Counties in Ohio by employer firm births

Franklin County had the highest employer firm births of 88 counties in 2018, at 1,401. Noble County had the lowest, at 5. The median was 40 and the figure for Ohio was 9,983. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest1,401Franklin County
Median4088 counties
Ohio9,983History

Map of counties, 2018

Adams County: 18 countAllen County: 85 countAshland County: 46 countAshtabula County: 67 countAthens County: 42 countAuglaize County: 32 countBelmont County: 41 countBrown County: 22 countButler County: 312 countCarroll County: 21 countChampaign County: 30 countClark County: 87 countClermont County: 164 countClinton County: 29 countColumbiana County: 73 countCoshocton County: 20 countCrawford County: 23 countCuyahoga County: 1,196 countDarke County: 39 countDefiance County: 25 countDelaware County: 264 countErie County: 63 countFairfield County: 145 countFayette County: 19 countFranklin County: 1,401 countFulton County: 34 countGallia County: 19 countGeauga County: 119 countGreene County: 120 countGuernsey County: 27 countHamilton County: 811 countHancock County: 51 countHardin County: 10 countHarrison County: 10 countHenry County: 17 countHighland County: 26 countHocking County: 16 countHolmes County: 64 countHuron County: 36 countJackson County: 19 countJefferson County: 45 countKnox County: 46 countLake County: 191 countLawrence County: 31 countLicking County: 147 countLogan County: 26 countLorain County: 201 countLucas County: 435 countMadison County: 37 countMahoning County: 211 countMarion County: 40 countMedina County: 165 countMeigs County: 18 countMercer County: 32 countMiami County: 73 countMonroe County: 9 countMontgomery County: 396 countMorgan County: 7 countMorrow County: 29 countMuskingum County: 60 countNoble County: 5 countOttawa County: 30 countPaulding County: 8 countPerry County: 19 countPickaway County: 40 countPike County: 16 countPortage County: 116 countPreble County: 31 countPutnam County: 25 countRichland County: 99 countRoss County: 40 countSandusky County: 40 countScioto County: 44 countSeneca County: 27 countShelby County: 37 countStark County: 319 countSummit County: 530 countTrumbull County: 119 countTuscarawas County: 89 countUnion County: 51 countVan Wert County: 11 countVinton County: 6 countWarren County: 235 countWashington County: 43 countWayne County: 79 countWilliams County: 21 countWood County: 92 countWyandot County: 20 count
  • Under 20
  • 20 to 30
  • 30 to 40
  • 40 to 70
  • 70 to 160
  • 160 and over
count, 2018. 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, 2018

Franklin County: 1,401 countFranklin County1,401Cuyahoga County: 1,196 countCuyahoga County1,196Hamilton County: 811 countHamilton County811Summit County: 530 countSummit County530Lucas County: 435 countLucas County435Montgomery County: 396 countMontgomery County396Stark County: 319 countStark County319Butler County: 312 countButler County312Delaware County: 264 countDelaware County264Warren County: 235 countWarren County235Mahoning County: 211 countMahoning County211Lorain County: 201 countLorain County201Lake County: 191 countLake County191Medina County: 165 countMedina County165Clermont County: 164 countClermont County164Licking County: 147 countLicking County147Fairfield County: 145 countFairfield County145Greene County: 120 countGreene County120Geauga County: 119 countGeauga County119Trumbull County: 119 countTrumbull County119Portage County: 116 countPortage County116Richland County: 99 countRichland County99Wood County: 92 countWood County92Tuscarawas County: 89 countTuscarawas County89Clark County: 87 countClark County87Allen County: 85 countAllen County85Wayne County: 79 countWayne County79Columbiana County: 73 countColumbiana County73Miami County: 73 countMiami County73Ashtabula County: 67 countAshtabula County67Holmes County: 64 countHolmes County64Erie County: 63 countErie County63Muskingum County: 60 countMuskingum County60Hancock County: 51 countHancock County51Union County: 51 countUnion County51Ashland County: 46 countAshland County46Knox County: 46 countKnox County46Jefferson County: 45 countJefferson County45Scioto County: 44 countScioto County44Washington County: 43 countWashington County43Franklin County: 1,401 countFranklin County1,401Cuyahoga County: 1,196 countCuyahoga County1,196Hamilton County: 811 countHamilton County811Summit County: 530 countSummit County530Lucas County: 435 countLucas County435Montgomery County: 396 countMontgomery County396Stark County: 319 countStark County319Butler County: 312 countButler County312Delaware County: 264 countDelaware County264Warren County: 235 countWarren County235Mahoning County: 211 countMahoning County211Lorain County: 201 countLorain County201Lake County: 191 countLake County191Medina County: 165 countMedina County165Clermont County: 164 countClermont County164Licking County: 147 countLicking County147Fairfield County: 145 countFairfield County145Greene County: 120 countGreene County120Geauga County: 119 countGeauga County119Trumbull County: 119 countTrumbull County119Portage County: 116 countPortage County116Richland County: 99 countRichland County99Wood County: 92 countWood County92Tuscarawas County: 89 countTuscarawas County89Clark County: 87 countClark County87Allen County: 85 countAllen County85Wayne County: 79 countWayne County79Columbiana County: 73 countColumbiana County73Miami County: 73 countMiami County73Ashtabula County: 67 countAshtabula County67Holmes County: 64 countHolmes County64Erie County: 63 countErie County63Muskingum County: 60 countMuskingum County60Hancock County: 51 countHancock County51Union County: 51 countUnion County51Ashland County: 46 countAshland County46Knox County: 46 countKnox County46Jefferson County: 45 countJefferson County45Scioto County: 44 countScioto County44Washington County: 43 countWashington County43
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

