Counties in Wisconsin by employer firm births, 2023

Milwaukee County had the highest employer firm births of 71 counties in 2023, at 1,108. Florence County had the lowest, at 6. The median was 49 and the figure for Wisconsin was 6,856. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest1,108Milwaukee County
Median4971 counties
Wisconsin6,856History

Map of counties, 2023

Adams County: 19 countAshland County: 24 countBarron County: 60 countBayfield County: 31 countBrown County: 300 countBuffalo County: 25 countBurnett County: 23 countCalumet County: 60 countChippewa County: 92 countClark County: 42 countColumbia County: 75 countCrawford County: 16 countDane County: 732 countDodge County: 74 countDoor County: 54 countDouglas County: 53 countDunn County: 51 countEau Claire County: 153 countFlorence County: 6 countFond du Lac County: 89 countForest County: 10 countGrant County: 40 countGreen County: 47 countGreen Lake County: 30 countIowa County: 15 countIron County: 10 countJackson County: 15 countJefferson County: 103 countJuneau County: 26 countKenosha County: 149 countKewaunee County: 22 countLa Crosse County: 140 countLafayette County: 15 countLanglade County: 27 countLincoln County: 31 countManitowoc County: 64 countMarathon County: 141 countMarinette County: 38 countMarquette County: 15 countMilwaukee County: 1,108 countMonroe County: 49 countOconto County: 38 countOneida County: 70 countOutagamie County: 246 countOzaukee County: 140 countPepin County: 7 countPierce County: 42 countPolk County: 64 countPortage County: 70 countPrice County: 17 countRacine County: 189 countRichland County: 18 countRock County: 134 countRusk County: 23 countSt. Croix County: 149 countSauk County: 76 countSawyer County: 27 countShawano County: 42 countSheboygan County: 99 countTaylor County: 23 countTrempealeau County: 37 countVernon County: 42 countVilas County: 52 countWalworth County: 127 countWashburn County: 18 countWashington County: 180 countWaukesha County: 564 countWaupaca County: 55 countWaushara County: 24 countWinnebago County: 163 countWood County: 67 count
  • Under 20
  • 20 to 30
  • 30 to 50
  • 50 to 70
  • 70 to 140
  • 140 and over
  • No data
count, 2023. 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, 2023

Milwaukee County: 1,108 countMilwaukee County1,108Dane County: 732 countDane County732Waukesha County: 564 countWaukesha County564Brown County: 300 countBrown County300Outagamie County: 246 countOutagamie County246Racine County: 189 countRacine County189Washington County: 180 countWashington County180Winnebago County: 163 countWinnebago County163Eau Claire County: 153 countEau Claire County153Kenosha County: 149 countKenosha County149St. Croix County: 149 countSt. Croix County149Marathon County: 141 countMarathon County141La Crosse County: 140 countLa Crosse County140Ozaukee County: 140 countOzaukee County140Rock County: 134 countRock County134Walworth County: 127 countWalworth County127Jefferson County: 103 countJefferson County103Sheboygan County: 99 countSheboygan County99Chippewa County: 92 countChippewa County92Fond du Lac County: 89 countFond du Lac County89Sauk County: 76 countSauk County76Columbia County: 75 countColumbia County75Dodge County: 74 countDodge County74Oneida County: 70 countOneida County70Portage County: 70 countPortage County70Wood County: 67 countWood County67Manitowoc County: 64 countManitowoc County64Polk County: 64 countPolk County64Barron County: 60 countBarron County60Calumet County: 60 countCalumet County60Waupaca County: 55 countWaupaca County55Door County: 54 countDoor County54Douglas County: 53 countDouglas County53Vilas County: 52 countVilas County52Dunn County: 51 countDunn County51Monroe County: 49 countMonroe County49Green County: 47 countGreen County47Clark County: 42 countClark County42Pierce County: 42 countPierce County42Shawano County: 42 countShawano County42Milwaukee County: 1,108 countMilwaukee County1,108Dane County: 732 countDane County732Waukesha County: 564 countWaukesha County564Brown County: 300 countBrown County300Outagamie County: 246 countOutagamie County246Racine County: 189 countRacine County189Washington County: 180 countWashington County180Winnebago County: 163 countWinnebago County163Eau Claire County: 153 countEau Claire County153Kenosha County: 149 countKenosha County149St. Croix County: 149 countSt. Croix County149Marathon County: 141 countMarathon County141La Crosse County: 140 countLa Crosse County140Ozaukee County: 140 countOzaukee County140Rock County: 134 countRock County134Walworth County: 127 countWalworth County127Jefferson County: 103 countJefferson County103Sheboygan County: 99 countSheboygan County99Chippewa County: 92 countChippewa County92Fond du Lac County: 89 countFond du Lac County89Sauk County: 76 countSauk County76Columbia County: 75 countColumbia County75Dodge County: 74 countDodge County74Oneida County: 70 countOneida County70Portage County: 70 countPortage County70Wood County: 67 countWood County67Manitowoc County: 64 countManitowoc County64Polk County: 64 countPolk County64Barron County: 60 countBarron County60Calumet County: 60 countCalumet County60Waupaca County: 55 countWaupaca County55Door County: 54 countDoor County54Douglas County: 53 countDouglas County53Vilas County: 52 countVilas County52Dunn County: 51 countDunn County51Monroe County: 49 countMonroe County49Green County: 47 countGreen County47Clark County: 42 countClark County42Pierce County: 42 countPierce County42Shawano County: 42 countShawano County42
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

