Data / Rankings / Employer firms / Counties in Kentucky

Counties in Kentucky by employer firms, 2023

Jefferson County had the highest employer firms of 120 counties in 2023, at 13,907. Robertson County had the lowest, at 24. The median was 246 and the figure for Kentucky was 61,917. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest13,907Jefferson County
Lowest24Robertson County
Median246120 counties
Kentucky61,917History

Top 40 counties, 2023

Jefferson County: 13,907 countJefferson County13,907Fayette County: 7,016 countFayette County7,016Boone County: 2,487 countBoone County2,487Kenton County: 2,440 countKenton County2,440Warren County: 2,368 countWarren County2,368Daviess County: 1,838 countDaviess County1,838Hardin County: 1,736 countHardin County1,736McCracken County: 1,675 countMcCracken County1,675Madison County: 1,444 countMadison County1,444Campbell County: 1,406 countCampbell County1,406Pulaski County: 1,183 countPulaski County1,183Jessamine County: 1,112 countJessamine County1,112Oldham County: 1,111 countOldham County1,111Christian County: 1,035 countChristian County1,035Bullitt County: 1,033 countBullitt County1,033Franklin County: 1,020 countFranklin County1,020Laurel County: 1,005 countLaurel County1,005Shelby County: 942 countShelby County942Boyd County: 931 countBoyd County931Scott County: 901 countScott County901Pike County: 860 countPike County860Nelson County: 823 countNelson County823Henderson County: 793 countHenderson County793Calloway County: 763 countCalloway County763Hopkins County: 716 countHopkins County716Barren County: 712 countBarren County712Clark County: 653 countClark County653Boyle County: 634 countBoyle County634Marshall County: 591 countMarshall County591Graves County: 559 countGraves County559Floyd County: 541 countFloyd County541Woodford County: 527 countWoodford County527Whitley County: 498 countWhitley County498Taylor County: 496 countTaylor County496Montgomery County: 472 countMontgomery County472Muhlenberg County: 445 countMuhlenberg County445Rowan County: 428 countRowan County428Logan County: 425 countLogan County425Perry County: 415 countPerry County415Knox County: 411 countKnox County411
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Full ranking

RankCounties2023
count		Change on 2022
1Jefferson County13,907+0.3%
2Fayette County7,016+1.7%
3Boone County2,487+0.5%
4Kenton County2,440-0%
5Warren County2,368+2.2%
6Daviess County1,838-0.5%
7Hardin County1,736+1.7%
8McCracken County1,675+0.2%
9Madison County1,444+3.4%
10Campbell County1,406-0.6%
11Pulaski County1,183-1.4%
12Jessamine County1,112+6%
13Oldham County1,111+5.8%
14Christian County1,035+0.9%
15Bullitt County1,033+1.5%
16Franklin County1,020+3%
17Laurel County1,005+0.5%
18Shelby County942+4.2%
19Boyd County931-0.7%
20Scott County901+2.7%
21Pike County860+0.5%
22Nelson County823+0.9%
23Henderson County793+1.4%
24Calloway County763+0.8%
25Hopkins County716-2.1%
26Barren County712+3.2%
27Clark County653+1.2%
28Boyle County634-0.2%
29Marshall County591+1%
30Graves County559-2.4%
31Floyd County541+1.7%
32Woodford County527+2.1%
33Whitley County498+2.9%
34Taylor County496+1.8%
35Montgomery County472+0.6%
36Muhlenberg County445+4.7%
37Rowan County428-0.9%
38Logan County425+0.2%
39Perry County415+3%
40Knox County411-2.4%
41Simpson County365+2.5%
42Grayson County364+1.7%
43Bell County360+0.8%
44Greenup County359-4.3%
45Mason County346-4.2%
46Bourbon County333-4%
47Carter County316-3.7%
47Mercer County316+3.6%
49Grant County313+1.6%
50Meade County311+0.6%
51Anderson County304+3.4%
51Ohio County304+0.3%
53Johnson County301+3.4%
54Russell County298+3.1%
55Marion County2910%
56Harlan County287-3.4%
57Adair County272+2.3%
58Lincoln County265+2.3%
59Harrison County251+5.5%
60Wayne County249+5.1%
61Breckinridge County243-0.4%
62Caldwell County237-0.8%
63Hart County224+5.2%
64Spencer County218+3.8%
65Fleming County214+8.1%
66Union County211+2.4%
67Allen County208+2%
67Garrard County208+4.5%
69Washington County205-1.4%
70Letcher County204+0.5%
71Carroll County203+4.6%
72Trigg County199+2.1%
73Larue County193+5.5%
74Clay County186-1.1%
75Monroe County185+4.5%
76Casey County182+3.4%
77Henry County181-1.6%
78Lawrence County179+2.3%
78Todd County179+3.5%
80Powell County176+11.4%
81Webster County170-4.5%
82Rockcastle County169+2.4%
83Butler County168+1.8%
84Pendleton County154+2%
85Estill County152-0.7%
86Clinton County150-1.3%
87Lyon County147+3.5%
88Green County145+3.6%
89McLean County141+0.7%
90Magoffin County139+6.1%
91Crittenden County133+5.6%
92Morgan County130+1.6%
93Knott County1290%
94Ballard County128-0.8%
95McCreary County1270%
96Breathitt County125-3.8%
97Bath County117-3.3%
98Owen County115-0.9%
99Livingston County113-4.2%
100Edmonson County110+8.9%
100Martin County110+5.8%
102Hancock County102+7.4%
103Fulton County98-16.9%
104Lewis County96-10.3%
105Metcalfe County94-8.7%
106Cumberland County910%
107Jackson County90+4.7%
108Bracken County88+2.3%
109Gallatin County81-6.9%
110Lee County80-3.6%
111Carlisle County74+2.8%
111Leslie County74-3.9%
113Trimble County73+7.4%
114Wolfe County71+9.2%
115Nicholas County70+4.5%
116Hickman County56-11.1%
117Menifee County49+2.1%
118Owsley County340%
119Elliott County32-3%
120Robertson County24+4.3%

Other periods

About this ranking

Number of firms in the private nonfarm sectors covered by the US Census Bureau Business Dynamics Statistics. Establishments under common ownership form one firm.

Excludes nonemployer businesses. Differs from active_companies, the INE DIRCE count, which includes businesses without employees.

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: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

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: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties (Counties in Kentucky by employer firms, 2023) [Data set]. Retrieved October 11, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv

MLA 9

Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties, Counties in Kentucky by employer firms, 2023. U.S. Census Bureau, 25 Sept. 2025, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/kentucky-counties. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2025. Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. Counties in Kentucky by employer firms, 2023. Dataset. Accessed October 11, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/kentucky-counties.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties, Counties in Kentucky by employer firms, 2023 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/kentucky-counties (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_kentucky_by_2023,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Counties in Kentucky by employer firms, 2023}},
  year = {2025},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-11},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/kentucky-counties. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023\_st\_cty.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-11.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Counties in Kentucky by employer firms, 2023
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.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/kentucky-counties
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/kentucky-counties.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
ER  -
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Questions

Which county has the highest employer firms?

Jefferson County, with 13,907 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firms?

Robertson County, with 24 in 2023.

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: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Employer firms: other rankings

Counties in Kentucky: more rankings