Counties in Wisconsin by employer firm births

Milwaukee County had the highest employer firm births of 71 counties in 2015, at 891. Iron County had the lowest, at 6. The median was 39 and the figure for Wisconsin was 5,812. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Median3971 counties
Wisconsin5,812History

Map of counties, 2015

Adams County: 20 countAshland County: 21 countBarron County: 58 countBayfield County: 20 countBrown County: 233 countBuffalo County: 20 countBurnett County: 18 countCalumet County: 39 countChippewa County: 61 countClark County: 39 countColumbia County: 56 countCrawford County: 12 countDane County: 670 countDodge County: 61 countDoor County: 49 countDouglas County: 35 countDunn County: 33 countEau Claire County: 136 countFlorence County: 8 countFond du Lac County: 81 countForest County: 7 countGrant County: 42 countGreen County: 37 countGreen Lake County: 19 countIowa County: 22 countIron County: 6 countJackson County: 12 countJefferson County: 80 countJuneau County: 34 countKenosha County: 164 countKewaunee County: 21 countLa Crosse County: 116 countLafayette County: 20 countLanglade County: 16 countLincoln County: 26 countManitowoc County: 61 countMarathon County: 106 countMarinette County: 31 countMarquette County: 18 countMilwaukee County: 891 countMonroe County: 31 countOconto County: 37 countOneida County: 44 countOutagamie County: 205 countOzaukee County: 100 countPepin County: 7 countPierce County: 41 countPolk County: 42 countPortage County: 49 countPrice County: 22 countRacine County: 165 countRichland County: 19 countRock County: 135 countRusk County: 20 countSt. Croix County: 117 countSauk County: 68 countSawyer County: 33 countShawano County: 27 countSheboygan County: 93 countTaylor County: 24 countTrempealeau County: 29 countVernon County: 29 countVilas County: 40 countWalworth County: 121 countWashburn County: 19 countWashington County: 129 countWaukesha County: 559 countWaupaca County: 47 countWaushara County: 20 countWinnebago County: 122 countWood County: 64 count
  • Under 20
  • 20 to 26
  • 26 to 39
  • 39 to 60
  • 60 to 120
  • 120 and over
  • No data
count, 2015. 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, 2015

Milwaukee County: 891 countMilwaukee County891Dane County: 670 countDane County670Waukesha County: 559 countWaukesha County559Brown County: 233 countBrown County233Outagamie County: 205 countOutagamie County205Racine County: 165 countRacine County165Kenosha County: 164 countKenosha County164Eau Claire County: 136 countEau Claire County136Rock County: 135 countRock County135Washington County: 129 countWashington County129Winnebago County: 122 countWinnebago County122Walworth County: 121 countWalworth County121St. Croix County: 117 countSt. Croix County117La Crosse County: 116 countLa Crosse County116Marathon County: 106 countMarathon County106Ozaukee County: 100 countOzaukee County100Sheboygan County: 93 countSheboygan County93Fond du Lac County: 81 countFond du Lac County81Jefferson County: 80 countJefferson County80Sauk County: 68 countSauk County68Wood County: 64 countWood County64Chippewa County: 61 countChippewa County61Dodge County: 61 countDodge County61Manitowoc County: 61 countManitowoc County61Barron County: 58 countBarron County58Columbia County: 56 countColumbia County56Door County: 49 countDoor County49Portage County: 49 countPortage County49Waupaca County: 47 countWaupaca County47Oneida County: 44 countOneida County44Grant County: 42 countGrant County42Polk County: 42 countPolk County42Pierce County: 41 countPierce County41Vilas County: 40 countVilas County40Calumet County: 39 countCalumet County39Clark County: 39 countClark County39Green County: 37 countGreen County37Oconto County: 37 countOconto County37Douglas County: 35 countDouglas County35Juneau County: 34 countJuneau County34Milwaukee County: 891 countMilwaukee County891Dane County: 670 countDane County670Waukesha County: 559 countWaukesha County559Brown County: 233 countBrown County233Outagamie County: 205 countOutagamie County205Racine County: 165 countRacine County165Kenosha County: 164 countKenosha County164Eau Claire County: 136 countEau Claire County136Rock County: 135 countRock County135Washington County: 129 countWashington County129Winnebago County: 122 countWinnebago County122Walworth County: 121 countWalworth County121St. Croix County: 117 countSt. Croix County117La Crosse County: 116 countLa Crosse County116Marathon County: 106 countMarathon County106Ozaukee County: 100 countOzaukee County100Sheboygan County: 93 countSheboygan County93Fond du Lac County: 81 countFond du Lac County81Jefferson County: 80 countJefferson County80Sauk County: 68 countSauk County68Wood County: 64 countWood County64Chippewa County: 61 countChippewa County61Dodge County: 61 countDodge County61Manitowoc County: 61 countManitowoc County61Barron County: 58 countBarron County58Columbia County: 56 countColumbia County56Door County: 49 countDoor County49Portage County: 49 countPortage County49Waupaca County: 47 countWaupaca County47Oneida County: 44 countOneida County44Grant County: 42 countGrant County42Polk County: 42 countPolk County42Pierce County: 41 countPierce County41Vilas County: 40 countVilas County40Calumet County: 39 countCalumet County39Clark County: 39 countClark County39Green County: 37 countGreen County37Oconto County: 37 countOconto County37Douglas County: 35 countDouglas County35Juneau County: 34 countJuneau County34
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

