Counties in West Virginia by employer firm births

Kanawha County had the highest employer firm births of 53 counties in 2013, at 158. Wirt County had the lowest, at 3. The median was 14 and the figure for West Virginia was 1,305. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest158Kanawha County
Median1453 counties
West Virginia1,305History

Map of counties, 2013

Barbour County: 11 countBerkeley County: 61 countBoone County: 8 countBraxton County: 8 countBrooke County: 14 countCabell County: 78 countClay County: 7 countFayette County: 30 countGilmer County: 7 countGrant County: 10 countGreenbrier County: 40 countHampshire County: 15 countHancock County: 16 countHardy County: 9 countHarrison County: 52 countJackson County: 23 countJefferson County: 38 countKanawha County: 158 countLewis County: 19 countLincoln County: 10 countLogan County: 25 countMcDowell County: 11 countMarion County: 30 countMarshall County: 14 countMason County: 13 countMercer County: 30 countMineral County: 20 countMingo County: 18 countMonongalia County: 111 countMonroe County: 6 countMorgan County: 9 countNicholas County: 24 countOhio County: 35 countPendleton County: 5 countPleasants County: 3 countPocahontas County: 7 countPreston County: 21 countPutnam County: 45 countRaleigh County: 71 countRandolph County: 23 countRitchie County: 4 countRoane County: 8 countSummers County: 6 countTaylor County: 11 countTucker County: 5 countTyler County: 5 countUpshur County: 17 countWayne County: 25 countWebster County: 4 countWetzel County: 14 countWirt County: 3 countWood County: 60 countWyoming County: 7 count
  • Under 7
  • 7 to 9
  • 9 to 14
  • 14 to 23
  • 23 to 39
  • 39 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.

