Counties in Florida by employer firm births

Miami-Dade County had the highest employer firm births of 67 counties in 2016, at 7,132. Union County had the lowest, at 4. The median was 195 and the figure for Florida was 40,607. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest7,132Miami-Dade County
Median19567 counties
Florida40,607History

Map of counties, 2016

Alachua County: 362 countBaker County: 31 countBay County: 245 countBradford County: 29 countBrevard County: 1,009 countBroward County: 4,653 countCalhoun County: 11 countCharlotte County: 255 countCitrus County: 195 countClay County: 282 countCollier County: 866 countColumbia County: 77 countDeSoto County: 39 countDixie County: 8 countDuval County: 1,679 countEscambia County: 401 countFlagler County: 170 countFranklin County: 17 countGadsden County: 44 countGilchrist County: 20 countGlades County: 14 countGulf County: 13 countHamilton County: 5 countHardee County: 17 countHendry County: 31 countHernando County: 233 countHighlands County: 98 countHillsborough County: 2,550 countHolmes County: 11 countIndian River County: 298 countJackson County: 42 countJefferson County: 13 countLafayette County: 6 countLake County: 599 countLee County: 1,413 countLeon County: 355 countLevy County: 50 countLiberty County: 9 countMadison County: 16 countManatee County: 666 countMarion County: 425 countMartin County: 415 countMiami-Dade County: 7,132 countMonroe County: 258 countNassau County: 148 countOkaloosa County: 331 countOkeechobee County: 51 countOrange County: 2,961 countOsceola County: 609 countPalm Beach County: 3,701 countPasco County: 730 countPinellas County: 1,907 countPolk County: 728 countPutnam County: 74 countSt. Johns County: 526 countSt. Lucie County: 440 countSanta Rosa County: 220 countSarasota County: 971 countSeminole County: 954 countSumter County: 101 countSuwannee County: 42 countTaylor County: 27 countUnion County: 4 countVolusia County: 849 countWakulla County: 31 countWalton County: 191 countWashington County: 18 count
  • Under 20
  • 20 to 40
  • 40 to 200
  • 200 to 400
  • 400 to 870
  • 870 and over
count, 2016. 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, 2016

Miami-Dade County: 7,132 countMiami-Dade County7,132Broward County: 4,653 countBroward County4,653Palm Beach County: 3,701 countPalm Beach County3,701Orange County: 2,961 countOrange County2,961Hillsborough County: 2,550 countHillsborough County2,550Pinellas County: 1,907 countPinellas County1,907Duval County: 1,679 countDuval County1,679Lee County: 1,413 countLee County1,413Brevard County: 1,009 countBrevard County1,009Sarasota County: 971 countSarasota County971Seminole County: 954 countSeminole County954Collier County: 866 countCollier County866Volusia County: 849 countVolusia County849Pasco County: 730 countPasco County730Polk County: 728 countPolk County728Manatee County: 666 countManatee County666Osceola County: 609 countOsceola County609Lake County: 599 countLake County599St. Johns County: 526 countSt. Johns County526St. Lucie County: 440 countSt. Lucie County440Marion County: 425 countMarion County425Martin County: 415 countMartin County415Escambia County: 401 countEscambia County401Alachua County: 362 countAlachua County362Leon County: 355 countLeon County355Okaloosa County: 331 countOkaloosa County331Indian River County: 298 countIndian River County298Clay County: 282 countClay County282Monroe County: 258 countMonroe County258Charlotte County: 255 countCharlotte County255Bay County: 245 countBay County245Hernando County: 233 countHernando County233Santa Rosa County: 220 countSanta Rosa County220Citrus County: 195 countCitrus County195Walton County: 191 countWalton County191Flagler County: 170 countFlagler County170Nassau County: 148 countNassau County148Sumter County: 101 countSumter County101Highlands County: 98 countHighlands County98Columbia County: 77 countColumbia County77Miami-Dade County: 7,132 countMiami-Dade County7,132Broward County: 4,653 countBroward County4,653Palm Beach County: 3,701 countPalm Beach County3,701Orange County: 2,961 countOrange County2,961Hillsborough County: 2,550 countHillsborough County2,550Pinellas County: 1,907 countPinellas County1,907Duval County: 1,679 countDuval County1,679Lee County: 1,413 countLee County1,413Brevard County: 1,009 countBrevard County1,009Sarasota County: 971 countSarasota County971Seminole County: 954 countSeminole County954Collier County: 866 countCollier County866Volusia County: 849 countVolusia County849Pasco County: 730 countPasco County730Polk County: 728 countPolk County728Manatee County: 666 countManatee County666Osceola County: 609 countOsceola County609Lake County: 599 countLake County599St. Johns County: 526 countSt. Johns County526St. Lucie County: 440 countSt. Lucie County440Marion County: 425 countMarion County425Martin County: 415 countMartin County415Escambia County: 401 countEscambia County401Alachua County: 362 countAlachua County362Leon County: 355 countLeon County355Okaloosa County: 331 countOkaloosa County331Indian River County: 298 countIndian River County298Clay County: 282 countClay County282Monroe County: 258 countMonroe County258Charlotte County: 255 countCharlotte County255Bay County: 245 countBay County245Hernando County: 233 countHernando County233Santa Rosa County: 220 countSanta Rosa County220Citrus County: 195 countCitrus County195Walton County: 191 countWalton County191Flagler County: 170 countFlagler County170Nassau County: 148 countNassau County148Sumter County: 101 countSumter County101Highlands County: 98 countHighlands County98Columbia County: 77 countColumbia County77
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

