Counties in Wisconsin by employer firm births

Milwaukee County had the highest employer firm births of 71 counties in 2020, at 961. Pepin County had the lowest, at 5. The median was 39 and the figure for Wisconsin was 5,931. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Median3971 counties
Wisconsin5,931History

Map of counties, 2020

Adams County: 17 countAshland County: 19 countBarron County: 47 countBayfield County: 30 countBrown County: 246 countBuffalo County: 14 countBurnett County: 14 countCalumet County: 39 countChippewa County: 70 countClark County: 33 countColumbia County: 56 countCrawford County: 17 countDane County: 660 countDodge County: 58 countDoor County: 55 countDouglas County: 34 countDunn County: 39 countEau Claire County: 113 countFlorence County: 5 countFond du Lac County: 82 countForest County: 12 countGrant County: 41 countGreen County: 46 countGreen Lake County: 21 countIowa County: 27 countIron County: 6 countJackson County: 19 countJefferson County: 102 countJuneau County: 16 countKenosha County: 133 countKewaunee County: 17 countLa Crosse County: 133 countLafayette County: 6 countLanglade County: 21 countLincoln County: 30 countManitowoc County: 54 countMarathon County: 121 countMarinette County: 21 countMarquette County: 13 countMilwaukee County: 961 countMonroe County: 36 countOconto County: 40 countOneida County: 58 countOutagamie County: 194 countOzaukee County: 128 countPepin County: 5 countPierce County: 43 countPolk County: 65 countPortage County: 67 countPrice County: 18 countRacine County: 155 countRichland County: 13 countRock County: 141 countRusk County: 8 countSt. Croix County: 91 countSauk County: 66 countSawyer County: 21 countShawano County: 34 countSheboygan County: 95 countTaylor County: 18 countTrempealeau County: 23 countVernon County: 27 countVilas County: 36 countWalworth County: 123 countWashburn County: 25 countWashington County: 149 countWaukesha County: 539 countWaupaca County: 53 countWaushara County: 24 countWinnebago County: 141 countWood County: 66 count
  • Under 17
  • 17 to 24
  • 24 to 39
  • 39 to 63
  • 63 to 120
  • 120 and over
  • No data
count, 2020. 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, 2020

Milwaukee County: 961 countMilwaukee County961Dane County: 660 countDane County660Waukesha County: 539 countWaukesha County539Brown County: 246 countBrown County246Outagamie County: 194 countOutagamie County194Racine County: 155 countRacine County155Washington County: 149 countWashington County149Rock County: 141 countRock County141Winnebago County: 141 countWinnebago County141Kenosha County: 133 countKenosha County133La Crosse County: 133 countLa Crosse County133Ozaukee County: 128 countOzaukee County128Walworth County: 123 countWalworth County123Marathon County: 121 countMarathon County121Eau Claire County: 113 countEau Claire County113Jefferson County: 102 countJefferson County102Sheboygan County: 95 countSheboygan County95St. Croix County: 91 countSt. Croix County91Fond du Lac County: 82 countFond du Lac County82Chippewa County: 70 countChippewa County70Portage County: 67 countPortage County67Sauk County: 66 countSauk County66Wood County: 66 countWood County66Polk County: 65 countPolk County65Dodge County: 58 countDodge County58Oneida County: 58 countOneida County58Columbia County: 56 countColumbia County56Door County: 55 countDoor County55Manitowoc County: 54 countManitowoc County54Waupaca County: 53 countWaupaca County53Barron County: 47 countBarron County47Green County: 46 countGreen County46Pierce County: 43 countPierce County43Grant County: 41 countGrant County41Oconto County: 40 countOconto County40Calumet County: 39 countCalumet County39Dunn County: 39 countDunn County39Monroe County: 36 countMonroe County36Vilas County: 36 countVilas County36Douglas County: 34 countDouglas County34Milwaukee County: 961 countMilwaukee County961Dane County: 660 countDane County660Waukesha County: 539 countWaukesha County539Brown County: 246 countBrown County246Outagamie County: 194 countOutagamie County194Racine County: 155 countRacine County155Washington County: 149 countWashington County149Rock County: 141 countRock County141Winnebago County: 141 countWinnebago County141Kenosha County: 133 countKenosha County133La Crosse County: 133 countLa Crosse County133Ozaukee County: 128 countOzaukee County128Walworth County: 123 countWalworth County123Marathon County: 121 countMarathon County121Eau Claire County: 113 countEau Claire County113Jefferson County: 102 countJefferson County102Sheboygan County: 95 countSheboygan County95St. Croix County: 91 countSt. Croix County91Fond du Lac County: 82 countFond du Lac County82Chippewa County: 70 countChippewa County70Portage County: 67 countPortage County67Sauk County: 66 countSauk County66Wood County: 66 countWood County66Polk County: 65 countPolk County65Dodge County: 58 countDodge County58Oneida County: 58 countOneida County58Columbia County: 56 countColumbia County56Door County: 55 countDoor County55Manitowoc County: 54 countManitowoc County54Waupaca County: 53 countWaupaca County53Barron County: 47 countBarron County47Green County: 46 countGreen County46Pierce County: 43 countPierce County43Grant County: 41 countGrant County41Oconto County: 40 countOconto County40Calumet County: 39 countCalumet County39Dunn County: 39 countDunn County39Monroe County: 36 countMonroe County36Vilas County: 36 countVilas County36Douglas County: 34 countDouglas 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

