomfield County: 129 countChaffee County: 53 countCheyenne County: 5 countClear Creek County: 26 countConejos County: 9 countCuster County: 15 countDelta County: 46 countDenver County: 1,698 countDolores County: 4 countDouglas County: 709 countEagle County: 197 countElbert County: 47 countEl Paso County: 987 countFremont County: 53 countGarfield County: 176 countGilpin County: 8 countGrand County: 39 countGunnison County: 52 countJackson County: 4 countJefferson County: 1,059 countKit Carson County: 19 countLake County: 13 countLa Plata County: 136 countLarimer County: 744 countLas Animas County: 24 countLincoln County: 7 countLogan County: 31 countMesa County: 244 countMineral County: 4 countMoffat County: 20 countMontezuma County: 32 countMontrose County: 66 countMorgan County: 36 countOtero County: 6 countOuray County: 19 countPark County: 34 countPhillips County: 7 countPitkin County: 84 countProwers County: 14 countPueblo County: 174 countRio Blanco County: 9 countRio Grande County: 16 countRoutt County: 85 countSaguache County: 5 countSan Miguel County: 41 countSedgwick County: 4 countSummit County: 121 countTeller County: 41 countWashington County: 7 countWeld County: 435 countYuma County: 14 count
  • Under 10
  • 10 to 20
  • 20 to 30
  • 30 to 50
  • 50 to 220
  • 220 and over
  • No data
count, 2015. 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, 2015

Denver County: 1,698 countDenver County1,698Arapahoe County: 1,193 countArapahoe County1,193Jefferson County: 1,059 countJefferson County1,059El Paso County: 987 countEl Paso County987Boulder County: 772 countBoulder County772Larimer County: 744 countLarimer County744Douglas County: 709 countDouglas County709Adams County: 649 countAdams County649Weld County: 435 countWeld County435Mesa County: 244 countMesa County244Eagle County: 197 countEagle County197Garfield County: 176 countGarfield County176Pueblo County: 174 countPueblo County174La Plata County: 136 countLa Plata County136Broomfield County: 129 countBroomfield County129Summit County: 121 countSummit County121Routt County: 85 countRoutt County85Pitkin County: 84 countPitkin County84Montrose County: 66 countMontrose County66Chaffee County: 53 countChaffee County53Fremont County: 53 countFremont County53Gunnison County: 52 countGunnison County52Elbert County: 47 countElbert County47Delta County: 46 countDelta County46San Miguel County: 41 countSan Miguel County41Teller County: 41 countTeller County41Grand County: 39 countGrand County39Morgan County: 36 countMorgan County36Archuleta County: 34 countArchuleta County34Park County: 34 countPark County34Montezuma County: 32 countMontezuma County32Logan County: 31 countLogan County31Clear Creek County: 26 countClear Creek County26Las Animas County: 24 countLas Animas County24Moffat County: 20 countMoffat County20Alamosa County: 19 countAlamosa County19Kit Carson County: 19 countKit Carson County19Ouray County: 19 countOuray County19Rio Grande County: 16 countRio Grande County16Custer County: 15 countCuster County15Prowers County: 14 countProwers County14Yuma County: 14 countYuma County14Lake County: 13 countLake County13Baca County: 10 countBaca County10Conejos County: 9 countConejos County9Rio Blanco County: 9 countRio Blanco County9Gilpin County: 8 countGilpin County8Lincoln County: 7 countLincoln County7Phillips County: 7 countPhillips County7Washington County: 7 countWashington County7Otero County: 6 countOtero County6Cheyenne County: 5 countCheyenne County5Saguache County: 5 countSaguache County5Dolores County: 4 countDolores County4Jackson County: 4 countJackson County4Mineral County: 4 countMineral County4Sedgwick County: 4 countSedgwick County4Bent County: 3 countBent County3Denver County: 1,698 countDenver County1,698Arapahoe County: 1,193 countArapahoe County1,193Jefferson County: 1,059 countJefferson County1,059El Paso County: 987 countEl Paso County987Boulder County: 772 countBoulder County772Larimer County: 744 countLarimer County744Douglas County: 709 countDouglas County709Adams County: 649 countAdams County649Weld County: 435 countWeld County435Mesa County: 244 countMesa County244Eagle County: 197 countEagle County197Garfield County: 176 countGarfield County176Pueblo County: 174 countPueblo County174La Plata County: 136 countLa Plata County136Broomfield County: 129 countBroomfield County129Summit County: 121 countSummit County121Routt County: 85 countRoutt County85Pitkin County: 84 countPitkin County84Montrose County: 66 countMontrose County66Chaffee County: 53 countChaffee County53Fremont County: 53 countFremont County53Gunnison County: 52 countGunnison County52Elbert County: 47 countElbert County47Delta County: 46 countDelta County46San Miguel County: 41 countSan Miguel County41Teller County: 41 countTeller County41Grand County: 39 countGrand County39Morgan County: 36 countMorgan County36Archuleta County: 34 countArchuleta County34Park County: 34 countPark County34Montezuma County: 32 countMontezuma County32Logan County: 31 countLogan County31Clear Creek County: 26 countClear Creek County26Las Animas County: 24 countLas Animas County24Moffat County: 20 countMoffat County20Alamosa County: 19 countAlamosa County19Kit Carson County: 19 countKit Carson County19Ouray County: 19 countOuray County19Rio Grande County: 16 countRio Grande County16Custer County: 15 countCuster County15Prowers County: 14 countProwers County14Yuma County: 14 countYuma County14Lake County: 13 countLake County13Baca County: 10 countBaca County10Conejos County: 9 countConejos County9Rio Blanco County: 9 countRio Blanco County9Gilpin County: 8 countGilpin County8Lincoln County: 7 countLincoln County7Phillips County: 7 countPhillips County7Washington County: 7 countWashington County7Otero County: 6 countOtero County6Cheyenne County: 5 countCheyenne County5Saguache County: 5 countSaguache County5Dolores County: 4 countDolores County4Jackson County: 4 countJackson County4Mineral County: 4 countMineral County4Sedgwick County: 4 countSedgwick County4Bent County: 3 countBent 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

