Counties in Pennsylvania by employer firm births

Philadelphia County had the highest employer firm births of 65 counties in 2020, at 1,912. Potter County had the lowest, at 7. The median was 61 and the figure for Pennsylvania was 13,495. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Median6165 counties
Pennsylvania13,495History

Map of counties, 2020

Adams County: 90 countAllegheny County: 1,406 countArmstrong County: 41 countBeaver County: 123 countBedford County: 39 countBerks County: 344 countBlair County: 87 countBradford County: 48 countBucks County: 1,033 countButler County: 210 countCambria County: 81 countCarbon County: 43 countCentre County: 135 countChester County: 729 countClarion County: 48 countClearfield County: 61 countClinton County: 22 countColumbia County: 53 countCrawford County: 60 countCumberland County: 277 countDauphin County: 292 countDelaware County: 643 countElk County: 39 countErie County: 218 countFayette County: 75 countFranklin County: 126 countFulton County: 11 countGreene County: 18 countHuntingdon County: 36 countIndiana County: 49 countJefferson County: 46 countJuniata County: 32 countLackawanna County: 203 countLancaster County: 642 countLawrence County: 60 countLebanon County: 101 countLehigh County: 395 countLuzerne County: 249 countLycoming County: 89 countMcKean County: 24 countMercer County: 88 countMifflin County: 43 countMonroe County: 194 countMontgomery County: 1,268 countMontour County: 19 countNorthampton County: 321 countNorthumberland County: 50 countPerry County: 43 countPhiladelphia County: 1,912 countPike County: 47 countPotter County: 7 countSchuylkill County: 87 countSnyder County: 35 countSomerset County: 69 countSullivan County: 8 countSusquehanna County: 29 countTioga County: 31 countUnion County: 53 countVenango County: 33 countWarren County: 29 countWashington County: 195 countWayne County: 51 countWestmoreland County: 311 countWyoming County: 22 countYork County: 365 count
  • Under 30
  • 30 to 50
  • 50 to 60
  • 60 to 130
  • 130 to 310
  • 310 and over
  • No data
count, 2020. 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, 2020

