Counties in Colorado by employer firm births

Denver County had the highest employer firm births of 58 counties in 2021, at 1,887. Mineral County had the lowest, at 3. The median was 37 and the figure for Colorado was 12,038. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest1,887Denver County
Median3758 counties
Colorado12,038History

Map of counties, 2021

Adams County: 768 countAlamosa County: 19 countArapahoe County: 1,369 countArchuleta County: 34 countBoulder County: 924 countBroomfield County: 171 countChaffee County: 88 countClear Creek County: 22 countConejos County: 5 countCrowley County: 5 countCuster County: 11 countDelta County: 53 countDenver County: 1,887 countDouglas County: 790 countEagle County: 202 countElbert County: 54 countEl Paso County: 1,243 countFremont County: 64 countGarfield County: 166 countGilpin County: 15 countGrand County: 70 countGunnison County: 62 countHuerfano County: 13 countJackson County: 3 countJefferson County: 1,207 countKiowa County: 3 countKit Carson County: 8 countLake County: 19 countLa Plata County: 148 countLarimer County: 758 countLas Animas County: 11 countLincoln County: 7 countLogan County: 21 countMesa County: 287 countMineral County: 3 countMoffat County: 31 countMontezuma County: 51 countMontrose County: 101 countMorgan County: 30 countOtero County: 17 countOuray County: 37 countPark County: 36 countPhillips County: 7 countPitkin County: 94 countProwers County: 6 countPueblo County: 166 countRio Blanco County: 6 countRio Grande County: 21 countRoutt County: 107 countSaguache County: 14 countSan Juan County: 9 countSan Miguel County: 40 countSedgwick County: 7 countSummit County: 151 countTeller County: 71 countWashington County: 5 countWeld County: 523 countYuma County: 18 count
  • Under 10
  • 10 to 20
  • 20 to 40
  • 40 to 90
  • 90 to 240
  • 240 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.

All counties, 2021

Denver County: 1,887 countDenver County1,887Arapahoe County: 1,369 countArapahoe County1,369El Paso County: 1,243 countEl Paso County1,243Jefferson County: 1,207 countJefferson County1,207Boulder County: 924 countBoulder County924Douglas County: 790 countDouglas County790Adams County: 768 countAdams County768Larimer County: 758 countLarimer County758Weld County: 523 countWeld County523Mesa County: 287 countMesa County287Eagle County: 202 countEagle County202Broomfield County: 171 countBroomfield County171Garfield County: 166 countGarfield County166Pueblo County: 166 countPueblo County166Summit County: 151 countSummit County151La Plata County: 148 countLa Plata County148Routt County: 107 countRoutt County107Montrose County: 101 countMontrose County101Pitkin County: 94 countPitkin County94Chaffee County: 88 countChaffee County88Teller County: 71 countTeller County71Grand County: 70 countGrand County70Fremont County: 64 countFremont County64Gunnison County: 62 countGunnison County62Elbert County: 54 countElbert County54Delta County: 53 countDelta County53Montezuma County: 51 countMontezuma County51San Miguel County: 40 countSan Miguel County40Ouray County: 37 countOuray County37Park County: 36 countPark County36Archuleta County: 34 countArchuleta County34Moffat County: 31 countMoffat County31Morgan County: 30 countMorgan County30Clear Creek County: 22 countClear Creek County22Logan County: 21 countLogan County21Rio Grande County: 21 countRio Grande County21Alamosa County: 19 countAlamosa County19Lake County: 19 countLake County19Yuma County: 18 countYuma County18Otero County: 17 countOtero County17Gilpin County: 15 countGilpin County15Saguache County: 14 countSaguache County14Huerfano County: 13 countHuerfano County13Custer County: 11 countCuster County11Las Animas County: 11 countLas Animas County11San Juan County: 9 countSan Juan County9Kit Carson County: 8 countKit Carson County8Lincoln County: 7 countLincoln County7Phillips County: 7 countPhillips County7Sedgwick County: 7 countSedgwick County7Prowers County: 6 countProwers County6Rio Blanco County: 6 countRio Blanco County6Conejos County: 5 countConejos County5Crowley County: 5 countCrowley County5Washington County: 5 countWashington County5Jackson County: 3 countJackson County3Kiowa County: 3 countKiowa County3Mineral County: 3 countMineral County3Denver County: 1,887 countDenver County1,887Arapahoe County: 1,369 countArapahoe County1,369El Paso County: 1,243 countEl Paso County1,243Jefferson County: 1,207 countJefferson County1,207Boulder County: 924 countBoulder County924Douglas County: 790 countDouglas County790Adams County: 768 countAdams County768Larimer County: 758 countLarimer County758Weld County: 523 countWeld County523Mesa County: 287 countMesa County287Eagle County: 202 countEagle County202Broomfield County: 171 countBroomfield County171Garfield County: 166 countGarfield County166Pueblo County: 166 countPueblo County166Summit County: 151 countSummit County151La Plata County: 148 countLa Plata County148Routt County: 107 countRoutt County107Montrose County: 101 countMontrose County101Pitkin County: 94 countPitkin County94Chaffee County: 88 countChaffee County88Teller County: 71 countTeller County71Grand County: 70 countGrand County70Fremont County: 64 countFremont County64Gunnison County: 62 countGunnison County62Elbert County: 54 countElbert County54Delta County: 53 countDelta County53Montezuma County: 51 countMontezuma County51San Miguel County: 40 countSan Miguel County40Ouray County: 37 countOuray County37Park County: 36 countPark County36Archuleta County: 34 countArchuleta County34Moffat County: 31 countMoffat County31Morgan County: 30 countMorgan County30Clear Creek County: 22 countClear Creek County22Logan County: 21 countLogan County21Rio Grande County: 21 countRio Grande County21Alamosa County: 19 countAlamosa County19Lake County: 19 countLake County19Yuma County: 18 countYuma County18Otero County: 17 countOtero County17Gilpin County: 15 countGilpin County15Saguache County: 14 countSaguache County14Huerfano County: 13 countHuerfano County13Custer County: 11 countCuster County11Las Animas County: 11 countLas Animas County11San Juan County: 9 countSan Juan County9Kit Carson County: 8 countKit Carson County8Lincoln County: 7 countLincoln County7Phillips County: 7 countPhillips County7Sedgwick County: 7 countSedgwick County7Prowers County: 6 countProwers County6Rio Blanco County: 6 countRio Blanco County6Conejos County: 5 countConejos County5Crowley County: 5 countCrowley County5Washington County: 5 countWashington County5Jackson County: 3 countJackson County3Kiowa County: 3 countKiowa County3Mineral County: 3 countMineral 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

