Counties in Virginia by employer firm births

Fairfax County had the highest employer firm births of 133 counties in 2022, at 1,821. Highland County had the lowest, at 3. The median was 30 and the figure for Virginia was 12,241. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest1,821Fairfax County
Median30133 counties
Virginia12,241History

Map of counties, 2022

Accomack County: 34 countAlbemarle County: 134 countAlleghany County: 5 countAmelia County: 17 countAmherst County: 30 countAppomattox County: 26 countArlington County: 351 countAugusta County: 86 countBath County: 6 countBedford County: 114 countBland County: 7 countBotetourt County: 47 countBrunswick County: 19 countBuchanan County: 11 countBuckingham County: 4 countCampbell County: 69 countCaroline County: 40 countCarroll County: 25 countCharles City County: 3 countCharlotte County: 10 countChesterfield County: 579 countClarke County: 25 countCraig County: 4 countCulpeper County: 80 countCumberland County: 13 countDickenson County: 7 countDinwiddie County: 17 countEssex County: 19 countFairfax County: 1,821 countFauquier County: 116 countFloyd County: 19 countFluvanna County: 26 countFranklin County: 63 countFrederick County: 113 countGiles County: 11 countGloucester County: 45 countGoochland County: 43 countGrayson County: 7 countGreene County: 30 countGreensville County: 3 countHalifax County: 30 countHanover County: 206 countHenrico County: 548 countHenry County: 46 countHighland County: 3 countIsle of Wight County: 42 countJames City County: 102 countKing and Queen County: 4 countKing George County: 25 countKing William County: 15 countLancaster County: 19 countLee County: 9 countLoudoun County: 874 countLouisa County: 46 countLunenburg County: 13 countMadison County: 16 countMathews County: 13 countMecklenburg County: 35 countMiddlesex County: 20 countMontgomery County: 97 countNelson County: 21 countNew Kent County: 53 countNorthampton County: 26 countNorthumberland County: 16 countNottoway County: 12 countOrange County: 58 countPage County: 30 countPatrick County: 9 countPittsylvania County: 55 countPowhatan County: 54 countPrince Edward County: 22 countPrince George County: 30 countPrince William County: 735 countPulaski County: 35 countRappahannock County: 8 countRichmond County: 9 countRoanoke County: 116 countRockbridge County: 28 countRockingham County: 104 countRussell County: 22 countScott County: 7 countShenandoah County: 56 countSmyth County: 15 countSouthampton County: 12 countSpotsylvania County: 223 countStafford County: 174 countSurry County: 8 countSussex County: 6 countTazewell County: 27 countWarren County: 60 countWashington County: 68 countWestmoreland County: 23 countWise County: 25 countWythe County: 32 countYork County: 68 countAlexandria city: 264 countBristol city: 30 countBuena Vista city: 3 countCharlottesville city: 104 countChesapeake city: 328 countColonial Heights city: 32 countCovington city: 4 countDanville city: 46 countEmporia city: 7 countFairfax city: 110 countFalls Church city: 56 countFranklin city: 10 countFredericksburg city: 78 countGalax city: 9 countHampton city: 140 countHarrisonburg city: 88 countHopewell city: 20 countLexington city: 11 countLynchburg city: 109 countManassas city: 101 countManassas Park city: 24 countMartinsville city: 21 countNewport News city: 185 countNorfolk city: 301 countNorton city: 5 countPetersburg city: 51 countPoquoson city: 20 countPortsmouth city: 99 countRadford city: 6 countRichmond city: 412 countRoanoke city: 117 countSalem city: 25 countStaunton city: 39 countSuffolk city: 115 countVirginia Beach city: 722 countWaynesboro city: 28 countWilliamsburg city: 20 countWinchester city: 69 count
  • Under 10
  • 10 to 20
  • 20 to 30
  • 30 to 60
  • 60 to 110
  • 110 and over
count, 2022. 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, 2022

