Counties in Ohio by employer firm births

Franklin County had the highest employer firm births of 88 counties in 2016, at 1,364. Noble County had the lowest, at 9. The median was 40 and the figure for Ohio was 10,030. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest1,364Franklin County
Median4088 counties
Ohio10,030History

Map of counties, 2016

Adams County: 17 countAllen County: 63 countAshland County: 49 countAshtabula County: 66 countAthens County: 34 countAuglaize County: 53 countBelmont County: 47 countBrown County: 21 countButler County: 331 countCarroll County: 26 countChampaign County: 24 countClark County: 80 countClermont County: 169 countClinton County: 32 countColumbiana County: 73 countCoshocton County: 18 countCrawford County: 28 countCuyahoga County: 1,254 countDarke County: 38 countDefiance County: 23 countDelaware County: 222 countErie County: 59 countFairfield County: 143 countFayette County: 17 countFranklin County: 1,364 countFulton County: 41 countGallia County: 24 countGeauga County: 112 countGreene County: 106 countGuernsey County: 25 countHamilton County: 840 countHancock County: 58 countHardin County: 16 countHarrison County: 9 countHenry County: 24 countHighland County: 24 countHocking County: 20 countHolmes County: 69 countHuron County: 41 countJackson County: 25 countJefferson County: 45 countKnox County: 56 countLake County: 208 countLawrence County: 22 countLicking County: 135 countLogan County: 26 countLorain County: 219 countLucas County: 379 countMadison County: 28 countMahoning County: 213 countMarion County: 28 countMedina County: 174 countMeigs County: 16 countMercer County: 37 countMiami County: 62 countMonroe County: 10 countMontgomery County: 414 countMorgan County: 11 countMorrow County: 19 countMuskingum County: 70 countNoble County: 9 countOttawa County: 27 countPaulding County: 10 countPerry County: 18 countPickaway County: 33 countPike County: 13 countPortage County: 113 countPreble County: 29 countPutnam County: 16 countRichland County: 88 countRoss County: 32 countSandusky County: 33 countScioto County: 43 countSeneca County: 29 countShelby County: 24 countStark County: 297 countSummit County: 560 countTrumbull County: 121 countTuscarawas County: 78 countUnion County: 60 countVan Wert County: 17 countVinton County: 12 countWarren County: 227 countWashington County: 59 countWayne County: 121 countWilliams County: 28 countWood County: 90 countWyandot County: 13 count
  • Under 20
  • 20 to 30
  • 30 to 40
  • 40 to 70
  • 70 to 160
  • 160 and over
count, 2016. 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.

Top 40 counties, 2016

Franklin County: 1,364 countFranklin County1,364Cuyahoga County: 1,254 countCuyahoga County1,254Hamilton County: 840 countHamilton County840Summit County: 560 countSummit County560Montgomery County: 414 countMontgomery County414Lucas County: 379 countLucas County379Butler County: 331 countButler County331Stark County: 297 countStark County297Warren County: 227 countWarren County227Delaware County: 222 countDelaware County222Lorain County: 219 countLorain County219Mahoning County: 213 countMahoning County213Lake County: 208 countLake County208Medina County: 174 countMedina County174Clermont County: 169 countClermont County169Fairfield County: 143 countFairfield County143Licking County: 135 countLicking County135Trumbull County: 121 countTrumbull County121Wayne County: 121 countWayne County121Portage County: 113 countPortage County113Geauga County: 112 countGeauga County112Greene County: 106 countGreene County106Wood County: 90 countWood County90Richland County: 88 countRichland County88Clark County: 80 countClark County80Tuscarawas County: 78 countTuscarawas County78Columbiana County: 73 countColumbiana County73Muskingum County: 70 countMuskingum County70Holmes County: 69 countHolmes County69Ashtabula County: 66 countAshtabula County66Allen County: 63 countAllen County63Miami County: 62 countMiami County62Union County: 60 countUnion County60Erie County: 59 countErie County59Washington County: 59 countWashington County59Hancock County: 58 countHancock County58Knox County: 56 countKnox County56Auglaize County: 53 countAuglaize County53Ashland County: 49 countAshland County49Belmont County: 47 countBelmont County47Franklin County: 1,364 countFranklin County1,364Cuyahoga County: 1,254 countCuyahoga County1,254Hamilton County: 840 countHamilton County840Summit County: 560 countSummit County560Montgomery County: 414 countMontgomery County414Lucas County: 379 countLucas County379Butler County: 331 countButler County331Stark County: 297 countStark County297Warren County: 227 countWarren County227Delaware County: 222 countDelaware County222Lorain County: 219 countLorain County219Mahoning County: 213 countMahoning County213Lake County: 208 countLake County208Medina County: 174 countMedina County174Clermont County: 169 countClermont County169Fairfield County: 143 countFairfield County143Licking County: 135 countLicking County135Trumbull County: 121 countTrumbull County121Wayne County: 121 countWayne County121Portage County: 113 countPortage County113Geauga County: 112 countGeauga County112Greene County: 106 countGreene County106Wood County: 90 countWood County90Richland County: 88 countRichland County88Clark County: 80 countClark County80Tuscarawas County: 78 countTuscarawas County78Columbiana County: 73 countColumbiana County73Muskingum County: 70 countMuskingum County70Holmes County: 69 countHolmes County69Ashtabula County: 66 countAshtabula County66Allen County: 63 countAllen County63Miami County: 62 countMiami County62Union County: 60 countUnion County60Erie County: 59 countErie County59Washington County: 59 countWashington County59Hancock County: 58 countHancock County58Knox County: 56 countKnox County56Auglaize County: 53 countAuglaize County53Ashland County: 49 countAshland County49Belmont County: 47 countBelmont County47
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

