Counties in Virginia by employer firm births

Fairfax County had the highest employer firm births of 131 counties in 2013, at 1,733. Highland County had the lowest, at 3. The median was 23 and the figure for Virginia was 9,708. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest1,733Fairfax County
Median23131 counties
Virginia9,708History

Map of counties, 2013

Accomack County: 27 countAlbemarle County: 136 countAlleghany County: 15 countAmelia County: 20 countAmherst County: 19 countAppomattox County: 12 countArlington County: 318 countAugusta County: 61 countBath County: 4 countBedford County: 98 countBland County: 3 countBotetourt County: 40 countBrunswick County: 8 countBuchanan County: 16 countBuckingham County: 13 countCampbell County: 44 countCaroline County: 22 countCarroll County: 19 countCharles City County: 8 countCharlotte County: 10 countChesterfield County: 392 countClarke County: 15 countCraig County: 3 countCulpeper County: 59 countCumberland County: 5 countDickenson County: 5 countDinwiddie County: 13 countEssex County: 11 countFairfax County: 1,733 countFauquier County: 100 countFloyd County: 20 countFluvanna County: 23 countFranklin County: 44 countFrederick County: 67 countGiles County: 15 countGloucester County: 37 countGoochland County: 37 countGrayson County: 6 countGreene County: 15 countGreensville County: 4 countHalifax County: 29 countHanover County: 153 countHenrico County: 458 countHenry County: 35 countHighland County: 3 countIsle of Wight County: 38 countJames City County: 86 countKing and Queen County: 6 countKing George County: 27 countKing William County: 12 countLancaster County: 19 countLee County: 5 countLoudoun County: 716 countLouisa County: 22 countLunenburg County: 10 countMadison County: 10 countMathews County: 9 countMecklenburg County: 23 countMiddlesex County: 14 countMontgomery County: 76 countNelson County: 8 countNew Kent County: 27 countNorthampton County: 13 countNorthumberland County: 15 countNottoway County: 9 countOrange County: 31 countPage County: 21 countPatrick County: 14 countPittsylvania County: 39 countPowhatan County: 33 countPrince Edward County: 19 countPrince George County: 15 countPrince William County: 474 countPulaski County: 28 countRappahannock County: 10 countRichmond County: 5 countRoanoke County: 77 countRockbridge County: 16 countRockingham County: 69 countRussell County: 15 countScott County: 16 countShenandoah County: 29 countSmyth County: 15 countSouthampton County: 14 countSpotsylvania County: 110 countStafford County: 126 countSussex County: 12 countTazewell County: 42 countWarren County: 34 countWashington County: 41 countWestmoreland County: 12 countWise County: 22 countWythe County: 43 countYork County: 70 countAlexandria city: 207 countBristol city: 25 countBuena Vista city: 6 countCharlottesville city: 97 countChesapeake city: 259 countColonial Heights city: 22 countCovington city: 3 countDanville city: 39 countEmporia city: 9 countFairfax city: 93 countFalls Church city: 52 countFranklin city: 8 countFredericksburg city: 62 countGalax city: 7 countHampton city: 104 countHarrisonburg city: 67 countHopewell city: 14 countLexington city: 6 countLynchburg city: 87 countManassas city: 71 countManassas Park city: 23 countMartinsville city: 13 countNewport News city: 140 countNorfolk city: 203 countPetersburg city: 27 countPoquoson city: 14 countPortsmouth city: 81 countRadford city: 13 countRichmond city: 296 countRoanoke city: 113 countSalem city: 32 countStaunton city: 27 countSuffolk city: 82 countVirginia Beach city: 555 countWaynesboro city: 28 countWilliamsburg city: 32 countWinchester city: 55 count
  • Under 10
  • 10 to 20
  • 20 to 40
  • 40 to 90
  • 90 and over
  • No data
count, 2013. 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, 2013

