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 100 counties in 2017, at 14.851%. Washington County had the lowest, at 4.196%. The median was 8.459% and the figure for North Carolina was 9.944%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest14.851Swain County
Lowest4.196Washington County
Median8.459100 counties
North Carolina9.944History

Map of counties, 2017

Alamance County: 8.961 %Alexander County: 7.488 %Alleghany County: 7.375 %Anson County: 7.902 %Ashe County: 7.937 %Avery County: 5.694 %Beaufort County: 7.115 %Bertie County: 7.254 %Bladen County: 7.231 %Brunswick County: 12.237 %Buncombe County: 11.795 %Burke County: 6.532 %Cabarrus County: 10.581 %Caldwell County: 5.668 %Camden County: 11.429 %Carteret County: 9.997 %Caswell County: 10.575 %Catawba County: 6.51 %Chatham County: 10.997 %Cherokee County: 7.643 %Chowan County: 4.805 %Clay County: 8.564 %Cleveland County: 6.094 %Columbus County: 7.948 %Craven County: 8.466 %Cumberland County: 8.38 %Currituck County: 10.964 %Dare County: 9.23 %Davidson County: 8.684 %Davie County: 7.242 %Duplin County: 8.312 %Durham County: 11.343 %Edgecombe County: 6.615 %Forsyth County: 8.544 %Franklin County: 11.057 %Gaston County: 8.706 %Gates County: 14.097 %Graham County: 10.417 %Granville County: 7.995 %Greene County: 8.787 %Guilford County: 8.686 %Halifax County: 5.684 %Harnett County: 11.025 %Haywood County: 10.369 %Henderson County: 9.642 %Hertford County: 5.006 %Hoke County: 12.24 %Hyde County: 8.148 %Iredell County: 10.32 %Jackson County: 10.702 %Johnston County: 12.083 %Jones County: 7.968 %Lee County: 8.678 %Lenoir County: 6.702 %Lincoln County: 11.826 %McDowell County: 5.999 %Macon County: 9.995 %Madison County: 12.06 %Martin County: 4.502 %Mecklenburg County: 12.66 %Mitchell County: 8.446 %Montgomery County: 7.025 %Moore County: 8.97 %Nash County: 7.803 %New Hanover County: 11.109 %Northampton County: 5.738 %Onslow County: 8.784 %Orange County: 9.853 %Pamlico County: 11.009 %Pasquotank County: 7.556 %Pender County: 10.982 %Perquimans County: 9.948 %Person County: 7.741 %Pitt County: 8.294 %Polk County: 8.772 %Randolph County: 6.361 %Richmond County: 6.992 %Robeson County: 8.452 %Rockingham County: 6.088 %Rowan County: 8.731 %Rutherford County: 6.701 %Sampson County: 7.221 %Scotland County: 6.94 %Stanly County: 9.173 %Stokes County: 10.363 %Surry County: 7.343 %Swain County: 14.851 %Transylvania County: 9.025 %Tyrrell County: 5.442 %Union County: 12.01 %Vance County: 8.096 %Wake County: 11.956 %Warren County: 5.263 %Washington County: 4.196 %Watauga County: 8.85 %Wayne County: 7.605 %Wilkes County: 6.921 %Wilson County: 6.867 %Yadkin County: 7.516 %Yancey County: 11.684 %
  • Under 6.7
  • 6.7 to 7.6
  • 7.6 to 8.5
  • 8.5 to 9.2
  • 9.2 to 11
  • 11 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.

