Data / Rankings / Establishment entry rate / Counties in Massachusetts

Counties in Massachusetts by establishment entry rate

Nantucket County had the highest establishment entry rate of 14 counties in 2017, at 12.587%. Hampshire County had the lowest, at 6.946%. The median was 8.862% and the figure for Massachusetts was 8.816%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest12.587Nantucket County
Lowest6.946Hampshire County
Median8.86214 counties
Massachusetts8.816History

Map of counties, 2017

Barnstable County: 9.379 %Berkshire County: 7.511 %Bristol County: 7.866 %Dukes County: 8.864 %Essex County: 9.216 %Franklin County: 8.214 %Hampden County: 7.298 %Hampshire County: 6.946 %Middlesex County: 8.94 %Nantucket County: 12.587 %Norfolk County: 8.859 %Plymouth County: 10.002 %Suffolk County: 9.057 %Worcester County: 8.701 %
  • Under 7.7
  • 7.7 to 8.7
  • 8.7 to 8.9
  • 8.9 to 9.3
  • 9.3 and over
%, 2017. 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.

All counties, 2017

Nantucket County: 12.587 %Nantucket County12.587Plymouth County: 10.002 %Plymouth County10.002Barnstable County: 9.379 %Barnstable County9.379Essex County: 9.216 %Essex County9.216Suffolk County: 9.057 %Suffolk County9.057Middlesex County: 8.94 %Middlesex County8.94Dukes County: 8.864 %Dukes County8.864Norfolk County: 8.859 %Norfolk County8.859Worcester County: 8.701 %Worcester County8.701Franklin County: 8.214 %Franklin County8.214Bristol County: 7.866 %Bristol County7.866Berkshire County: 7.511 %Berkshire County7.511Hampden County: 7.298 %Hampden County7.298Hampshire County: 6.946 %Hampshire County6.946Nantucket County: 12.587 %Nantucket County12.587Plymouth County: 10.002 %Plymouth County10.002Barnstable County: 9.379 %Barnstable County9.379Essex County: 9.216 %Essex County9.216Suffolk County: 9.057 %Suffolk County9.057Middlesex County: 8.94 %Middlesex County8.94Dukes County: 8.864 %Dukes County8.864Norfolk County: 8.859 %Norfolk County8.859Worcester County: 8.701 %Worcester County8.701Franklin County: 8.214 %Franklin County8.214Bristol County: 7.866 %Bristol County7.866Berkshire County: 7.511 %Berkshire County7.511Hampden County: 7.298 %Hampden County7.298Hampshire County: 6.946 %Hampshire County6.946
%. 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

RankCounties2017 (%)Change on 2016
1Nantucket County12.587+1.35 pts
2Plymouth County10.002-0.6 pts
3Barnstable County9.379-0.43 pts
4Essex County9.216-0.26 pts
5Suffolk County9.057-0.97 pts
6Middlesex County8.94-0.64 pts
7Dukes County8.864-0.56 pts
8Norfolk County8.859-0.37 pts
9Worcester County8.701-0.39 pts
10Franklin County8.214-0.32 pts
11Bristol County7.866-0.92 pts
12Berkshire County7.511-0.87 pts
13Hampden County7.298-1.34 pts
14Hampshire County6.946-2.79 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. 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 Massachusetts by establishment entry rate, 2017) [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 Massachusetts by establishment entry rate, 2017. 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/massachusetts-counties?period=2017. 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 Massachusetts by establishment entry rate, 2017. 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/massachusetts-counties?period=2017.

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 Massachusetts by establishment entry rate, 2017 [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/massachusetts-counties?period=2017 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_massachusetts_by_2017,
  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 Massachusetts by establishment entry rate, 2017}},
  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/massachusetts-counties?period=2017. 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 Massachusetts by establishment entry rate, 2017
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/massachusetts-counties?period=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/establishment-entry-rate/massachusetts-counties?period=2017.
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?

Nantucket County, with 12.587% in 2017, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest establishment entry rate?

Hampshire County, with 6.946% in 2017.

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.

Establishment entry rate: other rankings

Counties in Massachusetts: more rankings