Counties in Missouri by employer firm births

St. Louis County had the highest employer firm births of 113 counties in 2019, at 2,056. Sullivan County had the lowest, at 3. The median was 19 and the figure for Missouri was 9,033. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest2,056St. Louis County
Median19113 counties
Missouri9,033History

Map of counties, 2019

Adair County: 26 countAndrew County: 19 countAtchison County: 6 countAudrain County: 17 countBarry County: 50 countBarton County: 16 countBates County: 24 countBenton County: 20 countBollinger County: 17 countBoone County: 253 countBuchanan County: 82 countButler County: 37 countCaldwell County: 9 countCallaway County: 24 countCamden County: 72 countCape Girardeau County: 116 countCarroll County: 8 countCarter County: 10 countCass County: 149 countCedar County: 18 countChariton County: 6 countChristian County: 148 countClark County: 10 countClay County: 346 countClinton County: 16 countCole County: 96 countCooper County: 15 countCrawford County: 15 countDade County: 11 countDallas County: 26 countDaviess County: 15 countDeKalb County: 8 countDent County: 28 countDouglas County: 19 countDunklin County: 36 countFranklin County: 106 countGasconade County: 11 countGentry County: 8 countGreene County: 545 countGrundy County: 9 countHarrison County: 5 countHenry County: 32 countHickory County: 6 countHolt County: 6 countHoward County: 7 countHowell County: 75 countIron County: 18 countJackson County: 1,094 countJasper County: 146 countJefferson County: 197 countJohnson County: 43 countLaclede County: 41 countLafayette County: 34 countLawrence County: 40 countLewis County: 9 countLincoln County: 76 countLinn County: 14 countLivingston County: 16 countMcDonald County: 17 countMacon County: 14 countMadison County: 12 countMaries County: 7 countMarion County: 26 countMiller County: 40 countMississippi County: 22 countMoniteau County: 11 countMonroe County: 13 countMontgomery County: 8 countMorgan County: 35 countNew Madrid County: 24 countNewton County: 73 countNodaway County: 16 countOregon County: 8 countOsage County: 8 countOzark County: 12 countPemiscot County: 13 countPerry County: 23 countPettis County: 47 countPhelps County: 53 countPike County: 16 countPlatte County: 101 countPolk County: 41 countPulaski County: 32 countPutnam County: 4 countRalls County: 15 countRandolph County: 17 countRay County: 9 countReynolds County: 3 countRipley County: 27 countSt. Charles County: 504 countSt. Clair County: 8 countSte. Genevieve County: 15 countSt. Francois County: 70 countSt. Louis County: 2,056 countSaline County: 12 countSchuyler County: 5 countScotland County: 7 countScott County: 64 countShannon County: 10 countShelby County: 3 countStoddard County: 31 countStone County: 52 countSullivan County: 3 countTaney County: 94 countTexas County: 23 countVernon County: 24 countWarren County: 66 countWashington County: 30 countWayne County: 5 countWebster County: 53 countWorth County: 4 countWright County: 27 countSt. Louis city: 828 count
  • Under 10
  • 10 to 20
  • 20 to 30
  • 30 to 70
  • 70 and over
  • No data
count, 2019. 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, 2019

