Counties in Wisconsin by employer firm births

Milwaukee County had the highest employer firm births of 72 counties in 2018, at 963. Menominee County had the lowest, at 0. The median was 39 and the figure for Wisconsin was 6,013. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Median3972 counties
Wisconsin6,013History

Map of counties, 2018

Adams County: 10 countAshland County: 13 countBarron County: 60 countBayfield County: 21 countBrown County: 268 countBuffalo County: 10 countBurnett County: 14 countCalumet County: 35 countChippewa County: 78 countClark County: 32 countColumbia County: 64 countCrawford County: 15 countDane County: 620 countDodge County: 69 countDoor County: 53 countDouglas County: 35 countDunn County: 44 countEau Claire County: 123 countFlorence County: 5 countFond du Lac County: 88 countForest County: 4 countGrant County: 54 countGreen County: 40 countGreen Lake County: 18 countIowa County: 26 countIron County: 3 countJackson County: 14 countJefferson County: 84 countJuneau County: 36 countKenosha County: 169 countKewaunee County: 23 countLa Crosse County: 99 countLafayette County: 13 countLanglade County: 23 countLincoln County: 36 countManitowoc County: 67 countMarathon County: 133 countMarinette County: 32 countMarquette County: 9 countMenominee County: 0 countMilwaukee County: 963 countMonroe County: 38 countOconto County: 28 countOneida County: 50 countOutagamie County: 192 countOzaukee County: 133 countPepin County: 10 countPierce County: 47 countPolk County: 51 countPortage County: 67 countPrice County: 14 countRacine County: 177 countRichland County: 13 countRock County: 133 countRusk County: 11 countSt. Croix County: 127 countSauk County: 68 countSawyer County: 30 countShawano County: 33 countSheboygan County: 97 countTaylor County: 13 countTrempealeau County: 23 countVernon County: 24 countVilas County: 41 countWalworth County: 141 countWashburn County: 18 countWashington County: 136 countWaukesha County: 543 countWaupaca County: 41 countWaushara County: 17 countWinnebago County: 149 countWood County: 60 count
  • Under 13
  • 13 to 24
  • 24 to 39
  • 39 to 65
  • 65 to 130
  • 130 and over
count, 2018. 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, 2018

Milwaukee County: 963 countMilwaukee County963Dane County: 620 countDane County620Waukesha County: 543 countWaukesha County543Brown County: 268 countBrown County268Outagamie County: 192 countOutagamie County192Racine County: 177 countRacine County177Kenosha County: 169 countKenosha County169Winnebago County: 149 countWinnebago County149Walworth County: 141 countWalworth County141Washington County: 136 countWashington County136Marathon County: 133 countMarathon County133Ozaukee County: 133 countOzaukee County133Rock County: 133 countRock County133St. Croix County: 127 countSt. Croix County127Eau Claire County: 123 countEau Claire County123La Crosse County: 99 countLa Crosse County99Sheboygan County: 97 countSheboygan County97Fond du Lac County: 88 countFond du Lac County88Jefferson County: 84 countJefferson County84Chippewa County: 78 countChippewa County78Dodge County: 69 countDodge County69Sauk County: 68 countSauk County68Manitowoc County: 67 countManitowoc County67Portage County: 67 countPortage County67Columbia County: 64 countColumbia County64Barron County: 60 countBarron County60Wood County: 60 countWood County60Grant County: 54 countGrant County54Door County: 53 countDoor County53Polk County: 51 countPolk County51Oneida County: 50 countOneida County50Pierce County: 47 countPierce County47Dunn County: 44 countDunn County44Vilas County: 41 countVilas County41Waupaca County: 41 countWaupaca County41Green County: 40 countGreen County40Monroe County: 38 countMonroe County38Juneau County: 36 countJuneau County36Lincoln County: 36 countLincoln County36Calumet County: 35 countCalumet County35Milwaukee County: 963 countMilwaukee County963Dane County: 620 countDane County620Waukesha County: 543 countWaukesha County543Brown County: 268 countBrown County268Outagamie County: 192 countOutagamie County192Racine County: 177 countRacine County177Kenosha County: 169 countKenosha County169Winnebago County: 149 countWinnebago County149Walworth County: 141 countWalworth County141Washington County: 136 countWashington County136Marathon County: 133 countMarathon County133Ozaukee County: 133 countOzaukee County133Rock County: 133 countRock County133St. Croix County: 127 countSt. Croix County127Eau Claire County: 123 countEau Claire County123La Crosse County: 99 countLa Crosse County99Sheboygan County: 97 countSheboygan County97Fond du Lac County: 88 countFond du Lac County88Jefferson County: 84 countJefferson County84Chippewa County: 78 countChippewa County78Dodge County: 69 countDodge County69Sauk County: 68 countSauk County68Manitowoc County: 67 countManitowoc County67Portage County: 67 countPortage County67Columbia County: 64 countColumbia County64Barron County: 60 countBarron County60Wood County: 60 countWood County60Grant County: 54 countGrant County54Door County: 53 countDoor County53Polk County: 51 countPolk County51Oneida County: 50 countOneida County50Pierce County: 47 countPierce County47Dunn County: 44 countDunn County44Vilas County: 41 countVilas County41Waupaca County: 41 countWaupaca County41Green County: 40 countGreen County40Monroe County: 38 countMonroe County38Juneau County: 36 countJuneau County36Lincoln County: 36 countLincoln County36Calumet County: 35 countCalumet County35
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