RankCounties2016
count
Change on 2015
1Franklin County1,364+1.9%
2Cuyahoga County1,254+1%
3Hamilton County840+1.3%
4Summit County560+4.9%
5Montgomery County414-8.4%
6Lucas County379+6.2%
7Butler County331+5.8%
8Stark County297+4.9%
9Warren County227-8.1%
10Delaware County222-4.3%
11Lorain County219+5.3%
12Mahoning County213+0.5%
13Lake County208+16.9%
14Medina County174-7.9%
15Clermont County169+8.3%
16Fairfield County143+22.2%
17Licking County135+1.5%
18Trumbull County121-16.6%
18Wayne County121+12%
20Portage County113+8.7%
21Geauga County112+2.8%
22Greene County106-35.4%
23Wood County90+1.1%
24Richland County88-3.3%
25Clark County80+17.6%
26Tuscarawas County78-7.1%
27Columbiana County73+46%
28Muskingum County70+1.4%
29Holmes County69+7.8%
30Ashtabula County66+4.8%
31Allen County63-13.7%
32Miami County62-6.1%
33Union County60+87.5%
34Erie County59-10.6%
34Washington County59+31.1%
36Hancock County580%
37Knox County56+47.4%
38Auglaize County53+65.6%
39Ashland County49+63.3%
40Belmont County47-13%
41Jefferson County45+15.4%
42Scioto County43-23.2%
43Fulton County41+17.1%
43Huron County41+24.2%
45Darke County38-11.6%
46Mercer County37-27.5%
47Athens County34-5.6%
48Pickaway County33-5.7%
48Sandusky County33-13.2%
50Clinton County32+3.2%
50Ross County32-25.6%
52Preble County29+38.1%
52Seneca County29-29.3%
54Crawford County28+33.3%
54Madison County28+100%
54Marion County28-17.6%
54Williams County28+16.7%
58Ottawa County27-22.9%
59Carroll County26+73.3%
59Logan County26-25.7%
61Guernsey County25-41.9%
61Jackson County25-3.8%
63Champaign County24+9.1%
63Gallia County24+84.6%
63Henry County24+20%
63Highland County24+14.3%
63Shelby County240%
68Defiance County23-25.8%
69Lawrence County22-31.3%
70Brown County210%
71Hocking County20+5.3%
72Morrow County19+5.6%
73Coshocton County18+12.5%
73Perry County18+38.5%
75Adams County17-15%
75Fayette County17-5.6%
75Van Wert County17-5.6%
78Hardin County16+128.6%
78Meigs County16-5.9%
78Putnam County16+14.3%
81Pike County13-7.1%
81Wyandot County13-40.9%
83Vinton County12+71.4%
84Morgan County11+57.1%
85Monroe County10-9.1%
85Paulding County10-9.1%
87Harrison County9-57.1%
87Noble County9-30.8%

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. 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 Ohio by employer firm births, 2016) [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 Ohio by employer firm births, 2016. 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/ohio-counties?period=2016. 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 Ohio by employer firm births, 2016. 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/ohio-counties?period=2016.

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 Ohio by employer firm births, 2016 [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/ohio-counties?period=2016 (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_ohio_by_2016,
  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 Ohio by employer firm births, 2016}},
  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/ohio-counties?period=2016. 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 Ohio by employer firm births, 2016
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/ohio-counties?period=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/ohio-counties?period=2016.
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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Rank Counties in Ohio by employer firm births using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which county has the highest employer firm births?

Franklin County, with 1,364 in 2016, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firm births?

Noble County, with 9 in 2016.

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.

Employer firm births: other rankings

Counties in Ohio: more rankings