All counties, 2013

Kanawha County: 158 countKanawha County158Monongalia County: 111 countMonongalia County111Cabell County: 78 countCabell County78Raleigh County: 71 countRaleigh County71Berkeley County: 61 countBerkeley County61Wood County: 60 countWood County60Harrison County: 52 countHarrison County52Putnam County: 45 countPutnam County45Greenbrier County: 40 countGreenbrier County40Jefferson County: 38 countJefferson County38Ohio County: 35 countOhio County35Fayette County: 30 countFayette County30Marion County: 30 countMarion County30Mercer County: 30 countMercer County30Logan County: 25 countLogan County25Wayne County: 25 countWayne County25Nicholas County: 24 countNicholas County24Jackson County: 23 countJackson County23Randolph County: 23 countRandolph County23Preston County: 21 countPreston County21Mineral County: 20 countMineral County20Lewis County: 19 countLewis County19Mingo County: 18 countMingo County18Upshur County: 17 countUpshur County17Hancock County: 16 countHancock County16Hampshire County: 15 countHampshire County15Brooke County: 14 countBrooke County14Marshall County: 14 countMarshall County14Wetzel County: 14 countWetzel County14Mason County: 13 countMason County13Barbour County: 11 countBarbour County11McDowell County: 11 countMcDowell County11Taylor County: 11 countTaylor County11Grant County: 10 countGrant County10Lincoln County: 10 countLincoln County10Hardy County: 9 countHardy County9Morgan County: 9 countMorgan County9Boone County: 8 countBoone County8Braxton County: 8 countBraxton County8Roane County: 8 countRoane County8Clay County: 7 countClay County7Gilmer County: 7 countGilmer County7Pocahontas County: 7 countPocahontas County7Wyoming County: 7 countWyoming County7Monroe County: 6 countMonroe County6Summers County: 6 countSummers County6Pendleton County: 5 countPendleton County5Tucker County: 5 countTucker County5Tyler County: 5 countTyler County5Ritchie County: 4 countRitchie County4Webster County: 4 countWebster County4Pleasants County: 3 countPleasants County3Wirt County: 3 countWirt County3Kanawha County: 158 countKanawha County158Monongalia County: 111 countMonongalia County111Cabell County: 78 countCabell County78Raleigh County: 71 countRaleigh County71Berkeley County: 61 countBerkeley County61Wood County: 60 countWood County60Harrison County: 52 countHarrison County52Putnam County: 45 countPutnam County45Greenbrier County: 40 countGreenbrier County40Jefferson County: 38 countJefferson County38Ohio County: 35 countOhio County35Fayette County: 30 countFayette County30Marion County: 30 countMarion County30Mercer County: 30 countMercer County30Logan County: 25 countLogan County25Wayne County: 25 countWayne County25Nicholas County: 24 countNicholas County24Jackson County: 23 countJackson County23Randolph County: 23 countRandolph County23Preston County: 21 countPreston County21Mineral County: 20 countMineral County20Lewis County: 19 countLewis County19Mingo County: 18 countMingo County18Upshur County: 17 countUpshur County17Hancock County: 16 countHancock County16Hampshire County: 15 countHampshire County15Brooke County: 14 countBrooke County14Marshall County: 14 countMarshall County14Wetzel County: 14 countWetzel County14Mason County: 13 countMason County13Barbour County: 11 countBarbour County11McDowell County: 11 countMcDowell County11Taylor County: 11 countTaylor County11Grant County: 10 countGrant County10Lincoln County: 10 countLincoln County10Hardy County: 9 countHardy County9Morgan County: 9 countMorgan County9Boone County: 8 countBoone County8Braxton County: 8 countBraxton County8Roane County: 8 countRoane County8Clay County: 7 countClay County7Gilmer County: 7 countGilmer County7Pocahontas County: 7 countPocahontas County7Wyoming County: 7 countWyoming County7Monroe County: 6 countMonroe County6Summers County: 6 countSummers County6Pendleton County: 5 countPendleton County5Tucker County: 5 countTucker County5Tyler County: 5 countTyler County5Ritchie County: 4 countRitchie County4Webster County: 4 countWebster County4Pleasants County: 3 countPleasants County3Wirt County: 3 countWirt County3
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
1Kanawha County158-1.3%
2Monongalia County111+3.7%
3Cabell County78+9.9%
4Raleigh County71+9.2%
5Berkeley County61-12.9%
6Wood County60-17.8%
7Harrison County52-25.7%
8Putnam County45-8.2%
9Greenbrier County40+5.3%
10Jefferson County38-37.7%
11Ohio County35-7.9%
12Fayette County30-28.6%
12Marion County30-38.8%
12Mercer County30-38.8%
15Logan County25-13.8%
15Wayne County25+47.1%
17Nicholas County24-14.3%
18Jackson County23+35.3%
18Randolph County23-42.5%
20Preston County21-12.5%
21Mineral County20+5.3%
22Lewis County19+35.7%
23Mingo County18-5.3%
24Upshur County17-50%
25Hancock County16-38.5%
26Hampshire County15-31.8%
27Brooke County14-36.4%
27Marshall County14-6.7%
27Wetzel County14+27.3%
30Mason County13+44.4%
31Barbour County11+57.1%
31McDowell County11-35.3%
31Taylor County11-21.4%
34Grant County10+42.9%
34Lincoln County100%
36Hardy County90%
36Morgan County9+50%
38Boone County8-33.3%
38Braxton County8-42.9%
38Roane County80%
41Clay County7+40%
41Gilmer County7+133.3%
41Pocahontas County7+133.3%
41Wyoming County70%
45Monroe County6-33.3%
45Summers County6-57.1%
47Pendleton County5-28.6%
47Tucker County5-28.6%
47Tyler County5-28.6%
50Ritchie County4-33.3%
50Webster County4-55.6%
52Pleasants County3-25%
52Wirt 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. 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 West 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 West 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/west-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 West 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/west-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 West 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/west-virginia-counties?period=2013 (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_west_virginia_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 West 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/west-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 West 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/west-virginia-counties?period=2013
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/west-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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Questions

Which county has the highest employer firm births?

Kanawha County, with 158 in 2013, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firm births?

Wirt 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 West Virginia: more rankings