Counties in Missouri by employer firm births

St. Louis County had the highest employer firm births of 112 counties in 2012, at 1,578. Knox County had the lowest, at 3. The median was 20 and the figure for Missouri was 7,730. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest1,578St. Louis County
Median20112 counties
Missouri7,730History

Map of counties, 2012

Adair County: 28 countAndrew County: 20 countAtchison County: 11 countAudrain County: 10 countBarry County: 38 countBarton County: 5 countBates County: 15 countBenton County: 21 countBollinger County: 13 countBoone County: 246 countBuchanan County: 76 countButler County: 50 countCaldwell County: 11 countCallaway County: 38 countCamden County: 77 countCape Girardeau County: 116 countCarroll County: 8 countCarter County: 8 countCass County: 118 countCedar County: 15 countChariton County: 12 countChristian County: 128 countClark County: 5 countClay County: 251 countClinton County: 15 countCole County: 92 countCooper County: 13 countCrawford County: 18 countDade County: 5 countDallas County: 18 countDaviess County: 16 countDeKalb County: 9 countDent County: 21 countDouglas County: 15 countDunklin County: 20 countFranklin County: 122 countGasconade County: 25 countGentry County: 6 countGreene County: 415 countGrundy County: 11 countHarrison County: 8 countHenry County: 21 countHickory County: 6 countHolt County: 7 countHoward County: 7 countHowell County: 69 countIron County: 24 countJackson County: 997 countJasper County: 123 countJefferson County: 212 countJohnson County: 45 countKnox County: 3 countLaclede County: 30 countLafayette County: 19 countLawrence County: 28 countLewis County: 15 countLincoln County: 53 countLinn County: 8 countLivingston County: 15 countMcDonald County: 21 countMacon County: 17 countMadison County: 9 countMarion County: 46 countMercer County: 4 countMiller County: 34 countMississippi County: 20 countMoniteau County: 12 countMonroe County: 7 countMontgomery County: 12 countMorgan County: 18 countNew Madrid County: 19 countNewton County: 63 countNodaway County: 27 countOregon County: 6 countOsage County: 15 countOzark County: 12 countPemiscot County: 31 countPerry County: 21 countPettis County: 34 countPhelps County: 64 countPike County: 27 countPlatte County: 134 countPolk County: 32 countPulaski County: 39 countPutnam County: 5 countRalls County: 7 countRandolph County: 24 countRay County: 17 countRipley County: 21 countSt. Charles County: 475 countSt. Clair County: 10 countSte. Genevieve County: 12 countSt. Francois County: 61 countSt. Louis County: 1,578 countSaline County: 14 countSchuyler County: 5 countScotland County: 5 countScott County: 46 countShannon County: 7 countShelby County: 4 countStoddard County: 33 countStone County: 52 countSullivan County: 11 countTaney County: 99 countTexas County: 25 countVernon County: 24 countWarren County: 45 countWashington County: 27 countWayne County: 12 countWebster County: 37 countWright County: 17 countSt. Louis city: 518 count
  • Under 10
  • 10 to 20
  • 20 to 30
  • 30 to 70
  • 70 and over
  • No data
count, 2012. 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, 2012

St. Louis County: 1,578 countSt. Louis County1,578Jackson County: 997 countJackson County997St. Louis city: 518 countSt. Louis city518St. Charles County: 475 countSt. Charles County475Greene County: 415 countGreene County415Clay County: 251 countClay County251Boone County: 246 countBoone County246Jefferson County: 212 countJefferson County212Platte County: 134 countPlatte County134Christian County: 128 countChristian County128Jasper County: 123 countJasper County123Franklin County: 122 countFranklin County122Cass County: 118 countCass County118Cape Girardeau County: 116 countCape Girardeau County116Taney County: 99 countTaney County99Cole County: 92 countCole County92Camden County: 77 countCamden County77Buchanan County: 76 countBuchanan County76Howell County: 69 countHowell County69Phelps County: 64 countPhelps County64Newton County: 63 countNewton County63St. Francois County: 61 countSt. Francois County61Lincoln County: 53 countLincoln County53Stone County: 52 countStone County52Butler County: 50 countButler County50Marion County: 46 countMarion County46Scott County: 46 countScott County46Johnson County: 45 countJohnson County45Warren County: 45 countWarren County45Pulaski County: 39 countPulaski County39Barry County: 38 countBarry County38Callaway County: 38 countCallaway County38Webster County: 37 countWebster County37Miller County: 34 countMiller County34Pettis County: 34 countPettis County34Stoddard County: 33 countStoddard County33Polk County: 32 countPolk County32Pemiscot County: 31 countPemiscot County31Laclede County: 30 countLaclede County30Adair County: 28 countAdair County28St. Louis County: 1,578 countSt. Louis County1,578Jackson County: 997 countJackson County997St. Louis city: 518 countSt. Louis city518St. Charles County: 475 countSt. Charles County475Greene County: 415 countGreene County415Clay County: 251 countClay County251Boone County: 246 countBoone County246Jefferson County: 212 countJefferson County212Platte County: 134 countPlatte County134Christian County: 128 countChristian County128Jasper County: 123 countJasper County123Franklin County: 122 countFranklin County122Cass County: 118 countCass County118Cape Girardeau County: 116 countCape Girardeau County116Taney County: 99 countTaney County99Cole County: 92 countCole County92Camden County: 77 countCamden County77Buchanan County: 76 countBuchanan County76Howell County: 69 countHowell County69Phelps County: 64 countPhelps County64Newton County: 63 countNewton County63St. Francois County: 61 countSt. Francois County61Lincoln County: 53 countLincoln County53Stone County: 52 countStone County52Butler County: 50 countButler County50Marion County: 46 countMarion County46Scott County: 46 countScott County46Johnson County: 45 countJohnson County45Warren County: 45 countWarren County45Pulaski County: 39 countPulaski County39Barry County: 38 countBarry County38Callaway County: 38 countCallaway County38Webster County: 37 countWebster County37Miller County: 34 countMiller County34Pettis County: 34 countPettis County34Stoddard County: 33 countStoddard County33Polk County: 32 countPolk County32Pemiscot County: 31 countPemiscot County31Laclede County: 30 countLaclede County30Adair County: 28 countAdair County28
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