St. Louis County: 2,056 countSt. Louis County2,056Jackson County: 1,094 countJackson County1,094St. Louis city: 828 countSt. Louis city828Greene County: 545 countGreene County545St. Charles County: 504 countSt. Charles County504Clay County: 346 countClay County346Boone County: 253 countBoone County253Jefferson County: 197 countJefferson County197Cass County: 149 countCass County149Christian County: 148 countChristian County148Jasper County: 146 countJasper County146Cape Girardeau County: 116 countCape Girardeau County116Franklin County: 106 countFranklin County106Platte County: 101 countPlatte County101Cole County: 96 countCole County96Taney County: 94 countTaney County94Buchanan County: 82 countBuchanan County82Lincoln County: 76 countLincoln County76Howell County: 75 countHowell County75Newton County: 73 countNewton County73Camden County: 72 countCamden County72St. Francois County: 70 countSt. Francois County70Warren County: 66 countWarren County66Scott County: 64 countScott County64Phelps County: 53 countPhelps County53Webster County: 53 countWebster County53Stone County: 52 countStone County52Barry County: 50 countBarry County50Pettis County: 47 countPettis County47Johnson County: 43 countJohnson County43Laclede County: 41 countLaclede County41Polk County: 41 countPolk County41Lawrence County: 40 countLawrence County40Miller County: 40 countMiller County40Butler County: 37 countButler County37Dunklin County: 36 countDunklin County36Morgan County: 35 countMorgan County35Lafayette County: 34 countLafayette County34Henry County: 32 countHenry County32Pulaski County: 32 countPulaski County32St. Louis County: 2,056 countSt. Louis County2,056Jackson County: 1,094 countJackson County1,094St. Louis city: 828 countSt. Louis city828Greene County: 545 countGreene County545St. Charles County: 504 countSt. Charles County504Clay County: 346 countClay County346Boone County: 253 countBoone County253Jefferson County: 197 countJefferson County197Cass County: 149 countCass County149Christian County: 148 countChristian County148Jasper County: 146 countJasper County146Cape Girardeau County: 116 countCape Girardeau County116Franklin County: 106 countFranklin County106Platte County: 101 countPlatte County101Cole County: 96 countCole County96Taney County: 94 countTaney County94Buchanan County: 82 countBuchanan County82Lincoln County: 76 countLincoln County76Howell County: 75 countHowell County75Newton County: 73 countNewton County73Camden County: 72 countCamden County72St. Francois County: 70 countSt. Francois County70Warren County: 66 countWarren County66Scott County: 64 countScott County64Phelps County: 53 countPhelps County53Webster County: 53 countWebster County53Stone County: 52 countStone County52Barry County: 50 countBarry County50Pettis County: 47 countPettis County47Johnson County: 43 countJohnson County43Laclede County: 41 countLaclede County41Polk County: 41 countPolk County41Lawrence County: 40 countLawrence County40Miller County: 40 countMiller County40Butler County: 37 countButler County37Dunklin County: 36 countDunklin County36Morgan County: 35 countMorgan County35Lafayette County: 34 countLafayette County34Henry County: 32 countHenry County32Pulaski County: 32 countPulaski County32
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
1St. Louis County2,056+9.8%
2Jackson County1,094-2.9%
3St. Louis city828+8.1%
4Greene County545+2.3%
5St. Charles County504-0.4%
6Clay County346+5.5%
7Boone County253+4.5%
8Jefferson County197-21.2%
9Cass County149+24.2%
10Christian County148+5%
11Jasper County146-3.3%
12Cape Girardeau County116+11.5%
13Franklin County106-36.5%
14Platte County101-15.1%
15Cole County96-3%
16Taney County94-24.2%
17Buchanan County82-7.9%
18Lincoln County76+26.7%
19Howell County75+11.9%
20Newton County73+40.4%
21Camden County72-21.7%
22St. Francois County70-14.6%
23Warren County66+61%
24Scott County64-15.8%
25Phelps County53+6%
25Webster County53+43.2%
27Stone County52+2%
28Barry County50+42.9%
29Pettis County47-6%
30Johnson County43-4.4%
31Laclede County41+5.1%
31Polk County41+24.2%
33Lawrence County40-11.1%
33Miller County40+25%
35Butler County37-42.2%
36Dunklin County36-25%
37Morgan County35-2.8%
38Lafayette County34-12.8%
39Henry County32+39.1%
39Pulaski County32-3%
41Stoddard County31-24.4%
42Washington County30+50%
43Dent County28-22.2%
44Ripley County27-34.1%
44Wright County27+17.4%
46Adair County26-7.1%
46Dallas County26-10.3%
46Marion County26-25.7%
49Bates County24+118.2%
49Callaway County24-25%
49New Madrid County24-55.6%
49Vernon County24-7.7%
53Perry County23-20.7%
53Texas County23-20.7%
55Mississippi County22-38.9%
56Benton County20-23.1%
57Andrew County19-17.4%
57Douglas County19+72.7%
59Cedar County18-10%
59Iron County18-33.3%
61Audrain County17+6.3%
61Bollinger County17+6.3%
61McDonald County17-15%
61Randolph County17-45.2%
65Barton County16+23.1%
65Clinton County16-20%
65Livingston County16-23.8%
65Nodaway County16-20%
65Pike County16-23.8%
70Cooper County15+25%
70Crawford County15+15.4%
70Daviess County15+50%
70Ralls County15-11.8%
70Ste. Genevieve County15-44.4%
75Linn County14+55.6%
75Macon County14-12.5%
77Monroe County13+8.3%
77Pemiscot County13-38.1%
79Madison County12-25%
79Ozark County12+50%
79Saline County12-29.4%
82Dade County11+175%
82Gasconade County11-52.2%
82Moniteau County11-21.4%
85Carter County10+66.7%
85Clark County10+25%
85Shannon County10-28.6%
88Caldwell County9+12.5%
88Grundy County9-18.2%
88Lewis County9+28.6%
88Ray County9-47.1%
92Carroll County80%
92DeKalb County8-20%
92Gentry County8+33.3%
92Montgomery County8-42.9%
92Oregon County8-33.3%
92Osage County8-20%
92St. Clair County8n/a
99Howard County7n/a
99Maries County7-36.4%
99Scotland County7-41.7%
102Atchison County6+50%
102Chariton County6-33.3%
102Hickory County6-40%
102Holt County60%
106Harrison County5-58.3%
106Schuyler County5+25%
106Wayne County5-61.5%
109Putnam County40%
109Worth County4n/a
111Reynolds County3-40%
111Shelby County3-62.5%
111Sullivan 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. 2 counties with data in other periods have no value for 2019 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, 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 Missouri 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/missouri-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 Missouri 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/missouri-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 Missouri 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/missouri-counties?period=2019 (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_missouri_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 Missouri 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/missouri-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 Missouri 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/missouri-counties?period=2019
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/missouri-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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Questions

Which county has the highest employer firm births?

St. Louis County, with 2,056 in 2019, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firm births?

Sullivan 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. 2 counties have no value for 2019 and are not ranked.

Employer firm births: other rankings

Counties in Missouri: more rankings