Counties in Oklahoma by employer firm births

Oklahoma County had the highest employer firm births of 74 counties in 2016, at 1,315. Harper County had the lowest, at 3. The median was 22 and the figure for Oklahoma was 4,813. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest1,315Oklahoma County
Median2274 counties
Oklahoma4,813History

Map of counties, 2016

Adair County: 16 countAlfalfa County: 7 countAtoka County: 14 countBeaver County: 4 countBeckham County: 32 countBlaine County: 11 countBryan County: 36 countCaddo County: 25 countCanadian County: 163 countCarter County: 71 countCherokee County: 39 countChoctaw County: 9 countCimarron County: 3 countCleveland County: 347 countCoal County: 7 countComanche County: 93 countCraig County: 13 countCreek County: 58 countCuster County: 41 countDelaware County: 45 countDewey County: 12 countEllis County: 10 countGarfield County: 67 countGarvin County: 32 countGrady County: 61 countGrant County: 4 countGreer County: 5 countHarmon County: 4 countHarper County: 3 countHaskell County: 8 countHughes County: 11 countJackson County: 12 countJefferson County: 6 countJohnston County: 7 countKay County: 40 countKingfisher County: 19 countLatimer County: 10 countLe Flore County: 26 countLincoln County: 32 countLogan County: 65 countLove County: 9 countMcClain County: 56 countMcCurtain County: 41 countMcIntosh County: 18 countMajor County: 18 countMarshall County: 15 countMayes County: 29 countMurray County: 10 countMuskogee County: 63 countNoble County: 9 countNowata County: 6 countOkfuskee County: 12 countOklahoma County: 1,315 countOkmulgee County: 25 countOsage County: 31 countOttawa County: 19 countPawnee County: 8 countPayne County: 108 countPittsburg County: 42 countPontotoc County: 44 countPottawatomie County: 77 countPushmataha County: 12 countRoger Mills County: 4 countRogers County: 100 countSeminole County: 17 countSequoyah County: 25 countStephens County: 51 countTexas County: 25 countTulsa County: 1,008 countWagoner County: 64 countWashington County: 40 countWashita County: 14 countWoods County: 9 countWoodward County: 35 count
  • Under 10
  • 10 to 20
  • 20 to 40
  • 40 to 60
  • 60 and over
  • No data
count, 2016. Hatched areas have no value for this period. 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