RankCounties2023
count
Change on 2022
1Milwaukee County1,108-3.2%
2Dane County732+1%
3Waukesha County564-5.7%
4Brown County300+5.6%
5Outagamie County246+2.5%
6Racine County189+3.8%
7Washington County180+10.4%
8Winnebago County163+1.9%
9Eau Claire County153+10.1%
10Kenosha County149-10.8%
10St. Croix County149+25.2%
12Marathon County141+4.4%
13La Crosse County140+14.8%
13Ozaukee County140+10.2%
15Rock County134-21.2%
16Walworth County127-14.2%
17Jefferson County103-5.5%
18Sheboygan County99-7.5%
19Chippewa County92-8.9%
20Fond du Lac County89+2.3%
21Sauk County76-12.6%
22Columbia County75+27.1%
23Dodge County74+29.8%
24Oneida County70-9.1%
24Portage County70+6.1%
26Wood County67-11.8%
27Manitowoc County64-15.8%
27Polk County64-7.2%
29Barron County60-16.7%
29Calumet County60+36.4%
31Waupaca County55+37.5%
32Door County54-10%
33Douglas County53+39.5%
34Vilas County52+20.9%
35Dunn County51+4.1%
36Monroe County49+6.5%
37Green County47+6.8%
38Clark County42+20%
38Pierce County42+5%
38Shawano County42+55.6%
38Vernon County42+2.4%
42Grant County40-31%
43Marinette County38-17.4%
43Oconto County38+5.6%
45Trempealeau County37+42.3%
46Bayfield County31-3.1%
46Lincoln County31+3.3%
48Green Lake County30+30.4%
49Langlade County27-15.6%
49Sawyer County27-28.9%
51Juneau County26-7.1%
52Buffalo County25+38.9%
53Ashland County24+4.3%
53Waushara County24+9.1%
55Burnett County23+4.5%
55Rusk County23+53.3%
55Taylor County23-8%
58Kewaunee County22+4.8%
59Adams County19+5.6%
60Richland County18-28%
60Washburn County18-37.9%
62Price County17+21.4%
63Crawford County16+45.5%
64Iowa County15-50%
64Jackson County15-11.8%
64Lafayette County15-16.7%
64Marquette County15+15.4%
68Forest County10+25%
68Iron County100%
70Pepin County7-36.4%
71Florence County6+20%

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. 1 counties with data in other periods have no value for 2023 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 Wisconsin by employer firm births, 2023) [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 Wisconsin by employer firm births, 2023. 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/wisconsin-counties. 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 Wisconsin by employer firm births, 2023. 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/wisconsin-counties.

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 Wisconsin by employer firm births, 2023 [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/wisconsin-counties (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_wisconsin_by_2023,
  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 Wisconsin by employer firm births, 2023}},
  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/wisconsin-counties. 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 Wisconsin by employer firm births, 2023
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/wisconsin-counties
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/wisconsin-counties.
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 Wisconsin by employer firm births using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which county has the highest employer firm births?

Milwaukee County, with 1,108 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firm births?

Florence County, with 6 in 2023.

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. 1 counties have no value for 2023 and are not ranked.

Employer firm births: other rankings

Counties in Wisconsin: more rankings