Counties in Ohio by employer firm births

Franklin County had the highest employer firm births of 88 counties in 2021, at 1,719. Noble County had the lowest, at 6. The median was 45 and the figure for Ohio was 11,786. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest1,719Franklin County
Median4588 counties
Ohio11,786History

Map of counties, 2021

Adams County: 16 countAllen County: 72 countAshland County: 39 countAshtabula County: 67 countAthens County: 33 countAuglaize County: 42 countBelmont County: 46 countBrown County: 31 countButler County: 362 countCarroll County: 23 countChampaign County: 21 countClark County: 114 countClermont County: 219 countClinton County: 31 countColumbiana County: 70 countCoshocton County: 21 countCrawford County: 28 countCuyahoga County: 1,541 countDarke County: 44 countDefiance County: 26 countDelaware County: 313 countErie County: 66 countFairfield County: 140 countFayette County: 16 countFranklin County: 1,719 countFulton County: 22 countGallia County: 23 countGeauga County: 109 countGreene County: 157 countGuernsey County: 34 countHamilton County: 988 countHancock County: 52 countHardin County: 12 countHarrison County: 10 countHenry County: 18 countHighland County: 43 countHocking County: 23 countHolmes County: 83 countHuron County: 34 countJackson County: 17 countJefferson County: 30 countKnox County: 55 countLake County: 244 countLawrence County: 37 countLicking County: 162 countLogan County: 41 countLorain County: 292 countLucas County: 375 countMadison County: 40 countMahoning County: 220 countMarion County: 53 countMedina County: 198 countMeigs County: 13 countMercer County: 45 countMiami County: 77 countMonroe County: 8 countMontgomery County: 487 countMorgan County: 8 countMorrow County: 34 countMuskingum County: 67 countNoble County: 6 countOttawa County: 50 countPaulding County: 13 countPerry County: 26 countPickaway County: 35 countPike County: 11 countPortage County: 137 countPreble County: 33 countPutnam County: 28 countRichland County: 92 countRoss County: 49 countSandusky County: 48 countScioto County: 44 countSeneca County: 44 countShelby County: 46 countStark County: 371 countSummit County: 666 countTrumbull County: 159 countTuscarawas County: 77 countUnion County: 64 countVan Wert County: 19 countVinton County: 7 countWarren County: 290 countWashington County: 45 countWayne County: 101 countWilliams County: 23 countWood County: 120 countWyandot County: 16 count
  • Under 20
  • 20 to 30
  • 30 to 40
  • 40 to 70
  • 70 to 180
  • 180 and over
count, 2021. 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, 2021

Franklin County: 1,719 countFranklin County1,719Cuyahoga County: 1,541 countCuyahoga County1,541Hamilton County: 988 countHamilton County988Summit County: 666 countSummit County666Montgomery County: 487 countMontgomery County487Lucas County: 375 countLucas County375Stark County: 371 countStark County371Butler County: 362 countButler County362Delaware County: 313 countDelaware County313Lorain County: 292 countLorain County292Warren County: 290 countWarren County290Lake County: 244 countLake County244Mahoning County: 220 countMahoning County220Clermont County: 219 countClermont County219Medina County: 198 countMedina County198Licking County: 162 countLicking County162Trumbull County: 159 countTrumbull County159Greene County: 157 countGreene County157Fairfield County: 140 countFairfield County140Portage County: 137 countPortage County137Wood County: 120 countWood County120Clark County: 114 countClark County114Geauga County: 109 countGeauga County109Wayne County: 101 countWayne County101Richland County: 92 countRichland County92Holmes County: 83 countHolmes County83Miami County: 77 countMiami County77Tuscarawas County: 77 countTuscarawas County77Allen County: 72 countAllen County72Columbiana County: 70 countColumbiana County70Ashtabula County: 67 countAshtabula County67Muskingum County: 67 countMuskingum County67Erie County: 66 countErie County66Union County: 64 countUnion County64Knox County: 55 countKnox County55Marion County: 53 countMarion County53Hancock County: 52 countHancock County52Ottawa County: 50 countOttawa County50Ross County: 49 countRoss County49Sandusky County: 48 countSandusky County48Franklin County: 1,719 countFranklin County1,719Cuyahoga County: 1,541 countCuyahoga County1,541Hamilton County: 988 countHamilton County988Summit County: 666 countSummit County666Montgomery County: 487 countMontgomery County487Lucas County: 375 countLucas County375Stark County: 371 countStark County371Butler County: 362 countButler County362Delaware County: 313 countDelaware County313Lorain County: 292 countLorain County292Warren County: 290 countWarren County290Lake County: 244 countLake County244Mahoning County: 220 countMahoning County220Clermont County: 219 countClermont County219Medina County: 198 countMedina County198Licking County: 162 countLicking County162Trumbull County: 159 countTrumbull County159Greene County: 157 countGreene County157Fairfield County: 140 countFairfield County140Portage County: 137 countPortage County137Wood County: 120 countWood County120Clark County: 114 countClark County114Geauga County: 109 countGeauga County109Wayne County: 101 countWayne County101Richland County: 92 countRichland County92Holmes County: 83 countHolmes County83Miami County: 77 countMiami County77Tuscarawas County: 77 countTuscarawas County77Allen County: 72 countAllen County72Columbiana County: 70 countColumbiana County70Ashtabula County: 67 countAshtabula County67Muskingum County: 67 countMuskingum County67Erie County: 66 countErie County66Union County: 64 countUnion County64Knox County: 55 countKnox County55Marion County: 53 countMarion County53Hancock County: 52 countHancock County52Ottawa County: 50 countOttawa County50Ross County: 49 countRoss County49Sandusky County: 48 countSandusky County48
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