RankCounties2016
count
Change on 2015
1Miami-Dade County7,132+5.6%
2Broward County4,653-1.7%
3Palm Beach County3,701+2.5%
4Orange County2,961+9.3%
5Hillsborough County2,550+4%
6Pinellas County1,907+3.1%
7Duval County1,679+6.5%
8Lee County1,413+2.9%
9Brevard County1,009+13.4%
10Sarasota County971-4%
11Seminole County954+6.7%
12Collier County866-3.7%
13Volusia County849+4.2%
14Pasco County730+4.4%
15Polk County728+5.1%
16Manatee County666+1.5%
17Osceola County609+10.7%
18Lake County599+9.1%
19St. Johns County526+7.3%
20St. Lucie County440+13.4%
21Marion County425-8%
22Martin County415+12.5%
23Escambia County401+11.7%
24Alachua County362+2.3%
25Leon County355-11.7%
26Okaloosa County331-2.1%
27Indian River County298+9.6%
28Clay County282+22.1%
29Monroe County258+2.8%
30Charlotte County255-9.9%
31Bay County245-14.3%
32Hernando County233+18.9%
33Santa Rosa County220+17%
34Citrus County195+15.4%
35Walton County191+14.4%
36Flagler County170-1.7%
37Nassau County148+20.3%
38Sumter County101+3.1%
39Highlands County98+8.9%
40Columbia County77+45.3%
41Putnam County74+25.4%
42Okeechobee County51-10.5%
43Levy County50+11.1%
44Gadsden County44+12.8%
45Jackson County42+13.5%
45Suwannee County42+2.4%
47DeSoto County39+56%
48Baker County31+40.9%
48Hendry County31-6.1%
48Wakulla County31-8.8%
51Bradford County29+11.5%
52Taylor County27+22.7%
53Gilchrist County20+5.3%
54Washington County18-14.3%
55Franklin County17-22.7%
55Hardee County17-22.7%
57Madison County16+23.1%
58Glades County14+27.3%
59Gulf County13-38.1%
59Jefferson County13-13.3%
61Calhoun County11+57.1%
61Holmes County110%
63Liberty County9+200%
64Dixie County8-50%
65Lafayette County6+100%
66Hamilton County5-54.5%
67Union County4+33.3%

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. 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 Florida by employer firm births, 2016) [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 Florida by employer firm births, 2016. 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/florida-counties?period=2016. 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 Florida by employer firm births, 2016. 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/florida-counties?period=2016.

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 Florida by employer firm births, 2016 [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/florida-counties?period=2016 (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_florida_by_2016,
  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 Florida by employer firm births, 2016}},
  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/florida-counties?period=2016. 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 Florida by employer firm births, 2016
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/florida-counties?period=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/florida-counties?period=2016.
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 Florida by employer firm births using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which county has the highest employer firm births?

Miami-Dade County, with 7,132 in 2016, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firm births?

Union County, with 4 in 2016.

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.

Employer firm births: other rankings

Counties in Florida: more rankings