Counties in Minnesota by employer firm births

Hennepin County had the highest employer firm births of 87 counties in 2020, at 1,946. Traverse County had the lowest, at 3. The median was 22 and the figure for Minnesota was 6,659. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest1,946Hennepin County
Median2287 counties
Minnesota6,659History

Map of counties, 2020

Aitkin County: 17 countAnoka County: 405 countBecker County: 48 countBeltrami County: 43 countBenton County: 23 countBig Stone County: 7 countBlue Earth County: 90 countBrown County: 24 countCarlton County: 22 countCarver County: 127 countCass County: 37 countChippewa County: 6 countChisago County: 63 countClay County: 58 countClearwater County: 6 countCook County: 9 countCottonwood County: 9 countCrow Wing County: 95 countDakota County: 493 countDodge County: 12 countDouglas County: 50 countFaribault County: 12 countFillmore County: 17 countFreeborn County: 27 countGoodhue County: 47 countGrant County: 11 countHennepin County: 1,946 countHouston County: 16 countHubbard County: 28 countIsanti County: 57 countItasca County: 45 countJackson County: 8 countKanabec County: 18 countKandiyohi County: 39 countKittson County: 5 countKoochiching County: 9 countLac qui Parle County: 7 countLake County: 11 countLake of the Woods County: 4 countLe Sueur County: 23 countLincoln County: 5 countLyon County: 15 countMcLeod County: 24 countMahnomen County: 4 countMarshall County: 12 countMartin County: 11 countMeeker County: 22 countMille Lacs County: 22 countMorrison County: 31 countMower County: 28 countMurray County: 8 countNicollet County: 22 countNobles County: 12 countNorman County: 6 countOlmsted County: 186 countOtter Tail County: 63 countPennington County: 6 countPine County: 22 countPipestone County: 15 countPolk County: 29 countPope County: 16 countRamsey County: 693 countRed Lake County: 4 countRedwood County: 18 countRenville County: 12 countRice County: 58 countRock County: 6 countRoseau County: 18 countSt. Louis County: 203 countScott County: 171 countSherburne County: 111 countSibley County: 23 countStearns County: 145 countSteele County: 27 countStevens County: 9 countSwift County: 8 countTodd County: 31 countTraverse County: 3 countWabasha County: 22 countWadena County: 12 countWaseca County: 15 countWashington County: 356 countWatonwan County: 11 countWilkin County: 6 countWinona County: 44 countWright County: 162 countYellow Medicine County: 8 count
  • Under 10
  • 10 to 20
  • 20 to 30
  • 30 to 60
  • 60 and over
count, 2020. 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, 2020

Hennepin County: 1,946 countHennepin County1,946Ramsey County: 693 countRamsey County693Dakota County: 493 countDakota County493Anoka County: 405 countAnoka County405Washington County: 356 countWashington County356St. Louis County: 203 countSt. Louis County203Olmsted County: 186 countOlmsted County186Scott County: 171 countScott County171Wright County: 162 countWright County162Stearns County: 145 countStearns County145Carver County: 127 countCarver County127Sherburne County: 111 countSherburne County111Crow Wing County: 95 countCrow Wing County95Blue Earth County: 90 countBlue Earth County90Chisago County: 63 countChisago County63Otter Tail County: 63 countOtter Tail County63Clay County: 58 countClay County58Rice County: 58 countRice County58Isanti County: 57 countIsanti County57Douglas County: 50 countDouglas County50Becker County: 48 countBecker County48Goodhue County: 47 countGoodhue County47Itasca County: 45 countItasca County45Winona County: 44 countWinona County44Beltrami County: 43 countBeltrami County43Kandiyohi County: 39 countKandiyohi County39Cass County: 37 countCass County37Morrison County: 31 countMorrison County31Todd County: 31 countTodd County31Polk County: 29 countPolk County29Hubbard County: 28 countHubbard County28Mower County: 28 countMower County28Freeborn County: 27 countFreeborn County27Steele County: 27 countSteele County27Brown County: 24 countBrown County24McLeod County: 24 countMcLeod County24Benton County: 23 countBenton County23Le Sueur County: 23 countLe Sueur County23Sibley County: 23 countSibley County23Carlton County: 22 countCarlton County22Hennepin County: 1,946 countHennepin County1,946Ramsey County: 693 countRamsey County693Dakota County: 493 countDakota County493Anoka County: 405 countAnoka County405Washington County: 356 countWashington County356St. Louis County: 203 countSt. Louis County203Olmsted County: 186 countOlmsted County186Scott County: 171 countScott County171Wright County: 162 countWright County162Stearns County: 145 countStearns County145Carver County: 127 countCarver County127Sherburne County: 111 countSherburne County111Crow Wing County: 95 countCrow Wing County95Blue Earth County: 90 countBlue Earth County90Chisago County: 63 countChisago County63Otter Tail County: 63 countOtter Tail County63Clay County: 58 countClay County58Rice County: 58 countRice County58Isanti County: 57 countIsanti County57Douglas County: 50 countDouglas County50Becker County: 48 countBecker County48Goodhue County: 47 countGoodhue County47Itasca County: 45 countItasca County45Winona County: 44 countWinona County44Beltrami County: 43 countBeltrami County43Kandiyohi County: 39 countKandiyohi County39Cass County: 37 countCass County37Morrison County: 31 countMorrison County31Todd County: 31 countTodd County31Polk County: 29 countPolk County29Hubbard County: 28 countHubbard County28Mower County: 28 countMower County28Freeborn County: 27 countFreeborn County27Steele County: 27 countSteele County27Brown County: 24 countBrown County24McLeod County: 24 countMcLeod County24Benton County: 23 countBenton County23Le Sueur County: 23 countLe Sueur County23Sibley County: 23 countSibley County23Carlton County: 22 countCarlton 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

