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

Counties in North Carolina by establishment entry rate

Swain County had the highest establishment entry rate of 99 counties in 2015, at 12.478%. Scotland County had the lowest, at 3.665%. The median was 8.242% and the figure for North Carolina was 9.648%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest12.478Swain County
Lowest3.665Scotland County
Median8.24299 counties
North Carolina9.648History

Map of counties, 2015

Alamance County: 7.751 %Alexander County: 7.547 %Alleghany County: 6.987 %Anson County: 8.242 %Ashe County: 6.86 %Avery County: 7.963 %Beaufort County: 8.782 %Bertie County: 7.383 %Bladen County: 8.448 %Brunswick County: 10.489 %Buncombe County: 11.381 %Burke County: 6.366 %Cabarrus County: 10.248 %Caldwell County: 7.084 %Camden County: 11.282 %Carteret County: 9.904 %Caswell County: 6.467 %Catawba County: 6.645 %Chatham County: 10.062 %Cherokee County: 7.671 %Chowan County: 5.045 %Clay County: 11.675 %Cleveland County: 6.505 %Columbus County: 6.585 %Craven County: 7.829 %Cumberland County: 8.66 %Currituck County: 11.217 %Dare County: 10.557 %Davidson County: 7.968 %Davie County: 9.809 %Duplin County: 8.166 %Durham County: 10.897 %Edgecombe County: 5.991 %Forsyth County: 8.578 %Franklin County: 9.529 %Gaston County: 8.446 %Gates County: 8.295 %Graham County: 9.155 %Granville County: 11.055 %Greene County: 9.502 %Guilford County: 8.475 %Halifax County: 5.622 %Harnett County: 10.508 %Haywood County: 9.453 %Henderson County: 9.606 %Hertford County: 5.759 %Hoke County: 9.079 %Hyde County: 8.178 %Iredell County: 10.362 %Jackson County: 9.134 %Johnston County: 9.91 %Jones County: 10.526 %Lee County: 8.842 %Lenoir County: 6.226 %Lincoln County: 9.815 %McDowell County: 7.808 %Macon County: 9.905 %Madison County: 10.075 %Martin County: 4.26 %Mecklenburg County: 12.353 %Mitchell County: 7.988 %Montgomery County: 7.203 %Moore County: 8.963 %Nash County: 7.189 %New Hanover County: 9.453 %Northampton County: 6.375 %Onslow County: 9.754 %Orange County: 10.111 %Pamlico County: 5.517 %Pasquotank County: 8.195 %Pender County: 12.141 %Perquimans County: 9.677 %Person County: 7.587 %Pitt County: 7.846 %Polk County: 9.854 %Randolph County: 7.052 %Richmond County: 6.477 %Robeson County: 7.003 %Rockingham County: 6.665 %Rowan County: 8.231 %Rutherford County: 7.109 %Sampson County: 6.37 %Scotland County: 3.665 %Stanly County: 7.429 %Stokes County: 9.566 %Surry County: 7.193 %Swain County: 12.478 %Transylvania County: 9.06 %Union County: 11.362 %Vance County: 6.497 %Wake County: 11.636 %Warren County: 4.869 %Washington County: 10.138 %Watauga County: 9.163 %Wayne County: 8.213 %Wilkes County: 7.33 %Wilson County: 6.568 %Yadkin County: 6.446 %Yancey County: 4.93 %
  • Under 6.5
  • 6.5 to 7.4
  • 7.4 to 8.2
  • 8.2 to 9.5
  • 9.5 to 10
  • 10 and over
  • No data
%, 2015. 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, 2015