Fairfax County: 1,821 countFairfax County1,821Loudoun County: 874 countLoudoun County874Prince William County: 735 countPrince William County735Virginia Beach city: 722 countVirginia Beach city722Chesterfield County: 579 countChesterfield County579Henrico County: 548 countHenrico County548Richmond city: 412 countRichmond city412Arlington County: 351 countArlington County351Chesapeake city: 328 countChesapeake city328Norfolk city: 301 countNorfolk city301Alexandria city: 264 countAlexandria city264Spotsylvania County: 223 countSpotsylvania County223Hanover County: 206 countHanover County206Newport News city: 185 countNewport News city185Stafford County: 174 countStafford County174Hampton city: 140 countHampton city140Albemarle County: 134 countAlbemarle County134Roanoke city: 117 countRoanoke city117Fauquier County: 116 countFauquier County116Roanoke County: 116 countRoanoke County116Suffolk city: 115 countSuffolk city115Bedford County: 114 countBedford County114Frederick County: 113 countFrederick County113Fairfax city: 110 countFairfax city110Lynchburg city: 109 countLynchburg city109Charlottesville city: 104 countCharlottesville city104Rockingham County: 104 countRockingham County104James City County: 102 countJames City County102Manassas city: 101 countManassas city101Portsmouth city: 99 countPortsmouth city99Montgomery County: 97 countMontgomery County97Harrisonburg city: 88 countHarrisonburg city88Augusta County: 86 countAugusta County86Culpeper County: 80 countCulpeper County80Fredericksburg city: 78 countFredericksburg city78Campbell County: 69 countCampbell County69Winchester city: 69 countWinchester city69Washington County: 68 countWashington County68York County: 68 countYork County68Franklin County: 63 countFranklin County63Fairfax County: 1,821 countFairfax County1,821Loudoun County: 874 countLoudoun County874Prince William County: 735 countPrince William County735Virginia Beach city: 722 countVirginia Beach city722Chesterfield County: 579 countChesterfield County579Henrico County: 548 countHenrico County548Richmond city: 412 countRichmond city412Arlington County: 351 countArlington County351Chesapeake city: 328 countChesapeake city328Norfolk city: 301 countNorfolk city301Alexandria city: 264 countAlexandria city264Spotsylvania County: 223 countSpotsylvania County223Hanover County: 206 countHanover County206Newport News city: 185 countNewport News city185Stafford County: 174 countStafford County174Hampton city: 140 countHampton city140Albemarle County: 134 countAlbemarle County134Roanoke city: 117 countRoanoke city117Fauquier County: 116 countFauquier County116Roanoke County: 116 countRoanoke County116Suffolk city: 115 countSuffolk city115Bedford County: 114 countBedford County114Frederick County: 113 countFrederick County113Fairfax city: 110 countFairfax city110Lynchburg city: 109 countLynchburg city109Charlottesville city: 104 countCharlottesville city104Rockingham County: 104 countRockingham County104James City County: 102 countJames City County102Manassas city: 101 countManassas city101Portsmouth city: 99 countPortsmouth city99Montgomery County: 97 countMontgomery County97Harrisonburg city: 88 countHarrisonburg city88Augusta County: 86 countAugusta County86Culpeper County: 80 countCulpeper County80Fredericksburg city: 78 countFredericksburg city78Campbell County: 69 countCampbell County69Winchester city: 69 countWinchester city69Washington County: 68 countWashington County68York County: 68 countYork County68Franklin County: 63 countFranklin County63
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