RankCounties2015
count
Change on 2014
1Denver County1,698+8.4%
2Arapahoe County1,193+6%
3Jefferson County1,059+4.7%
4El Paso County987-4.9%
5Boulder County772+0.3%
6Larimer County744+9.6%
7Douglas County709+12.5%
8Adams County649+14.7%
9Weld County435-2.2%
10Mesa County244+10.9%
11Eagle County197+11.9%
12Garfield County176+23.1%
13Pueblo County174+29.9%
14La Plata County136+13.3%
15Broomfield County129-7.2%
16Summit County121+7.1%
17Routt County85-15.8%
18Pitkin County84+7.7%
19Montrose County66-7%
20Chaffee County53+8.2%
20Fremont County53+20.5%
22Gunnison County52+26.8%
23Elbert County47+4.4%
24Delta County46+4.5%
25San Miguel County41+32.3%
25Teller County41-22.6%
27Grand County39-2.5%
28Morgan County36-7.7%
29Archuleta County34+30.8%
29Park County34+3%
31Montezuma County32-38.5%
32Logan County31+82.4%
33Clear Creek County26+23.8%
34Las Animas County24+71.4%
35Moffat County20+25%
36Alamosa County19-13.6%
36Kit Carson County19+58.3%
36Ouray County19+11.8%
39Rio Grande County16+23.1%
40Custer County15+50%
41Prowers County14-12.5%
41Yuma County14-33.3%
43Lake County13-40.9%
44Baca County10+150%
45Conejos County9+125%
45Rio Blanco County9+12.5%
47Gilpin County8-11.1%
48Lincoln County7+16.7%
48Phillips County7-30%
48Washington County7+16.7%
51Otero County6-60%
52Cheyenne County5n/a
52Saguache County5-37.5%
54Dolores County4n/a
54Jackson County4-33.3%
54Mineral County4n/a
54Sedgwick County40%
58Bent County3n/a

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 2015 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, 2015) [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, 2015. 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=2015. 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, 2015. 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=2015.

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, 2015 [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=2015 (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_colorado_by_2015,
  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, 2015}},
  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=2015. 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, 2015
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=2015
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/colorado-counties?period=2015.
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 1,698 in 2015, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firm births?

Bent County, with 3 in 2015.

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 2015 and are not ranked.

Employer firm births: other rankings

Counties in Colorado: more rankings