Counties in Ohio by employer firm births

Franklin County had the highest employer firm births of 88 counties in 2020, at 1,535. Monroe County had the lowest, at 5. The median was 38 and the figure for Ohio was 10,347. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest1,535Franklin County
Median3888 counties
Ohio10,347History

Map of counties, 2020

Adams County: 23 countAllen County: 66 countAshland County: 34 countAshtabula County: 60 countAthens County: 37 countAuglaize County: 29 countBelmont County: 38 countBrown County: 14 countButler County: 297 countCarroll County: 23 countChampaign County: 31 countClark County: 109 countClermont County: 170 countClinton County: 27 countColumbiana County: 63 countCoshocton County: 26 countCrawford County: 35 countCuyahoga County: 1,315 countDarke County: 57 countDefiance County: 29 countDelaware County: 288 countErie County: 72 countFairfield County: 133 countFayette County: 17 countFranklin County: 1,535 countFulton County: 42 countGallia County: 17 countGeauga County: 147 countGreene County: 142 countGuernsey County: 24 countHamilton County: 866 countHancock County: 48 countHardin County: 16 countHarrison County: 10 countHenry County: 14 countHighland County: 28 countHocking County: 17 countHolmes County: 67 countHuron County: 38 countJackson County: 15 countJefferson County: 26 countKnox County: 40 countLake County: 209 countLawrence County: 32 countLicking County: 139 countLogan County: 30 countLorain County: 244 countLucas County: 328 countMadison County: 26 countMahoning County: 207 countMarion County: 31 countMedina County: 187 countMeigs County: 13 countMercer County: 43 countMiami County: 104 countMonroe County: 5 countMontgomery County: 410 countMorgan County: 8 countMorrow County: 24 countMuskingum County: 68 countNoble County: 7 countOttawa County: 41 countPaulding County: 10 countPerry County: 27 countPickaway County: 26 countPike County: 12 countPortage County: 127 countPreble County: 26 countPutnam County: 24 countRichland County: 104 countRoss County: 52 countSandusky County: 28 countScioto County: 55 countSeneca County: 31 countShelby County: 29 countStark County: 271 countSummit County: 555 countTrumbull County: 154 countTuscarawas County: 63 countUnion County: 62 countVan Wert County: 10 countVinton County: 9 countWarren County: 237 countWashington County: 47 countWayne County: 86 countWilliams County: 20 countWood County: 79 countWyandot County: 23 count
  • Under 20
  • 20 to 30
  • 30 to 40
  • 40 to 70
  • 70 to 160
  • 160 and over
count, 2020. 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, 2020

Franklin County: 1,535 countFranklin County1,535Cuyahoga County: 1,315 countCuyahoga County1,315Hamilton County: 866 countHamilton County866Summit County: 555 countSummit County555Montgomery County: 410 countMontgomery County410Lucas County: 328 countLucas County328Butler County: 297 countButler County297Delaware County: 288 countDelaware County288Stark County: 271 countStark County271Lorain County: 244 countLorain County244Warren County: 237 countWarren County237Lake County: 209 countLake County209Mahoning County: 207 countMahoning County207Medina County: 187 countMedina County187Clermont County: 170 countClermont County170Trumbull County: 154 countTrumbull County154Geauga County: 147 countGeauga County147Greene County: 142 countGreene County142Licking County: 139 countLicking County139Fairfield County: 133 countFairfield County133Portage County: 127 countPortage County127Clark County: 109 countClark County109Miami County: 104 countMiami County104Richland County: 104 countRichland County104Wayne County: 86 countWayne County86Wood County: 79 countWood County79Erie County: 72 countErie County72Muskingum County: 68 countMuskingum County68Holmes County: 67 countHolmes County67Allen County: 66 countAllen County66Columbiana County: 63 countColumbiana County63Tuscarawas County: 63 countTuscarawas County63Union County: 62 countUnion County62Ashtabula County: 60 countAshtabula County60Darke County: 57 countDarke County57Scioto County: 55 countScioto County55Ross County: 52 countRoss County52Hancock County: 48 countHancock County48Washington County: 47 countWashington County47Mercer County: 43 countMercer County43Franklin County: 1,535 countFranklin County1,535Cuyahoga County: 1,315 countCuyahoga County1,315Hamilton County: 866 countHamilton County866Summit County: 555 countSummit County555Montgomery County: 410 countMontgomery County410Lucas County: 328 countLucas County328Butler County: 297 countButler County297Delaware County: 288 countDelaware County288Stark County: 271 countStark County271Lorain County: 244 countLorain County244Warren County: 237 countWarren County237Lake County: 209 countLake County209Mahoning County: 207 countMahoning County207Medina County: 187 countMedina County187Clermont County: 170 countClermont County170Trumbull County: 154 countTrumbull County154Geauga County: 147 countGeauga County147Greene County: 142 countGreene County142Licking County: 139 countLicking County139Fairfield County: 133 countFairfield County133Portage County: 127 countPortage County127Clark County: 109 countClark County109Miami County: 104 countMiami County104Richland County: 104 countRichland County104Wayne County: 86 countWayne County86Wood County: 79 countWood County79Erie County: 72 countErie County72Muskingum County: 68 countMuskingum County68Holmes County: 67 countHolmes County67Allen County: 66 countAllen County66Columbiana County: 63 countColumbiana County63Tuscarawas County: 63 countTuscarawas County63Union County: 62 countUnion County62Ashtabula County: 60 countAshtabula County60Darke County: 57 countDarke County57Scioto County: 55 countScioto County55Ross County: 52 countRoss County52Hancock County: 48 countHancock County48Washington County: 47 countWashington County47Mercer County: 43 countMercer 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

