Counties in Wisconsin by employer firm births

Milwaukee County had the highest employer firm births of 71 counties in 2019, at 980. Menominee County had the lowest, at 0. The median was 42 and the figure for Wisconsin was 6,007. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Median4271 counties
Wisconsin6,007History

Map of counties, 2019

Adams County: 20 countAshland County: 12 countBarron County: 51 countBayfield County: 28 countBrown County: 243 countBuffalo County: 11 countBurnett County: 17 countCalumet County: 43 countChippewa County: 67 countClark County: 33 countColumbia County: 47 countCrawford County: 20 countDane County: 673 countDodge County: 71 countDoor County: 50 countDouglas County: 26 countDunn County: 40 countEau Claire County: 117 countFond du Lac County: 90 countForest County: 12 countGrant County: 42 countGreen County: 50 countGreen Lake County: 15 countIowa County: 20 countIron County: 10 countJackson County: 21 countJefferson County: 88 countJuneau County: 19 countKenosha County: 188 countKewaunee County: 17 countLa Crosse County: 110 countLafayette County: 14 countLanglade County: 24 countLincoln County: 28 countManitowoc County: 61 countMarathon County: 124 countMarinette County: 42 countMarquette County: 16 countMenominee County: 0 countMilwaukee County: 980 countMonroe County: 31 countOconto County: 35 countOneida County: 42 countOutagamie County: 201 countOzaukee County: 124 countPepin County: 10 countPierce County: 23 countPolk County: 46 countPortage County: 72 countPrice County: 17 countRacine County: 173 countRichland County: 10 countRock County: 166 countRusk County: 22 countSt. Croix County: 111 countSauk County: 87 countSawyer County: 26 countShawano County: 44 countSheboygan County: 87 countTaylor County: 18 countTrempealeau County: 22 countVernon County: 21 countVilas County: 42 countWalworth County: 122 countWashburn County: 17 countWashington County: 134 countWaukesha County: 521 countWaupaca County: 51 countWaushara County: 19 countWinnebago County: 144 countWood County: 52 count
  • Under 17
  • 17 to 22
  • 22 to 42
  • 42 to 58
  • 58 to 120
  • 120 and over
  • No data
count, 2019. 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, 2019

Milwaukee County: 980 countMilwaukee County980Dane County: 673 countDane County673Waukesha County: 521 countWaukesha County521Brown County: 243 countBrown County243Outagamie County: 201 countOutagamie County201Kenosha County: 188 countKenosha County188Racine County: 173 countRacine County173Rock County: 166 countRock County166Winnebago County: 144 countWinnebago County144Washington County: 134 countWashington County134Marathon County: 124 countMarathon County124Ozaukee County: 124 countOzaukee County124Walworth County: 122 countWalworth County122Eau Claire County: 117 countEau Claire County117St. Croix County: 111 countSt. Croix County111La Crosse County: 110 countLa Crosse County110Fond du Lac County: 90 countFond du Lac County90Jefferson County: 88 countJefferson County88Sauk County: 87 countSauk County87Sheboygan County: 87 countSheboygan County87Portage County: 72 countPortage County72Dodge County: 71 countDodge County71Chippewa County: 67 countChippewa County67Manitowoc County: 61 countManitowoc County61Wood County: 52 countWood County52Barron County: 51 countBarron County51Waupaca County: 51 countWaupaca County51Door County: 50 countDoor County50Green County: 50 countGreen County50Columbia County: 47 countColumbia County47Polk County: 46 countPolk County46Shawano County: 44 countShawano County44Calumet County: 43 countCalumet County43Grant County: 42 countGrant County42Marinette County: 42 countMarinette County42Oneida County: 42 countOneida County42Vilas County: 42 countVilas County42Dunn County: 40 countDunn County40Oconto County: 35 countOconto County35Clark County: 33 countClark County33Milwaukee County: 980 countMilwaukee County980Dane County: 673 countDane County673Waukesha County: 521 countWaukesha County521Brown County: 243 countBrown County243Outagamie County: 201 countOutagamie County201Kenosha County: 188 countKenosha County188Racine County: 173 countRacine County173Rock County: 166 countRock County166Winnebago County: 144 countWinnebago County144Washington County: 134 countWashington County134Marathon County: 124 countMarathon County124Ozaukee County: 124 countOzaukee County124Walworth County: 122 countWalworth County122Eau Claire County: 117 countEau Claire County117St. Croix County: 111 countSt. Croix County111La Crosse County: 110 countLa Crosse County110Fond du Lac County: 90 countFond du Lac County90Jefferson County: 88 countJefferson County88Sauk County: 87 countSauk County87Sheboygan County: 87 countSheboygan County87Portage County: 72 countPortage County72Dodge County: 71 countDodge County71Chippewa County: 67 countChippewa County67Manitowoc County: 61 countManitowoc County61Wood County: 52 countWood County52Barron County: 51 countBarron County51Waupaca County: 51 countWaupaca County51Door County: 50 countDoor County50Green County: 50 countGreen County50Columbia County: 47 countColumbia County47Polk County: 46 countPolk County46Shawano County: 44 countShawano County44Calumet County: 43 countCalumet County43Grant County: 42 countGrant County42Marinette County: 42 countMarinette County42Oneida County: 42 countOneida County42Vilas County: 42 countVilas County42Dunn County: 40 countDunn County40Oconto County: 35 countOconto County35Clark County: 33 countClark County33
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

