Counties in North Dakota by employer firm births

Cass County had the highest employer firm births of 47 counties in 2011, at 221. Slope County had the lowest, at 0. The median was 9 and the figure for North Dakota was 1,189. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest221Cass County
Median947 counties
North Dakota1,189History

Map of counties, 2011

Adams County: 3 countBarnes County: 11 countBenson County: 5 countBillings County: 3 countBottineau County: 13 countBowman County: 7 countBurke County: 10 countBurleigh County: 122 countCass County: 221 countCavalier County: 7 countDickey County: 12 countDivide County: 11 countDunn County: 19 countEmmons County: 6 countFoster County: 6 countGolden Valley County: 4 countGrand Forks County: 80 countGrant County: 6 countGriggs County: 7 countHettinger County: 8 countKidder County: 5 countLaMoure County: 10 countLogan County: 3 countMcHenry County: 8 countMcIntosh County: 3 countMcKenzie County: 45 countMcLean County: 16 countMercer County: 6 countMorton County: 34 countMountrail County: 25 countNelson County: 5 countOliver County: 4 countPembina County: 8 countRamsey County: 22 countRansom County: 8 countRenville County: 10 countRichland County: 24 countRolette County: 9 countSargent County: 5 countSlope County: 0 countStark County: 82 countStutsman County: 24 countTraill County: 6 countWalsh County: 15 countWard County: 125 countWells County: 9 countWilliams County: 106 count
  • Under 5
  • 5 to 6
  • 6 to 9
  • 9 to 13
  • 13 to 28
  • 28 and over
  • No data
count, 2011. 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, 2011

Cass County: 221 countCass County221Ward County: 125 countWard County125Burleigh County: 122 countBurleigh County122Williams County: 106 countWilliams County106Stark County: 82 countStark County82Grand Forks County: 80 countGrand Forks County80McKenzie County: 45 countMcKenzie County45Morton County: 34 countMorton County34Mountrail County: 25 countMountrail County25Richland County: 24 countRichland County24Stutsman County: 24 countStutsman County24Ramsey County: 22 countRamsey County22Dunn County: 19 countDunn County19McLean County: 16 countMcLean County16Walsh County: 15 countWalsh County15Bottineau County: 13 countBottineau County13Dickey County: 12 countDickey County12Barnes County: 11 countBarnes County11Divide County: 11 countDivide County11Burke County: 10 countBurke County10LaMoure County: 10 countLaMoure County10Renville County: 10 countRenville County10Rolette County: 9 countRolette County9Wells County: 9 countWells County9Hettinger County: 8 countHettinger County8McHenry County: 8 countMcHenry County8Pembina County: 8 countPembina County8Ransom County: 8 countRansom County8Bowman County: 7 countBowman County7Cavalier County: 7 countCavalier County7Griggs County: 7 countGriggs County7Emmons County: 6 countEmmons County6Foster County: 6 countFoster County6Grant County: 6 countGrant County6Mercer County: 6 countMercer County6Traill County: 6 countTraill County6Benson County: 5 countBenson County5Kidder County: 5 countKidder County5Nelson County: 5 countNelson County5Sargent County: 5 countSargent County5Golden Valley County: 4 countGolden Valley County4Oliver County: 4 countOliver County4Adams County: 3 countAdams County3Billings County: 3 countBillings County3Logan County: 3 countLogan County3McIntosh County: 3 countMcIntosh County3Slope County: 0 countSlope County0Cass County: 221 countCass County221Ward County: 125 countWard County125Burleigh County: 122 countBurleigh County122Williams County: 106 countWilliams County106Stark County: 82 countStark County82Grand Forks County: 80 countGrand Forks County80McKenzie County: 45 countMcKenzie County45Morton County: 34 countMorton County34Mountrail County: 25 countMountrail County25Richland County: 24 countRichland County24Stutsman County: 24 countStutsman County24Ramsey County: 22 countRamsey County22Dunn County: 19 countDunn County19McLean County: 16 countMcLean County16Walsh County: 15 countWalsh County15Bottineau County: 13 countBottineau County13Dickey County: 12 countDickey County12Barnes County: 11 countBarnes County11Divide County: 11 countDivide County11Burke County: 10 countBurke County10LaMoure County: 10 countLaMoure County10Renville County: 10 countRenville County10Rolette County: 9 countRolette County9Wells County: 9 countWells County9Hettinger County: 8 countHettinger County8McHenry County: 8 countMcHenry County8Pembina County: 8 countPembina County8Ransom County: 8 countRansom County8Bowman County: 7 countBowman County7Cavalier County: 7 countCavalier County7Griggs County: 7 countGriggs County7Emmons County: 6 countEmmons County6Foster County: 6 countFoster County6Grant County: 6 countGrant County6Mercer County: 6 countMercer County6Traill County: 6 countTraill County6Benson County: 5 countBenson County5Kidder County: 5 countKidder County5Nelson County: 5 countNelson County5Sargent County: 5 countSargent County5Golden Valley County: 4 countGolden Valley County4Oliver County: 4 countOliver County4Adams County: 3 countAdams County3Billings County: 3 countBillings County3Logan County: 3 countLogan County3McIntosh County: 3 countMcIntosh 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

RankCounties2011
count
Change on 2010
1Cass County221-4.3%
2Ward County125+50.6%
3Burleigh County122+8%
4Williams County106+158.5%
5Stark County82+127.8%
6Grand Forks County80+12.7%
7McKenzie County45+150%
8Morton County34-12.8%
9Mountrail County25+38.9%
10Richland County24-7.7%
10Stutsman County24-27.3%
12Ramsey County22+37.5%
13Dunn County19+216.7%
14McLean County16+45.5%
15Walsh County15+25%
16Bottineau County13+8.3%
17Dickey County12+100%
18Barnes County110%
18Divide County11+83.3%
20Burke County10+233.3%
20LaMoure County10+66.7%
20Renville County10+150%
23Rolette County9+200%
23Wells County9+12.5%
25Hettinger County8+60%
25McHenry County8+166.7%
25Pembina County8+60%
25Ransom County8-20%
29Bowman County7-22.2%
29Cavalier County7+133.3%
29Griggs County7+40%
32Emmons County6+20%
32Foster County6+20%
32Grant County6n/a
32Mercer County6-60%
32Traill County6-33.3%
37Benson County5n/a
37Kidder County5+66.7%
37Nelson County5-28.6%
37Sargent County50%
41Golden Valley County4-20%
41Oliver County4n/a
43Adams County3-50%
43Billings County3-40%
43Logan County3-62.5%
43McIntosh County3-57.1%
47Slope 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 2011 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, 2011) [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, 2011. 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=2011. 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, 2011. 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=2011.

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, 2011 [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=2011 (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_north_dakota_2011,
  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, 2011}},
  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=2011. 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, 2011
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=2011
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/north-dakota-counties?period=2011.
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 221 in 2011, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firm births?

Slope County, with 0 in 2011.

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 2011 and are not ranked.

Employer firm births: other rankings

Counties in North Dakota: more rankings