Philadelphia County: 1,912 countPhiladelphia County1,912Allegheny County: 1,406 countAllegheny County1,406Montgomery County: 1,268 countMontgomery County1,268Bucks County: 1,033 countBucks County1,033Chester County: 729 countChester County729Delaware County: 643 countDelaware County643Lancaster County: 642 countLancaster County642Lehigh County: 395 countLehigh County395York County: 365 countYork County365Berks County: 344 countBerks County344Northampton County: 321 countNorthampton County321Westmoreland County: 311 countWestmoreland County311Dauphin County: 292 countDauphin County292Cumberland County: 277 countCumberland County277Luzerne County: 249 countLuzerne County249Erie County: 218 countErie County218Butler County: 210 countButler County210Lackawanna County: 203 countLackawanna County203Washington County: 195 countWashington County195Monroe County: 194 countMonroe County194Centre County: 135 countCentre County135Franklin County: 126 countFranklin County126Beaver County: 123 countBeaver County123Lebanon County: 101 countLebanon County101Adams County: 90 countAdams County90Lycoming County: 89 countLycoming County89Mercer County: 88 countMercer County88Blair County: 87 countBlair County87Schuylkill County: 87 countSchuylkill County87Cambria County: 81 countCambria County81Fayette County: 75 countFayette County75Somerset County: 69 countSomerset County69Clearfield County: 61 countClearfield County61Crawford County: 60 countCrawford County60Lawrence County: 60 countLawrence County60Columbia County: 53 countColumbia County53Union County: 53 countUnion County53Wayne County: 51 countWayne County51Northumberland County: 50 countNorthumberland County50Indiana County: 49 countIndiana County49Philadelphia County: 1,912 countPhiladelphia County1,912Allegheny County: 1,406 countAllegheny County1,406Montgomery County: 1,268 countMontgomery County1,268Bucks County: 1,033 countBucks County1,033Chester County: 729 countChester County729Delaware County: 643 countDelaware County643Lancaster County: 642 countLancaster County642Lehigh County: 395 countLehigh County395York County: 365 countYork County365Berks County: 344 countBerks County344Northampton County: 321 countNorthampton County321Westmoreland County: 311 countWestmoreland County311Dauphin County: 292 countDauphin County292Cumberland County: 277 countCumberland County277Luzerne County: 249 countLuzerne County249Erie County: 218 countErie County218Butler County: 210 countButler County210Lackawanna County: 203 countLackawanna County203Washington County: 195 countWashington County195Monroe County: 194 countMonroe County194Centre County: 135 countCentre County135Franklin County: 126 countFranklin County126Beaver County: 123 countBeaver County123Lebanon County: 101 countLebanon County101Adams County: 90 countAdams County90Lycoming County: 89 countLycoming County89Mercer County: 88 countMercer County88Blair County: 87 countBlair County87Schuylkill County: 87 countSchuylkill County87Cambria County: 81 countCambria County81Fayette County: 75 countFayette County75Somerset County: 69 countSomerset County69Clearfield County: 61 countClearfield County61Crawford County: 60 countCrawford County60Lawrence County: 60 countLawrence County60Columbia County: 53 countColumbia County53Union County: 53 countUnion County53Wayne County: 51 countWayne County51Northumberland County: 50 countNorthumberland County50Indiana County: 49 countIndiana County49
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
1Philadelphia County1,912-1.6%
2Allegheny County1,406-4.2%
3Montgomery County1,268+1.4%
4Bucks County1,033+1.7%
5Chester County729+0.4%
6Delaware County643+2.2%
7Lancaster County642+2.4%
8Lehigh County395+5.6%
9York County365+1.4%
10Berks County344+11%
11Northampton County321+2.9%
12Westmoreland County311+7.2%
13Dauphin County292+5.4%
14Cumberland County277+7.8%
15Luzerne County249-9.1%
16Erie County218+13.5%
17Butler County210+2.9%
18Lackawanna County203+2.5%
19Washington County195-18.1%
20Monroe County194+5.4%
21Centre County135+1.5%
22Franklin County126-1.6%
23Beaver County123-8.2%
24Lebanon County101-15.8%
25Adams County90+18.4%
26Lycoming County89+1.1%
27Mercer County88-16.2%
28Blair County87-20.2%
28Schuylkill County87-12.1%
30Cambria County81+20.9%
31Fayette County75-32.4%
32Somerset County69+50%
33Clearfield County61+10.9%
34Crawford County60-6.3%
34Lawrence County60-3.2%
36Columbia County53+3.9%
36Union County53+55.9%
38Wayne County51+24.4%
39Northumberland County50-9.1%
40Indiana County49-33.8%
41Bradford County48-4%
41Clarion County48+60%
43Pike County47+9.3%
44Jefferson County46+2.2%
45Carbon County43-25.9%
45Mifflin County43+10.3%
45Perry County43+16.2%
48Armstrong County41+5.1%
49Bedford County39-9.3%
49Elk County39+34.5%
51Huntingdon County36+28.6%
52Snyder County35-10.3%
53Venango County33-21.4%
54Juniata County32+23.1%
55Tioga County31+55%
56Susquehanna County29-12.1%
56Warren County29+61.1%
58McKean County24-4%
59Clinton County22-37.1%
59Wyoming County22-26.7%
61Montour County19+5.6%
62Greene County18-14.3%
63Fulton County11+57.1%
64Sullivan County8+14.3%
65Potter County7-36.4%

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. 2 counties with data in other periods have no value for 2020 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 Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania 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/pennsylvania-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 Pennsylvania 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/pennsylvania-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 Pennsylvania 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/pennsylvania-counties?period=2020 (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_pennsylvania_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 Pennsylvania 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/pennsylvania-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 Pennsylvania 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/pennsylvania-counties?period=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/pennsylvania-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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Questions

Which county has the highest employer firm births?

Philadelphia County, with 1,912 in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firm births?

Potter County, with 7 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. 2 counties have no value for 2020 and are not ranked.

Employer firm births: other rankings

Counties in Pennsylvania: more rankings