Counties in Nebraska by employer firm births

Douglas County had the highest employer firm births of 80 counties in 2002, at 785. Webster County had the lowest, at 0. The median was 12 and the figure for Nebraska was 2,690. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest785Douglas County
Median1280 counties
Nebraska2,690History

Map of counties, 2002

Adams County: 30 countAntelope County: 13 countArthur County: 0 countBoone County: 7 countBox Butte County: 19 countBoyd County: 7 countBrown County: 9 countBuffalo County: 83 countBurt County: 7 countButler County: 20 countCass County: 40 countCedar County: 21 countChase County: 8 countCherry County: 7 countCheyenne County: 20 countClay County: 6 countColfax County: 14 countCuming County: 14 countCuster County: 19 countDakota County: 31 countDawes County: 13 countDawson County: 32 countDeuel County: 3 countDixon County: 3 countDodge County: 35 countDouglas County: 785 countFillmore County: 13 countFranklin County: 5 countFrontier County: 6 countFurnas County: 7 countGage County: 30 countGarden County: 4 countGarfield County: 4 countHall County: 87 countHamilton County: 16 countHarlan County: 5 countHitchcock County: 5 countHolt County: 20 countHooker County: 3 countHoward County: 4 countJefferson County: 11 countKearney County: 15 countKeith County: 16 countKeya Paha County: 3 countKimball County: 6 countKnox County: 13 countLancaster County: 440 countLincoln County: 48 countMcPherson County: 0 countMadison County: 59 countMerrick County: 12 countMorrill County: 8 countNance County: 7 countNemaha County: 12 countNuckolls County: 11 countOtoe County: 29 countPawnee County: 4 countPhelps County: 14 countPierce County: 7 countPlatte County: 45 countPolk County: 6 countRed Willow County: 29 countRichardson County: 5 countRock County: 4 countSaline County: 10 countSarpy County: 189 countSaunders County: 33 countScotts Bluff County: 56 countSeward County: 23 countSheridan County: 7 countSherman County: 4 countSioux County: 0 countStanton County: 4 countThayer County: 8 countThurston County: 5 countValley County: 8 countWashington County: 38 countWayne County: 14 countWebster County: 0 countYork County: 22 count
  • Under 4
  • 4 to 7
  • 7 to 12
  • 12 to 18
  • 18 to 32
  • 32 and over
  • No data
count, 2002. 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, 2002

Douglas County: 785 countDouglas County785Lancaster County: 440 countLancaster County440Sarpy County: 189 countSarpy County189Hall County: 87 countHall County87Buffalo County: 83 countBuffalo County83Madison County: 59 countMadison County59Scotts Bluff County: 56 countScotts Bluff County56Lincoln County: 48 countLincoln County48Platte County: 45 countPlatte County45Cass County: 40 countCass County40Washington County: 38 countWashington County38Dodge County: 35 countDodge County35Saunders County: 33 countSaunders County33Dawson County: 32 countDawson County32Dakota County: 31 countDakota County31Adams County: 30 countAdams County30Gage County: 30 countGage County30Otoe County: 29 countOtoe County29Red Willow County: 29 countRed Willow County29Seward County: 23 countSeward County23York County: 22 countYork County22Cedar County: 21 countCedar County21Butler County: 20 countButler County20Cheyenne County: 20 countCheyenne County20Holt County: 20 countHolt County20Box Butte County: 19 countBox Butte County19Custer County: 19 countCuster County19Hamilton County: 16 countHamilton County16Keith County: 16 countKeith County16Kearney County: 15 countKearney County15Colfax County: 14 countColfax County14Cuming County: 14 countCuming County14Phelps County: 14 countPhelps County14Wayne County: 14 countWayne County14Antelope County: 13 countAntelope County13Dawes County: 13 countDawes County13Fillmore County: 13 countFillmore County13Knox County: 13 countKnox County13Merrick County: 12 countMerrick County12Nemaha County: 12 countNemaha County12Douglas County: 785 countDouglas County785Lancaster County: 440 countLancaster County440Sarpy County: 189 countSarpy County189Hall County: 87 countHall County87Buffalo County: 83 countBuffalo County83Madison County: 59 countMadison County59Scotts Bluff County: 56 countScotts Bluff County56Lincoln County: 48 countLincoln County48Platte County: 45 countPlatte County45Cass County: 40 countCass County40Washington County: 38 countWashington County38Dodge County: 35 countDodge County35Saunders County: 33 countSaunders County33Dawson County: 32 countDawson County32Dakota County: 31 countDakota County31Adams County: 30 countAdams County30Gage County: 30 countGage County30Otoe County: 29 countOtoe County29Red Willow County: 29 countRed Willow County29Seward County: 23 countSeward County23York County: 22 countYork County22Cedar County: 21 countCedar County21Butler County: 20 countButler County20Cheyenne County: 20 countCheyenne County20Holt County: 20 countHolt County20Box Butte County: 19 countBox Butte County19Custer County: 19 countCuster County19Hamilton County: 16 countHamilton County16Keith County: 16 countKeith County16Kearney County: 15 countKearney County15Colfax County: 14 countColfax County14Cuming County: 14 countCuming County14Phelps County: 14 countPhelps County14Wayne County: 14 countWayne County14Antelope County: 13 countAntelope County13Dawes County: 13 countDawes County13Fillmore County: 13 countFillmore County13Knox County: 13 countKnox County13Merrick County: 12 countMerrick County12Nemaha County: 12 countNemaha County12
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