RankCounties2020
count
Change on 2019
1Hennepin County1,946+0.7%
2Ramsey County693+5.6%
3Dakota County493-0.2%
4Anoka County405+3.1%
5Washington County356+16.7%
6St. Louis County203+2%
7Olmsted County186+5.7%
8Scott County171-1.7%
9Wright County162-13.4%
10Stearns County145+9.8%
11Carver County127+9.5%
12Sherburne County111-1.8%
13Crow Wing County95+8%
14Blue Earth County90+40.6%
15Chisago County63-6%
15Otter Tail County63-17.1%
17Clay County58-10.8%
17Rice County58+1.8%
19Isanti County57+11.8%
20Douglas County50+4.2%
21Becker County48+29.7%
22Goodhue County47+2.2%
23Itasca County45-2.2%
24Winona County44+22.2%
25Beltrami County43-12.2%
26Kandiyohi County39+5.4%
27Cass County370%
28Morrison County31-22.5%
28Todd County31+14.8%
30Polk County29+70.6%
31Hubbard County280%
31Mower County28+12%
33Freeborn County27+17.4%
33Steele County27-6.9%
35Brown County24+4.3%
35McLeod County24-27.3%
37Benton County23-39.5%
37Le Sueur County23-30.3%
37Sibley County23+35.3%
40Carlton County22-33.3%
40Meeker County22+22.2%
40Mille Lacs County22-31.3%
40Nicollet County22-12%
40Pine County22-29%
40Wabasha County22+4.8%
46Kanabec County18+28.6%
46Redwood County18+20%
46Roseau County18+38.5%
49Aitkin County17+6.3%
49Fillmore County17+13.3%
51Houston County16-20%
51Pope County16+14.3%
53Lyon County15-11.8%
53Pipestone County15-6.3%
53Waseca County15-61.5%
56Dodge County12-25%
56Faribault County12-7.7%
56Marshall County12+50%
56Nobles County12-20%
56Renville County12-42.9%
56Wadena County12-7.7%
62Grant County11+37.5%
62Lake County11-8.3%
62Martin County11-8.3%
62Watonwan County11-15.4%
66Cook County9-35.7%
66Cottonwood County9-18.2%
66Koochiching County9-30.8%
66Stevens County9+50%
70Jackson County8+60%
70Murray County8+60%
70Swift County8-20%
70Yellow Medicine County8+33.3%
74Big Stone County7+16.7%
74Lac qui Parle County7-30%
76Chippewa County60%
76Clearwater County6-40%
76Norman County6+20%
76Pennington County6+20%
76Rock County6-33.3%
76Wilkin County60%
82Kittson County5+25%
82Lincoln County5-44.4%
84Lake of the Woods County4-20%
84Mahnomen County40%
84Red Lake County40%
87Traverse County3n/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. 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 Minnesota by employer firm births, 2020) [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 Minnesota by employer firm births, 2020. 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/minnesota-counties?period=2020. 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 Minnesota by employer firm births, 2020. 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/minnesota-counties?period=2020.

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 Minnesota by employer firm births, 2020 [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/minnesota-counties?period=2020 (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_minnesota_by_2020,
  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 Minnesota by employer firm births, 2020}},
  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/minnesota-counties?period=2020. 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 Minnesota by employer firm births, 2020
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/minnesota-counties?period=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/minnesota-counties?period=2020.
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?

Hennepin County, with 1,946 in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firm births?

Traverse County, with 3 in 2020.

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 Minnesota: more rankings