Swain County: 12.478 %Swain County12.478Mecklenburg County: 12.353 %Mecklenburg County12.353Pender County: 12.141 %Pender County12.141Clay County: 11.675 %Clay County11.675Wake County: 11.636 %Wake County11.636Buncombe County: 11.381 %Buncombe County11.381Union County: 11.362 %Union County11.362Camden County: 11.282 %Camden County11.282Currituck County: 11.217 %Currituck County11.217Granville County: 11.055 %Granville County11.055Durham County: 10.897 %Durham County10.897Dare County: 10.557 %Dare County10.557Jones County: 10.526 %Jones County10.526Harnett County: 10.508 %Harnett County10.508Brunswick County: 10.489 %Brunswick County10.489Iredell County: 10.362 %Iredell County10.362Cabarrus County: 10.248 %Cabarrus County10.248Washington County: 10.138 %Washington County10.138Orange County: 10.111 %Orange County10.111Madison County: 10.075 %Madison County10.075Chatham County: 10.062 %Chatham County10.062Johnston County: 9.91 %Johnston County9.91Macon County: 9.905 %Macon County9.905Carteret County: 9.904 %Carteret County9.904Polk County: 9.854 %Polk County9.854Lincoln County: 9.815 %Lincoln County9.815Davie County: 9.809 %Davie County9.809Onslow County: 9.754 %Onslow County9.754Perquimans County: 9.677 %Perquimans County9.677Henderson County: 9.606 %Henderson County9.606Stokes County: 9.566 %Stokes County9.566Franklin County: 9.529 %Franklin County9.529Greene County: 9.502 %Greene County9.502Haywood County: 9.453 %Haywood County9.453New Hanover County: 9.453 %New Hanover County9.453Watauga County: 9.163 %Watauga County9.163Graham County: 9.155 %Graham County9.155Jackson County: 9.134 %Jackson County9.134Hoke County: 9.079 %Hoke County9.079Transylvania County: 9.06 %Transylvania County9.06Swain County: 12.478 %Swain County12.478Mecklenburg County: 12.353 %Mecklenburg County12.353Pender County: 12.141 %Pender County12.141Clay County: 11.675 %Clay County11.675Wake County: 11.636 %Wake County11.636Buncombe County: 11.381 %Buncombe County11.381Union County: 11.362 %Union County11.362Camden County: 11.282 %Camden County11.282Currituck County: 11.217 %Currituck County11.217Granville County: 11.055 %Granville County11.055Durham County: 10.897 %Durham County10.897Dare County: 10.557 %Dare County10.557Jones County: 10.526 %Jones County10.526Harnett County: 10.508 %Harnett County10.508Brunswick County: 10.489 %Brunswick County10.489Iredell County: 10.362 %Iredell County10.362Cabarrus County: 10.248 %Cabarrus County10.248Washington County: 10.138 %Washington County10.138Orange County: 10.111 %Orange County10.111Madison County: 10.075 %Madison County10.075Chatham County: 10.062 %Chatham County10.062Johnston County: 9.91 %Johnston County9.91Macon County: 9.905 %Macon County9.905Carteret County: 9.904 %Carteret County9.904Polk County: 9.854 %Polk County9.854Lincoln County: 9.815 %Lincoln County9.815Davie County: 9.809 %Davie County9.809Onslow County: 9.754 %Onslow County9.754Perquimans County: 9.677 %Perquimans County9.677Henderson County: 9.606 %Henderson County9.606Stokes County: 9.566 %Stokes County9.566Franklin County: 9.529 %Franklin County9.529Greene County: 9.502 %Greene County9.502Haywood County: 9.453 %Haywood County9.453New Hanover County: 9.453 %New Hanover County9.453Watauga County: 9.163 %Watauga County9.163Graham County: 9.155 %Graham County9.155Jackson County: 9.134 %Jackson County9.134Hoke County: 9.079 %Hoke County9.079Transylvania County: 9.06 %Transylvania County9.06
%. 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

