Data / Rankings / Establishment entry rate / Counties in North Carolina

Counties in North Carolina by establishment entry rate

Madison County had the highest establishment entry rate of 100 counties in 2012, at 14.617%. Washington County had the lowest, at 3.448%. The median was 8.723% and the figure for North Carolina was 9.814%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest14.617Madison County
Lowest3.448Washington County
Median8.723100 counties
North Carolina9.814History

Map of counties, 2012

Alamance County: 8.247 %Alexander County: 7.15 %Alleghany County: 10.367 %Anson County: 7.978 %Ashe County: 9.11 %Avery County: 11.213 %Beaufort County: 6.798 %Bertie County: 4.403 %Bladen County: 8.506 %Brunswick County: 12.358 %Buncombe County: 10.378 %Burke County: 8.091 %Cabarrus County: 10.378 %Caldwell County: 7.183 %Camden County: 5.128 %Carteret County: 7.718 %Caswell County: 8.949 %Catawba County: 8.25 %Chatham County: 8.918 %Cherokee County: 10.488 %Chowan County: 4.823 %Clay County: 9.399 %Cleveland County: 7.47 %Columbus County: 8.705 %Craven County: 8.047 %Cumberland County: 9.087 %Currituck County: 10.884 %Dare County: 10.923 %Davidson County: 9.152 %Davie County: 9.394 %Duplin County: 7.99 %Durham County: 10.244 %Edgecombe County: 10.327 %Forsyth County: 8.659 %Franklin County: 9.912 %Gaston County: 9.618 %Gates County: 6.78 %Graham County: 14.337 %Granville County: 8.724 %Greene County: 7.86 %Guilford County: 8.976 %Halifax County: 6.897 %Harnett County: 10.372 %Haywood County: 9.599 %Henderson County: 8.908 %Hertford County: 4.502 %Hoke County: 10.775 %Hyde County: 10.039 %Iredell County: 9.61 %Jackson County: 11.701 %Johnston County: 9.408 %Jones County: 14.173 %Lee County: 7.779 %Lenoir County: 7.765 %Lincoln County: 10.826 %McDowell County: 9.933 %Macon County: 8.126 %Madison County: 14.617 %Martin County: 7.458 %Mecklenburg County: 12.718 %Mitchell County: 7.67 %Montgomery County: 4.96 %Moore County: 9.127 %Nash County: 6.707 %New Hanover County: 10.61 %Northampton County: 9.249 %Onslow County: 10.27 %Orange County: 10.044 %Pamlico County: 11.468 %Pasquotank County: 6.742 %Pender County: 12.015 %Perquimans County: 6.076 %Person County: 6.836 %Pitt County: 8.323 %Polk County: 8.859 %Randolph County: 7.961 %Richmond County: 7.668 %Robeson County: 6.288 %Rockingham County: 8.257 %Rowan County: 8.841 %Rutherford County: 7.327 %Sampson County: 6.875 %Scotland County: 5.094 %Stanly County: 8.721 %Stokes County: 9.009 %Surry County: 8.264 %Swain County: 10.945 %Transylvania County: 10.151 %Tyrrell County: 5.333 %Union County: 13.061 %Vance County: 8.108 %Wake County: 11.484 %Warren County: 5.747 %Washington County: 3.448 %Watauga County: 10.043 %Wayne County: 6.951 %Wilkes County: 8.167 %Wilson County: 7.69 %Yadkin County: 6.066 %Yancey County: 6.645 %
  • Under 6.8
  • 6.8 to 8
  • 8 to 8.7
  • 8.7 to 9.6
  • 9.6 to 11
  • 11 and over
%, 2012. 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, 2012

