Counties in Pennsylvania by employer firm births

Philadelphia County had the highest employer firm births of 67 counties in 2021, at 2,165. Forest County had the lowest, at 3. The median was 63 and the figure for Pennsylvania was 13,684. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Median6367 counties
Pennsylvania13,684History

Map of counties, 2021

Adams County: 74 countAllegheny County: 1,464 countArmstrong County: 39 countBeaver County: 133 countBedford County: 26 countBerks County: 294 countBlair County: 125 countBradford County: 56 countBucks County: 1,049 countButler County: 189 countCambria County: 86 countCameron County: 5 countCarbon County: 48 countCentre County: 111 countChester County: 707 countClarion County: 31 countClearfield County: 54 countClinton County: 31 countColumbia County: 46 countCrawford County: 63 countCumberland County: 254 countDauphin County: 270 countDelaware County: 690 countElk County: 31 countErie County: 198 countFayette County: 88 countForest County: 3 countFranklin County: 109 countFulton County: 8 countGreene County: 20 countHuntingdon County: 35 countIndiana County: 53 countJefferson County: 30 countJuniata County: 22 countLackawanna County: 182 countLancaster County: 566 countLawrence County: 63 countLebanon County: 99 countLehigh County: 423 countLuzerne County: 279 countLycoming County: 81 countMcKean County: 33 countMercer County: 83 countMifflin County: 34 countMonroe County: 189 countMontgomery County: 1,346 countMontour County: 10 countNorthampton County: 287 countNorthumberland County: 63 countPerry County: 32 countPhiladelphia County: 2,165 countPike County: 61 countPotter County: 16 countSchuylkill County: 100 countSnyder County: 30 countSomerset County: 44 countSullivan County: 11 countSusquehanna County: 48 countTioga County: 23 countUnion County: 31 countVenango County: 32 countWarren County: 22 countWashington County: 222 countWayne County: 43 countWestmoreland County: 291 countWyoming County: 21 countYork County: 333 count
  • Under 30
  • 30 to 40
  • 40 to 60
  • 60 to 110
  • 110 to 290
  • 290 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

