Counties in Pennsylvania by employer firm births

Philadelphia County had the highest employer firm births of 67 counties in 2018, at 1,808. Cameron County had the lowest, at 3. The median was 63 and the figure for Pennsylvania was 13,047. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Median6367 counties
Pennsylvania13,047History

Map of counties, 2018

Adams County: 74 countAllegheny County: 1,353 countArmstrong County: 38 countBeaver County: 139 countBedford County: 42 countBerks County: 315 countBlair County: 95 countBradford County: 44 countBucks County: 973 countButler County: 192 countCambria County: 78 countCameron County: 3 countCarbon County: 42 countCentre County: 133 countChester County: 693 countClarion County: 29 countClearfield County: 64 countClinton County: 22 countColumbia County: 43 countCrawford County: 63 countCumberland County: 231 countDauphin County: 263 countDelaware County: 652 countElk County: 34 countErie County: 230 countFayette County: 84 countForest County: 4 countFranklin County: 111 countFulton County: 8 countGreene County: 21 countHuntingdon County: 31 countIndiana County: 62 countJefferson County: 30 countJuniata County: 20 countLackawanna County: 203 countLancaster County: 638 countLawrence County: 54 countLebanon County: 109 countLehigh County: 333 countLuzerne County: 256 countLycoming County: 92 countMcKean County: 29 countMercer County: 103 countMifflin County: 38 countMonroe County: 175 countMontgomery County: 1,221 countMontour County: 12 countNorthampton County: 304 countNorthumberland County: 50 countPerry County: 45 countPhiladelphia County: 1,808 countPike County: 51 countPotter County: 16 countSchuylkill County: 90 countSnyder County: 30 countSomerset County: 66 countSullivan County: 10 countSusquehanna County: 29 countTioga County: 34 countUnion County: 50 countVenango County: 39 countWarren County: 27 countWashington County: 230 countWayne County: 56 countWestmoreland County: 306 countWyoming County: 25 countYork County: 331 count
  • Under 30
  • 30 to 40
  • 40 to 60
  • 60 to 110
  • 110 to 300
  • 300 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