Madison County: 14.617 %Madison County14.617Graham County: 14.337 %Graham County14.337Jones County: 14.173 %Jones County14.173Union County: 13.061 %Union County13.061Mecklenburg County: 12.718 %Mecklenburg County12.718Brunswick County: 12.358 %Brunswick County12.358Pender County: 12.015 %Pender County12.015Jackson County: 11.701 %Jackson County11.701Wake County: 11.484 %Wake County11.484Pamlico County: 11.468 %Pamlico County11.468Avery County: 11.213 %Avery County11.213Swain County: 10.945 %Swain County10.945Dare County: 10.923 %Dare County10.923Currituck County: 10.884 %Currituck County10.884Lincoln County: 10.826 %Lincoln County10.826Hoke County: 10.775 %Hoke County10.775New Hanover County: 10.61 %New Hanover County10.61Cherokee County: 10.488 %Cherokee County10.488Buncombe County: 10.378 %Buncombe County10.378Cabarrus County: 10.378 %Cabarrus County10.378Harnett County: 10.372 %Harnett County10.372Alleghany County: 10.367 %Alleghany County10.367Edgecombe County: 10.327 %Edgecombe County10.327Onslow County: 10.27 %Onslow County10.27Durham County: 10.244 %Durham County10.244Transylvania County: 10.151 %Transylvania County10.151Orange County: 10.044 %Orange County10.044Watauga County: 10.043 %Watauga County10.043Hyde County: 10.039 %Hyde County10.039McDowell County: 9.933 %McDowell County9.933Franklin County: 9.912 %Franklin County9.912Gaston County: 9.618 %Gaston County9.618Iredell County: 9.61 %Iredell County9.61Haywood County: 9.599 %Haywood County9.599Johnston County: 9.408 %Johnston County9.408Clay County: 9.399 %Clay County9.399Davie County: 9.394 %Davie County9.394Northampton County: 9.249 %Northampton County9.249Davidson County: 9.152 %Davidson County9.152Moore County: 9.127 %Moore County9.127Madison County: 14.617 %Madison County14.617Graham County: 14.337 %Graham County14.337Jones County: 14.173 %Jones County14.173Union County: 13.061 %Union County13.061Mecklenburg County: 12.718 %Mecklenburg County12.718Brunswick County: 12.358 %Brunswick County12.358Pender County: 12.015 %Pender County12.015Jackson County: 11.701 %Jackson County11.701Wake County: 11.484 %Wake County11.484Pamlico County: 11.468 %Pamlico County11.468Avery County: 11.213 %Avery County11.213Swain County: 10.945 %Swain County10.945Dare County: 10.923 %Dare County10.923Currituck County: 10.884 %Currituck County10.884Lincoln County: 10.826 %Lincoln County10.826Hoke County: 10.775 %Hoke County10.775New Hanover County: 10.61 %New Hanover County10.61Cherokee County: 10.488 %Cherokee County10.488Buncombe County: 10.378 %Buncombe County10.378Cabarrus County: 10.378 %Cabarrus County10.378Harnett County: 10.372 %Harnett County10.372Alleghany County: 10.367 %Alleghany County10.367Edgecombe County: 10.327 %Edgecombe County10.327Onslow County: 10.27 %Onslow County10.27Durham County: 10.244 %Durham County10.244Transylvania County: 10.151 %Transylvania County10.151Orange County: 10.044 %Orange County10.044Watauga County: 10.043 %Watauga County10.043Hyde County: 10.039 %Hyde County10.039McDowell County: 9.933 %McDowell County9.933Franklin County: 9.912 %Franklin County9.912Gaston County: 9.618 %Gaston County9.618Iredell County: 9.61 %Iredell County9.61Haywood County: 9.599 %Haywood County9.599Johnston County: 9.408 %Johnston County9.408Clay County: 9.399 %Clay County9.399Davie County: 9.394 %Davie County9.394Northampton County: 9.249 %Northampton County9.249Davidson County: 9.152 %Davidson County9.152Moore County: 9.127 %Moore County9.127
%. 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

