Counties in Wisconsin by employer firm births

Milwaukee County had the highest employer firm births of 71 counties in 2022, at 1,145. Florence County had the lowest, at 5. The median was 44 and the figure for Wisconsin was 6,859. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest1,145Milwaukee County
Median4471 counties
Wisconsin6,859History

Map of counties, 2022

Adams County: 18 countAshland County: 23 countBarron County: 72 countBayfield County: 32 countBrown County: 284 countBuffalo County: 18 countBurnett County: 22 countCalumet County: 44 countChippewa County: 101 countClark County: 35 countColumbia County: 59 countCrawford County: 11 countDane County: 725 countDodge County: 57 countDoor County: 60 countDouglas County: 38 countDunn County: 49 countEau Claire County: 139 countFlorence County: 5 countFond du Lac County: 87 countForest County: 8 countGrant County: 58 countGreen County: 44 countGreen Lake County: 23 countIowa County: 30 countIron County: 10 countJackson County: 17 countJefferson County: 109 countJuneau County: 28 countKenosha County: 167 countKewaunee County: 21 countLa Crosse County: 122 countLafayette County: 18 countLanglade County: 32 countLincoln County: 30 countManitowoc County: 76 countMarathon County: 135 countMarinette County: 46 countMarquette County: 13 countMilwaukee County: 1,145 countMonroe County: 46 countOconto County: 36 countOneida County: 77 countOutagamie County: 240 countOzaukee County: 127 countPepin County: 11 countPierce County: 40 countPolk County: 69 countPortage County: 66 countPrice County: 14 countRacine County: 182 countRichland County: 25 countRock County: 170 countRusk County: 15 countSt. Croix County: 119 countSauk County: 87 countSawyer County: 38 countShawano County: 27 countSheboygan County: 107 countTaylor County: 25 countTrempealeau County: 26 countVernon County: 41 countVilas County: 43 countWalworth County: 148 countWashburn County: 29 countWashington County: 163 countWaukesha County: 598 countWaupaca County: 40 countWaushara County: 22 countWinnebago County: 160 countWood County: 76 count
  • Under 20
  • 20 to 30
  • 30 to 40
  • 40 to 70
  • 70 to 140
  • 140 and over
  • No data
count, 2022. 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, 2022

Milwaukee County: 1,145 countMilwaukee County1,145Dane County: 725 countDane County725Waukesha County: 598 countWaukesha County598Brown County: 284 countBrown County284Outagamie County: 240 countOutagamie County240Racine County: 182 countRacine County182Rock County: 170 countRock County170Kenosha County: 167 countKenosha County167Washington County: 163 countWashington County163Winnebago County: 160 countWinnebago County160Walworth County: 148 countWalworth County148Eau Claire County: 139 countEau Claire County139Marathon County: 135 countMarathon County135Ozaukee County: 127 countOzaukee County127La Crosse County: 122 countLa Crosse County122St. Croix County: 119 countSt. Croix County119Jefferson County: 109 countJefferson County109Sheboygan County: 107 countSheboygan County107Chippewa County: 101 countChippewa County101Fond du Lac County: 87 countFond du Lac County87Sauk County: 87 countSauk County87Oneida County: 77 countOneida County77Manitowoc County: 76 countManitowoc County76Wood County: 76 countWood County76Barron County: 72 countBarron County72Polk County: 69 countPolk County69Portage County: 66 countPortage County66Door County: 60 countDoor County60Columbia County: 59 countColumbia County59Grant County: 58 countGrant County58Dodge County: 57 countDodge County57Dunn County: 49 countDunn County49Marinette County: 46 countMarinette County46Monroe County: 46 countMonroe County46Calumet County: 44 countCalumet County44Green County: 44 countGreen County44Vilas County: 43 countVilas County43Vernon County: 41 countVernon County41Pierce County: 40 countPierce County40Waupaca County: 40 countWaupaca County40Milwaukee County: 1,145 countMilwaukee County1,145Dane County: 725 countDane County725Waukesha County: 598 countWaukesha County598Brown County: 284 countBrown County284Outagamie County: 240 countOutagamie County240Racine County: 182 countRacine County182Rock County: 170 countRock County170Kenosha County: 167 countKenosha County167Washington County: 163 countWashington County163Winnebago County: 160 countWinnebago County160Walworth County: 148 countWalworth County148Eau Claire County: 139 countEau Claire County139Marathon County: 135 countMarathon County135Ozaukee County: 127 countOzaukee County127La Crosse County: 122 countLa Crosse County122St. Croix County: 119 countSt. Croix County119Jefferson County: 109 countJefferson County109Sheboygan County: 107 countSheboygan County107Chippewa County: 101 countChippewa County101Fond du Lac County: 87 countFond du Lac County87Sauk County: 87 countSauk County87Oneida County: 77 countOneida County77Manitowoc County: 76 countManitowoc County76Wood County: 76 countWood County76Barron County: 72 countBarron County72Polk County: 69 countPolk County69Portage County: 66 countPortage County66Door County: 60 countDoor County60Columbia County: 59 countColumbia County59Grant County: 58 countGrant County58Dodge County: 57 countDodge County57Dunn County: 49 countDunn County49Marinette County: 46 countMarinette County46Monroe County: 46 countMonroe County46Calumet County: 44 countCalumet County44Green County: 44 countGreen County44Vilas County: 43 countVilas County43Vernon County: 41 countVernon County41Pierce County: 40 countPierce County40Waupaca County: 40 countWaupaca County40
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

