Counties in North Dakota by employer firm births

Cass County had the highest employer firm births of 49 counties in 1996, at 251. Slope County had the lowest, at 0. The median was 12 and the figure for North Dakota was 1,144. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest251Cass County
Median1249 counties
North Dakota1,144History

Map of counties, 1996

Adams County: 6 countBarnes County: 19 countBenson County: 11 countBillings County: 3 countBottineau County: 16 countBowman County: 6 countBurke County: 4 countBurleigh County: 120 countCass County: 251 countCavalier County: 8 countDickey County: 17 countDivide County: 3 countDunn County: 4 countEddy County: 4 countEmmons County: 5 countFoster County: 4 countGolden Valley County: 4 countGrand Forks County: 100 countGrant County: 7 countGriggs County: 6 countHettinger County: 3 countKidder County: 5 countLaMoure County: 9 countLogan County: 3 countMcHenry County: 15 countMcIntosh County: 7 countMcKenzie County: 3 countMcLean County: 13 countMercer County: 18 countMorton County: 35 countMountrail County: 12 countPembina County: 14 countPierce County: 12 countRamsey County: 20 countRansom County: 12 countRenville County: 6 countRichland County: 35 countRolette County: 13 countSargent County: 5 countSioux County: 3 countSlope County: 0 countStark County: 55 countStutsman County: 39 countTowner County: 14 countTraill County: 16 countWalsh County: 17 countWard County: 105 countWells County: 12 countWilliams County: 38 count
  • Under 4
  • 4 to 6
  • 6 to 12
  • 12 to 15
  • 15 to 35
  • 35 and over
  • No data
count, 1996. 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.

All counties, 1996

Cass County: 251 countCass County251Burleigh County: 120 countBurleigh County120Ward County: 105 countWard County105Grand Forks County: 100 countGrand Forks County100Stark County: 55 countStark County55Stutsman County: 39 countStutsman County39Williams County: 38 countWilliams County38Morton County: 35 countMorton County35Richland County: 35 countRichland County35Ramsey County: 20 countRamsey County20Barnes County: 19 countBarnes County19Mercer County: 18 countMercer County18Dickey County: 17 countDickey County17Walsh County: 17 countWalsh County17Bottineau County: 16 countBottineau County16Traill County: 16 countTraill County16McHenry County: 15 countMcHenry County15Pembina County: 14 countPembina County14Towner County: 14 countTowner County14McLean County: 13 countMcLean County13Rolette County: 13 countRolette County13Mountrail County: 12 countMountrail County12Pierce County: 12 countPierce County12Ransom County: 12 countRansom County12Wells County: 12 countWells County12Benson County: 11 countBenson County11LaMoure County: 9 countLaMoure County9Cavalier County: 8 countCavalier County8Grant County: 7 countGrant County7McIntosh County: 7 countMcIntosh County7Adams County: 6 countAdams County6Bowman County: 6 countBowman County6Griggs County: 6 countGriggs County6Renville County: 6 countRenville County6Emmons County: 5 countEmmons County5Kidder County: 5 countKidder County5Sargent County: 5 countSargent County5Burke County: 4 countBurke County4Dunn County: 4 countDunn County4Eddy County: 4 countEddy County4Foster County: 4 countFoster County4Golden Valley County: 4 countGolden Valley County4Billings County: 3 countBillings County3Divide County: 3 countDivide County3Hettinger County: 3 countHettinger County3Logan County: 3 countLogan County3McKenzie County: 3 countMcKenzie County3Sioux County: 3 countSioux County3Slope County: 0 countSlope County0Cass County: 251 countCass County251Burleigh County: 120 countBurleigh County120Ward County: 105 countWard County105Grand Forks County: 100 countGrand Forks County100Stark County: 55 countStark County55Stutsman County: 39 countStutsman County39Williams County: 38 countWilliams County38Morton County: 35 countMorton County35Richland County: 35 countRichland County35Ramsey County: 20 countRamsey County20Barnes County: 19 countBarnes County19Mercer County: 18 countMercer County18Dickey County: 17 countDickey County17Walsh County: 17 countWalsh County17Bottineau County: 16 countBottineau County16Traill County: 16 countTraill County16McHenry County: 15 countMcHenry County15Pembina County: 14 countPembina County14Towner County: 14 countTowner County14McLean County: 13 countMcLean County13Rolette County: 13 countRolette County13Mountrail County: 12 countMountrail County12Pierce County: 12 countPierce County12Ransom County: 12 countRansom County12Wells County: 12 countWells County12Benson County: 11 countBenson County11LaMoure County: 9 countLaMoure County9Cavalier County: 8 countCavalier County8Grant County: 7 countGrant County7McIntosh County: 7 countMcIntosh County7Adams County: 6 countAdams County6Bowman County: 6 countBowman County6Griggs County: 6 countGriggs County6Renville County: 6 countRenville County6Emmons County: 5 countEmmons County5Kidder County: 5 countKidder County5Sargent County: 5 countSargent County5Burke County: 4 countBurke County4Dunn County: 4 countDunn County4Eddy County: 4 countEddy County4Foster County: 4 countFoster County4Golden Valley County: 4 countGolden Valley County4Billings County: 3 countBillings County3Divide County: 3 countDivide County3Hettinger County: 3 countHettinger County3Logan County: 3 countLogan County3McKenzie County: 3 countMcKenzie County3Sioux County: 3 countSioux County3Slope County: 0 countSlope County0
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