RankCounties2012 (%)Change on 2011
1Madison County14.617+1.67 pts
2Graham County14.337+8.13 pts
3Jones County14.173+8.07 pts
4Union County13.061-0.17 pts
5Mecklenburg County12.718+1.22 pts
6Brunswick County12.358+1.78 pts
7Pender County12.015-0.84 pts
8Jackson County11.701+3 pts
9Wake County11.484-0.28 pts
10Pamlico County11.468+0.48 pts
11Avery County11.213+1.93 pts
12Swain County10.945-1.05 pts
13Dare County10.923+0.17 pts
14Currituck County10.884-1.49 pts
15Lincoln County10.826+1.42 pts
16Hoke County10.775+0.68 pts
17New Hanover County10.61-0.24 pts
18Cherokee County10.488+1.6 pts
19Buncombe County10.378+0.75 pts
19Cabarrus County10.378+0.46 pts
21Harnett County10.372-0.13 pts
22Alleghany County10.367+3.25 pts
23Edgecombe County10.327+2.9 pts
24Onslow County10.27+0.06 pts
25Durham County10.244+0.54 pts
26Transylvania County10.151+0.82 pts
27Orange County10.044+0.35 pts
28Watauga County10.043+2.09 pts
29Hyde County10.039-2.08 pts
30McDowell County9.933+2.68 pts
31Franklin County9.912-0.52 pts
32Gaston County9.618+1.42 pts
33Iredell County9.61-0.49 pts
34Haywood County9.599-1.43 pts
35Johnston County9.408+0.95 pts
36Clay County9.399-1.13 pts
37Davie County9.394-1.17 pts
38Northampton County9.249-1.16 pts
39Davidson County9.152+0.89 pts
40Moore County9.127+0.68 pts
41Ashe County9.11-0.6 pts
42Cumberland County9.087+0.1 pts
43Stokes County9.009+2.24 pts
44Guilford County8.976+0.18 pts
45Caswell County8.949-0.7 pts
46Chatham County8.918-1.04 pts
47Henderson County8.908+0.94 pts
48Polk County8.859-1.52 pts
49Rowan County8.841+0.89 pts
50Granville County8.724-0.85 pts
51Stanly County8.721+1.1 pts
52Columbus County8.705+1.29 pts
53Forsyth County8.659-0.1 pts
54Bladen County8.506-0.47 pts
55Pitt County8.323-0.49 pts
56Surry County8.264+0.22 pts
57Rockingham County8.257-0.32 pts
58Catawba County8.25+1.36 pts
59Alamance County8.247-0.42 pts
60Wilkes County8.167+0.87 pts
61Macon County8.126-1.35 pts
62Vance County8.108+1.47 pts
63Burke County8.091+0.99 pts
64Craven County8.047+0.09 pts
65Duplin County7.99-0.63 pts
66Anson County7.978+1.66 pts
67Randolph County7.961-0.37 pts
68Greene County7.86-1.35 pts
69Lee County7.779+0.3 pts
70Lenoir County7.765+0.98 pts
71Carteret County7.718-1.07 pts
72Wilson County7.69-0.24 pts
73Mitchell County7.67-1.54 pts
74Richmond County7.668+0.08 pts
75Cleveland County7.47-0.43 pts
76Martin County7.458-0.26 pts
77Rutherford County7.327-1.92 pts
78Caldwell County7.183+0.08 pts
79Alexander County7.15-1.89 pts
80Wayne County6.951+0.38 pts
81Halifax County6.897+0.3 pts
82Sampson County6.875-1.82 pts
83Person County6.836-0.95 pts
84Beaufort County6.798-1.07 pts
85Gates County6.78+0.06 pts
86Pasquotank County6.742-1.43 pts
87Nash County6.707+0.72 pts
88Yancey County6.645-0.91 pts
89Robeson County6.288-0.88 pts
90Perquimans County6.076-1.79 pts
91Yadkin County6.066-1.61 pts
92Warren County5.747-1.23 pts
93Tyrrell County5.333+1.25 pts
94Camden County5.128-1.6 pts
95Scotland County5.094-1.18 pts
96Montgomery County4.96-4.46 pts
97Chowan County4.823-3.25 pts
98Hertford County4.502-4.6 pts
99Bertie County4.403-3.84 pts
100Washington County3.448-2.01 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 North Carolina by establishment entry rate, 2012) [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 North Carolina by establishment entry rate, 2012. 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/north-carolina-counties?period=2012. 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 North Carolina by establishment entry rate, 2012. 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/north-carolina-counties?period=2012.

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 North Carolina by establishment entry rate, 2012 [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/north-carolina-counties?period=2012 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_north_carolina_2012,
  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 North Carolina by establishment entry rate, 2012}},
  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/north-carolina-counties?period=2012. 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 North Carolina by establishment entry rate, 2012
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/north-carolina-counties?period=2012
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/establishment-entry-rate/north-carolina-counties?period=2012.
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?

Madison County, with 14.617% in 2012, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest establishment entry rate?

Washington County, with 3.448% in 2012.

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 North Carolina: more rankings