RankCounties2018
count
Change on 2017
1Milwaukee County963+1.7%
2Dane County620-9.8%
3Waukesha County5430%
4Brown County268+5.5%
5Outagamie County192-7.7%
6Racine County177-6.3%
7Kenosha County169+8.3%
8Winnebago County149+11.2%
9Walworth County141-3.4%
10Washington County136+2.3%
11Marathon County133+30.4%
11Ozaukee County133+17.7%
11Rock County133-11.3%
14St. Croix County127-3.1%
15Eau Claire County123+30.9%
16La Crosse County99-28.3%
17Sheboygan County97+6.6%
18Fond du Lac County88+44.3%
19Jefferson County84-11.6%
20Chippewa County78+16.4%
21Dodge County69+4.5%
22Sauk County68+17.2%
23Manitowoc County67+21.8%
23Portage County67+11.7%
25Columbia County64-5.9%
26Barron County60+30.4%
26Wood County60+1.7%
28Grant County54+80%
29Door County53+15.2%
30Polk County51-3.8%
31Oneida County50-15.3%
32Pierce County47+30.6%
33Dunn County44+12.8%
34Vilas County41+5.1%
34Waupaca County41-10.9%
36Green County40-20%
37Monroe County38+5.6%
38Juneau County36+33.3%
38Lincoln County36+20%
40Calumet County35+25%
40Douglas County35-12.5%
42Shawano County33-23.3%
43Clark County32+10.3%
43Marinette County32-17.9%
45Sawyer County30+57.9%
46Oconto County28+12%
47Iowa County26-21.2%
48Vernon County24+20%
49Kewaunee County23+43.8%
49Langlade County23-14.8%
49Trempealeau County23+9.5%
52Bayfield County21+10.5%
53Green Lake County18+157.1%
53Washburn County18+28.6%
55Waushara County17-32%
56Crawford County15+87.5%
57Burnett County140%
57Jackson County14-17.6%
57Price County140%
60Ashland County13+85.7%
60Lafayette County13-23.5%
60Richland County13-27.8%
60Taylor County13-50%
64Rusk County11+83.3%
65Adams County10-47.4%
65Buffalo County10-23.1%
65Pepin County10+11.1%
68Marquette County9-25%
69Florence County5-28.6%
70Forest County4-55.6%
71Iron County3n/a
72Menominee County0n/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 Wisconsin by employer firm births, 2018) [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, 2018. 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=2018. 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, 2018. 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=2018.

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, 2018 [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=2018 (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_wisconsin_by_2018,
  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, 2018}},
  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=2018. 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, 2018
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=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/wisconsin-counties?period=2018.
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?

Milwaukee County, with 963 in 2018, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firm births?

Menominee County, with 0 in 2018.

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 Wisconsin: more rankings