RankCounties2015 (%)Change on 2014
1Swain County12.478+1.64 pts
2Mecklenburg County12.353+0.5 pts
3Pender County12.141-0.47 pts
4Clay County11.675+1.54 pts
5Wake County11.636+0.16 pts
6Buncombe County11.381+0.96 pts
7Union County11.362-0.17 pts
8Camden County11.282+3.04 pts
9Currituck County11.217+1.23 pts
10Granville County11.055+2.17 pts
11Durham County10.897-0.17 pts
12Dare County10.557+1.32 pts
13Jones County10.526-4.19 pts
14Harnett County10.508+1.85 pts
15Brunswick County10.489-0.17 pts
16Iredell County10.362+0.46 pts
17Cabarrus County10.248-0.4 pts
18Washington County10.138+5.98 pts
19Orange County10.111+0.15 pts
20Madison County10.075-1.71 pts
21Chatham County10.062-1.45 pts
22Johnston County9.91-0.26 pts
23Macon County9.905+1.19 pts
24Carteret County9.904+1.21 pts
25Polk County9.854+3.85 pts
26Lincoln County9.815-1.28 pts
27Davie County9.809+0.12 pts
28Onslow County9.754+0.7 pts
29Perquimans County9.677+6.01 pts
30Henderson County9.606-0.06 pts
31Stokes County9.566+1.01 pts
32Franklin County9.529+0.18 pts
33Greene County9.502+1.41 pts
34Haywood County9.453+1.33 pts
34New Hanover County9.453-0.06 pts
36Watauga County9.163+0.63 pts
37Graham County9.155-4.61 pts
38Jackson County9.134-1.58 pts
39Hoke County9.079-0.83 pts
40Transylvania County9.06-0.03 pts
41Moore County8.963-0.73 pts
42Lee County8.842+0.83 pts
43Beaufort County8.782+2.83 pts
44Cumberland County8.66+0.4 pts
45Forsyth County8.578+0.29 pts
46Guilford County8.475-0.37 pts
47Bladen County8.448+1.49 pts
48Gaston County8.446+0.52 pts
49Gates County8.295+2.89 pts
50Anson County8.242+0.85 pts
51Rowan County8.231+0.11 pts
52Wayne County8.213+1.28 pts
53Pasquotank County8.195+1.93 pts
54Hyde County8.178+3.07 pts
55Duplin County8.166+1.46 pts
56Mitchell County7.988+2.57 pts
57Davidson County7.968+0.8 pts
58Avery County7.963-1.52 pts
59Pitt County7.846+0.13 pts
60Craven County7.829+0.55 pts
61McDowell County7.808+0.79 pts
62Alamance County7.751-0.04 pts
63Cherokee County7.671-0.27 pts
64Person County7.587+0.28 pts
65Alexander County7.547-1.64 pts
66Stanly County7.429+0.94 pts
67Bertie County7.383+2.8 pts
68Wilkes County7.33+1.12 pts
69Montgomery County7.203-1.07 pts
70Surry County7.193+0.51 pts
71Nash County7.189+0.57 pts
72Rutherford County7.109-0.57 pts
73Caldwell County7.084+0.67 pts
74Randolph County7.052-0.12 pts
75Robeson County7.003+0.64 pts
76Alleghany County6.987-0.37 pts
77Ashe County6.86-2.02 pts
78Rockingham County6.665-0.04 pts
79Catawba County6.645-0.7 pts
80Columbus County6.585-1.98 pts
81Wilson County6.568-1.41 pts
82Cleveland County6.505-0.46 pts
83Vance County6.497+1.25 pts
84Richmond County6.477+0.29 pts
85Caswell County6.467-1.35 pts
86Yadkin County6.446-0.77 pts
87Northampton County6.375-1.58 pts
88Sampson County6.37-0.96 pts
89Burke County6.366-1.45 pts
90Lenoir County6.226+0.19 pts
91Edgecombe County5.991-1.31 pts
92Hertford County5.759+0.5 pts
93Halifax County5.622-1.72 pts
94Pamlico County5.517-2.25 pts
95Chowan County5.045-1.37 pts
96Yancey County4.93-2.91 pts
97Warren County4.869-4.53 pts
98Martin County4.26-1.56 pts
99Scotland County3.665-1.11 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 2015 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 North Carolina by establishment entry rate, 2015) [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, 2015. 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=2015. 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, 2015. 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=2015.

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, 2015 [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=2015 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_north_carolina_2015,
  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, 2015}},
  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=2015. 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, 2015
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=2015
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/establishment-entry-rate/north-carolina-counties?period=2015.
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?

Swain County, with 12.478% in 2015, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest establishment entry rate?

Scotland County, with 3.665% in 2015.

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 2015 and are not ranked.

Establishment entry rate: other rankings

Counties in North Carolina: more rankings