Counties in Florida by employer firm births

Miami-Dade County had the highest employer firm births of 67 counties in 2021, at 9,287. Lafayette County had the lowest, at 5. The median was 265 and the figure for Florida was 51,290. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest9,287Miami-Dade County
Median26567 counties
Florida51,290History

Map of counties, 2021

Alachua County: 411 countBaker County: 37 countBay County: 322 countBradford County: 29 countBrevard County: 1,032 countBroward County: 6,335 countCalhoun County: 12 countCharlotte County: 319 countCitrus County: 175 countClay County: 374 countCollier County: 1,058 countColumbia County: 82 countDeSoto County: 37 countDixie County: 16 countDuval County: 1,962 countEscambia County: 516 countFlagler County: 237 countFranklin County: 11 countGadsden County: 59 countGilchrist County: 23 countGlades County: 10 countGulf County: 24 countHamilton County: 8 countHardee County: 29 countHendry County: 56 countHernando County: 265 countHighlands County: 117 countHillsborough County: 3,487 countHolmes County: 20 countIndian River County: 322 countJackson County: 52 countJefferson County: 24 countLafayette County: 5 countLake County: 695 countLee County: 1,774 countLeon County: 467 countLevy County: 54 countLiberty County: 7 countMadison County: 15 countManatee County: 851 countMarion County: 561 countMartin County: 426 countMiami-Dade County: 9,287 countMonroe County: 292 countNassau County: 157 countOkaloosa County: 419 countOkeechobee County: 52 countOrange County: 3,706 countOsceola County: 786 countPalm Beach County: 4,676 countPasco County: 956 countPinellas County: 2,275 countPolk County: 1,073 countPutnam County: 74 countSt. Johns County: 707 countSt. Lucie County: 611 countSanta Rosa County: 279 countSarasota County: 1,110 countSeminole County: 1,092 countSumter County: 111 countSuwannee County: 36 countTaylor County: 18 countUnion County: 12 countVolusia County: 987 countWakulla County: 37 countWalton County: 293 countWashington County: 29 count
  • Under 20
  • 20 to 50
  • 50 to 270
  • 270 to 470
  • 470 to 1,100
  • 1,100 and over
count, 2021. 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, 2021

