Counties in Ohio by employer firm births

Franklin County had the highest employer firm births of 88 counties in 2017, at 1,447. Noble County had the lowest, at 3. The median was 40 and the figure for Ohio was 10,159. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest1,447Franklin County
Median4088 counties
Ohio10,159History

Map of counties, 2017

Adams County: 18 countAllen County: 65 countAshland County: 47 countAshtabula County: 68 countAthens County: 37 countAuglaize County: 19 countBelmont County: 49 countBrown County: 21 countButler County: 303 countCarroll County: 24 countChampaign County: 19 countClark County: 90 countClermont County: 153 countClinton County: 32 countColumbiana County: 77 countCoshocton County: 30 countCrawford County: 20 countCuyahoga County: 1,284 countDarke County: 35 countDefiance County: 27 countDelaware County: 288 countErie County: 66 countFairfield County: 135 countFayette County: 28 countFranklin County: 1,447 countFulton County: 30 countGallia County: 20 countGeauga County: 119 countGreene County: 127 countGuernsey County: 22 countHamilton County: 872 countHancock County: 49 countHardin County: 16 countHarrison County: 7 countHenry County: 24 countHighland County: 24 countHocking County: 17 countHolmes County: 83 countHuron County: 27 countJackson County: 23 countJefferson County: 46 countKnox County: 46 countLake County: 208 countLawrence County: 31 countLicking County: 145 countLogan County: 40 countLorain County: 205 countLucas County: 396 countMadison County: 32 countMahoning County: 202 countMarion County: 35 countMedina County: 158 countMeigs County: 9 countMercer County: 41 countMiami County: 84 countMonroe County: 7 countMontgomery County: 448 countMorgan County: 8 countMorrow County: 16 countMuskingum County: 57 countNoble County: 3 countOttawa County: 40 countPaulding County: 11 countPerry County: 18 countPickaway County: 39 countPike County: 18 countPortage County: 117 countPreble County: 28 countPutnam County: 25 countRichland County: 80 countRoss County: 41 countSandusky County: 34 countScioto County: 41 countSeneca County: 35 countShelby County: 32 countStark County: 273 countSummit County: 489 countTrumbull County: 145 countTuscarawas County: 78 countUnion County: 53 countVan Wert County: 18 countVinton County: 9 countWarren County: 239 countWashington County: 40 countWayne County: 106 countWilliams County: 27 countWood County: 115 countWyandot County: 14 count
  • Under 20
  • 20 to 30
  • 30 to 40
  • 40 to 70
  • 70 to 150
  • 150 and over
count, 2017. 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, 2017

Franklin County: 1,447 countFranklin County1,447Cuyahoga County: 1,284 countCuyahoga County1,284Hamilton County: 872 countHamilton County872Summit County: 489 countSummit County489Montgomery County: 448 countMontgomery County448Lucas County: 396 countLucas County396Butler County: 303 countButler County303Delaware County: 288 countDelaware County288Stark County: 273 countStark County273Warren County: 239 countWarren County239Lake County: 208 countLake County208Lorain County: 205 countLorain County205Mahoning County: 202 countMahoning County202Medina County: 158 countMedina County158Clermont County: 153 countClermont County153Licking County: 145 countLicking County145Trumbull County: 145 countTrumbull County145Fairfield County: 135 countFairfield County135Greene County: 127 countGreene County127Geauga County: 119 countGeauga County119Portage County: 117 countPortage County117Wood County: 115 countWood County115Wayne County: 106 countWayne County106Clark County: 90 countClark County90Miami County: 84 countMiami County84Holmes County: 83 countHolmes County83Richland County: 80 countRichland County80Tuscarawas County: 78 countTuscarawas County78Columbiana County: 77 countColumbiana County77Ashtabula County: 68 countAshtabula County68Erie County: 66 countErie County66Allen County: 65 countAllen County65Muskingum County: 57 countMuskingum County57Union County: 53 countUnion County53Belmont County: 49 countBelmont County49Hancock County: 49 countHancock County49Ashland County: 47 countAshland County47Jefferson County: 46 countJefferson County46Knox County: 46 countKnox County46Mercer County: 41 countMercer County41Franklin County: 1,447 countFranklin County1,447Cuyahoga County: 1,284 countCuyahoga County1,284Hamilton County: 872 countHamilton County872Summit County: 489 countSummit County489Montgomery County: 448 countMontgomery County448Lucas County: 396 countLucas County396Butler County: 303 countButler County303Delaware County: 288 countDelaware County288Stark County: 273 countStark County273Warren County: 239 countWarren County239Lake County: 208 countLake County208Lorain County: 205 countLorain County205Mahoning County: 202 countMahoning County202Medina County: 158 countMedina County158Clermont County: 153 countClermont County153Licking County: 145 countLicking County145Trumbull County: 145 countTrumbull County145Fairfield County: 135 countFairfield County135Greene County: 127 countGreene County127Geauga County: 119 countGeauga County119Portage County: 117 countPortage County117Wood County: 115 countWood County115Wayne County: 106 countWayne County106Clark County: 90 countClark County90Miami County: 84 countMiami County84Holmes County: 83 countHolmes County83Richland County: 80 countRichland County80Tuscarawas County: 78 countTuscarawas County78Columbiana County: 77 countColumbiana County77Ashtabula County: 68 countAshtabula County68Erie County: 66 countErie County66Allen County: 65 countAllen County65Muskingum County: 57 countMuskingum County57Union County: 53 countUnion County53Belmont County: 49 countBelmont County49Hancock County: 49 countHancock County49Ashland County: 47 countAshland County47Jefferson County: 46 countJefferson County46Knox County: 46 countKnox County46Mercer County: 41 countMercer County41
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

