Counties in Pennsylvania by employer firm births

Philadelphia County had the highest employer firm births of 67 counties in 2012, at 1,609. Cameron County had the lowest, at 3. The median was 73 and the figure for Pennsylvania was 12,824. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Median7367 counties
Pennsylvania12,824History

Map of counties, 2012

Adams County: 70 countAllegheny County: 1,295 countArmstrong County: 42 countBeaver County: 133 countBedford County: 34 countBerks County: 335 countBlair County: 105 countBradford County: 77 countBucks County: 959 countButler County: 187 countCambria County: 86 countCameron County: 3 countCarbon County: 46 countCentre County: 138 countChester County: 685 countClarion County: 35 countClearfield County: 77 countClinton County: 44 countColumbia County: 44 countCrawford County: 73 countCumberland County: 232 countDauphin County: 263 countDelaware County: 608 countElk County: 28 countErie County: 202 countFayette County: 103 countForest County: 4 countFranklin County: 95 countFulton County: 12 countGreene County: 25 countHuntingdon County: 20 countIndiana County: 72 countJefferson County: 44 countJuniata County: 23 countLackawanna County: 217 countLancaster County: 538 countLawrence County: 82 countLebanon County: 101 countLehigh County: 386 countLuzerne County: 290 countLycoming County: 104 countMcKean County: 34 countMercer County: 97 countMifflin County: 34 countMonroe County: 186 countMontgomery County: 1,150 countMontour County: 17 countNorthampton County: 270 countNorthumberland County: 62 countPerry County: 26 countPhiladelphia County: 1,609 countPike County: 56 countPotter County: 17 countSchuylkill County: 100 countSnyder County: 25 countSomerset County: 61 countSullivan County: 9 countSusquehanna County: 51 countTioga County: 49 countUnion County: 28 countVenango County: 48 countWarren County: 25 countWashington County: 217 countWayne County: 52 countWestmoreland County: 343 countWyoming County: 29 countYork County: 355 count
  • Under 30
  • 30 to 40
  • 40 to 70
  • 70 to 110
  • 110 to 290
  • 290 and over
count, 2012. 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, 2012

Philadelphia County: 1,609 countPhiladelphia County1,609Allegheny County: 1,295 countAllegheny County1,295Montgomery County: 1,150 countMontgomery County1,150Bucks County: 959 countBucks County959Chester County: 685 countChester County685Delaware County: 608 countDelaware County608Lancaster County: 538 countLancaster County538Lehigh County: 386 countLehigh County386York County: 355 countYork County355Westmoreland County: 343 countWestmoreland County343Berks County: 335 countBerks County335Luzerne County: 290 countLuzerne County290Northampton County: 270 countNorthampton County270Dauphin County: 263 countDauphin County263Cumberland County: 232 countCumberland County232Lackawanna County: 217 countLackawanna County217Washington County: 217 countWashington County217Erie County: 202 countErie County202Butler County: 187 countButler County187Monroe County: 186 countMonroe County186Centre County: 138 countCentre County138Beaver County: 133 countBeaver County133Blair County: 105 countBlair County105Lycoming County: 104 countLycoming County104Fayette County: 103 countFayette County103Lebanon County: 101 countLebanon County101Schuylkill County: 100 countSchuylkill County100Mercer County: 97 countMercer County97Franklin County: 95 countFranklin County95Cambria County: 86 countCambria County86Lawrence County: 82 countLawrence County82Bradford County: 77 countBradford County77Clearfield County: 77 countClearfield County77Crawford County: 73 countCrawford County73Indiana County: 72 countIndiana County72Adams County: 70 countAdams County70Northumberland County: 62 countNorthumberland County62Somerset County: 61 countSomerset County61Pike County: 56 countPike County56Wayne County: 52 countWayne County52Philadelphia County: 1,609 countPhiladelphia County1,609Allegheny County: 1,295 countAllegheny County1,295Montgomery County: 1,150 countMontgomery County1,150Bucks County: 959 countBucks County959Chester County: 685 countChester County685Delaware County: 608 countDelaware County608Lancaster County: 538 countLancaster County538Lehigh County: 386 countLehigh County386York County: 355 countYork County355Westmoreland County: 343 countWestmoreland County343Berks County: 335 countBerks County335Luzerne County: 290 countLuzerne County290Northampton County: 270 countNorthampton County270Dauphin County: 263 countDauphin County263Cumberland County: 232 countCumberland County232Lackawanna County: 217 countLackawanna County217Washington County: 217 countWashington County217Erie County: 202 countErie County202Butler County: 187 countButler County187Monroe County: 186 countMonroe County186Centre County: 138 countCentre County138Beaver County: 133 countBeaver County133Blair County: 105 countBlair County105Lycoming County: 104 countLycoming County104Fayette County: 103 countFayette County103Lebanon County: 101 countLebanon County101Schuylkill County: 100 countSchuylkill County100Mercer County: 97 countMercer County97Franklin County: 95 countFranklin County95Cambria County: 86 countCambria County86Lawrence County: 82 countLawrence County82Bradford County: 77 countBradford County77Clearfield County: 77 countClearfield County77Crawford County: 73 countCrawford County73Indiana County: 72 countIndiana County72Adams County: 70 countAdams County70Northumberland County: 62 countNorthumberland County62Somerset County: 61 countSomerset County61Pike County: 56 countPike County56Wayne County: 52 countWayne County52
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

