Data / Rankings / Establishment entry rate / Counties in Kentucky

Counties in Kentucky by establishment entry rate

Ballard County had the highest establishment entry rate of 114 counties in 2020, at 15.385%. Monroe County had the lowest, at 3.15%. The median was 7.482% and the figure for Kentucky was 7.689%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest15.385Ballard County
Lowest3.15Monroe County
Median7.482114 counties
Kentucky7.689History

Map of counties, 2020

Adair County: 10.508 %Allen County: 12.009 %Anderson County: 6.041 %Ballard County: 15.385 %Barren County: 7.796 %Bath County: 7.692 %Bell County: 5.828 %Boone County: 7.555 %Bourbon County: 6.416 %Boyd County: 7.463 %Boyle County: 5.921 %Bracken County: 9.249 %Breathitt County: 6.309 %Breckinridge County: 9.037 %Bullitt County: 7.449 %Butler County: 6.997 %Caldwell County: 9.055 %Calloway County: 6.378 %Campbell County: 7.969 %Carlisle County: 7.547 %Carroll County: 4.706 %Carter County: 8.345 %Casey County: 7.389 %Christian County: 6.415 %Clark County: 5.941 %Clay County: 8.656 %Clinton County: 6.528 %Crittenden County: 7.358 %Cumberland County: 4.95 %Daviess County: 6.612 %Edmonson County: 12.5 %Elliott County: 7.692 %Estill County: 4.348 %Fayette County: 8.656 %Fleming County: 6.699 %Floyd County: 8.777 %Franklin County: 7.767 %Fulton County: 3.953 %Gallatin County: 6.742 %Garrard County: 8.479 %Grant County: 10.654 %Graves County: 5.574 %Grayson County: 6.957 %Green County: 9.934 %Greenup County: 8.505 %Hancock County: 6.25 %Hardin County: 6.957 %Harlan County: 5.769 %Harrison County: 6.287 %Hart County: 7.113 %Henderson County: 5.565 %Henry County: 8.651 %Hickman County: 6.015 %Hopkins County: 6.401 %Jackson County: 5.714 %Jefferson County: 8.138 %Jessamine County: 8.866 %Johnson County: 5.455 %Kenton County: 7.742 %Knott County: 8.054 %Knox County: 7.5 %Larue County: 6.718 %Laurel County: 5.398 %Lawrence County: 7.824 %Letcher County: 8.44 %Lewis County: 11.715 %Lincoln County: 9.158 %Livingston County: 12.83 %Logan County: 3.311 %Lyon County: 5.921 %McCracken County: 6.202 %McCreary County: 10.997 %McLean County: 3.909 %Madison County: 8.247 %Magoffin County: 8 %Marion County: 6.818 %Marshall County: 7.093 %Martin County: 3.333 %Mason County: 4.523 %Meade County: 8.401 %Mercer County: 8.28 %Metcalfe County: 7.619 %Monroe County: 3.15 %Montgomery County: 7.258 %Morgan County: 8.966 %Muhlenberg County: 7.638 %Nelson County: 8.315 %Ohio County: 8.555 %Oldham County: 13.427 %Owen County: 11.659 %Pendleton County: 10.526 %Perry County: 6.395 %Pike County: 6.636 %Powell County: 11.688 %Pulaski County: 6.189 %Rockcastle County: 9.714 %Rowan County: 9.924 %Russell County: 6.774 %Scott County: 7.727 %Shelby County: 7.668 %Simpson County: 7.775 %Spencer County: 11.111 %Taylor County: 8.712 %Todd County: 3.815 %Trigg County: 5.314 %Trimble County: 5.97 %Union County: 5.217 %Warren County: 8.121 %Washington County: 5.869 %Wayne County: 5.098 %Webster County: 6.878 %Whitley County: 5.882 %Wolfe County: 9.722 %Woodford County: 8.293 %
  • Under 5.8
  • 5.8 to 6.5
  • 6.5 to 7.5
  • 7.5 to 8.2
  • 8.2 to 9.1
  • 9.1 and over
  • No data
%, 2020. 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, 2020

