Data / Rankings / Establishment entry rate / Counties in Kentucky

Counties in Kentucky by establishment entry rate

Owsley County had the highest establishment entry rate of 119 counties in 2016, at 21.176%. Ballard County had the lowest, at 3.376%. The median was 7.843% and the figure for Kentucky was 8.28%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest21.176Owsley County
Lowest3.376Ballard County
Median7.843119 counties
Kentucky8.28History

Map of counties, 2016

Adair County: 6.702 %Allen County: 7.473 %Anderson County: 7.04 %Ballard County: 3.376 %Barren County: 7.692 %Bath County: 6.349 %Bell County: 6.579 %Boone County: 9.202 %Bourbon County: 10.383 %Boyd County: 6.005 %Boyle County: 6.891 %Bracken County: 12.195 %Breathitt County: 10.337 %Breckinridge County: 4.263 %Bullitt County: 10.117 %Butler County: 4.611 %Caldwell County: 8.743 %Calloway County: 7.843 %Campbell County: 8.78 %Carlisle County: 7.317 %Carroll County: 5.152 %Carter County: 8.06 %Casey County: 6.977 %Christian County: 8.761 %Clark County: 7.781 %Clay County: 5.714 %Clinton County: 10.056 %Crittenden County: 8.696 %Cumberland County: 9.615 %Daviess County: 10.055 %Edmonson County: 6.452 %Estill County: 12.085 %Fayette County: 9.548 %Fleming County: 7.601 %Floyd County: 6.362 %Franklin County: 6.755 %Fulton County: 6.299 %Gallatin County: 9.326 %Garrard County: 8.521 %Grant County: 9.295 %Graves County: 7.366 %Grayson County: 6.972 %Green County: 7.246 %Greenup County: 5.376 %Hancock County: 3.941 %Hardin County: 7.503 %Harlan County: 7.898 %Harrison County: 3.802 %Hart County: 9.302 %Henderson County: 5.62 %Henry County: 9.337 %Hickman County: 8.955 %Hopkins County: 7.286 %Jackson County: 9.195 %Jefferson County: 8.589 %Jessamine County: 8.748 %Johnson County: 6.878 %Kenton County: 8.405 %Knott County: 13.376 %Knox County: 5.72 %Larue County: 11.294 %Laurel County: 6.683 %Lawrence County: 7.407 %Lee County: 6.316 %Leslie County: 12.903 %Letcher County: 8.882 %Lewis County: 5.691 %Lincoln County: 8.606 %Livingston County: 4.444 %Logan County: 9.756 %Lyon County: 12.541 %McCracken County: 6.904 %McCreary County: 9.846 %McLean County: 7.879 %Madison County: 8.558 %Magoffin County: 3.96 %Marion County: 8.358 %Marshall County: 6.813 %Martin County: 4.947 %Mason County: 4.198 %Meade County: 6.887 %Menifee County: 7.767 %Mercer County: 5.239 %Metcalfe County: 14.35 %Monroe County: 9.896 %Montgomery County: 8.737 %Morgan County: 8.553 %Muhlenberg County: 8.801 %Nelson County: 6.77 %Nicholas County: 7.246 %Ohio County: 8.215 %Oldham County: 10.863 %Owen County: 7.111 %Owsley County: 21.176 %Pendleton County: 5.825 %Perry County: 9.043 %Pike County: 5.809 %Powell County: 5.607 %Pulaski County: 7.6 %Robertson County: 20.513 %Rockcastle County: 7.916 %Rowan County: 6.882 %Russell County: 7.154 %Scott County: 11.072 %Shelby County: 7.004 %Simpson County: 9.115 %Spencer County: 9.945 %Taylor County: 8.939 %Todd County: 9.189 %Trigg County: 11.211 %Trimble County: 5.674 %Union County: 4.99 %Warren County: 8.086 %Washington County: 6.584 %Wayne County: 6.526 %Webster County: 10.336 %Whitley County: 8.007 %Wolfe County: 14.063 %Woodford County: 10.526 %
  • Under 5.8
  • 5.8 to 6.9
  • 6.9 to 7.8
  • 7.8 to 8.8
  • 8.8 to 10
  • 10 and over
  • No data
%, 2016. Hatched areas have no value for this period. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: establishment entry rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 2016