RankCounties2019
count
Change on 2018
1Milwaukee County980+1.8%
2Dane County673+8.5%
3Waukesha County521-4.1%
4Brown County243-9.3%
5Outagamie County201+4.7%
6Kenosha County188+11.2%
7Racine County173-2.3%
8Rock County166+24.8%
9Winnebago County144-3.4%
10Washington County134-1.5%
11Marathon County124-6.8%
11Ozaukee County124-6.8%
13Walworth County122-13.5%
14Eau Claire County117-4.9%
15St. Croix County111-12.6%
16La Crosse County110+11.1%
17Fond du Lac County90+2.3%
18Jefferson County88+4.8%
19Sauk County87+27.9%
19Sheboygan County87-10.3%
21Portage County72+7.5%
22Dodge County71+2.9%
23Chippewa County67-14.1%
24Manitowoc County61-9%
25Wood County52-13.3%
26Barron County51-15%
26Waupaca County51+24.4%
28Door County50-5.7%
28Green County50+25%
30Columbia County47-26.6%
31Polk County46-9.8%
32Shawano County44+33.3%
33Calumet County43+22.9%
34Grant County42-22.2%
34Marinette County42+31.3%
34Oneida County42-16%
34Vilas County42+2.4%
38Dunn County40-9.1%
39Oconto County35+25%
40Clark County33+3.1%
41Monroe County31-18.4%
42Bayfield County28+33.3%
42Lincoln County28-22.2%
44Douglas County26-25.7%
44Sawyer County26-13.3%
46Langlade County24+4.3%
47Pierce County23-51.1%
48Rusk County22+100%
48Trempealeau County22-4.3%
50Jackson County21+50%
50Vernon County21-12.5%
52Adams County20+100%
52Crawford County20+33.3%
52Iowa County20-23.1%
55Juneau County19-47.2%
55Waushara County19+11.8%
57Taylor County18+38.5%
58Burnett County17+21.4%
58Kewaunee County17-26.1%
58Price County17+21.4%
58Washburn County17-5.6%
62Marquette County16+77.8%
63Green Lake County15-16.7%
64Lafayette County14+7.7%
65Ashland County12-7.7%
65Forest County12+200%
67Buffalo County11+10%
68Iron County10+233.3%
68Pepin County100%
68Richland County10-23.1%
71Menominee 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. 1 counties with data in other periods have no value for 2019 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, 2019) [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, 2019. 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=2019. 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, 2019. 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=2019.

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, 2019 [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=2019 (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_wisconsin_by_2019,
  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, 2019}},
  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=2019. 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, 2019
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=2019
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/wisconsin-counties?period=2019.
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 980 in 2019, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firm births?

Menominee County, with 0 in 2019.

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 2019 and are not ranked.

Employer firm births: other rankings

Counties in Wisconsin: more rankings