Miami-Dade County: 9,287 countMiami-Dade County9,287Broward County: 6,335 countBroward County6,335Palm Beach County: 4,676 countPalm Beach County4,676Orange County: 3,706 countOrange County3,706Hillsborough County: 3,487 countHillsborough County3,487Pinellas County: 2,275 countPinellas County2,275Duval County: 1,962 countDuval County1,962Lee County: 1,774 countLee County1,774Sarasota County: 1,110 countSarasota County1,110Seminole County: 1,092 countSeminole County1,092Polk County: 1,073 countPolk County1,073Collier County: 1,058 countCollier County1,058Brevard County: 1,032 countBrevard County1,032Volusia County: 987 countVolusia County987Pasco County: 956 countPasco County956Manatee County: 851 countManatee County851Osceola County: 786 countOsceola County786St. Johns County: 707 countSt. Johns County707Lake County: 695 countLake County695St. Lucie County: 611 countSt. Lucie County611Marion County: 561 countMarion County561Escambia County: 516 countEscambia County516Leon County: 467 countLeon County467Martin County: 426 countMartin County426Okaloosa County: 419 countOkaloosa County419Alachua County: 411 countAlachua County411Clay County: 374 countClay County374Bay County: 322 countBay County322Indian River County: 322 countIndian River County322Charlotte County: 319 countCharlotte County319Walton County: 293 countWalton County293Monroe County: 292 countMonroe County292Santa Rosa County: 279 countSanta Rosa County279Hernando County: 265 countHernando County265Flagler County: 237 countFlagler County237Citrus County: 175 countCitrus County175Nassau County: 157 countNassau County157Highlands County: 117 countHighlands County117Sumter County: 111 countSumter County111Columbia County: 82 countColumbia County82Miami-Dade County: 9,287 countMiami-Dade County9,287Broward County: 6,335 countBroward County6,335Palm Beach County: 4,676 countPalm Beach County4,676Orange County: 3,706 countOrange County3,706Hillsborough County: 3,487 countHillsborough County3,487Pinellas County: 2,275 countPinellas County2,275Duval County: 1,962 countDuval County1,962Lee County: 1,774 countLee County1,774Sarasota County: 1,110 countSarasota County1,110Seminole County: 1,092 countSeminole County1,092Polk County: 1,073 countPolk County1,073Collier County: 1,058 countCollier County1,058Brevard County: 1,032 countBrevard County1,032Volusia County: 987 countVolusia County987Pasco County: 956 countPasco County956Manatee County: 851 countManatee County851Osceola County: 786 countOsceola County786St. Johns County: 707 countSt. Johns County707Lake County: 695 countLake County695St. Lucie County: 611 countSt. Lucie County611Marion County: 561 countMarion County561Escambia County: 516 countEscambia County516Leon County: 467 countLeon County467Martin County: 426 countMartin County426Okaloosa County: 419 countOkaloosa County419Alachua County: 411 countAlachua County411Clay County: 374 countClay County374Bay County: 322 countBay County322Indian River County: 322 countIndian River County322Charlotte County: 319 countCharlotte County319Walton County: 293 countWalton County293Monroe County: 292 countMonroe County292Santa Rosa County: 279 countSanta Rosa County279Hernando County: 265 countHernando County265Flagler County: 237 countFlagler County237Citrus County: 175 countCitrus County175Nassau County: 157 countNassau County157Highlands County: 117 countHighlands County117Sumter County: 111 countSumter County111Columbia County: 82 countColumbia County82
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
1Miami-Dade County9,287+28.5%
2Broward County6,335+34.3%
3Palm Beach County4,676+18.8%
4Orange County3,706+18.5%
5Hillsborough County3,487+17.2%
6Pinellas County2,275+10.2%
7Duval County1,962+19.7%
8Lee County1,774+17.1%
9Sarasota County1,110+6.7%
10Seminole County1,092+10.8%
11Polk County1,073+24.8%
12Collier County1,058+10.2%
13Brevard County1,032+13%
14Volusia County987+10.5%
15Pasco County956+23.4%
16Manatee County851+8%
17Osceola County786+18.2%
18St. Johns County707+22.3%
19Lake County695+14.7%
20St. Lucie County611+11.9%
21Marion County561+16.4%
22Escambia County516+15.4%
23Leon County467+8.6%
24Martin County426+13%
25Okaloosa County419+31.3%
26Alachua County411+4.8%
27Clay County374+38.5%
28Bay County322-3%
28Indian River County322+11.8%
30Charlotte County319+18.1%
31Walton County293+21.6%
32Monroe County292+22.2%
33Santa Rosa County279+5.7%
34Hernando County265+14.2%
35Flagler County237+16.2%
36Citrus County175-3.3%
37Nassau County157+1.9%
38Highlands County117+21.9%
39Sumter County111-9%
40Columbia County82-4.7%
41Putnam County74+8.8%
42Gadsden County59+68.6%
43Hendry County56+5.7%
44Levy County54-3.6%
45Jackson County52+30%
45Okeechobee County52+15.6%
47Baker County37+42.3%
47DeSoto County37+37%
47Wakulla County37+23.3%
50Suwannee County36-5.3%
51Bradford County29+26.1%
51Hardee County29+7.4%
51Washington County290%
54Gulf County24-25%
54Jefferson County24+26.3%
56Gilchrist County23+21.1%
57Holmes County20-13%
58Taylor County18-43.8%
59Dixie County16-5.9%
60Madison County15-21.1%
61Calhoun County12+9.1%
61Union County12+100%
63Franklin County11-38.9%
64Glades County10-9.1%
65Hamilton County8-55.6%
66Liberty County7-22.2%
67Lafayette County5-16.7%

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, 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 Florida 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/florida-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 Florida 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/florida-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 Florida 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/florida-counties?period=2021 (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_florida_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 Florida 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/florida-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 Florida 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/florida-counties?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/florida-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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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 9,287 in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firm births?

Lafayette County, with 5 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.

Employer firm births: other rankings

Counties in Florida: more rankings