Ballard County: 15.385 %Ballard County15.385Oldham County: 13.427 %Oldham County13.427Livingston County: 12.83 %Livingston County12.83Edmonson County: 12.5 %Edmonson County12.5Allen County: 12.009 %Allen County12.009Lewis County: 11.715 %Lewis County11.715Powell County: 11.688 %Powell County11.688Owen County: 11.659 %Owen County11.659Spencer County: 11.111 %Spencer County11.111McCreary County: 10.997 %McCreary County10.997Grant County: 10.654 %Grant County10.654Pendleton County: 10.526 %Pendleton County10.526Adair County: 10.508 %Adair County10.508Green County: 9.934 %Green County9.934Rowan County: 9.924 %Rowan County9.924Wolfe County: 9.722 %Wolfe County9.722Rockcastle County: 9.714 %Rockcastle County9.714Bracken County: 9.249 %Bracken County9.249Lincoln County: 9.158 %Lincoln County9.158Caldwell County: 9.055 %Caldwell County9.055Breckinridge County: 9.037 %Breckinridge County9.037Morgan County: 8.966 %Morgan County8.966Jessamine County: 8.866 %Jessamine County8.866Floyd County: 8.777 %Floyd County8.777Taylor County: 8.712 %Taylor County8.712Clay County: 8.656 %Clay County8.656Fayette County: 8.656 %Fayette County8.656Henry County: 8.651 %Henry County8.651Ohio County: 8.555 %Ohio County8.555Greenup County: 8.505 %Greenup County8.505Garrard County: 8.479 %Garrard County8.479Letcher County: 8.44 %Letcher County8.44Meade County: 8.401 %Meade County8.401Carter County: 8.345 %Carter County8.345Nelson County: 8.315 %Nelson County8.315Woodford County: 8.293 %Woodford County8.293Mercer County: 8.28 %Mercer County8.28Madison County: 8.247 %Madison County8.247Jefferson County: 8.138 %Jefferson County8.138Warren County: 8.121 %Warren County8.121Ballard County: 15.385 %Ballard County15.385Oldham County: 13.427 %Oldham County13.427Livingston County: 12.83 %Livingston County12.83Edmonson County: 12.5 %Edmonson County12.5Allen County: 12.009 %Allen County12.009Lewis County: 11.715 %Lewis County11.715Powell County: 11.688 %Powell County11.688Owen County: 11.659 %Owen County11.659Spencer County: 11.111 %Spencer County11.111McCreary County: 10.997 %McCreary County10.997Grant County: 10.654 %Grant County10.654Pendleton County: 10.526 %Pendleton County10.526Adair County: 10.508 %Adair County10.508Green County: 9.934 %Green County9.934Rowan County: 9.924 %Rowan County9.924Wolfe County: 9.722 %Wolfe County9.722Rockcastle County: 9.714 %Rockcastle County9.714Bracken County: 9.249 %Bracken County9.249Lincoln County: 9.158 %Lincoln County9.158Caldwell County: 9.055 %Caldwell County9.055Breckinridge County: 9.037 %Breckinridge County9.037Morgan County: 8.966 %Morgan County8.966Jessamine County: 8.866 %Jessamine County8.866Floyd County: 8.777 %Floyd County8.777Taylor County: 8.712 %Taylor County8.712Clay County: 8.656 %Clay County8.656Fayette County: 8.656 %Fayette County8.656Henry County: 8.651 %Henry County8.651Ohio County: 8.555 %Ohio County8.555Greenup County: 8.505 %Greenup County8.505Garrard County: 8.479 %Garrard County8.479Letcher County: 8.44 %Letcher County8.44Meade County: 8.401 %Meade County8.401Carter County: 8.345 %Carter County8.345Nelson County: 8.315 %Nelson County8.315Woodford County: 8.293 %Woodford County8.293Mercer County: 8.28 %Mercer County8.28Madison County: 8.247 %Madison County8.247Jefferson County: 8.138 %Jefferson County8.138Warren County: 8.121 %Warren County8.121
%. 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