RankCounties2020
count
Change on 2019
1Milwaukee County961-1.9%
2Dane County660-1.9%
3Waukesha County539+3.5%
4Brown County246+1.2%
5Outagamie County194-3.5%
6Racine County155-10.4%
7Washington County149+11.2%
8Rock County141-15.1%
8Winnebago County141-2.1%
10Kenosha County133-29.3%
10La Crosse County133+20.9%
12Ozaukee County128+3.2%
13Walworth County123+0.8%
14Marathon County121-2.4%
15Eau Claire County113-3.4%
16Jefferson County102+15.9%
17Sheboygan County95+9.2%
18St. Croix County91-18%
19Fond du Lac County82-8.9%
20Chippewa County70+4.5%
21Portage County67-6.9%
22Sauk County66-24.1%
22Wood County66+26.9%
24Polk County65+41.3%
25Dodge County58-18.3%
25Oneida County58+38.1%
27Columbia County56+19.1%
28Door County55+10%
29Manitowoc County54-11.5%
30Waupaca County53+3.9%
31Barron County47-7.8%
32Green County46-8%
33Pierce County43+87%
34Grant County41-2.4%
35Oconto County40+14.3%
36Calumet County39-9.3%
36Dunn County39-2.5%
38Monroe County36+16.1%
38Vilas County36-14.3%
40Douglas County34+30.8%
40Shawano County34-22.7%
42Clark County330%
43Bayfield County30+7.1%
43Lincoln County30+7.1%
45Iowa County27+35%
45Vernon County27+28.6%
47Washburn County25+47.1%
48Waushara County24+26.3%
49Trempealeau County23+4.5%
50Green Lake County21+40%
50Langlade County21-12.5%
50Marinette County21-50%
50Sawyer County21-19.2%
54Ashland County19+58.3%
54Jackson County19-9.5%
56Price County18+5.9%
56Taylor County180%
58Adams County17-15%
58Crawford County17-15%
58Kewaunee County170%
61Juneau County16-15.8%
62Buffalo County14+27.3%
62Burnett County14-17.6%
64Marquette County13-18.8%
64Richland County13+30%
66Forest County120%
67Rusk County8-63.6%
68Iron County6-40%
68Lafayette County6-57.1%
70Florence County5n/a
70Pepin County5-50%

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 2020 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, 2020) [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, 2020. 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=2020. 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, 2020. 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=2020.

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, 2020 [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=2020 (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_wisconsin_by_2020,
  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, 2020}},
  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=2020. 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, 2020
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=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/wisconsin-counties?period=2020.
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 961 in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firm births?

Pepin County, with 5 in 2020.

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 2020 and are not ranked.

Employer firm births: other rankings

Counties in Wisconsin: more rankings