Counties in Kentucky by employer firm births

Jefferson County had the highest employer firm births of 117 counties in 2015, at 800. Robertson County had the lowest, at 0. The median was 16 and the figure for Kentucky was 4,128. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Median16117 counties
Kentucky4,128History

Map of counties, 2015

Adair County: 16 countAllen County: 13 countAnderson County: 15 countBallard County: 4 countBarren County: 34 countBath County: 7 countBell County: 16 countBoone County: 133 countBourbon County: 22 countBoyd County: 59 countBoyle County: 32 countBracken County: 3 countBreathitt County: 19 countBreckinridge County: 16 countBullitt County: 56 countButler County: 9 countCaldwell County: 11 countCalloway County: 29 countCampbell County: 87 countCarlisle County: 6 countCarroll County: 8 countCarter County: 18 countCasey County: 17 countChristian County: 65 countClark County: 24 countClay County: 11 countClinton County: 11 countCrittenden County: 8 countCumberland County: 4 countDaviess County: 92 countEdmonson County: 8 countElliott County: 4 countEstill County: 5 countFayette County: 423 countFleming County: 8 countFloyd County: 47 countFranklin County: 46 countFulton County: 3 countGallatin County: 5 countGarrard County: 16 countGrant County: 16 countGraves County: 31 countGrayson County: 26 countGreen County: 6 countGreenup County: 11 countHancock County: 3 countHardin County: 109 countHarlan County: 14 countHarrison County: 8 countHart County: 20 countHenderson County: 27 countHenry County: 16 countHickman County: 0 countHopkins County: 45 countJackson County: 7 countJefferson County: 800 countJessamine County: 54 countJohnson County: 27 countKenton County: 123 countKnott County: 9 countKnox County: 21 countLarue County: 9 countLaurel County: 46 countLawrence County: 8 countLee County: 3 countLeslie County: 7 countLetcher County: 8 countLewis County: 6 countLincoln County: 16 countLivingston County: 5 countLogan County: 16 countLyon County: 10 countMcCracken County: 87 countMcCreary County: 13 countMcLean County: 11 countMadison County: 87 countMagoffin County: 11 countMarion County: 13 countMarshall County: 27 countMartin County: 7 countMason County: 12 countMeade County: 18 countMercer County: 21 countMetcalfe County: 6 countMonroe County: 11 countMontgomery County: 29 countMorgan County: 4 countMuhlenberg County: 28 countNelson County: 58 countOhio County: 18 countOldham County: 63 countOwen County: 4 countPendleton County: 5 countPerry County: 21 countPike County: 53 countPowell County: 9 countPulaski County: 93 countRobertson County: 0 countRockcastle County: 4 countRowan County: 22 countRussell County: 8 countScott County: 59 countShelby County: 45 countSimpson County: 21 countSpencer County: 12 countTaylor County: 23 countTodd County: 14 countTrigg County: 16 countTrimble County: 9 countUnion County: 11 countWarren County: 168 countWashington County: 12 countWayne County: 12 countWebster County: 12 countWhitley County: 23 countWolfe County: 4 countWoodford County: 34 count
  • Under 6
  • 6 to 11
  • 11 to 16
  • 16 to 22
  • 22 to 47
  • 47 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.

