Counties in Colorado by employer firm births

Denver County had the highest employer firm births of 61 counties in 2020, at 1,852. San Juan County had the lowest, at 3. The median was 29 and the figure for Colorado was 11,380. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest1,852Denver County
Median2961 counties
Colorado11,380History

Map of counties, 2020

Adams County: 694 countAlamosa County: 14 countArapahoe County: 1,235 countArchuleta County: 27 countBaca County: 6 countBent County: 4 countBoulder County: 838 countBroomfield County: 153 countChaffee County: 76 countCheyenne County: 6 countClear Creek County: 28 countConejos County: 4 countCrowley County: 5 countCuster County: 18 countDelta County: 63 countDenver County: 1,852 countDolores County: 6 countDouglas County: 767 countEagle County: 184 countElbert County: 60 countEl Paso County: 1,136 countFremont County: 70 countGarfield County: 150 countGilpin County: 11 countGrand County: 62 countGunnison County: 58 countHinsdale County: 4 countHuerfano County: 14 countJackson County: 4 countJefferson County: 1,206 countKit Carson County: 14 countLake County: 15 countLa Plata County: 151 countLarimer County: 713 countLas Animas County: 19 countLincoln County: 10 countLogan County: 22 countMesa County: 259 countMineral County: 3 countMoffat County: 20 countMontezuma County: 50 countMontrose County: 92 countMorgan County: 29 countOtero County: 16 countOuray County: 22 countPark County: 46 countPhillips County: 7 countPitkin County: 88 countProwers County: 13 countPueblo County: 184 countRio Blanco County: 6 countRio Grande County: 33 countRoutt County: 107 countSaguache County: 6 countSan Juan County: 3 countSan Miguel County: 38 countSummit County: 128 countTeller County: 56 countWashington County: 6 countWeld County: 481 countYuma County: 12 count
  • Under 10
  • 10 to 30
  • 30 to 70
  • 70 to 180
  • 180 and over
  • No data
count, 2020. 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, 2020

Denver County: 1,852 countDenver County1,852Arapahoe County: 1,235 countArapahoe County1,235Jefferson County: 1,206 countJefferson County1,206El Paso County: 1,136 countEl Paso County1,136Boulder County: 838 countBoulder County838Douglas County: 767 countDouglas County767Larimer County: 713 countLarimer County713Adams County: 694 countAdams County694Weld County: 481 countWeld County481Mesa County: 259 countMesa County259Eagle County: 184 countEagle County184Pueblo County: 184 countPueblo County184Broomfield County: 153 countBroomfield County153La Plata County: 151 countLa Plata County151Garfield County: 150 countGarfield County150Summit County: 128 countSummit County128Routt County: 107 countRoutt County107Montrose County: 92 countMontrose County92Pitkin County: 88 countPitkin County88Chaffee County: 76 countChaffee County76Fremont County: 70 countFremont County70Delta County: 63 countDelta County63Grand County: 62 countGrand County62Elbert County: 60 countElbert County60Gunnison County: 58 countGunnison County58Teller County: 56 countTeller County56Montezuma County: 50 countMontezuma County50Park County: 46 countPark County46San Miguel County: 38 countSan Miguel County38Rio Grande County: 33 countRio Grande County33Morgan County: 29 countMorgan County29Clear Creek County: 28 countClear Creek County28Archuleta County: 27 countArchuleta County27Logan County: 22 countLogan County22Ouray County: 22 countOuray County22Moffat County: 20 countMoffat County20Las Animas County: 19 countLas Animas County19Custer County: 18 countCuster County18Otero County: 16 countOtero County16Lake County: 15 countLake County15Denver County: 1,852 countDenver County1,852Arapahoe County: 1,235 countArapahoe County1,235Jefferson County: 1,206 countJefferson County1,206El Paso County: 1,136 countEl Paso County1,136Boulder County: 838 countBoulder County838Douglas County: 767 countDouglas County767Larimer County: 713 countLarimer County713Adams County: 694 countAdams County694Weld County: 481 countWeld County481Mesa County: 259 countMesa County259Eagle County: 184 countEagle County184Pueblo County: 184 countPueblo County184Broomfield County: 153 countBroomfield County153La Plata County: 151 countLa Plata County151Garfield County: 150 countGarfield County150Summit County: 128 countSummit County128Routt County: 107 countRoutt County107Montrose County: 92 countMontrose County92Pitkin County: 88 countPitkin County88Chaffee County: 76 countChaffee County76Fremont County: 70 countFremont County70Delta County: 63 countDelta County63Grand County: 62 countGrand County62Elbert County: 60 countElbert County60Gunnison County: 58 countGunnison County58Teller County: 56 countTeller County56Montezuma County: 50 countMontezuma County50Park County: 46 countPark County46San Miguel County: 38 countSan Miguel County38Rio Grande County: 33 countRio Grande County33Morgan County: 29 countMorgan County29Clear Creek County: 28 countClear Creek County28Archuleta County: 27 countArchuleta County27Logan County: 22 countLogan County22Ouray County: 22 countOuray County22Moffat County: 20 countMoffat County20Las Animas County: 19 countLas Animas County19Custer County: 18 countCuster County18Otero County: 16 countOtero County16Lake County: 15 countLake 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

RankCounties2020
count
Change on 2019
1Denver County1,852+0.4%
2Arapahoe County1,235-4.6%
3Jefferson County1,206+2.1%
4El Paso County1,136-8.4%
5Boulder County838-10.1%
6Douglas County767-0.3%
7Larimer County713-2.6%
8Adams County694-2.7%
9Weld County481+1.1%
10Mesa County259-18.6%
11Eagle County184+7%
11Pueblo County184-1.1%
13Broomfield County153+18.6%
14La Plata County151+7.1%
15Garfield County150-5.7%
16Summit County128+0.8%
17Routt County107-14.4%
18Montrose County92+37.3%
19Pitkin County88+35.4%
20Chaffee County76-3.8%
21Fremont County70+40%
22Delta County63+12.5%
23Grand County62-4.6%
24Elbert County60+30.4%
25Gunnison County58-20.5%
26Teller County56+5.7%
27Montezuma County50+38.9%
28Park County46-6.1%
29San Miguel County380%
30Rio Grande County33+120%
31Morgan County29-42%
32Clear Creek County28+100%
33Archuleta County27+3.8%
34Logan County22+4.8%
34Ouray County22-12%
36Moffat County20+11.1%
37Las Animas County19-36.7%
38Custer County18+100%
39Otero County16+6.7%
40Lake County15-21.1%
41Alamosa County14-17.6%
41Huerfano County14+100%
41Kit Carson County14+27.3%
44Prowers County130%
45Yuma County12-29.4%
46Gilpin County11+22.2%
47Lincoln County10+66.7%
48Phillips County7-12.5%
49Baca County6+100%
49Cheyenne County6+100%
49Dolores County6+50%
49Rio Blanco County6-14.3%
49Saguache County6-50%
49Washington County60%
55Crowley County5n/a
56Bent County4n/a
56Conejos County4-60%
56Hinsdale County4n/a
56Jackson County4+33.3%
60Mineral County3n/a
60San Juan 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. 3 counties with data in other periods have no value for 2020 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, 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 Colorado 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/colorado-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 Colorado 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/colorado-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 Colorado 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/colorado-counties?period=2020 (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_colorado_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 Colorado 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/colorado-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 Colorado 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/colorado-counties?period=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/colorado-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?

Denver County, with 1,852 in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firm births?

San Juan 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. 3 counties have no value for 2020 and are not ranked.

Employer firm births: other rankings

Counties in Colorado: more rankings