RankCounties2020 (%)Change on 2019
1Ballard County15.385+7.95 pts
2Oldham County13.427+4.51 pts
3Livingston County12.83+2.14 pts
4Edmonson County12.5+0.98 pts
5Allen County12.009+5.41 pts
6Lewis County11.715+6.5 pts
7Powell County11.688-2.41 pts
8Owen County11.659+6.28 pts
9Spencer County11.111-2.33 pts
10McCreary County10.997+4.96 pts
11Grant County10.654+0.81 pts
12Pendleton County10.526+1.25 pts
13Adair County10.508+1.02 pts
14Green County9.934-1.87 pts
15Rowan County9.924+0.57 pts
16Wolfe County9.722-4.98 pts
17Rockcastle County9.714+3.97 pts
18Bracken County9.249-2.8 pts
19Lincoln County9.158+0.41 pts
20Caldwell County9.055+2.9 pts
21Breckinridge County9.037-1.3 pts
22Morgan County8.966+2.02 pts
23Jessamine County8.866+0.23 pts
24Floyd County8.777+3.58 pts
25Taylor County8.712-0.41 pts
26Clay County8.656-0.56 pts
26Fayette County8.656+0.29 pts
28Henry County8.651-0.24 pts
29Ohio County8.555+0.29 pts
30Greenup County8.505+0.31 pts
31Garrard County8.479-4.62 pts
32Letcher County8.44+0.24 pts
33Meade County8.401-0.19 pts
34Carter County8.345+0.52 pts
35Nelson County8.315-2.09 pts
36Woodford County8.293+0.46 pts
37Mercer County8.28-1.61 pts
38Madison County8.247-2.2 pts
39Jefferson County8.138-0.87 pts
40Warren County8.121-0.19 pts
41Knott County8.054+0.84 pts
42Magoffin County8-2.11 pts
43Campbell County7.969-0.34 pts
44Lawrence County7.824-4.8 pts
45Barren County7.796-0.19 pts
46Simpson County7.775+0.87 pts
47Franklin County7.767+0.52 pts
48Kenton County7.742+0.84 pts
49Scott County7.727-1.36 pts
50Bath County7.692+0.91 pts
50Elliott County7.692-4.81 pts
52Shelby County7.668+1.22 pts
53Muhlenberg County7.638+2.23 pts
54Metcalfe County7.619+2.81 pts
55Boone County7.555-0.21 pts
56Carlisle County7.547-2.45 pts
57Knox County7.5+1.9 pts
58Boyd County7.463+0.83 pts
59Bullitt County7.449-1.43 pts
60Casey County7.389-0.99 pts
61Crittenden County7.358-0.33 pts
62Montgomery County7.258-0.61 pts
63Hart County7.113-0.5 pts
64Marshall County7.093-1.13 pts
65Butler County6.997-0.7 pts
66Grayson County6.957+2.05 pts
66Hardin County6.957-2.03 pts
68Webster County6.878+0.59 pts
69Marion County6.818-0.36 pts
70Russell County6.774+0.74 pts
71Gallatin County6.742-2.35 pts
72Larue County6.718-2.58 pts
73Fleming County6.699+0.58 pts
74Pike County6.636+1.03 pts
75Daviess County6.612-0.54 pts
76Clinton County6.528+3.02 pts
77Bourbon County6.416-2.48 pts
78Christian County6.415-0.65 pts
79Hopkins County6.401-0.66 pts
80Perry County6.395-0.56 pts
81Calloway County6.378+0.29 pts
82Breathitt County6.309-0.88 pts
83Harrison County6.287-2.06 pts
84Hancock County6.25+3.14 pts
85McCracken County6.202-1.84 pts
86Pulaski County6.189-1.93 pts
87Anderson County6.041-1.78 pts
88Hickman County6.015+1.5 pts
89Trimble County5.97-5.88 pts
90Clark County5.941-2.92 pts
91Boyle County5.921-1.28 pts
91Lyon County5.921-2.39 pts
93Whitley County5.882-1.59 pts
94Washington County5.869-0.98 pts
95Bell County5.828-1.41 pts
96Harlan County5.769-1.54 pts
97Jackson County5.714-2.52 pts
98Graves County5.574-1.11 pts
99Henderson County5.565-0.24 pts
100Johnson County5.455-0.43 pts
101Laurel County5.398-2.38 pts
102Trigg County5.314-2.61 pts
103Union County5.217-1.29 pts
104Wayne County5.098+0.41 pts
105Cumberland County4.95-2.89 pts
106Carroll County4.706-3.86 pts
107Mason County4.523-1.7 pts
108Estill County4.348-0.49 pts
109Fulton County3.953-2.25 pts
110McLean County3.909-1.08 pts
111Todd County3.815-3.01 pts
112Martin County3.333-3.09 pts
113Logan County3.311-3.68 pts
114Monroe County3.15-4.12 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. 6 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: 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, 2020) [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, 2020. 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=2020. 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, 2020. 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=2020.

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, 2020 [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=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_kentucky_by_2020,
  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, 2020}},
  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=2020. 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, 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.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/establishment-entry-rate/kentucky-counties?period=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/establishment-entry-rate/kentucky-counties?period=2020.
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  -
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Questions

Which county has the highest establishment entry rate?

Ballard County, with 15.385% in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest establishment entry rate?

Monroe County, with 3.15% 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: establishment entry rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. Retrieved 2026-10-12. 6 counties have no value for 2020 and are not ranked.

Establishment entry rate: other rankings

Counties in Kentucky: more rankings