Philadelphia County: 2,165 countPhiladelphia County2,165Allegheny County: 1,464 countAllegheny County1,464Montgomery County: 1,346 countMontgomery County1,346Bucks County: 1,049 countBucks County1,049Chester County: 707 countChester County707Delaware County: 690 countDelaware County690Lancaster County: 566 countLancaster County566Lehigh County: 423 countLehigh County423York County: 333 countYork County333Berks County: 294 countBerks County294Westmoreland County: 291 countWestmoreland County291Northampton County: 287 countNorthampton County287Luzerne County: 279 countLuzerne County279Dauphin County: 270 countDauphin County270Cumberland County: 254 countCumberland County254Washington County: 222 countWashington County222Erie County: 198 countErie County198Butler County: 189 countButler County189Monroe County: 189 countMonroe County189Lackawanna County: 182 countLackawanna County182Beaver County: 133 countBeaver County133Blair County: 125 countBlair County125Centre County: 111 countCentre County111Franklin County: 109 countFranklin County109Schuylkill County: 100 countSchuylkill County100Lebanon County: 99 countLebanon County99Fayette County: 88 countFayette County88Cambria County: 86 countCambria County86Mercer County: 83 countMercer County83Lycoming County: 81 countLycoming County81Adams County: 74 countAdams County74Crawford County: 63 countCrawford County63Lawrence County: 63 countLawrence County63Northumberland County: 63 countNorthumberland County63Pike County: 61 countPike County61Bradford County: 56 countBradford County56Clearfield County: 54 countClearfield County54Indiana County: 53 countIndiana County53Carbon County: 48 countCarbon County48Susquehanna County: 48 countSusquehanna County48Philadelphia County: 2,165 countPhiladelphia County2,165Allegheny County: 1,464 countAllegheny County1,464Montgomery County: 1,346 countMontgomery County1,346Bucks County: 1,049 countBucks County1,049Chester County: 707 countChester County707Delaware County: 690 countDelaware County690Lancaster County: 566 countLancaster County566Lehigh County: 423 countLehigh County423York County: 333 countYork County333Berks County: 294 countBerks County294Westmoreland County: 291 countWestmoreland County291Northampton County: 287 countNorthampton County287Luzerne County: 279 countLuzerne County279Dauphin County: 270 countDauphin County270Cumberland County: 254 countCumberland County254Washington County: 222 countWashington County222Erie County: 198 countErie County198Butler County: 189 countButler County189Monroe County: 189 countMonroe County189Lackawanna County: 182 countLackawanna County182Beaver County: 133 countBeaver County133Blair County: 125 countBlair County125Centre County: 111 countCentre County111Franklin County: 109 countFranklin County109Schuylkill County: 100 countSchuylkill County100Lebanon County: 99 countLebanon County99Fayette County: 88 countFayette County88Cambria County: 86 countCambria County86Mercer County: 83 countMercer County83Lycoming County: 81 countLycoming County81Adams County: 74 countAdams County74Crawford County: 63 countCrawford County63Lawrence County: 63 countLawrence County63Northumberland County: 63 countNorthumberland County63Pike County: 61 countPike County61Bradford County: 56 countBradford County56Clearfield County: 54 countClearfield County54Indiana County: 53 countIndiana County53Carbon County: 48 countCarbon County48Susquehanna County: 48 countSusquehanna 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
1Philadelphia County2,165+13.2%
2Allegheny County1,464+4.1%
3Montgomery County1,346+6.2%
4Bucks County1,049+1.5%
5Chester County707-3%
6Delaware County690+7.3%
7Lancaster County566-11.8%
8Lehigh County423+7.1%
9York County333-8.8%
10Berks County294-14.5%
11Westmoreland County291-6.4%
12Northampton County287-10.6%
13Luzerne County279+12%
14Dauphin County270-7.5%
15Cumberland County254-8.3%
16Washington County222+13.8%
17Erie County198-9.2%
18Butler County189-10%
18Monroe County189-2.6%
20Lackawanna County182-10.3%
21Beaver County133+8.1%
22Blair County125+43.7%
23Centre County111-17.8%
24Franklin County109-13.5%
25Schuylkill County100+14.9%
26Lebanon County99-2%
27Fayette County88+17.3%
28Cambria County86+6.2%
29Mercer County83-5.7%
30Lycoming County81-9%
31Adams County74-17.8%
32Crawford County63+5%
32Lawrence County63+5%
32Northumberland County63+26%
35Pike County61+29.8%
36Bradford County56+16.7%
37Clearfield County54-11.5%
38Indiana County53+8.2%
39Carbon County48+11.6%
39Susquehanna County48+65.5%
41Columbia County46-13.2%
42Somerset County44-36.2%
43Wayne County43-15.7%
44Armstrong County39-4.9%
45Huntingdon County35-2.8%
46Mifflin County34-20.9%
47McKean County33+37.5%
48Perry County32-25.6%
48Venango County32-3%
50Clarion County31-35.4%
50Clinton County31+40.9%
50Elk County31-20.5%
50Union County31-41.5%
54Jefferson County30-34.8%
54Snyder County30-14.3%
56Bedford County26-33.3%
57Tioga County23-25.8%
58Juniata County22-31.3%
58Warren County22-24.1%
60Wyoming County21-4.5%
61Greene County20+11.1%
62Potter County16+128.6%
63Sullivan County11+37.5%
64Montour County10-47.4%
65Fulton County8-27.3%
66Cameron County5n/a
67Forest County3n/a

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, 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 Pennsylvania 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/pennsylvania-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 Pennsylvania 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/pennsylvania-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 Pennsylvania 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/pennsylvania-counties?period=2021 (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_pennsylvania_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 Pennsylvania 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/pennsylvania-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 Pennsylvania 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/pennsylvania-counties?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/pennsylvania-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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Questions

Which county has the highest employer firm births?

Philadelphia County, with 2,165 in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firm births?

Forest County, with 3 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 Pennsylvania: more rankings