Owsley County: 21.176 %Owsley County21.176Robertson County: 20.513 %Robertson County20.513Metcalfe County: 14.35 %Metcalfe County14.35Wolfe County: 14.063 %Wolfe County14.063Knott County: 13.376 %Knott County13.376Leslie County: 12.903 %Leslie County12.903Lyon County: 12.541 %Lyon County12.541Bracken County: 12.195 %Bracken County12.195Estill County: 12.085 %Estill County12.085Larue County: 11.294 %Larue County11.294Trigg County: 11.211 %Trigg County11.211Scott County: 11.072 %Scott County11.072Oldham County: 10.863 %Oldham County10.863Woodford County: 10.526 %Woodford County10.526Bourbon County: 10.383 %Bourbon County10.383Breathitt County: 10.337 %Breathitt County10.337Webster County: 10.336 %Webster County10.336Bullitt County: 10.117 %Bullitt County10.117Clinton County: 10.056 %Clinton County10.056Daviess County: 10.055 %Daviess County10.055Spencer County: 9.945 %Spencer County9.945Monroe County: 9.896 %Monroe County9.896McCreary County: 9.846 %McCreary County9.846Logan County: 9.756 %Logan County9.756Cumberland County: 9.615 %Cumberland County9.615Fayette County: 9.548 %Fayette County9.548Henry County: 9.337 %Henry County9.337Gallatin County: 9.326 %Gallatin County9.326Hart County: 9.302 %Hart County9.302Grant County: 9.295 %Grant County9.295Boone County: 9.202 %Boone County9.202Jackson County: 9.195 %Jackson County9.195Todd County: 9.189 %Todd County9.189Simpson County: 9.115 %Simpson County9.115Perry County: 9.043 %Perry County9.043Hickman County: 8.955 %Hickman County8.955Taylor County: 8.939 %Taylor County8.939Letcher County: 8.882 %Letcher County8.882Muhlenberg County: 8.801 %Muhlenberg County8.801Campbell County: 8.78 %Campbell County8.78Owsley County: 21.176 %Owsley County21.176Robertson County: 20.513 %Robertson County20.513Metcalfe County: 14.35 %Metcalfe County14.35Wolfe County: 14.063 %Wolfe County14.063Knott County: 13.376 %Knott County13.376Leslie County: 12.903 %Leslie County12.903Lyon County: 12.541 %Lyon County12.541Bracken County: 12.195 %Bracken County12.195Estill County: 12.085 %Estill County12.085Larue County: 11.294 %Larue County11.294Trigg County: 11.211 %Trigg County11.211Scott County: 11.072 %Scott County11.072Oldham County: 10.863 %Oldham County10.863Woodford County: 10.526 %Woodford County10.526Bourbon County: 10.383 %Bourbon County10.383Breathitt County: 10.337 %Breathitt County10.337Webster County: 10.336 %Webster County10.336Bullitt County: 10.117 %Bullitt County10.117Clinton County: 10.056 %Clinton County10.056Daviess County: 10.055 %Daviess County10.055Spencer County: 9.945 %Spencer County9.945Monroe County: 9.896 %Monroe County9.896McCreary County: 9.846 %McCreary County9.846Logan County: 9.756 %Logan County9.756Cumberland County: 9.615 %Cumberland County9.615Fayette County: 9.548 %Fayette County9.548Henry County: 9.337 %Henry County9.337Gallatin County: 9.326 %Gallatin County9.326Hart County: 9.302 %Hart County9.302Grant County: 9.295 %Grant County9.295Boone County: 9.202 %Boone County9.202Jackson County: 9.195 %Jackson County9.195Todd County: 9.189 %Todd County9.189Simpson County: 9.115 %Simpson County9.115Perry County: 9.043 %Perry County9.043Hickman County: 8.955 %Hickman County8.955Taylor County: 8.939 %Taylor County8.939Letcher County: 8.882 %Letcher County8.882Muhlenberg County: 8.801 %Muhlenberg County8.801Campbell County: 8.78 %Campbell County8.78
%. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: establishment entry rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2016 (%)Change on 2015
1Owsley County21.176+11.65 pts
2Robertson County20.513n/a
3Metcalfe County14.35+6.87 pts
4Wolfe County14.063+3.04 pts
5Knott County13.376+6.52 pts
6Leslie County12.903+2.43 pts
7Lyon County12.541+2.09 pts