RankCounties2020
count
Change on 2019
1Franklin County1,535-1.1%
2Cuyahoga County1,315+0.8%
3Hamilton County866+1.6%
4Summit County555+9.7%
5Montgomery County410-11.4%
6Lucas County328-5.2%
7Butler County297-3.6%
8Delaware County288-2.4%
9Stark County271-10.9%
10Lorain County244+20.8%
11Warren County237-10.6%
12Lake County209-10.3%
13Mahoning County207+8.4%
14Medina County187+3.3%
15Clermont County170-6.1%
16Trumbull County154+5.5%
17Geauga County1470%
18Greene County142-7.8%
19Licking County139-2.1%
20Fairfield County133+17.7%
21Portage County127+24.5%
22Clark County109+34.6%
23Miami County104+33.3%
23Richland County104+16.9%
25Wayne County86-20.4%
26Wood County79-14.1%
27Erie County72+2.9%
28Muskingum County68+9.7%
29Holmes County67+6.3%
30Allen County66+13.8%
31Columbiana County63-22.2%
31Tuscarawas County63-24.1%
33Union County62+10.7%
34Ashtabula County60-27.7%
35Darke County57+72.7%
36Scioto County55+44.7%
37Ross County52-5.5%
38Hancock County48-4%
39Washington County47-13%
40Mercer County43+4.9%
41Fulton County42+27.3%
42Ottawa County41+10.8%
43Knox County40-28.6%
44Belmont County38-11.6%
44Huron County38-13.6%
46Athens County37+32.1%
47Crawford County35+16.7%
48Ashland County34+13.3%
49Lawrence County32+6.7%
50Champaign County31+34.8%
50Marion County31+3.3%
50Seneca County31-20.5%
53Logan County30-9.1%
54Auglaize County29-31%
54Defiance County29+20.8%
54Shelby County29+61.1%
57Highland County28+27.3%
57Sandusky County28-22.2%
59Clinton County27+17.4%
59Perry County27+35%
61Coshocton County26+30%
61Jefferson County26-27.8%
61Madison County26-23.5%
61Pickaway County26-42.2%
61Preble County26-3.7%
66Guernsey County24-11.1%
66Morrow County24-29.4%
66Putnam County240%
69Adams County23+35.3%
69Carroll County23+43.8%
69Wyandot County23+43.8%
72Williams County20-33.3%
73Fayette County17+21.4%
73Gallia County17-29.2%
73Hocking County17-29.2%
76Hardin County16-5.9%
77Jackson County15-31.8%
78Brown County14-46.2%
78Henry County14-26.3%
80Meigs County13-31.6%
81Pike County12-36.8%
82Harrison County10+11.1%
82Paulding County10-33.3%
82Van Wert County10-60%
85Vinton County9+12.5%
86Morgan County8-33.3%
87Noble County7-41.7%
88Monroe County5-64.3%

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, 2020) [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, 2020. 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=2020. 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, 2020. 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=2020.

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, 2020 [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=2020 (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_ohio_by_2020,
  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, 2020}},
  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=2020. 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, 2020
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=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/ohio-counties?period=2020.
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 1,535 in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firm births?

Monroe County, with 5 in 2020.

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