RankCounties2012
count
Change on 2011
1St. Louis County1,578+11%
2Jackson County997+21%
3St. Louis city518+9.3%
4St. Charles County475+1.7%
5Greene County415-3%
6Clay County251+9.1%
7Boone County246+1.2%
8Jefferson County212+0.5%
9Platte County134+25.2%
10Christian County128+18.5%
11Jasper County1230%
12Franklin County122+17.3%
13Cass County118+11.3%
14Cape Girardeau County116+9.4%
15Taney County99+5.3%
16Cole County92+29.6%
17Camden County77+2.7%
18Buchanan County76-20.8%
19Howell County69+64.3%
20Phelps County64+8.5%
21Newton County63-12.5%
22St. Francois County61-20.8%
23Lincoln County53+26.2%
24Stone County52+18.2%
25Butler County50-39%
26Marion County46+48.4%
26Scott County46-25.8%
28Johnson County45-62.8%
28Warren County45+18.4%
30Pulaski County39+11.4%
31Barry County38+15.2%
31Callaway County38+46.2%
33Webster County37-11.9%
34Miller County34+9.7%
34Pettis County34-40.4%
36Stoddard County33-28.3%
37Polk County32-13.5%
38Pemiscot County31+6.9%
39Laclede County30-30.2%
40Adair County28-3.4%
40Lawrence County28-22.2%
42Nodaway County27+80%
42Pike County27+58.8%
42Washington County27+50%
45Gasconade County25+56.3%
45Texas County25+8.7%
47Iron County24+20%
47Randolph County24+14.3%
47Vernon County24-25%
50Benton County21-38.2%
50Dent County21+16.7%
50Henry County21-36.4%
50McDonald County21+23.5%
50Perry County21+10.5%
50Ripley County21-57.1%
56Andrew County200%
56Dunklin County20-60%
56Mississippi County20+66.7%
59Lafayette County19-20.8%
59New Madrid County19+5.6%
61Crawford County18-25%
61Dallas County18+100%
61Morgan County18-30.8%
64Macon County17+30.8%
64Ray County17+21.4%
64Wright County17-39.3%
67Daviess County16+128.6%
68Bates County15+25%
68Cedar County15-44.4%
68Clinton County15-37.5%
68Douglas County15+66.7%
68Lewis County15+50%
68Livingston County15-34.8%
68Osage County15+50%
75Saline County14-17.6%
76Bollinger County13+30%
76Cooper County13-7.1%
78Chariton County12+9.1%
78Moniteau County12+9.1%
78Montgomery County12-29.4%
78Ozark County12+9.1%
78Ste. Genevieve County12-40%
78Wayne County12-42.9%
84Atchison County11+10%
84Caldwell County11-15.4%
84Grundy County110%
84Sullivan County11+57.1%
88Audrain County10-47.4%
88St. Clair County10+42.9%
90DeKalb County9+12.5%
90Madison County9-40%
92Carroll County8-27.3%
92Carter County8-27.3%
92Harrison County8-55.6%
92Linn County8-33.3%
96Holt County7-36.4%
96Howard County7-46.2%
96Monroe County7+133.3%
96Ralls County7-36.4%
96Shannon County7-41.7%
101Gentry County6-50%
101Hickory County6-33.3%
101Oregon County6-57.1%
104Barton County5-37.5%
104Clark County50%
104Dade County5+25%
104Putnam County5-28.6%
104Schuyler County5-28.6%
104Scotland County5-37.5%
110Mercer County4-20%
110Shelby County4-20%
112Knox County3-25%

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 2012 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 Missouri by employer firm births, 2012) [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 Missouri by employer firm births, 2012. 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/missouri-counties?period=2012. 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 Missouri by employer firm births, 2012. 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/missouri-counties?period=2012.

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 Missouri by employer firm births, 2012 [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/missouri-counties?period=2012 (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_missouri_by_2012,
  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 Missouri by employer firm births, 2012}},
  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/missouri-counties?period=2012. 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 Missouri by employer firm births, 2012
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/missouri-counties?period=2012
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/missouri-counties?period=2012.
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 Missouri by employer firm births using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which county has the highest employer firm births?

St. Louis County, with 1,578 in 2012, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firm births?

Knox County, with 3 in 2012.

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 2012 and are not ranked.

Employer firm births: other rankings

Counties in Missouri: more rankings