RankCounties2022
count
Change on 2021
1Fairfax County1,821+1.6%
2Loudoun County874+1.6%
3Prince William County735+12.9%
4Virginia Beach city722-4.9%
5Chesterfield County579+5.3%
6Henrico County548+16.1%
7Richmond city412+4.3%
8Arlington County351+7.3%
9Chesapeake city328-4.4%
10Norfolk city301+8.3%
11Alexandria city264+14.8%
12Spotsylvania County223+25.3%
13Hanover County206+17%
14Newport News city185-16.3%
15Stafford County174-3.3%
16Hampton city140-17.6%
17Albemarle County134-6.9%
18Roanoke city117-4.1%
19Fauquier County116-7.2%
19Roanoke County116+0.9%
21Suffolk city115-1.7%
22Bedford County114+8.6%
23Frederick County113+56.9%
24Fairfax city110+34.1%
25Lynchburg city109+13.5%
26Charlottesville city104-2.8%
26Rockingham County104+42.5%
28James City County102-7.3%
29Manassas city101+21.7%
30Portsmouth city99+6.5%
31Montgomery County97+19.8%
32Harrisonburg city88+11.4%
33Augusta County86+53.6%
34Culpeper County80+35.6%
35Fredericksburg city78-6%
36Campbell County69+16.9%
36Winchester city69+4.5%
38Washington County68+47.8%
38York County68+11.5%
40Franklin County63+10.5%
41Warren County60+9.1%
42Orange County58+20.8%
43Falls Church city56+40%
43Shenandoah County56+27.3%
45Pittsylvania County55+22.2%
46Powhatan County54+31.7%
47New Kent County53+71%
48Petersburg city51+96.2%
49Botetourt County47+34.3%
50Danville city46+9.5%
50Henry County46+53.3%
50Louisa County46+4.5%
53Gloucester County45+12.5%
54Goochland County43+30.3%
55Isle of Wight County42-4.5%
56Caroline County40+100%
57Staunton city39+21.9%
58Mecklenburg County35+29.6%
58Pulaski County35+45.8%
60Accomack County34-15%
61Colonial Heights city32-15.8%
61Wythe County32+60%
63Amherst County30+15.4%
63Bristol city30+7.1%
63Greene County30+3.4%
63Halifax County30+3.4%
63Page County30+20%
63Prince George County30+50%
69Rockbridge County28+47.4%
69Waynesboro city28+21.7%
71Tazewell County27+12.5%
72Appomattox County26+23.8%
72Fluvanna County26+18.2%
72Northampton County26+116.7%
75Carroll County25+38.9%
75Clarke County25+8.7%
75King George County25+8.7%
75Salem city25-24.2%
75Wise County25+92.3%
80Manassas Park city24+14.3%
81Westmoreland County23+43.8%
82Prince Edward County22+46.7%
82Russell County22+57.1%
84Martinsville city21+16.7%
84Nelson County21-25%
86Hopewell city20-9.1%
86Middlesex County20+100%
86Poquoson city20+100%
86Williamsburg city20-31%
90Brunswick County19+35.7%
90Essex County19+26.7%
90Floyd County19+58.3%
90Lancaster County19-20.8%
94Amelia County17+21.4%
94Dinwiddie County17-22.7%
96Madison County16-23.8%
96Northumberland County16+77.8%
98King William County15-21.1%
98Smyth County15-31.8%
100Cumberland County13+18.2%
100Lunenburg County13+116.7%
100Mathews County13+116.7%
103Nottoway County12+9.1%
103Southampton County12+33.3%
105Buchanan County11+37.5%
105Giles County11+22.2%
105Lexington city11+10%
108Charlotte County10-9.1%
108Franklin city10+66.7%
110Galax city9+50%
110Lee County9+12.5%
110Patrick County9+50%
110Richmond County9-18.2%
114Rappahannock County8-33.3%
114Surry County8+60%
116Bland County7n/a
116Dickenson County7+40%
116Emporia city7+75%
116Grayson County7-12.5%
116Scott County7+16.7%
121Bath County60%
121Radford city6-14.3%
121Sussex County6+20%
124Alleghany County5-61.5%
124Norton city5-28.6%
126Buckingham County4-50%
126Covington city4+33.3%
126Craig County4n/a
126King and Queen County4-42.9%
130Buena Vista city30%
130Charles City County3-57.1%
130Greensville County30%
130Highland 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 Virginia by employer firm births, 2022) [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, 2022. 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=2022. 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, 2022. 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=2022.

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, 2022 [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=2022 (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_virginia_by_2022,
  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, 2022}},
  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=2022. 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, 2022
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=2022
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/virginia-counties?period=2022.
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  - 
Embed this chart

Paste this code into a web page or a blog post. The chart shows the latest figures as they are published, with the source and a link back to this page.

Sites that read oEmbed links, such as WordPress, can show the chart when you paste the link to this page.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank Counties in Virginia by employer firm births using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"employer_firm_births","level":"province","within":"Virginia","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=employer_firm_births&level=province&within=Virginia&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which county has the highest employer firm births?

Fairfax County, with 1,821 in 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firm births?

Highland County, with 3 in 2022.

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 Virginia: more rankings