Fairfax County: 1,733 countFairfax County1,733Loudoun County: 716 countLoudoun County716Virginia Beach city: 555 countVirginia Beach city555Prince William County: 474 countPrince William County474Henrico County: 458 countHenrico County458Chesterfield County: 392 countChesterfield County392Arlington County: 318 countArlington County318Richmond city: 296 countRichmond city296Chesapeake city: 259 countChesapeake city259Alexandria city: 207 countAlexandria city207Norfolk city: 203 countNorfolk city203Hanover County: 153 countHanover County153Newport News city: 140 countNewport News city140Albemarle County: 136 countAlbemarle County136Stafford County: 126 countStafford County126Roanoke city: 113 countRoanoke city113Spotsylvania County: 110 countSpotsylvania County110Hampton city: 104 countHampton city104Fauquier County: 100 countFauquier County100Bedford County: 98 countBedford County98Charlottesville city: 97 countCharlottesville city97Fairfax city: 93 countFairfax city93Lynchburg city: 87 countLynchburg city87James City County: 86 countJames City County86Suffolk city: 82 countSuffolk city82Portsmouth city: 81 countPortsmouth city81Roanoke County: 77 countRoanoke County77Montgomery County: 76 countMontgomery County76Manassas city: 71 countManassas city71York County: 70 countYork County70Rockingham County: 69 countRockingham County69Frederick County: 67 countFrederick County67Harrisonburg city: 67 countHarrisonburg city67Fredericksburg city: 62 countFredericksburg city62Augusta County: 61 countAugusta County61Culpeper County: 59 countCulpeper County59Winchester city: 55 countWinchester city55Falls Church city: 52 countFalls Church city52Campbell County: 44 countCampbell County44Franklin County: 44 countFranklin County44Fairfax County: 1,733 countFairfax County1,733Loudoun County: 716 countLoudoun County716Virginia Beach city: 555 countVirginia Beach city555Prince William County: 474 countPrince William County474Henrico County: 458 countHenrico County458Chesterfield County: 392 countChesterfield County392Arlington County: 318 countArlington County318Richmond city: 296 countRichmond city296Chesapeake city: 259 countChesapeake city259Alexandria city: 207 countAlexandria city207Norfolk city: 203 countNorfolk city203Hanover County: 153 countHanover County153Newport News city: 140 countNewport News city140Albemarle County: 136 countAlbemarle County136Stafford County: 126 countStafford County126Roanoke city: 113 countRoanoke city113Spotsylvania County: 110 countSpotsylvania County110Hampton city: 104 countHampton city104Fauquier County: 100 countFauquier County100Bedford County: 98 countBedford County98Charlottesville city: 97 countCharlottesville city97Fairfax city: 93 countFairfax city93Lynchburg city: 87 countLynchburg city87James City County: 86 countJames City County86Suffolk city: 82 countSuffolk city82Portsmouth city: 81 countPortsmouth city81Roanoke County: 77 countRoanoke County77Montgomery County: 76 countMontgomery County76Manassas city: 71 countManassas city71York County: 70 countYork County70Rockingham County: 69 countRockingham County69Frederick County: 67 countFrederick County67Harrisonburg city: 67 countHarrisonburg city67Fredericksburg city: 62 countFredericksburg city62Augusta County: 61 countAugusta County61Culpeper County: 59 countCulpeper County59Winchester city: 55 countWinchester city55Falls Church city: 52 countFalls Church city52Campbell County: 44 countCampbell County44Franklin County: 44 countFranklin County44
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