RankCounties2012
count
Change on 2011
1Philadelphia County1,609+7.8%
2Allegheny County1,295-1.2%
3Montgomery County1,150+2.3%
4Bucks County959+4.5%
5Chester County685+9.6%
6Delaware County608+9.2%
7Lancaster County538+9.3%
8Lehigh County386+13.9%
9York County355+2%
10Westmoreland County343+8.5%
11Berks County335+9.5%
12Luzerne County290+1.8%
13Northampton County270-12.6%
14Dauphin County263+4.4%
15Cumberland County232+4%
16Lackawanna County217+4.8%
16Washington County217+19.9%
18Erie County202-16.5%
19Butler County187+8.7%
20Monroe County186+2.2%
21Centre County138-2.1%
22Beaver County133+25.5%
23Blair County105-7.9%
24Lycoming County104-2.8%
25Fayette County103-5.5%
26Lebanon County101+5.2%
27Schuylkill County100-13.8%
28Mercer County97+2.1%
29Franklin County95-18.1%
30Cambria County86-13.1%
31Lawrence County82+1.2%
32Bradford County77-12.5%
32Clearfield County77+4.1%
34Crawford County73-16.1%
35Indiana County72+12.5%
36Adams County70+1.4%
37Northumberland County62+14.8%
38Somerset County61-18.7%
39Pike County56+43.6%
40Wayne County52-8.8%
41Susquehanna County51-15%
42Tioga County49-23.4%
43Venango County48+2.1%
44Carbon County46-9.8%
45Clinton County44+37.5%
45Columbia County44-21.4%
45Jefferson County44-25.4%
48Armstrong County42-16%
49Clarion County35+20.7%
50Bedford County34-15%
50McKean County34-12.8%
50Mifflin County34+36%
53Wyoming County29-25.6%
54Elk County280%
54Union County28-33.3%
56Perry County26-27.8%
57Greene County25+8.7%
57Snyder County25-21.9%
57Warren County25-16.7%
60Juniata County23+4.5%
61Huntingdon County20-9.1%
62Montour County17+30.8%
62Potter County17-43.3%
64Fulton County12+50%
65Sullivan County9-10%
66Forest County4n/a
67Cameron County3-57.1%

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 Pennsylvania by employer firm births, 2012) [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 Pennsylvania by employer firm births, 2012. 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/pennsylvania-counties?period=2012. 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 Pennsylvania by employer firm births, 2012. 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/pennsylvania-counties?period=2012.

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 Pennsylvania by employer firm births, 2012 [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/pennsylvania-counties?period=2012 (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_pennsylvania_by_2012,
  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 Pennsylvania by employer firm births, 2012}},
  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/pennsylvania-counties?period=2012. 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 Pennsylvania by employer firm births, 2012
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/pennsylvania-counties?period=2012
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/pennsylvania-counties?period=2012.
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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Questions

Which county has the highest employer firm births?

Philadelphia County, with 1,609 in 2012, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firm births?

Cameron County, with 3 in 2012.

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 Pennsylvania: more rankings