8Bracken County12.195+6.13 pts
9Estill County12.085+5.32 pts
10Larue County11.294+5.18 pts
11Trigg County11.211+1.91 pts
12Scott County11.072-0.54 pts
13Oldham County10.863+1.59 pts
14Woodford County10.526+0.84 pts
15Bourbon County10.383+0.91 pts
16Breathitt County10.337-0.8 pts
17Webster County10.336+3.51 pts
18Bullitt County10.117+0.59 pts
19Clinton County10.056+1.75 pts
20Daviess County10.055+2.59 pts
21Spencer County9.945-0.64 pts
22Monroe County9.896+2.12 pts
23McCreary County9.846+0.86 pts
24Logan County9.756+3.87 pts
25Cumberland County9.615+4.76 pts
26Fayette County9.548+0.43 pts
27Henry County9.337-4.1 pts
28Gallatin County9.326+1.96 pts
29Hart County9.302-3.32 pts
30Grant County9.295+1.54 pts
31Boone County9.202-0.06 pts
32Jackson County9.195-1.03 pts
33Todd County9.189+1.06 pts
34Simpson County9.115+0.19 pts
35Perry County9.043+3.05 pts
36Hickman County8.955n/a
37Taylor County8.939+0.5 pts
38Letcher County8.882-1.63 pts
39Muhlenberg County8.801-0.38 pts
40Campbell County8.78+0.06 pts
41Christian County8.761-0.38 pts
42Jessamine County8.748+0.45 pts
43Caldwell County8.743+1.25 pts
44Montgomery County8.737+1.11 pts
45Crittenden County8.696+1.98 pts
46Lincoln County8.606-0.06 pts
47Jefferson County8.589-0.2 pts
48Madison County8.558-1.5 pts
49Morgan County8.553+1.22 pts
50Garrard County8.521-3.63 pts
51Kenton County8.405+0.16 pts
52Marion County8.358+2.02 pts
53Ohio County8.215+0.71 pts
54Warren County8.086-1.84 pts
55Carter County8.06+1.4 pts
56Whitley County8.007+0.01 pts
57Rockcastle County7.916+2.69 pts
58Harlan County7.898+2.25 pts
59McLean County7.879-3.37 pts
60Calloway County7.843+0.27 pts
61Clark County7.781+0.68 pts
62Menifee County7.767+0.15 pts
63Barren County7.692+0.68 pts
64Fleming County7.601-0.42 pts
65Pulaski County7.6-1.23 pts
66Hardin County7.503-1.3 pts
67Allen County7.473-0.17 pts
68Lawrence County7.407+0.37 pts
69Graves County7.366+0.92 pts
70Carlisle County7.317-2.81 pts
71Hopkins County7.286-4.13 pts
72Green County7.246+0.97 pts
72Nicholas County7.246+0.1 pts
74Russell County7.154+1.71 pts
75Owen County7.111+1.75 pts
76Anderson County7.04-0.42 pts
77Shelby County7.004-7.21 pts
78Casey County6.977-5.35 pts
79Grayson County6.972-0.82 pts
80McCracken County6.904-1.23 pts
81Boyle County6.891+0.25 pts
82Meade County6.887-1.22 pts
83Rowan County6.882-0.45 pts
84Johnson County6.878-2.24 pts
85Marshall County6.813-0.74 pts
86Nelson County6.77-3.29 pts
87Franklin County6.755-1.61 pts
88Adair County6.702-1.93 pts
89Laurel County6.683-0.9 pts
90Washington County6.584+0.4 pts
91Bell County6.579+0.27 pts
92Wayne County6.526+0.76 pts
93Edmonson County6.452-4.36 pts
94Floyd County6.362-1.61 pts
95Bath County6.349-0.57 pts
96Lee County6.316+0.1 pts
97Fulton County6.299+3.31 pts
98Boyd County6.005-2.02 pts
99Pendleton County5.825+0.89 pts
100Pike County5.809-3.1 pts
101Knox County5.72-1.72 pts
102Clay County5.714-2.53 pts
103Lewis County5.691-0.87 pts
104Trimble County5.674-9.71 pts
105Henderson County5.62-0.05 pts
106Powell County5.607-6.12 pts
107Greenup County5.376+1.43 pts
108Mercer County5.239-3.19 pts
109Carroll County5.152-4.52 pts
110Union County4.99-1.45 pts
111Martin County4.947-0.61 pts
112Butler County4.611-2.69 pts
113Livingston County4.444-1.31 pts
114Breckinridge County4.263-4.36 pts
115Mason County4.198-2.17 pts
116Magoffin County3.96-4.79 pts
117Hancock County3.941-0.94 pts
118Harrison County3.802-3.69 pts
119Ballard County3.376-5.75 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Establishments that opened during the year (employees in March of the year and none a year earlier), as a percentage of the average number of establishments in the two years. United States: Census Bureau Business Dynamics Statistics.