Top 40 counties, 2017

Swain County: 14.851 %Swain County14.851Gates County: 14.097 %Gates County14.097Mecklenburg County: 12.66 %Mecklenburg County12.66Hoke County: 12.24 %Hoke County12.24Brunswick County: 12.237 %Brunswick County12.237Johnston County: 12.083 %Johnston County12.083Madison County: 12.06 %Madison County12.06Union County: 12.01 %Union County12.01Wake County: 11.956 %Wake County11.956Lincoln County: 11.826 %Lincoln County11.826Buncombe County: 11.795 %Buncombe County11.795Yancey County: 11.684 %Yancey County11.684Camden County: 11.429 %Camden County11.429Durham County: 11.343 %Durham County11.343New Hanover County: 11.109 %New Hanover County11.109Franklin County: 11.057 %Franklin County11.057Harnett County: 11.025 %Harnett County11.025Pamlico County: 11.009 %Pamlico County11.009Chatham County: 10.997 %Chatham County10.997Pender County: 10.982 %Pender County10.982Currituck County: 10.964 %Currituck County10.964Jackson County: 10.702 %Jackson County10.702Cabarrus County: 10.581 %Cabarrus County10.581Caswell County: 10.575 %Caswell County10.575Graham County: 10.417 %Graham County10.417Haywood County: 10.369 %Haywood County10.369Stokes County: 10.363 %Stokes County10.363Iredell County: 10.32 %Iredell County10.32Carteret County: 9.997 %Carteret County9.997Macon County: 9.995 %Macon County9.995Perquimans County: 9.948 %Perquimans County9.948Orange County: 9.853 %Orange County9.853Henderson County: 9.642 %Henderson County9.642Dare County: 9.23 %Dare County9.23Stanly County: 9.173 %Stanly County9.173Transylvania County: 9.025 %Transylvania County9.025Moore County: 8.97 %Moore County8.97Alamance County: 8.961 %Alamance County8.961Watauga County: 8.85 %Watauga County8.85Greene County: 8.787 %Greene County8.787Swain County: 14.851 %Swain County14.851Gates County: 14.097 %Gates County14.097Mecklenburg County: 12.66 %Mecklenburg County12.66Hoke County: 12.24 %Hoke County12.24Brunswick County: 12.237 %Brunswick County12.237Johnston County: 12.083 %Johnston County12.083Madison County: 12.06 %Madison County12.06Union County: 12.01 %Union County12.01Wake County: 11.956 %Wake County11.956Lincoln County: 11.826 %Lincoln County11.826Buncombe County: 11.795 %Buncombe County11.795Yancey County: 11.684 %Yancey County11.684Camden County: 11.429 %Camden County11.429Durham County: 11.343 %Durham County11.343New Hanover County: 11.109 %New Hanover County11.109Franklin County: 11.057 %Franklin County11.057Harnett County: 11.025 %Harnett County11.025Pamlico County: 11.009 %Pamlico County11.009Chatham County: 10.997 %Chatham County10.997Pender County: 10.982 %Pender County10.982Currituck County: 10.964 %Currituck County10.964Jackson County: 10.702 %Jackson County10.702Cabarrus County: 10.581 %Cabarrus County10.581Caswell County: 10.575 %Caswell County10.575Graham County: 10.417 %Graham County10.417Haywood County: 10.369 %Haywood County10.369Stokes County: 10.363 %Stokes County10.363Iredell County: 10.32 %Iredell County10.32Carteret County: 9.997 %Carteret County9.997Macon County: 9.995 %Macon County9.995Perquimans County: 9.948 %Perquimans County9.948Orange County: 9.853 %Orange County9.853Henderson County: 9.642 %Henderson County9.642Dare County: 9.23 %Dare County9.23Stanly County: 9.173 %Stanly County9.173Transylvania County: 9.025 %Transylvania County9.025Moore County: 8.97 %Moore County8.97Alamance County: 8.961 %Alamance County8.961Watauga County: 8.85 %Watauga County8.85Greene County: 8.787 %Greene County8.787
%. 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
1Swain County14.851-0.06 pts
2Gates County14.097+3.04 pts
3Mecklenburg County12.66+0.47 pts
4Hoke County12.24-1.01 pts
5Brunswick County12.237-0.07 pts
6Johnston County12.083+1.46 pts
7Madison County12.06-3.95 pts
8Union County12.01-0.71 pts
9Wake County11.956+0.18 pts
10Lincoln County11.826+2.33 pts
11Buncombe County11.795-0.6 pts
12Yancey County11.684+3.78 pts
13Camden County11.429-5.32 pts
