Counties in North Dakota by employer firm births

Cass County had the highest employer firm births of 47 counties in 1997, at 235. Sioux County had the lowest, at 0. The median was 11 and the figure for North Dakota was 1,113. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest235Cass County
Median1147 counties
North Dakota1,113History

Map of counties, 1997

Barnes County: 25 countBenson County: 5 countBottineau County: 11 countBowman County: 14 countBurke County: 3 countBurleigh County: 134 countCass County: 235 countCavalier County: 13 countDickey County: 11 countDivide County: 7 countDunn County: 3 countEmmons County: 12 countFoster County: 8 countGolden Valley County: 3 countGrand Forks County: 72 countGrant County: 6 countGriggs County: 7 countHettinger County: 6 countKidder County: 3 countLaMoure County: 4 countLogan County: 3 countMcHenry County: 10 countMcIntosh County: 3 countMcKenzie County: 13 countMcLean County: 25 countMercer County: 12 countMorton County: 54 countMountrail County: 16 countNelson County: 13 countPembina County: 18 countPierce County: 4 countRamsey County: 20 countRansom County: 16 countRenville County: 7 countRichland County: 28 countRolette County: 7 countSargent County: 5 countSheridan County: 0 countSioux County: 0 countStark County: 52 countStutsman County: 33 countTowner County: 5 countTraill County: 22 countWalsh County: 23 countWard County: 94 countWells County: 11 countWilliams County: 32 count
  • Under 4
  • 4 to 7
  • 7 to 11
  • 11 to 16
  • 16 to 29
  • 29 and over
  • No data
count, 1997. 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, 1997

Cass County: 235 countCass County235Burleigh County: 134 countBurleigh County134Ward County: 94 countWard County94Grand Forks County: 72 countGrand Forks County72Morton County: 54 countMorton County54Stark County: 52 countStark County52Stutsman County: 33 countStutsman County33Williams County: 32 countWilliams County32Richland County: 28 countRichland County28Barnes County: 25 countBarnes County25McLean County: 25 countMcLean County25Walsh County: 23 countWalsh County23Traill County: 22 countTraill County22Ramsey County: 20 countRamsey County20Pembina County: 18 countPembina County18Mountrail County: 16 countMountrail County16Ransom County: 16 countRansom County16Bowman County: 14 countBowman County14Cavalier County: 13 countCavalier County13McKenzie County: 13 countMcKenzie County13Nelson County: 13 countNelson County13Emmons County: 12 countEmmons County12Mercer County: 12 countMercer County12Bottineau County: 11 countBottineau County11Dickey County: 11 countDickey County11Wells County: 11 countWells County11McHenry County: 10 countMcHenry County10Foster County: 8 countFoster County8Divide County: 7 countDivide County7Griggs County: 7 countGriggs County7Renville County: 7 countRenville County7Rolette County: 7 countRolette County7Grant County: 6 countGrant County6Hettinger County: 6 countHettinger County6Benson County: 5 countBenson County5Sargent County: 5 countSargent County5Towner County: 5 countTowner County5LaMoure County: 4 countLaMoure County4Pierce County: 4 countPierce County4Burke County: 3 countBurke County3Dunn County: 3 countDunn County3Golden Valley County: 3 countGolden Valley County3Kidder County: 3 countKidder County3Logan County: 3 countLogan County3McIntosh County: 3 countMcIntosh County3Sheridan County: 0 countSheridan County0Sioux County: 0 countSioux County0Cass County: 235 countCass County235Burleigh County: 134 countBurleigh County134Ward County: 94 countWard County94Grand Forks County: 72 countGrand Forks County72Morton County: 54 countMorton County54Stark County: 52 countStark County52Stutsman County: 33 countStutsman County33Williams County: 32 countWilliams County32Richland County: 28 countRichland County28Barnes County: 25 countBarnes County25McLean County: 25 countMcLean County25Walsh County: 23 countWalsh County23Traill County: 22 countTraill County22Ramsey County: 20 countRamsey County20Pembina County: 18 countPembina County18Mountrail County: 16 countMountrail County16Ransom County: 16 countRansom County16Bowman County: 14 countBowman County14Cavalier County: 13 countCavalier County13McKenzie County: 13 countMcKenzie County13Nelson County: 13 countNelson County13Emmons County: 12 countEmmons County12Mercer County: 12 countMercer County12Bottineau County: 11 countBottineau County11Dickey County: 11 countDickey County11Wells County: 11 countWells County11McHenry County: 10 countMcHenry County10Foster County: 8 countFoster County8Divide County: 7 countDivide County7Griggs County: 7 countGriggs County7Renville County: 7 countRenville County7Rolette County: 7 countRolette County7Grant County: 6 countGrant County6Hettinger County: 6 countHettinger County6Benson County: 5 countBenson County5Sargent County: 5 countSargent County5Towner County: 5 countTowner County5LaMoure County: 4 countLaMoure County4Pierce County: 4 countPierce County4Burke County: 3 countBurke County3Dunn County: 3 countDunn County3Golden Valley County: 3 countGolden Valley County3Kidder County: 3 countKidder County3Logan County: 3 countLogan County3McIntosh County: 3 countMcIntosh County3Sheridan County: 0 countSheridan County0Sioux County: 0 countSioux 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

RankCounties1997
count
Change on 1996
1Cass County235-6.4%
2Burleigh County134+11.7%
3Ward County94-10.5%
4Grand Forks County72-28%
5Morton County54+54.3%
6Stark County52-5.5%
7Stutsman County33-15.4%
8Williams County32-15.8%
9Richland County28-20%
10Barnes County25+31.6%
10McLean County25+92.3%
12Walsh County23+35.3%
13Traill County22+37.5%
14Ramsey County200%
15Pembina County18+28.6%
16Mountrail County16+33.3%
16Ransom County16+33.3%
18Bowman County14+133.3%
19Cavalier County13+62.5%
19McKenzie County13+333.3%
19Nelson County13n/a
22Emmons County12+140%
22Mercer County12-33.3%
24Bottineau County11-31.3%
24Dickey County11-35.3%
24Wells County11-8.3%
27McHenry County10-33.3%
28Foster County8+100%
29Divide County7+133.3%
29Griggs County7+16.7%
29Renville County7+16.7%
29Rolette County7-46.2%
33Grant County6-14.3%
33Hettinger County6+100%
35Benson County5-54.5%
35Sargent County50%
35Towner County5-64.3%
38LaMoure County4-55.6%
38Pierce County4-66.7%
40Burke County3-25%
40Dunn County3-25%
40Golden Valley County3-25%
40Kidder County3-40%
40Logan County30%
40McIntosh County3-57.1%
46Sheridan County0n/a
46Sioux County0-100%

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. 6 counties with data in other periods have no value for 1997 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, 1997) [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, 1997. 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=1997. 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, 1997. 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=1997.

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, 1997 [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=1997 (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_north_dakota_1997,
  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, 1997}},
  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=1997. 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, 1997
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=1997
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/north-dakota-counties?period=1997.
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 235 in 1997, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firm births?

Sioux County, with 0 in 1997.

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. 6 counties have no value for 1997 and are not ranked.

Employer firm births: other rankings

Counties in North Dakota: more rankings