Oklahoma County: 1,315 countOklahoma County1,315Tulsa County: 1,008 countTulsa County1,008Cleveland County: 347 countCleveland County347Canadian County: 163 countCanadian County163Payne County: 108 countPayne County108Rogers County: 100 countRogers County100Comanche County: 93 countComanche County93Pottawatomie County: 77 countPottawatomie County77Carter County: 71 countCarter County71Garfield County: 67 countGarfield County67Logan County: 65 countLogan County65Wagoner County: 64 countWagoner County64Muskogee County: 63 countMuskogee County63Grady County: 61 countGrady County61Creek County: 58 countCreek County58McClain County: 56 countMcClain County56Stephens County: 51 countStephens County51Delaware County: 45 countDelaware County45Pontotoc County: 44 countPontotoc County44Pittsburg County: 42 countPittsburg County42Custer County: 41 countCuster County41McCurtain County: 41 countMcCurtain County41Kay County: 40 countKay County40Washington County: 40 countWashington County40Cherokee County: 39 countCherokee County39Bryan County: 36 countBryan County36Woodward County: 35 countWoodward County35Beckham County: 32 countBeckham County32Garvin County: 32 countGarvin County32Lincoln County: 32 countLincoln County32Osage County: 31 countOsage County31Mayes County: 29 countMayes County29Le Flore County: 26 countLe Flore County26Caddo County: 25 countCaddo County25Okmulgee County: 25 countOkmulgee County25Sequoyah County: 25 countSequoyah County25Texas County: 25 countTexas County25Kingfisher County: 19 countKingfisher County19Ottawa County: 19 countOttawa County19Major County: 18 countMajor County18Oklahoma County: 1,315 countOklahoma County1,315Tulsa County: 1,008 countTulsa County1,008Cleveland County: 347 countCleveland County347Canadian County: 163 countCanadian County163Payne County: 108 countPayne County108Rogers County: 100 countRogers County100Comanche County: 93 countComanche County93Pottawatomie County: 77 countPottawatomie County77Carter County: 71 countCarter County71Garfield County: 67 countGarfield County67Logan County: 65 countLogan County65Wagoner County: 64 countWagoner County64Muskogee County: 63 countMuskogee County63Grady County: 61 countGrady County61Creek County: 58 countCreek County58McClain County: 56 countMcClain County56Stephens County: 51 countStephens County51Delaware County: 45 countDelaware County45Pontotoc County: 44 countPontotoc County44Pittsburg County: 42 countPittsburg County42Custer County: 41 countCuster County41McCurtain County: 41 countMcCurtain County41Kay County: 40 countKay County40Washington County: 40 countWashington County40Cherokee County: 39 countCherokee County39Bryan County: 36 countBryan County36Woodward County: 35 countWoodward County35Beckham County: 32 countBeckham County32Garvin County: 32 countGarvin County32Lincoln County: 32 countLincoln County32Osage County: 31 countOsage County31Mayes County: 29 countMayes County29Le Flore County: 26 countLe Flore County26Caddo County: 25 countCaddo County25Okmulgee County: 25 countOkmulgee County25Sequoyah County: 25 countSequoyah County25Texas County: 25 countTexas County25Kingfisher County: 19 countKingfisher County19Ottawa County: 19 countOttawa County19Major County: 18 countMajor County18
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
1Oklahoma County1,315+2.3%
2Tulsa County1,008+8.3%
3Cleveland County347+7.4%
4Canadian County163-5.8%
5Payne County108+12.5%
6Rogers County100+17.6%
7Comanche County93-4.1%
8Pottawatomie County77+45.3%
9Carter County71-5.3%
10Garfield County67+8.1%
11Logan County65+16.1%
12Wagoner County64-3%
13Muskogee County63+26%
14Grady County61-9%
15Creek County58-24.7%
16McClain County56-23.3%
17Stephens County51-38.6%
18Delaware County45+15.4%
19Pontotoc County44+15.8%
20Pittsburg County42+10.5%
21Custer County41-14.6%
21McCurtain County41+32.3%
23Kay County40-2.4%
23Washington County40+11.1%
25Cherokee County39+21.9%
26Bryan County36-12.2%
27Woodward County35+9.4%
28Beckham County32-30.4%
28Garvin County32-8.6%
28Lincoln County32+3.2%
31Osage County31-20.5%
32Mayes County29-14.7%
33Le Flore County26-50.9%
34Caddo County25-10.7%
34Okmulgee County25-21.9%
34Sequoyah County25-21.9%
34Texas County25+31.6%
38Kingfisher County19-24%
38Ottawa County19-42.4%
40Major County18+50%
40McIntosh County18+80%
42Seminole County17+41.7%
43Adair County16+77.8%
44Marshall County15+7.1%
45Atoka County14-12.5%
45Washita County14-12.5%
47Craig County13+8.3%
48Dewey County12+140%
48Jackson County12-36.8%
48Okfuskee County12+50%
48Pushmataha County12+20%
52Blaine County110%
52Hughes County11-38.9%
54Ellis County10-28.6%
54Latimer County10+100%
54Murray County10-33.3%
57Choctaw County9-43.8%
57Love County9-18.2%
57Noble County9-35.7%
57Woods County9-55%
61Haskell County8-38.5%
61Pawnee County80%
63Alfalfa County7-12.5%
63Coal County7+16.7%
63Johnston County7-41.7%
66Jefferson County6+20%
66Nowata County6-25%
68Greer County5+25%
69Beaver County4-63.6%
69Grant County40%
69Harmon County4n/a
69Roger Mills County4-55.6%
73Cimarron County3n/a
73Harper County3-40%

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. 3 counties with data in other periods have no value for 2016 and are left out rather than filled from another source. 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 Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma 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/oklahoma-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 Oklahoma 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/oklahoma-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 Oklahoma 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/oklahoma-counties?period=2016 (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_oklahoma_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 Oklahoma 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/oklahoma-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 Oklahoma 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/oklahoma-counties?period=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/oklahoma-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 Oklahoma by employer firm births using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which county has the highest employer firm births?

Oklahoma County, with 1,315 in 2016, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firm births?

Harper County, with 3 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. 3 counties have no value for 2016 and are not ranked.

Employer firm births: other rankings

Counties in Oklahoma: more rankings