Counties in Michigan by employer firm births

Oakland County had the highest employer firm births of 83 counties in 2019, at 1,918. Keweenaw County had the lowest, at 3. The median was 33 and the figure for Michigan was 10,209. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest1,918Oakland County
Median3383 counties
Michigan10,209History

Map of counties, 2019

Alcona County: 8 countAlger County: 8 countAllegan County: 126 countAlpena County: 29 countAntrim County: 36 countArenac County: 15 countBaraga County: 6 countBarry County: 49 countBay County: 47 countBenzie County: 19 countBerrien County: 147 countBranch County: 18 countCalhoun County: 83 countCass County: 35 countCharlevoix County: 41 countCheboygan County: 33 countChippewa County: 18 countClare County: 28 countClinton County: 68 countCrawford County: 10 countDelta County: 29 countDickinson County: 26 countEaton County: 100 countEmmet County: 57 countGenesee County: 324 countGladwin County: 16 countGogebic County: 18 countGrand Traverse County: 173 countGratiot County: 27 countHillsdale County: 36 countHoughton County: 37 countHuron County: 28 countIngham County: 288 countIonia County: 31 countIosco County: 23 countIron County: 16 countIsabella County: 47 countJackson County: 135 countKalamazoo County: 228 countKalkaska County: 12 countKent County: 690 countKeweenaw County: 3 countLake County: 4 countLapeer County: 83 countLeelanau County: 32 countLenawee County: 88 countLivingston County: 215 countLuce County: 10 countMackinac County: 11 countMacomb County: 982 countManistee County: 28 countMarquette County: 62 countMason County: 37 countMecosta County: 24 countMenominee County: 11 countMidland County: 83 countMissaukee County: 10 countMonroe County: 94 countMontcalm County: 49 countMontmorency County: 4 countMuskegon County: 118 countNewaygo County: 33 countOakland County: 1,918 countOceana County: 14 countOgemaw County: 16 countOntonagon County: 6 countOsceola County: 16 countOscoda County: 10 countOtsego County: 39 countOttawa County: 339 countPresque Isle County: 5 countRoscommon County: 26 countSaginaw County: 149 countSt. Clair County: 134 countSt. Joseph County: 41 countSanilac County: 28 countSchoolcraft County: 6 countShiawassee County: 50 countTuscola County: 37 countVan Buren County: 64 countWashtenaw County: 398 countWayne County: 1,764 countWexford County: 31 count
  • Under 10
  • 10 to 20
  • 20 to 30
  • 30 to 50
  • 50 to 130
  • 130 and over
count, 2019. 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, 2019

Oakland County: 1,918 countOakland County1,918Wayne County: 1,764 countWayne County1,764Macomb County: 982 countMacomb County982Kent County: 690 countKent County690Washtenaw County: 398 countWashtenaw County398Ottawa County: 339 countOttawa County339Genesee County: 324 countGenesee County324Ingham County: 288 countIngham County288Kalamazoo County: 228 countKalamazoo County228Livingston County: 215 countLivingston County215Grand Traverse County: 173 countGrand Traverse County173Saginaw County: 149 countSaginaw County149Berrien County: 147 countBerrien County147Jackson County: 135 countJackson County135St. Clair County: 134 countSt. Clair County134Allegan County: 126 countAllegan County126Muskegon County: 118 countMuskegon County118Eaton County: 100 countEaton County100Monroe County: 94 countMonroe County94Lenawee County: 88 countLenawee County88Calhoun County: 83 countCalhoun County83Lapeer County: 83 countLapeer County83Midland County: 83 countMidland County83Clinton County: 68 countClinton County68Van Buren County: 64 countVan Buren County64Marquette County: 62 countMarquette County62Emmet County: 57 countEmmet County57Shiawassee County: 50 countShiawassee County50Barry County: 49 countBarry County49Montcalm County: 49 countMontcalm County49Bay County: 47 countBay County47Isabella County: 47 countIsabella County47Charlevoix County: 41 countCharlevoix County41St. Joseph County: 41 countSt. Joseph County41Otsego County: 39 countOtsego County39Houghton County: 37 countHoughton County37Mason County: 37 countMason County37Tuscola County: 37 countTuscola County37Antrim County: 36 countAntrim County36Hillsdale County: 36 countHillsdale County36Oakland County: 1,918 countOakland County1,918Wayne County: 1,764 countWayne County1,764Macomb County: 982 countMacomb County982Kent County: 690 countKent County690Washtenaw County: 398 countWashtenaw County398Ottawa County: 339 countOttawa County339Genesee County: 324 countGenesee County324Ingham County: 288 countIngham County288Kalamazoo County: 228 countKalamazoo County228Livingston County: 215 countLivingston County215Grand Traverse County: 173 countGrand Traverse County173Saginaw County: 149 countSaginaw County149Berrien County: 147 countBerrien County147Jackson County: 135 countJackson County135St. Clair County: 134 countSt. Clair County134Allegan County: 126 countAllegan County126Muskegon County: 118 countMuskegon County118Eaton County: 100 countEaton County100Monroe County: 94 countMonroe County94Lenawee County: 88 countLenawee County88Calhoun County: 83 countCalhoun County83Lapeer County: 83 countLapeer County83Midland County: 83 countMidland County83Clinton County: 68 countClinton County68Van Buren County: 64 countVan Buren County64Marquette County: 62 countMarquette County62Emmet County: 57 countEmmet County57Shiawassee County: 50 countShiawassee County50Barry County: 49 countBarry County49Montcalm County: 49 countMontcalm County49Bay County: 47 countBay County47Isabella County: 47 countIsabella County47Charlevoix County: 41 countCharlevoix County41St. Joseph County: 41 countSt. Joseph County41Otsego County: 39 countOtsego County39Houghton County: 37 countHoughton County37Mason County: 37 countMason County37Tuscola County: 37 countTuscola County37Antrim County: 36 countAntrim County36Hillsdale County: 36 countHillsdale County36
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

