Counties in West Virginia by employer firm births

Kanawha County had the highest employer firm births of 52 counties in 2014, at 149. Wirt County had the lowest, at 3. The median was 13 and the figure for West Virginia was 1,278. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest149Kanawha County
Median1352 counties
West Virginia1,278History

Map of counties, 2014

Barbour County: 15 countBerkeley County: 76 countBoone County: 5 countBraxton County: 5 countBrooke County: 12 countCabell County: 66 countClay County: 4 countDoddridge County: 6 countFayette County: 33 countGrant County: 10 countGreenbrier County: 39 countHampshire County: 10 countHancock County: 23 countHardy County: 12 countHarrison County: 59 countJackson County: 17 countJefferson County: 30 countKanawha County: 149 countLewis County: 16 countLincoln County: 6 countLogan County: 18 countMcDowell County: 9 countMarion County: 45 countMarshall County: 18 countMason County: 12 countMercer County: 40 countMineral County: 13 countMingo County: 13 countMonongalia County: 106 countMonroe County: 8 countMorgan County: 7 countNicholas County: 18 countOhio County: 35 countPendleton County: 5 countPleasants County: 6 countPocahontas County: 8 countPreston County: 22 countPutnam County: 52 countRaleigh County: 63 countRandolph County: 19 countRitchie County: 9 countRoane County: 8 countSummers County: 6 countTaylor County: 9 countTucker County: 7 countUpshur County: 19 countWayne County: 19 countWebster County: 7 countWetzel County: 9 countWirt County: 3 countWood County: 67 countWyoming County: 8 count
  • Under 7
  • 7 to 9
  • 9 to 13
  • 13 to 19
  • 19 to 43
  • 43 and over
  • No data
count, 2014. 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, 2014

Kanawha County: 149 countKanawha County149Monongalia County: 106 countMonongalia County106Berkeley County: 76 countBerkeley County76Wood County: 67 countWood County67Cabell County: 66 countCabell County66Raleigh County: 63 countRaleigh County63Harrison County: 59 countHarrison County59Putnam County: 52 countPutnam County52Marion County: 45 countMarion County45Mercer County: 40 countMercer County40Greenbrier County: 39 countGreenbrier County39Ohio County: 35 countOhio County35Fayette County: 33 countFayette County33Jefferson County: 30 countJefferson County30Hancock County: 23 countHancock County23Preston County: 22 countPreston County22Randolph County: 19 countRandolph County19Upshur County: 19 countUpshur County19Wayne County: 19 countWayne County19Logan County: 18 countLogan County18Marshall County: 18 countMarshall County18Nicholas County: 18 countNicholas County18Jackson County: 17 countJackson County17Lewis County: 16 countLewis County16Barbour County: 15 countBarbour County15Mineral County: 13 countMineral County13Mingo County: 13 countMingo County13Brooke County: 12 countBrooke County12Hardy County: 12 countHardy County12Mason County: 12 countMason County12Grant County: 10 countGrant County10Hampshire County: 10 countHampshire County10McDowell County: 9 countMcDowell County9Ritchie County: 9 countRitchie County9Taylor County: 9 countTaylor County9Wetzel County: 9 countWetzel County9Monroe County: 8 countMonroe County8Pocahontas County: 8 countPocahontas County8Roane County: 8 countRoane County8Wyoming County: 8 countWyoming County8Morgan County: 7 countMorgan County7Tucker County: 7 countTucker County7Webster County: 7 countWebster County7Doddridge County: 6 countDoddridge County6Lincoln County: 6 countLincoln County6Pleasants County: 6 countPleasants County6Summers County: 6 countSummers County6Boone County: 5 countBoone County5Braxton County: 5 countBraxton County5Pendleton County: 5 countPendleton County5Clay County: 4 countClay County4Wirt County: 3 countWirt County3Kanawha County: 149 countKanawha County149Monongalia County: 106 countMonongalia County106Berkeley County: 76 countBerkeley County76Wood County: 67 countWood County67Cabell County: 66 countCabell County66Raleigh County: 63 countRaleigh County63Harrison County: 59 countHarrison County59Putnam County: 52 countPutnam County52Marion County: 45 countMarion County45Mercer County: 40 countMercer County40Greenbrier County: 39 countGreenbrier County39Ohio County: 35 countOhio County35Fayette County: 33 countFayette County33Jefferson County: 30 countJefferson County30Hancock County: 23 countHancock County23Preston County: 22 countPreston County22Randolph County: 19 countRandolph County19Upshur County: 19 countUpshur County19Wayne County: 19 countWayne County19Logan County: 18 countLogan County18Marshall County: 18 countMarshall County18Nicholas County: 18 countNicholas County18Jackson County: 17 countJackson County17Lewis County: 16 countLewis County16Barbour County: 15 countBarbour County15Mineral County: 13 countMineral County13Mingo County: 13 countMingo County13Brooke County: 12 countBrooke County12Hardy County: 12 countHardy County12Mason County: 12 countMason County12Grant County: 10 countGrant County10Hampshire County: 10 countHampshire County10McDowell County: 9 countMcDowell County9Ritchie County: 9 countRitchie County9Taylor County: 9 countTaylor County9Wetzel County: 9 countWetzel County9Monroe County: 8 countMonroe County8Pocahontas County: 8 countPocahontas County8Roane County: 8 countRoane County8Wyoming County: 8 countWyoming County8Morgan County: 7 countMorgan County7Tucker County: 7 countTucker County7Webster County: 7 countWebster County7Doddridge County: 6 countDoddridge County6Lincoln County: 6 countLincoln County6Pleasants County: 6 countPleasants County6Summers County: 6 countSummers County6Boone County: 5 countBoone County5Braxton County: 5 countBraxton County5Pendleton County: 5 countPendleton County5Clay County: 4 countClay County4Wirt 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