RankCounties2017
count
Change on 2016
1Franklin County1,447+6.1%
2Cuyahoga County1,284+2.4%
3Hamilton County872+3.8%
4Summit County489-12.7%
5Montgomery County448+8.2%
6Lucas County396+4.5%
7Butler County303-8.5%
8Delaware County288+29.7%
9Stark County273-8.1%
10Warren County239+5.3%
11Lake County2080%
12Lorain County205-6.4%
13Mahoning County202-5.2%
14Medina County158-9.2%
15Clermont County153-9.5%
16Licking County145+7.4%
16Trumbull County145+19.8%
18Fairfield County135-5.6%
19Greene County127+19.8%
20Geauga County119+6.3%
21Portage County117+3.5%
22Wood County115+27.8%
23Wayne County106-12.4%
24Clark County90+12.5%
25Miami County84+35.5%
26Holmes County83+20.3%
27Richland County80-9.1%
28Tuscarawas County780%
29Columbiana County77+5.5%
30Ashtabula County68+3%
31Erie County66+11.9%
32Allen County65+3.2%
33Muskingum County57-18.6%
34Union County53-11.7%
35Belmont County49+4.3%
35Hancock County49-15.5%
37Ashland County47-4.1%
38Jefferson County46+2.2%
38Knox County46-17.9%
40Mercer County41+10.8%
40Ross County41+28.1%
40Scioto County41-4.7%
43Logan County40+53.8%
43Ottawa County40+48.1%
43Washington County40-32.2%
46Pickaway County39+18.2%
47Athens County37+8.8%
48Darke County35-7.9%
48Marion County35+25%
48Seneca County35+20.7%
51Sandusky County34+3%
52Clinton County320%
52Madison County32+14.3%
52Shelby County32+33.3%
55Lawrence County31+40.9%
56Coshocton County30+66.7%
56Fulton County30-26.8%
58Fayette County28+64.7%
58Preble County28-3.4%
60Defiance County27+17.4%
60Huron County27-34.1%
60Williams County27-3.6%
63Putnam County25+56.3%
64Carroll County24-7.7%
64Henry County240%
64Highland County240%
67Jackson County23-8%
68Guernsey County22-12%
69Brown County210%
70Crawford County20-28.6%
70Gallia County20-16.7%
72Auglaize County19-64.2%
72Champaign County19-20.8%
74Adams County18+5.9%
74Perry County180%
74Pike County18+38.5%
74Van Wert County18+5.9%
78Hocking County17-15%
79Hardin County160%
79Morrow County16-15.8%
81Wyandot County14+7.7%
82Paulding County11+10%
83Meigs County9-43.8%
83Vinton County9-25%
85Morgan County8-27.3%
86Harrison County7-22.2%
86Monroe County7-30%
88Noble County3-66.7%

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, 2017) [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, 2017. 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=2017. 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, 2017. 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=2017.

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, 2017 [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=2017 (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_ohio_by_2017,
  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, 2017}},
  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=2017. 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, 2017
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=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/ohio-counties?period=2017.
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 1,447 in 2017, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firm births?

Noble County, with 3 in 2017.

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