RankCounties2015
count
Change on 2014
1Milwaukee County891+0.8%
2Dane County670-1.9%
3Waukesha County559+9.6%
4Brown County233-1.3%
5Outagamie County205+3%
6Racine County165-0.6%
7Kenosha County164+23.3%
8Eau Claire County136+27.1%
9Rock County135+1.5%
10Washington County129+6.6%
11Winnebago County122-0.8%
12Walworth County121+2.5%
13St. Croix County117-8.6%
14La Crosse County116-7.9%
15Marathon County106+1%
16Ozaukee County100-18.7%
17Sheboygan County93-3.1%
18Fond du Lac County81+6.6%
19Jefferson County80+9.6%
20Sauk County68-10.5%
21Wood County64-3%
22Chippewa County61-18.7%
22Dodge County61+27.1%
22Manitowoc County61+7%
25Barron County58+11.5%
26Columbia County56-8.2%
27Door County49+22.5%
27Portage County49-19.7%
29Waupaca County47+34.3%
30Oneida County44-15.4%
31Grant County42+13.5%
31Polk County42-6.7%
33Pierce County41+51.9%
34Vilas County40-7%
35Calumet County39+18.2%
35Clark County39+25.8%
37Green County37+5.7%
37Oconto County37+48%
39Douglas County35-12.5%
40Juneau County34+41.7%
41Dunn County33-25%
41Sawyer County33+65%
43Marinette County31+19.2%
43Monroe County31-6.1%
45Trempealeau County29+38.1%
45Vernon County29-3.3%
47Shawano County27-25%
48Lincoln County26+18.2%
49Taylor County24+26.3%
50Iowa County22-26.7%
50Price County22+57.1%
52Ashland County21+31.3%
52Kewaunee County21+61.5%
54Adams County20+11.1%
54Bayfield County20-23.1%
54Buffalo County20+17.6%
54Lafayette County20+42.9%
54Rusk County20+17.6%
54Waushara County20+66.7%
60Green Lake County19-9.5%
60Richland County19+26.7%
60Washburn County19-9.5%
63Burnett County18+20%
63Marquette County18+20%
65Langlade County16-33.3%
66Crawford County12-14.3%
66Jackson County12-29.4%
68Florence County8+33.3%
69Forest County7-30%
69Pepin County7-41.7%
71Iron County6-14.3%

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 2015 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, 2015) [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, 2015. 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?period=2015. 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, 2015. 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?period=2015.

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, 2015 [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?period=2015 (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_wisconsin_by_2015,
  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, 2015}},
  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?period=2015. 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, 2015
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?period=2015
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/wisconsin-counties?period=2015.
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 891 in 2015, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firm births?

Iron County, with 6 in 2015.

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 2015 and are not ranked.

Employer firm births: other rankings

Counties in Wisconsin: more rankings