RankCounties2014
count
Change on 2013
1Kanawha County149-5.7%
2Monongalia County106-4.5%
3Berkeley County76+24.6%
4Wood County67+11.7%
5Cabell County66-15.4%
6Raleigh County63-11.3%
7Harrison County59+13.5%
8Putnam County52+15.6%
9Marion County45+50%
10Mercer County40+33.3%
11Greenbrier County39-2.5%
12Ohio County350%
13Fayette County33+10%
14Jefferson County30-21.1%
15Hancock County23+43.8%
16Preston County22+4.8%
17Randolph County19-17.4%
17Upshur County19+11.8%
17Wayne County19-24%
20Logan County18-28%
20Marshall County18+28.6%
20Nicholas County18-25%
23Jackson County17-26.1%
24Lewis County16-15.8%
25Barbour County15+36.4%
26Mineral County13-35%
26Mingo County13-27.8%
28Brooke County12-14.3%
28Hardy County12+33.3%
28Mason County12-7.7%
31Grant County100%
31Hampshire County10-33.3%
33McDowell County9-18.2%
33Ritchie County9+125%
33Taylor County9-18.2%
33Wetzel County9-35.7%
37Monroe County8+33.3%
37Pocahontas County8+14.3%
37Roane County80%
37Wyoming County8+14.3%
41Morgan County7-22.2%
41Tucker County7+40%
41Webster County7+75%
44Doddridge County6n/a
44Lincoln County6-40%
44Pleasants County6+100%
44Summers County60%
48Boone County5-37.5%
48Braxton County5-37.5%
48Pendleton County50%
51Clay County4-42.9%
52Wirt 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. 3 counties with data in other periods have no value for 2014 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, 2014) [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, 2014. 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=2014. 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, 2014. 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=2014.

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, 2014 [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=2014 (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_west_virginia_2014,
  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, 2014}},
  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=2014. 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, 2014
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=2014
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/west-virginia-counties?period=2014.
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 149 in 2014, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firm births?

Wirt County, with 3 in 2014.

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. 3 counties have no value for 2014 and are not ranked.

Employer firm births: other rankings

Counties in West Virginia: more rankings