RankCounties2002
count
Change on 2001
1Douglas County785+2.3%
2Lancaster County440+3.3%
3Sarpy County189-4.1%
4Hall County87+24.3%
5Buffalo County83+33.9%
6Madison County59-19.2%
7Scotts Bluff County56-8.2%
8Lincoln County48-15.8%
9Platte County45-4.3%
10Cass County40+33.3%
11Washington County38+15.2%
12Dodge County35-5.4%
13Saunders County33-5.7%
14Dawson County32+3.2%
15Dakota County31+29.2%
16Adams County30-33.3%
16Gage County30+11.1%
18Otoe County29+81.3%
18Red Willow County29-6.5%
20Seward County23+21.1%
21York County22+10%
22Cedar County21+23.5%
23Butler County20+122.2%
23Cheyenne County20+122.2%
23Holt County20-20%
26Box Butte County19-13.6%
26Custer County19-29.6%
28Hamilton County16-11.1%
28Keith County16-27.3%
30Kearney County15+87.5%
31Colfax County140%
31Cuming County14-36.4%
31Phelps County140%
31Wayne County14+7.7%
35Antelope County130%
35Dawes County130%
35Fillmore County13+44.4%
35Knox County13-18.8%
39Merrick County12+50%
39Nemaha County12+71.4%
41Jefferson County110%
41Nuckolls County11+120%
43Saline County10-37.5%
44Brown County90%
45Chase County80%
45Morrill County8+60%
45Thayer County8-11.1%
45Valley County8-11.1%
49Boone County7-46.2%
49Boyd County7+40%
49Burt County7-30%
49Cherry County7-46.2%
49Furnas County7-30%
49Nance County7-36.4%
49Pierce County7-56.3%
49Sheridan County7-30%
57Clay County6+50%
57Frontier County6+20%
57Kimball County6-40%
57Polk County6-33.3%
61Franklin County5-37.5%
61Harlan County5-37.5%
61Hitchcock County5n/a
61Richardson County5-54.5%
61Thurston County5+25%
66Garden County4n/a
66Garfield County40%
66Howard County4-20%
66Pawnee County4-20%
66Rock County4n/a
66Sherman County4n/a
66Stanton County4-33.3%
73Deuel County30%
73Dixon County3-50%
73Hooker County3n/a
73Keya Paha County3n/a
77Arthur County0n/a
77McPherson County0n/a
77Sioux County0n/a
77Webster 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. 13 counties with data in other periods have no value for 2002 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 Nebraska by employer firm births, 2002) [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 Nebraska by employer firm births, 2002. 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/nebraska-counties?period=2002. 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 Nebraska by employer firm births, 2002. 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/nebraska-counties?period=2002.

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 Nebraska by employer firm births, 2002 [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/nebraska-counties?period=2002 (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_nebraska_by_2002,
  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 Nebraska by employer firm births, 2002}},
  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/nebraska-counties?period=2002. 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 Nebraska by employer firm births, 2002
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/nebraska-counties?period=2002
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/nebraska-counties?period=2002.
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 Nebraska by employer firm births using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which county has the highest employer firm births?

Douglas County, with 785 in 2002, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firm births?

Webster County, with 0 in 2002.

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. 13 counties have no value for 2002 and are not ranked.

Employer firm births: other rankings

Counties in Nebraska: more rankings