RankCounties1996
count
Change on 1995
1Cass County251-10.4%
2Burleigh County120-14.3%
3Ward County105-13.9%
4Grand Forks County100+11.1%
5Stark County55+34.1%
6Stutsman County39+18.2%
7Williams County38-11.6%
8Morton County35-14.6%
8Richland County35+25%
10Ramsey County200%
11Barnes County19+11.8%
12Mercer County18-10%
13Dickey County17+112.5%
13Walsh County17-22.7%
15Bottineau County16+23.1%
15Traill County16-15.8%
17McHenry County15+87.5%
18Pembina County14-26.3%
18Towner County14+250%
20McLean County130%
20Rolette County13+62.5%
22Mountrail County12-14.3%
22Pierce County120%
22Ransom County12-7.7%
22Wells County12+200%
26Benson County11-15.4%
27LaMoure County9+50%
28Cavalier County8+14.3%
29Grant County7+133.3%
29McIntosh County7-12.5%
31Adams County6+20%
31Bowman County6-14.3%
31Griggs County6-25%
31Renville County6-33.3%
35Emmons County5-50%
35Kidder County5+66.7%
35Sargent County5-37.5%
38Burke County4-20%
38Dunn County4-66.7%
38Eddy County4-50%
38Foster County4-50%
38Golden Valley County4n/a
43Billings County30%
43Divide County30%
43Hettinger County3-57.1%
43Logan County30%
43McKenzie County3-50%
43Sioux County3-50%
49Slope 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. 4 counties with data in other periods have no value for 1996 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 North Dakota by employer firm births, 1996) [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 North Dakota by employer firm births, 1996. 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/north-dakota-counties?period=1996. 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 North Dakota by employer firm births, 1996. 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/north-dakota-counties?period=1996.

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 North Dakota by employer firm births, 1996 [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/north-dakota-counties?period=1996 (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_north_dakota_1996,
  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 North Dakota by employer firm births, 1996}},
  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/north-dakota-counties?period=1996. 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 North Dakota by employer firm births, 1996
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/north-dakota-counties?period=1996
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/north-dakota-counties?period=1996.
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?

Cass County, with 251 in 1996, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firm births?

Slope County, with 0 in 1996.

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. 4 counties have no value for 1996 and are not ranked.

Employer firm births: other rankings

Counties in North Dakota: more rankings