Counties in North Dakota by employer firm births

Cass County had the highest employer firm births of 47 counties in 1999, at 211. Slope County had the lowest, at 0. The median was 8 and the figure for North Dakota was 923. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest211Cass County
Median847 counties
North Dakota923History

Map of counties, 1999

Adams County: 3 countBarnes County: 20 countBenson County: 7 countBottineau County: 11 countBowman County: 11 countBurke County: 0 countBurleigh County: 105 countCass County: 211 countCavalier County: 7 countDickey County: 8 countEddy County: 6 countEmmons County: 12 countGolden Valley County: 5 countGrand Forks County: 81 countGrant County: 3 countGriggs County: 4 countHettinger County: 0 countKidder County: 3 countLaMoure County: 11 countLogan County: 5 countMcHenry County: 7 countMcIntosh County: 5 countMcKenzie County: 9 countMcLean County: 11 countMercer County: 9 countMorton County: 43 countMountrail County: 9 countNelson County: 6 countPembina County: 8 countPierce County: 4 countRamsey County: 15 countRansom County: 10 countRenville County: 3 countRichland County: 28 countRolette County: 8 countSargent County: 5 countSheridan County: 3 countSioux County: 0 countSlope County: 0 countStark County: 39 countStutsman County: 39 countTowner County: 4 countTraill County: 14 countWalsh County: 19 countWard County: 74 countWells County: 5 countWilliams County: 29 count
  • Under 3
  • 3 to 5
  • 5 to 8
  • 8 to 11
  • 11 to 28
  • 28 and over
  • No data
count, 1999. 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, 1999

Cass County: 211 countCass County211Burleigh County: 105 countBurleigh County105Grand Forks County: 81 countGrand Forks County81Ward County: 74 countWard County74Morton County: 43 countMorton County43Stark County: 39 countStark County39Stutsman County: 39 countStutsman County39Williams County: 29 countWilliams County29Richland County: 28 countRichland County28Barnes County: 20 countBarnes County20Walsh County: 19 countWalsh County19Ramsey County: 15 countRamsey County15Traill County: 14 countTraill County14Emmons County: 12 countEmmons County12Bottineau County: 11 countBottineau County11Bowman County: 11 countBowman County11LaMoure County: 11 countLaMoure County11McLean County: 11 countMcLean County11Ransom County: 10 countRansom County10McKenzie County: 9 countMcKenzie County9Mercer County: 9 countMercer County9Mountrail County: 9 countMountrail County9Dickey County: 8 countDickey County8Pembina County: 8 countPembina County8Rolette County: 8 countRolette County8Benson County: 7 countBenson County7Cavalier County: 7 countCavalier County7McHenry County: 7 countMcHenry County7Eddy County: 6 countEddy County6Nelson County: 6 countNelson County6Golden Valley County: 5 countGolden Valley County5Logan County: 5 countLogan County5McIntosh County: 5 countMcIntosh County5Sargent County: 5 countSargent County5Wells County: 5 countWells County5Griggs County: 4 countGriggs County4Pierce County: 4 countPierce County4Towner County: 4 countTowner County4Adams County: 3 countAdams County3Grant County: 3 countGrant County3Kidder County: 3 countKidder County3Renville County: 3 countRenville County3Sheridan County: 3 countSheridan County3Burke County: 0 countBurke County0Hettinger County: 0 countHettinger County0Sioux County: 0 countSioux County0Slope County: 0 countSlope County0Cass County: 211 countCass County211Burleigh County: 105 countBurleigh County105Grand Forks County: 81 countGrand Forks County81Ward County: 74 countWard County74Morton County: 43 countMorton County43Stark County: 39 countStark County39Stutsman County: 39 countStutsman County39Williams County: 29 countWilliams County29Richland County: 28 countRichland County28Barnes County: 20 countBarnes County20Walsh County: 19 countWalsh County19Ramsey County: 15 countRamsey County15Traill County: 14 countTraill County14Emmons County: 12 countEmmons County12Bottineau County: 11 countBottineau County11Bowman County: 11 countBowman County11LaMoure County: 11 countLaMoure County11McLean County: 11 countMcLean County11Ransom County: 10 countRansom County10McKenzie County: 9 countMcKenzie County9Mercer County: 9 countMercer County9Mountrail County: 9 countMountrail County9Dickey County: 8 countDickey County8Pembina County: 8 countPembina County8Rolette County: 8 countRolette County8Benson County: 7 countBenson County7Cavalier County: 7 countCavalier County7McHenry County: 7 countMcHenry County7Eddy County: 6 countEddy County6Nelson County: 6 countNelson County6Golden Valley County: 5 countGolden Valley County5Logan County: 5 countLogan County5McIntosh County: 5 countMcIntosh County5Sargent County: 5 countSargent County5Wells County: 5 countWells County5Griggs County: 4 countGriggs County4Pierce County: 4 countPierce County4Towner County: 4 countTowner County4Adams County: 3 countAdams County3Grant County: 3 countGrant County3Kidder County: 3 countKidder County3Renville County: 3 countRenville County3Sheridan County: 3 countSheridan County3Burke County: 0 countBurke County0Hettinger County: 0 countHettinger County0Sioux County: 0 countSioux County0Slope 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

RankCounties1999
count
Change on 1998
1Cass County211-10.2%
2Burleigh County105-8.7%
3Grand Forks County81-16.5%
4Ward County74-23.7%
5Morton County43+19.4%
6Stark County39-4.9%
6Stutsman County39+34.5%
8Williams County29-32.6%
9Richland County28-6.7%
10Barnes County20-25.9%
11Walsh County190%
12Ramsey County15+15.4%
13Traill County14-22.2%
14Emmons County12+100%
15Bottineau County11-31.3%
15Bowman County11+37.5%
15LaMoure County11+175%
15McLean County11-42.1%
19Ransom County10-28.6%
20McKenzie County9-30.8%
20Mercer County9-18.2%
20Mountrail County9-30.8%
23Dickey County8-33.3%
23Pembina County8-52.9%
23Rolette County8-52.9%
26Benson County7-22.2%
26Cavalier County7-22.2%
26McHenry County7+40%
29Eddy County6+20%
29Nelson County6-33.3%
31Golden Valley County5-28.6%
31Logan County5n/a
31McIntosh County5-16.7%
31Sargent County5-37.5%
31Wells County5-37.5%
36Griggs County4-33.3%
36Pierce County4-60%
36Towner County40%
39Adams County3-25%
39Grant County3-40%
39Kidder County3n/a
39Renville County3-25%
39Sheridan County3n/a
44Burke County0-100%
44Hettinger County0-100%
44Sioux County0n/a
44Slope 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. 6 counties with data in other periods have no value for 1999 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, 1999) [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, 1999. 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=1999. 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, 1999. 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=1999.

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, 1999 [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=1999 (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_north_dakota_1999,
  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, 1999}},
  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=1999. 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, 1999
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=1999
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/north-dakota-counties?period=1999.
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 211 in 1999, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firm births?

Slope County, with 0 in 1999.

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 1999 and are not ranked.

Employer firm births: other rankings

Counties in North Dakota: more rankings