Philadelphia County: 1,808 countPhiladelphia County1,808Allegheny County: 1,353 countAllegheny County1,353Montgomery County: 1,221 countMontgomery County1,221Bucks County: 973 countBucks County973Chester County: 693 countChester County693Delaware County: 652 countDelaware County652Lancaster County: 638 countLancaster County638Lehigh County: 333 countLehigh County333York County: 331 countYork County331Berks County: 315 countBerks County315Westmoreland County: 306 countWestmoreland County306Northampton County: 304 countNorthampton County304Dauphin County: 263 countDauphin County263Luzerne County: 256 countLuzerne County256Cumberland County: 231 countCumberland County231Erie County: 230 countErie County230Washington County: 230 countWashington County230Lackawanna County: 203 countLackawanna County203Butler County: 192 countButler County192Monroe County: 175 countMonroe County175Beaver County: 139 countBeaver County139Centre County: 133 countCentre County133Franklin County: 111 countFranklin County111Lebanon County: 109 countLebanon County109Mercer County: 103 countMercer County103Blair County: 95 countBlair County95Lycoming County: 92 countLycoming County92Schuylkill County: 90 countSchuylkill County90Fayette County: 84 countFayette County84Cambria County: 78 countCambria County78Adams County: 74 countAdams County74Somerset County: 66 countSomerset County66Clearfield County: 64 countClearfield County64Crawford County: 63 countCrawford County63Indiana County: 62 countIndiana County62Wayne County: 56 countWayne County56Lawrence County: 54 countLawrence County54Pike County: 51 countPike County51Northumberland County: 50 countNorthumberland County50Union County: 50 countUnion County50Philadelphia County: 1,808 countPhiladelphia County1,808Allegheny County: 1,353 countAllegheny County1,353Montgomery County: 1,221 countMontgomery County1,221Bucks County: 973 countBucks County973Chester County: 693 countChester County693Delaware County: 652 countDelaware County652Lancaster County: 638 countLancaster County638Lehigh County: 333 countLehigh County333York County: 331 countYork County331Berks County: 315 countBerks County315Westmoreland County: 306 countWestmoreland County306Northampton County: 304 countNorthampton County304Dauphin County: 263 countDauphin County263Luzerne County: 256 countLuzerne County256Cumberland County: 231 countCumberland County231Erie County: 230 countErie County230Washington County: 230 countWashington County230Lackawanna County: 203 countLackawanna County203Butler County: 192 countButler County192Monroe County: 175 countMonroe County175Beaver County: 139 countBeaver County139Centre County: 133 countCentre County133Franklin County: 111 countFranklin County111Lebanon County: 109 countLebanon County109Mercer County: 103 countMercer County103Blair County: 95 countBlair County95Lycoming County: 92 countLycoming County92Schuylkill County: 90 countSchuylkill County90Fayette County: 84 countFayette County84Cambria County: 78 countCambria County78Adams County: 74 countAdams County74Somerset County: 66 countSomerset County66Clearfield County: 64 countClearfield County64Crawford County: 63 countCrawford County63Indiana County: 62 countIndiana County62Wayne County: 56 countWayne County56Lawrence County: 54 countLawrence County54Pike County: 51 countPike County51Northumberland County: 50 countNorthumberland County50Union County: 50 countUnion County50
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
1Philadelphia County1,808-2.4%
2Allegheny County1,353+0.9%
3Montgomery County1,221+3%
4Bucks County973+1.6%
5Chester County693-1%
6Delaware County652-0.9%
7Lancaster County638+3.9%
8Lehigh County333-16.8%
9York County331+6.8%
10Berks County315-12.3%
11Westmoreland County306+7%
12Northampton County304+5.6%
13Dauphin County263-10.2%
14Luzerne County256-3.4%
15Cumberland County231-10.1%
16Erie County230+7%
16Washington County230+0.4%
18Lackawanna County203+10.9%
19Butler County192+4.3%
20Monroe County175-1.1%
21Beaver County139+40.4%
22Centre County133-1.5%
23Franklin County111+5.7%
24Lebanon County109+7.9%
25Mercer County103+21.2%
26Blair County95-3.1%
27Lycoming County92+8.2%
28Schuylkill County90+18.4%
29Fayette County84-5.6%
30Cambria County78-4.9%
31Adams County74-16.9%
32Somerset County66+17.9%
33Clearfield County64-7.2%
34Crawford County63-14.9%
35Indiana County62+10.7%
36Wayne County56+5.7%
37Lawrence County54+1.9%
38Pike County51+2%
39Northumberland County50-7.4%
39Union County50+11.1%
41Perry County45+32.4%
42Bradford County44-10.2%
43Columbia County43+10.3%
44Bedford County42-10.6%
44Carbon County42-14.3%
46Venango County39+44.4%
47Armstrong County38-24%
47Mifflin County38+52%
49Elk County34+13.3%
49Tioga County34+3%
51Huntingdon County31+10.7%
52Jefferson County30-18.9%
52Snyder County30-26.8%
54Clarion County29-9.4%
54McKean County29+7.4%
54Susquehanna County29-23.7%
57Warren County27+3.8%
58Wyoming County25+8.7%
59Clinton County22-33.3%
60Greene County21-4.5%
61Juniata County20+11.1%
62Potter County16+45.5%
63Montour County12-14.3%
64Sullivan County100%
65Fulton County8-11.1%
66Forest County40%
67Cameron County30%

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, 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 Pennsylvania 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/pennsylvania-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 Pennsylvania 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/pennsylvania-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 Pennsylvania 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/pennsylvania-counties?period=2018 (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_pennsylvania_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 Pennsylvania 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/pennsylvania-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 Pennsylvania 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/pennsylvania-counties?period=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/pennsylvania-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  - 
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Questions

Which county has the highest employer firm births?

Philadelphia County, with 1,808 in 2018, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firm births?

Cameron County, with 3 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 Pennsylvania: more rankings