RankCounties2022
count
Change on 2021
1Milwaukee County1,145+10.2%
2Dane County725+10.4%
3Waukesha County598+14.3%
4Brown County284+34%
5Outagamie County240+20.6%
6Racine County182-5.2%
7Rock County170+14.1%
8Kenosha County167+18.4%
9Washington County163+7.2%
10Winnebago County160+19.4%
11Walworth County148+12.1%
12Eau Claire County139+32.4%
13Marathon County135+27.4%
14Ozaukee County127+19.8%
15La Crosse County122+20.8%
16St. Croix County119+26.6%
17Jefferson County109+22.5%
18Sheboygan County107+12.6%
19Chippewa County101+32.9%
20Fond du Lac County87+20.8%
20Sauk County87+50%
22Oneida County77+42.6%
23Manitowoc County76+13.4%
23Wood County76+38.2%
25Barron County72+16.1%
26Polk County69+46.8%
27Portage County66+29.4%
28Door County60+13.2%
29Columbia County59-6.3%
30Grant County58+65.7%
31Dodge County57-17.4%
32Dunn County49+40%
33Marinette County46+70.4%
33Monroe County46+17.9%
35Calumet County44-6.4%
35Green County44-13.7%
37Vilas County43+10.3%
38Vernon County41-8.9%
39Pierce County40+14.3%
39Waupaca County40+11.1%
41Douglas County38-7.3%
41Sawyer County38+90%
43Oconto County36+24.1%
44Clark County35-16.7%
45Bayfield County32+77.8%
45Langlade County32+52.4%
47Iowa County30+15.4%
47Lincoln County30-9.1%
49Washburn County29+61.1%
50Juneau County28+55.6%
51Shawano County27-28.9%
52Trempealeau County26-7.1%
53Richland County25+108.3%
53Taylor County25-3.8%
55Ashland County23+15%
55Green Lake County23+43.8%
57Burnett County22-12%
57Waushara County22+22.2%
59Kewaunee County21+23.5%
60Adams County18-35.7%
60Buffalo County18+38.5%
60Lafayette County18+28.6%
63Jackson County17-5.6%
64Rusk County15-11.8%
65Price County14+55.6%
66Marquette County13+62.5%
67Crawford County11-35.3%
67Pepin County11+22.2%
69Iron County10+66.7%
70Forest County8-27.3%
71Florence County5+25%

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 2022 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, 2022) [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, 2022. 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=2022. 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, 2022. 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=2022.

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, 2022 [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=2022 (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_wisconsin_by_2022,
  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, 2022}},
  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=2022. 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, 2022
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=2022
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/wisconsin-counties?period=2022.
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 1,145 in 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firm births?

Florence County, with 5 in 2022.

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 2022 and are not ranked.

Employer firm births: other rankings

Counties in Wisconsin: more rankings