RankCounties2019
count
Change on 2018
1Oakland County1,918-0.2%
2Wayne County1,764-1.7%
3Macomb County982-7.1%
4Kent County690-16.2%
5Washtenaw County398-8.3%
6Ottawa County339+16.9%
7Genesee County324+4.9%
8Ingham County288-4%
9Kalamazoo County228-7.3%
10Livingston County215-4.9%
11Grand Traverse County173+15.3%
12Saginaw County149-0.7%
13Berrien County147+24.6%
14Jackson County135+31.1%
15St. Clair County134-3.6%
16Allegan County126+14.5%
17Muskegon County118+1.7%
18Eaton County100+9.9%
19Monroe County94+10.6%
20Lenawee County88+14.3%
21Calhoun County83-11.7%
21Lapeer County83-10.8%
21Midland County83+10.7%
24Clinton County68+7.9%
25Van Buren County64-7.2%
26Marquette County62-12.7%
27Emmet County57-28.7%
28Shiawassee County50+2%
29Barry County49+32.4%
29Montcalm County49-5.8%
31Bay County47-23%
31Isabella County47+34.3%
33Charlevoix County41+20.6%
33St. Joseph County41-2.4%
35Otsego County39+2.6%
36Houghton County37-9.8%
36Mason County37+54.2%
36Tuscola County37+27.6%
39Antrim County36+16.1%
39Hillsdale County36+50%
41Cass County35+9.4%
42Cheboygan County33+37.5%
42Newaygo County33-21.4%
44Leelanau County32+18.5%
45Ionia County31-34%
45Wexford County31-11.4%
47Alpena County29-32.6%
47Delta County29-37%
49Clare County280%
49Huron County28+40%
49Manistee County28+55.6%
49Sanilac County28+27.3%
53Gratiot County27-18.2%
54Dickinson County26+4%
54Roscommon County26-7.1%
56Mecosta County24-20%
57Iosco County23-11.5%
58Benzie County19-20.8%
59Branch County18-43.8%
59Chippewa County18-35.7%
59Gogebic County18+157.1%
62Gladwin County16+33.3%
62Iron County16+77.8%
62Ogemaw County16-36%
62Osceola County16-42.9%
66Arenac County15+400%
67Oceana County14-30%
68Kalkaska County120%
69Mackinac County11-38.9%
69Menominee County11-45%
71Crawford County10-23.1%
71Luce County10+150%
71Missaukee County10-41.2%
71Oscoda County10+11.1%
75Alcona County8-20%
75Alger County8+14.3%
77Baraga County6-14.3%
77Ontonagon County6+50%
77Schoolcraft County60%
80Presque Isle County5-68.8%
81Lake County4-42.9%
81Montmorency County4-66.7%
83Keweenaw County3-62.5%

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 Michigan by employer firm births, 2019) [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 Michigan by employer firm births, 2019. 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/michigan-counties?period=2019. 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 Michigan by employer firm births, 2019. 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/michigan-counties?period=2019.

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 Michigan by employer firm births, 2019 [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/michigan-counties?period=2019 (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_michigan_by_2019,
  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 Michigan by employer firm births, 2019}},
  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/michigan-counties?period=2019. 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 Michigan by employer firm births, 2019
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/michigan-counties?period=2019
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/michigan-counties?period=2019.
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 Michigan by employer firm births using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which county has the highest employer firm births?

Oakland County, with 1,918 in 2019, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firm births?

Keweenaw County, with 3 in 2019.

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 Michigan: more rankings