RankCounties2013
count
Change on 2012
1Fairfax County1,733-1.1%
2Loudoun County716+6.2%
3Virginia Beach city555-0.2%
4Prince William County474+0.2%
5Henrico County458+8.3%
6Chesterfield County392-1%
7Arlington County3180%
8Richmond city296-2.6%
9Chesapeake city259-5.1%
10Alexandria city207-10.4%
11Norfolk city203-7.3%
12Hanover County153-13.1%
13Newport News city140-13.6%
14Albemarle County136+1.5%
15Stafford County126+5.9%
16Roanoke city113+5.6%
17Spotsylvania County110-18.5%
18Hampton city104+1%
19Fauquier County100+1%
20Bedford County98+21%
21Charlottesville city97-11%
22Fairfax city93+29.2%
23Lynchburg city87-1.1%
24James City County86+1.2%
25Suffolk city82+18.8%
26Portsmouth city81+1.3%
27Roanoke County77-9.4%
28Montgomery County76-7.3%
29Manassas city71+9.2%
30York County70-16.7%
31Rockingham County69+53.3%
32Frederick County67-10.7%
32Harrisonburg city67+13.6%
34Fredericksburg city62+3.3%
35Augusta County61+10.9%
36Culpeper County59-6.3%
37Winchester city55+10%
38Falls Church city52-7.1%
39Campbell County44-24.1%
39Franklin County440%
41Wythe County43+43.3%
42Tazewell County420%
43Washington County41+10.8%
44Botetourt County40+29%
45Danville city39-17%
45Pittsylvania County39+8.3%
47Isle of Wight County38-9.5%
48Gloucester County37-7.5%
48Goochland County37+5.7%
50Henry County35-5.4%
51Warren County34-26.1%
52Powhatan County33-26.7%
53Salem city32-22%
53Williamsburg city320%
55Orange County310%
56Halifax County29+38.1%
56Shenandoah County29-27.5%
58Pulaski County28+55.6%
58Waynesboro city28+33.3%
60Accomack County27+68.8%
60King George County27+17.4%
60New Kent County27-10%
60Petersburg city27-6.9%
60Staunton city27-15.6%
65Bristol city25+8.7%
66Fluvanna County23+27.8%
66Manassas Park city23+15%
66Mecklenburg County23-34.3%
69Caroline County22+4.8%
69Colonial Heights city22+15.8%
69Louisa County22-33.3%
69Wise County22-24.1%
73Page County21+16.7%
74Amelia County20+100%
74Floyd County20+5.3%
76Amherst County19-26.9%
76Carroll County19+18.8%
76Lancaster County19-24%
76Prince Edward County19-32.1%
80Buchanan County16-15.8%
80Rockbridge County16-38.5%
80Scott County16+33.3%
83Alleghany County15+87.5%
83Clarke County15+36.4%
83Giles County15+36.4%
83Greene County15+7.1%
83Northumberland County15+87.5%
83Prince George County15-34.8%
83Russell County15-40%
83Smyth County15-21.1%
91Hopewell city14+7.7%
91Middlesex County14+27.3%
91Patrick County14+7.7%
91Poquoson city140%
91Southampton County14+75%
96Buckingham County13-18.8%
96Dinwiddie County130%
96Martinsville city13-23.5%
96Northampton County13+18.2%
96Radford city13-7.1%
101Appomattox County12+50%
101King William County12+9.1%
101Sussex County12+71.4%
101Westmoreland County120%
105Essex County110%
106Charlotte County10-33.3%
106Lunenburg County10+66.7%
106Madison County10+42.9%
106Rappahannock County10-23.1%
110Emporia city9-25%
110Mathews County9+50%
110Nottoway County9-10%
113Brunswick County8-33.3%
113Charles City County8+60%
113Franklin city8-11.1%
113Nelson County8-66.7%
117Galax city7-36.4%
118Buena Vista city6+20%
118Grayson County6-33.3%
118King and Queen County6+100%
118Lexington city6-57.1%
122Cumberland County5-50%
122Dickenson County5-28.6%
122Lee County5-37.5%
122Richmond County5-16.7%
126Bath County4-20%
126Greensville County4+33.3%
128Bland County3-25%
128Covington city3-66.7%
128Craig County3-25%
128Highland 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. 2 counties with data in other periods have no value for 2013 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 Virginia by employer firm births, 2013) [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 Virginia by employer firm births, 2013. 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/virginia-counties?period=2013. 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 Virginia by employer firm births, 2013. 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/virginia-counties?period=2013.

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 Virginia by employer firm births, 2013 [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/virginia-counties?period=2013 (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_virginia_by_2013,
  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 Virginia by employer firm births, 2013}},
  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/virginia-counties?period=2013. 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 Virginia by employer firm births, 2013
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/virginia-counties?period=2013
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/virginia-counties?period=2013.
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 Virginia by employer firm births using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which county has the highest employer firm births?

Fairfax County, with 1,733 in 2013, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firm births?

Highland County, with 3 in 2013.

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 2013 and are not ranked.

Employer firm births: other rankings

Counties in Virginia: more rankings