Counties in North Dakota by employer firm births

Cass County had the highest employer firm births of 49 counties in 2012, at 263. Sioux County had the lowest, at 0. The median was 9 and the figure for North Dakota was 1,531. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest263Cass County
Median949 counties
North Dakota1,531History

Map of counties, 2012

Adams County: 6 countBarnes County: 15 countBenson County: 12 countBillings County: 7 countBottineau County: 21 countBowman County: 6 countBurke County: 6 countBurleigh County: 157 countCass County: 263 countCavalier County: 5 countDickey County: 8 countDivide County: 21 countDunn County: 36 countEddy County: 3 countEmmons County: 6 countFoster County: 4 countGolden Valley County: 4 countGrand Forks County: 85 countGrant County: 7 countGriggs County: 5 countHettinger County: 5 countLaMoure County: 9 countMcHenry County: 4 countMcIntosh County: 5 countMcKenzie County: 97 countMcLean County: 14 countMercer County: 11 countMorton County: 51 countMountrail County: 52 countNelson County: 9 countOliver County: 6 countPembina County: 13 countRamsey County: 14 countRansom County: 9 countRenville County: 9 countRichland County: 21 countRolette County: 8 countSargent County: 7 countSheridan County: 3 countSioux County: 0 countStark County: 106 countSteele County: 3 countStutsman County: 22 countTowner County: 4 countTraill County: 15 countWalsh County: 14 countWard County: 150 countWells County: 10 countWilliams County: 187 count
  • Under 5
  • 5 to 6
  • 6 to 9
  • 9 to 14
  • 14 to 51
  • 51 and over
  • No data
count, 2012. 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, 2012

Cass County: 263 countCass County263Williams County: 187 countWilliams County187Burleigh County: 157 countBurleigh County157Ward County: 150 countWard County150Stark County: 106 countStark County106McKenzie County: 97 countMcKenzie County97Grand Forks County: 85 countGrand Forks County85Mountrail County: 52 countMountrail County52Morton County: 51 countMorton County51Dunn County: 36 countDunn County36Stutsman County: 22 countStutsman County22Bottineau County: 21 countBottineau County21Divide County: 21 countDivide County21Richland County: 21 countRichland County21Barnes County: 15 countBarnes County15Traill County: 15 countTraill County15McLean County: 14 countMcLean County14Ramsey County: 14 countRamsey County14Walsh County: 14 countWalsh County14Pembina County: 13 countPembina County13Benson County: 12 countBenson County12Mercer County: 11 countMercer County11Wells County: 10 countWells County10LaMoure County: 9 countLaMoure County9Nelson County: 9 countNelson County9Ransom County: 9 countRansom County9Renville County: 9 countRenville County9Dickey County: 8 countDickey County8Rolette County: 8 countRolette County8Billings County: 7 countBillings County7Grant County: 7 countGrant County7Sargent County: 7 countSargent County7Adams County: 6 countAdams County6Bowman County: 6 countBowman County6Burke County: 6 countBurke County6Emmons County: 6 countEmmons County6Oliver County: 6 countOliver County6Cavalier County: 5 countCavalier County5Griggs County: 5 countGriggs County5Hettinger County: 5 countHettinger County5McIntosh County: 5 countMcIntosh County5Foster County: 4 countFoster County4Golden Valley County: 4 countGolden Valley County4McHenry County: 4 countMcHenry County4Towner County: 4 countTowner County4Eddy County: 3 countEddy County3Sheridan County: 3 countSheridan County3Steele County: 3 countSteele County3Sioux County: 0 countSioux County0Cass County: 263 countCass County263Williams County: 187 countWilliams County187Burleigh County: 157 countBurleigh County157Ward County: 150 countWard County150Stark County: 106 countStark County106McKenzie County: 97 countMcKenzie County97Grand Forks County: 85 countGrand Forks County85Mountrail County: 52 countMountrail County52Morton County: 51 countMorton County51Dunn County: 36 countDunn County36Stutsman County: 22 countStutsman County22Bottineau County: 21 countBottineau County21Divide County: 21 countDivide County21Richland County: 21 countRichland County21Barnes County: 15 countBarnes County15Traill County: 15 countTraill County15McLean County: 14 countMcLean County14Ramsey County: 14 countRamsey County14Walsh County: 14 countWalsh County14Pembina County: 13 countPembina County13Benson County: 12 countBenson County12Mercer County: 11 countMercer County11Wells County: 10 countWells County10LaMoure County: 9 countLaMoure County9Nelson County: 9 countNelson County9Ransom County: 9 countRansom County9Renville County: 9 countRenville County9Dickey County: 8 countDickey County8Rolette County: 8 countRolette County8Billings County: 7 countBillings County7Grant County: 7 countGrant County7Sargent County: 7 countSargent County7Adams County: 6 countAdams County6Bowman County: 6 countBowman County6Burke County: 6 countBurke County6Emmons County: 6 countEmmons County6Oliver County: 6 countOliver County6Cavalier County: 5 countCavalier County5Griggs County: 5 countGriggs County5Hettinger County: 5 countHettinger County5McIntosh County: 5 countMcIntosh County5Foster County: 4 countFoster County4Golden Valley County: 4 countGolden Valley County4McHenry County: 4 countMcHenry County4Towner County: 4 countTowner County4Eddy County: 3 countEddy County3Sheridan County: 3 countSheridan County3Steele County: 3 countSteele County3Sioux 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

RankCounties2012
count
Change on 2011
1Cass County263+19%
2Williams County187+76.4%
3Burleigh County157+28.7%
4Ward County150+20%
5Stark County106+29.3%
6McKenzie County97+115.6%
7Grand Forks County85+6.3%
8Mountrail County52+108%
9Morton County51+50%
10Dunn County36+89.5%
11Stutsman County22-8.3%
12Bottineau County21+61.5%
12Divide County21+90.9%
12Richland County21-12.5%
15Barnes County15+36.4%
15Traill County15+150%
17McLean County14-12.5%
17Ramsey County14-36.4%
17Walsh County14-6.7%
20Pembina County13+62.5%
21Benson County12+140%
22Mercer County11+83.3%
23Wells County10+11.1%
24LaMoure County9-10%
24Nelson County9+80%
24Ransom County9+12.5%
24Renville County9-10%
28Dickey County8-33.3%
28Rolette County8-11.1%
30Billings County7+133.3%
30Grant County7+16.7%
30Sargent County7+40%
33Adams County6+100%
33Bowman County6-14.3%
33Burke County6-40%
33Emmons County60%
33Oliver County6+50%
38Cavalier County5-28.6%
38Griggs County5-28.6%
38Hettinger County5-37.5%
38McIntosh County5+66.7%
42Foster County4-33.3%
42Golden Valley County40%
42McHenry County4-50%
42Towner County4n/a
46Eddy County3n/a
46Sheridan County3n/a
46Steele County3n/a
49Sioux 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 2012 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, 2012) [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, 2012. 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=2012. 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, 2012. 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=2012.

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, 2012 [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=2012 (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_north_dakota_2012,
  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, 2012}},
  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=2012. 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, 2012
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=2012
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/north-dakota-counties?period=2012.
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 263 in 2012, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firm births?

Sioux County, with 0 in 2012.

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 2012 and are not ranked.

Employer firm births: other rankings

Counties in North Dakota: more rankings