RankCounties2018
count
Change on 2017
1Franklin County1,401-3.2%
2Cuyahoga County1,196-6.9%
3Hamilton County811-7%
4Summit County530+8.4%
5Lucas County435+9.8%
6Montgomery County396-11.6%
7Stark County319+16.8%
8Butler County312+3%
9Delaware County264-8.3%
10Warren County235-1.7%
11Mahoning County211+4.5%
12Lorain County201-2%
13Lake County191-8.2%
14Medina County165+4.4%
15Clermont County164+7.2%
16Licking County147+1.4%
17Fairfield County145+7.4%
18Greene County120-5.5%
19Geauga County1190%
19Trumbull County119-17.9%
21Portage County116-0.9%
22Richland County99+23.8%
23Wood County92-20%
24Tuscarawas County89+14.1%
25Clark County87-3.3%
26Allen County85+30.8%
27Wayne County79-25.5%
28Columbiana County73-5.2%
28Miami County73-13.1%
30Ashtabula County67-1.5%
31Holmes County64-22.9%
32Erie County63-4.5%
33Muskingum County60+5.3%
34Hancock County51+4.1%
34Union County51-3.8%
36Ashland County46-2.1%
36Knox County460%
38Jefferson County45-2.2%
39Scioto County44+7.3%
40Washington County43+7.5%
41Athens County42+13.5%
42Belmont County41-16.3%
43Marion County40+14.3%
43Pickaway County40+2.6%
43Ross County40-2.4%
43Sandusky County40+17.6%
47Darke County39+11.4%
48Madison County37+15.6%
48Shelby County37+15.6%
50Huron County36+33.3%
51Fulton County34+13.3%
52Auglaize County32+68.4%
52Mercer County32-22%
54Lawrence County310%
54Preble County31+10.7%
56Champaign County30+57.9%
56Ottawa County30-25%
58Clinton County29-9.4%
58Morrow County29+81.3%
60Guernsey County27+22.7%
60Seneca County27-22.9%
62Highland County26+8.3%
62Logan County26-35%
64Defiance County25-7.4%
64Putnam County250%
66Crawford County23+15%
67Brown County22+4.8%
68Carroll County21-12.5%
68Williams County21-22.2%
70Coshocton County20-33.3%
70Wyandot County20+42.9%
72Fayette County19-32.1%
72Gallia County19-5%
72Jackson County19-17.4%
72Perry County19+5.6%
76Adams County180%
76Meigs County18+100%
78Henry County17-29.2%
79Hocking County16-5.9%
79Pike County16-11.1%
81Van Wert County11-38.9%
82Hardin County10-37.5%
82Harrison County10+42.9%
84Monroe County9+28.6%
85Paulding County8-27.3%
86Morgan County7-12.5%
87Vinton County6-33.3%
88Noble County5+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, 2018) [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, 2018. 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=2018. 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, 2018. 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=2018.

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, 2018 [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=2018 (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_ohio_by_2018,
  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, 2018}},
  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=2018. 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, 2018
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=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/ohio-counties?period=2018.
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  - 
Embed this chart

Paste this code into a web page or a blog post. The chart shows the latest figures as they are published, with the source and a link back to this page.

Sites that read oEmbed links, such as WordPress, can show the chart when you paste the link to this page.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank Counties in Ohio by employer firm births using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"employer_firm_births","level":"province","within":"Ohio","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=employer_firm_births&level=province&within=Ohio&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which county has the highest employer firm births?

Franklin County, with 1,401 in 2018, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firm births?

Noble County, with 5 in 2018.

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