An establishment is a single physical location, so a new branch of an existing firm counts as an entry: this is not the rate of new firms. Not comparable with enterprise_birth_rate, which counts new enterprises in Europe. 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 2016 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: establishment entry rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

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: establishment entry rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010 (Counties in Kentucky by establishment entry rate, 2016) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv

MLA 9

Business Dynamics Statistics: establishment entry rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010, Counties in Kentucky by establishment entry rate, 2016. 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/establishment-entry-rate/kentucky-counties?period=2016. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2025. Business Dynamics Statistics: establishment entry rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. Counties in Kentucky by establishment entry rate, 2016. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/establishment-entry-rate/kentucky-counties?period=2016.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics: establishment entry rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010, Counties in Kentucky by establishment entry rate, 2016 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/establishment-entry-rate/kentucky-counties?period=2016 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_kentucky_by_2016,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: establishment entry rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010: Counties in Kentucky by establishment entry rate, 2016}},
  year = {2025},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/establishment-entry-rate/kentucky-counties?period=2016. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics: establishment entry rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023\_st\_cty.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - Business Dynamics Statistics: establishment entry rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010: Counties in Kentucky by establishment entry rate, 2016
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/establishment-entry-rate/kentucky-counties?period=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/establishment-entry-rate/kentucky-counties?period=2016.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics: establishment entry rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
Embed this chart

Paste this code into a web page or a blog post. The chart shows the latest figures as they are published, with the source and a link back to this page.

Sites that read oEmbed links, such as WordPress, can show the chart when you paste the link to this page.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank Counties in Kentucky by establishment entry rate using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"establishment_entry_rate","level":"province","within":"Kentucky","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=establishment_entry_rate&level=province&within=Kentucky&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which county has the highest establishment entry rate?

Owsley County, with 21.176% in 2016, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest establishment entry rate?

Ballard County, with 3.376% in 2016.

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: establishment entry rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. Retrieved 2026-10-12. 1 counties have no value for 2016 and are not ranked.

Establishment entry rate: other rankings

Counties in Kentucky: more rankings