RankCounties2021
count
Change on 2020
1Denver County1,887+1.9%
2Arapahoe County1,369+10.9%
3El Paso County1,243+9.4%
4Jefferson County1,207+0.1%
5Boulder County924+10.3%
6Douglas County790+3%
7Adams County768+10.7%
8Larimer County758+6.3%
9Weld County523+8.7%
10Mesa County287+10.8%
11Eagle County202+9.8%
12Broomfield County171+11.8%
13Garfield County166+10.7%
13Pueblo County166-9.8%
15Summit County151+18%
16La Plata County148-2%
17Routt County1070%
18Montrose County101+9.8%
19Pitkin County94+6.8%
20Chaffee County88+15.8%
21Teller County71+26.8%
22Grand County70+12.9%
23Fremont County64-8.6%
24Gunnison County62+6.9%
25Elbert County54-10%
26Delta County53-15.9%
27Montezuma County51+2%
28San Miguel County40+5.3%
29Ouray County37+68.2%
30Park County36-21.7%
31Archuleta County34+25.9%
32Moffat County31+55%
33Morgan County30+3.4%
34Clear Creek County22-21.4%
35Logan County21-4.5%
35Rio Grande County21-36.4%
37Alamosa County19+35.7%
37Lake County19+26.7%
39Yuma County18+50%
40Otero County17+6.3%
41Gilpin County15+36.4%
42Saguache County14+133.3%
43Huerfano County13-7.1%
44Custer County11-38.9%
44Las Animas County11-42.1%
46San Juan County9+200%
47Kit Carson County8-42.9%
48Lincoln County7-30%
48Phillips County70%
48Sedgwick County7n/a
51Prowers County6-53.8%
51Rio Blanco County60%
53Conejos County5+25%
53Crowley County50%
53Washington County5-16.7%
56Jackson County3-25%
56Kiowa County3n/a
56Mineral 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 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 Colorado 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 Colorado 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/colorado-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 Colorado 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/colorado-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 Colorado 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/colorado-counties?period=2021 (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_colorado_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 Colorado 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/colorado-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 Colorado 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/colorado-counties?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/colorado-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?

Denver County, with 1,887 in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firm births?

Mineral County, with 3 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. 6 counties have no value for 2021 and are not ranked.

Employer firm births: other rankings

Counties in Colorado: more rankings