14Durham County11.343-0.6 pts
15New Hanover County11.109+1.17 pts
16Franklin County11.057-1.41 pts
17Harnett County11.025+1.4 pts
18Pamlico County11.009+5.45 pts
19Chatham County10.997+0.92 pts
20Pender County10.982+0.31 pts
21Currituck County10.964-1.9 pts
22Jackson County10.702+0.13 pts
23Cabarrus County10.581-0.63 pts
24Caswell County10.575+1.78 pts
25Graham County10.417-1.73 pts
26Haywood County10.369+1.11 pts
27Stokes County10.363+1.26 pts
28Iredell County10.32+0.11 pts
29Carteret County9.997+1.44 pts
30Macon County9.995+1.18 pts
31Perquimans County9.948+1.39 pts
32Orange County9.853-2.64 pts
33Henderson County9.642-1.5 pts
34Dare County9.23-0.9 pts
35Stanly County9.173+2.44 pts
36Transylvania County9.025+1.24 pts
37Moore County8.97+0.38 pts
38Alamance County8.961+0.31 pts
39Watauga County8.85-2.05 pts
40Greene County8.787-2.06 pts
41Onslow County8.784+0.8 pts
42Polk County8.772-0.91 pts
43Rowan County8.731+0.25 pts
44Gaston County8.706-1.08 pts
45Guilford County8.686-0.21 pts
46Davidson County8.684+0.21 pts
47Lee County8.678+0.28 pts
48Clay County8.564-0.37 pts
49Forsyth County8.544-0.43 pts
50Craven County8.466+0.26 pts
51Robeson County8.452+1.51 pts
52Mitchell County8.446+0.23 pts
53Cumberland County8.38+0.43 pts
54Duplin County8.312+0.98 pts
55Pitt County8.294-0.98 pts
56Hyde County8.148+0.66 pts
57Vance County8.096-0.1 pts
58Granville County7.995-0.98 pts
59Jones County7.968-8.13 pts
60Columbus County7.948+0.7 pts
61Ashe County7.937-6.6 pts
62Anson County7.902-0.06 pts
63Nash County7.803+1.07 pts
64Person County7.741+0.89 pts
65Cherokee County7.643+0.03 pts
66Wayne County7.605-0.16 pts
67Pasquotank County7.556-1.28 pts
68Yadkin County7.516+0.31 pts
69Alexander County7.488-1.06 pts
70Alleghany County7.375-1.28 pts
71Surry County7.343+0.32 pts
72Bertie County7.254+1.47 pts
73Davie County7.242-2.66 pts
74Bladen County7.231-2.2 pts
75Sampson County7.221-0.11 pts
76Beaufort County7.115-1.39 pts
77Montgomery County7.025-0.51 pts
78Richmond County6.992+0.37 pts
79Scotland County6.94+0.01 pts
80Wilkes County6.921-1.11 pts
81Wilson County6.867-0.45 pts
82Lenoir County6.702+0.57 pts
83Rutherford County6.701-2.44 pts
84Edgecombe County6.615-0.13 pts
85Burke County6.532+0.91 pts
86Catawba County6.51-1.77 pts
87Randolph County6.361-1.68 pts
88Cleveland County6.094-1.32 pts
89Rockingham County6.088-2.4 pts
90McDowell County5.999-3.03 pts
91Northampton County5.738-1.43 pts
92Avery County5.694-2.56 pts
93Halifax County5.684-0.44 pts
94Caldwell County5.668-1.43 pts
95Tyrrell County5.442-2.72 pts
96Warren County5.263-4.83 pts
97Hertford County5.006-0.19 pts
98Chowan County4.805-2.07 pts
99Martin County4.502-6.17 pts
100Washington County4.196-2.13 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, 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 North Carolina 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/north-carolina-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 North Carolina 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/north-carolina-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 North Carolina 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/north-carolina-counties?period=2017 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_north_carolina_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 North Carolina 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/north-carolina-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 North Carolina 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/north-carolina-counties?period=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/establishment-entry-rate/north-carolina-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?

Swain County, with 14.851% in 2017, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest establishment entry rate?

Washington County, with 4.196% 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 North Carolina: more rankings