RankCounties2021
count
Change on 2020
1Franklin County1,719+12%
2Cuyahoga County1,541+17.2%
3Hamilton County988+14.1%
4Summit County666+20%
5Montgomery County487+18.8%
6Lucas County375+14.3%
7Stark County371+36.9%
8Butler County362+21.9%
9Delaware County313+8.7%
10Lorain County292+19.7%
11Warren County290+22.4%
12Lake County244+16.7%
13Mahoning County220+6.3%
14Clermont County219+28.8%
15Medina County198+5.9%
16Licking County162+16.5%
17Trumbull County159+3.2%
18Greene County157+10.6%
19Fairfield County140+5.3%
20Portage County137+7.9%
21Wood County120+51.9%
22Clark County114+4.6%
23Geauga County109-25.9%
24Wayne County101+17.4%
25Richland County92-11.5%
26Holmes County83+23.9%
27Miami County77-26%
27Tuscarawas County77+22.2%
29Allen County72+9.1%
30Columbiana County70+11.1%
31Ashtabula County67+11.7%
31Muskingum County67-1.5%
33Erie County66-8.3%
34Union County64+3.2%
35Knox County55+37.5%
36Marion County53+71%
37Hancock County52+8.3%
38Ottawa County50+22%
39Ross County49-5.8%
40Sandusky County48+71.4%
41Belmont County46+21.1%
41Shelby County46+58.6%
43Mercer County45+4.7%
43Washington County45-4.3%
45Darke County44-22.8%
45Scioto County44-20%
45Seneca County44+41.9%
48Highland County43+53.6%
49Auglaize County42+44.8%
50Logan County41+36.7%
51Madison County40+53.8%
52Ashland County39+14.7%
53Lawrence County37+15.6%
54Pickaway County35+34.6%
55Guernsey County34+41.7%
55Huron County34-10.5%
55Morrow County34+41.7%
58Athens County33-10.8%
58Preble County33+26.9%
60Brown County31+121.4%
60Clinton County31+14.8%
62Jefferson County30+15.4%
63Crawford County28-20%
63Putnam County28+16.7%
65Defiance County26-10.3%
65Perry County26-3.7%
67Carroll County230%
67Gallia County23+35.3%
67Hocking County23+35.3%
67Williams County23+15%
71Fulton County22-47.6%
72Champaign County21-32.3%
72Coshocton County21-19.2%
74Van Wert County19+90%
75Henry County18+28.6%
76Jackson County17+13.3%
77Adams County16-30.4%
77Fayette County16-5.9%
77Wyandot County16-30.4%
80Meigs County130%
80Paulding County13+30%
82Hardin County12-25%
83Pike County11-8.3%
84Harrison County100%
85Monroe County8+60%
85Morgan County80%
87Vinton County7-22.2%
88Noble County6-14.3%

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, 2021) [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, 2021. 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=2021. 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, 2021. 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=2021.

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, 2021 [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=2021 (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_ohio_by_2021,
  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, 2021}},
  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=2021. 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, 2021
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=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/ohio-counties?period=2021.
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 1,719 in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firm births?

Noble County, with 6 in 2021.

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