Top 40 counties, 2015

Jefferson County: 800 countJefferson County800Fayette County: 423 countFayette County423Warren County: 168 countWarren County168Boone County: 133 countBoone County133Kenton County: 123 countKenton County123Hardin County: 109 countHardin County109Pulaski County: 93 countPulaski County93Daviess County: 92 countDaviess County92Campbell County: 87 countCampbell County87Madison County: 87 countMadison County87McCracken County: 87 countMcCracken County87Christian County: 65 countChristian County65Oldham County: 63 countOldham County63Boyd County: 59 countBoyd County59Scott County: 59 countScott County59Nelson County: 58 countNelson County58Bullitt County: 56 countBullitt County56Jessamine County: 54 countJessamine County54Pike County: 53 countPike County53Floyd County: 47 countFloyd County47Franklin County: 46 countFranklin County46Laurel County: 46 countLaurel County46Hopkins County: 45 countHopkins County45Shelby County: 45 countShelby County45Barren County: 34 countBarren County34Woodford County: 34 countWoodford County34Boyle County: 32 countBoyle County32Graves County: 31 countGraves County31Calloway County: 29 countCalloway County29Montgomery County: 29 countMontgomery County29Muhlenberg County: 28 countMuhlenberg County28Henderson County: 27 countHenderson County27Johnson County: 27 countJohnson County27Marshall County: 27 countMarshall County27Grayson County: 26 countGrayson County26Clark County: 24 countClark County24Taylor County: 23 countTaylor County23Whitley County: 23 countWhitley County23Bourbon County: 22 countBourbon County22Rowan County: 22 countRowan County22Jefferson County: 800 countJefferson County800Fayette County: 423 countFayette County423Warren County: 168 countWarren County168Boone County: 133 countBoone County133Kenton County: 123 countKenton County123Hardin County: 109 countHardin County109Pulaski County: 93 countPulaski County93Daviess County: 92 countDaviess County92Campbell County: 87 countCampbell County87Madison County: 87 countMadison County87McCracken County: 87 countMcCracken County87Christian County: 65 countChristian County65Oldham County: 63 countOldham County63Boyd County: 59 countBoyd County59Scott County: 59 countScott County59Nelson County: 58 countNelson County58Bullitt County: 56 countBullitt County56Jessamine County: 54 countJessamine County54Pike County: 53 countPike County53Floyd County: 47 countFloyd County47Franklin County: 46 countFranklin County46Laurel County: 46 countLaurel County46Hopkins County: 45 countHopkins County45Shelby County: 45 countShelby County45Barren County: 34 countBarren County34Woodford County: 34 countWoodford County34Boyle County: 32 countBoyle County32Graves County: 31 countGraves County31Calloway County: 29 countCalloway County29Montgomery County: 29 countMontgomery County29Muhlenberg County: 28 countMuhlenberg County28Henderson County: 27 countHenderson County27Johnson County: 27 countJohnson County27Marshall County: 27 countMarshall County27Grayson County: 26 countGrayson County26Clark County: 24 countClark County24Taylor County: 23 countTaylor County23Whitley County: 23 countWhitley County23Bourbon County: 22 countBourbon County22Rowan County: 22 countRowan County22
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
1Jefferson County800-8.7%
2Fayette County423-10.4%
3Warren County168-13.4%
4Boone County133+11.8%
5Kenton County123-1.6%
6Hardin County109-31%
7Pulaski County93-12.3%
8Daviess County92+37.3%
9Campbell County87+3.6%
9Madison County87-15.5%
9McCracken County87+3.6%
12Christian County65+16.1%
13Oldham County63-13.7%
14Boyd County59+1.7%
14Scott County59+20.4%
16Nelson County58-7.9%
17Bullitt County56-23.3%
18Jessamine County54-15.6%
19Pike County53-15.9%
20Floyd County47-37.3%
21Franklin County460%
21Laurel County46+15%
23Hopkins County45+12.5%
23Shelby County45-10%
25Barren County34-26.1%
25Woodford County34-2.9%
27Boyle County32+3.2%
28Graves County31-11.4%
29Calloway County29-46.3%
29Montgomery County29-3.3%
31Muhlenberg County28-15.2%
32Henderson County27-28.9%
32Johnson County27+12.5%
32Marshall County27-27%
35Grayson County26-36.6%
36Clark County24-29.4%
37Taylor County23-17.9%
37Whitley County23+64.3%
39Bourbon County22-8.3%
39Rowan County22-47.6%
41Knox County21+5%
41Mercer County21+61.5%
41Perry County21-30%
41Simpson County21-8.7%
45Hart County20+33.3%
46Breathitt County19-45.7%
47Carter County18-41.9%
47Meade County18-40%
47Ohio County18-5.3%
50Casey County17-19%
51Adair County16-27.3%
51Bell County16+77.8%
51Breckinridge County16-52.9%
51Garrard County16-11.1%
51Grant County16-5.9%
51Henry County16+33.3%
51Lincoln County16-15.8%
51Logan County16-38.5%
51Trigg County16+45.5%
60Anderson County15-16.7%
61Harlan County14+7.7%
61Todd County14+27.3%
63Allen County13-38.1%
63Marion County13-43.5%
63McCreary County13-48%
66Mason County120%
66Spencer County12-7.7%
66Washington County12-7.7%
66Wayne County12-25%
66Webster County12+33.3%
71Caldwell County11+22.2%
71Clay County11-15.4%
71Clinton County110%
71Greenup County11-68.6%
71Magoffin County11-38.9%
71McLean County11+175%
71Monroe County11-21.4%
71Union County11-15.4%
79Lyon County10+150%
80Butler County9-40%
80Knott County9+28.6%
80Larue County9-47.1%
80Powell County9-35.7%
80Trimble County9+125%
85Carroll County8-27.3%
85Crittenden County8+100%
85Edmonson County8-38.5%
85Fleming County8-27.3%
85Harrison County8-52.9%
85Lawrence County8-46.7%
85Letcher County8-33.3%
85Russell County8-70.4%
93Bath County7-69.6%
93Jackson County7+133.3%
93Leslie County7-12.5%
93Martin County7-22.2%
97Carlisle County6+50%
97Green County6-57.1%
97Lewis County6-25%
97Metcalfe County6-14.3%
101Estill County5-61.5%
101Gallatin County5+66.7%
101Livingston County5-61.5%
101Pendleton County5-37.5%
105Ballard County4-50%
105Cumberland County4-33.3%
105Elliott County4-33.3%
105Morgan County4+33.3%
105Owen County4-33.3%
105Rockcastle County40%
105Wolfe County4-20%
112Bracken County3-40%
112Fulton County3-72.7%
112Hancock County3n/a
112Lee County3-50%
116Hickman County0-100%
116Robertson County0n/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. 3 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 Kentucky 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 Kentucky 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/kentucky-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 Kentucky 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/kentucky-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 Kentucky 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/kentucky-counties?period=2015 (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_kentucky_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 Kentucky 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/kentucky-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 Kentucky 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/kentucky-counties?period=2015
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/kentucky-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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Rank Counties in Kentucky by employer firm births using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which county has the highest employer firm births?

Jefferson County, with 800 in 2015, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firm births?

Robertson County, with 0 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. 3 counties have no value for 2015 and are not ranked.

Employer firm births: other rankings

Counties in Kentucky: more rankings