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

Counties in North Carolina by establishment entry rate

Union County had the highest establishment entry rate of 99 counties in 2020, at 11.645%. Hertford County had the lowest, at 3.182%. The median was 8.151% and the figure for North Carolina was 9.497%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest11.645Union County
Lowest3.182Hertford County
Median8.15199 counties
North Carolina9.497History

Map of counties, 2020

Alamance County: 8.258 %Alexander County: 6.608 %Alleghany County: 6.637 %Anson County: 6.362 %Ashe County: 9.156 %Avery County: 5.735 %Beaufort County: 6.986 %Bertie County: 6.171 %Bladen County: 6.766 %Brunswick County: 9.452 %Buncombe County: 10.355 %Burke County: 7.74 %Cabarrus County: 10.682 %Caldwell County: 6.598 %Camden County: 9.804 %Carteret County: 10.543 %Caswell County: 7.407 %Catawba County: 7.358 %Chatham County: 10.235 %Cherokee County: 7.489 %Chowan County: 7.647 %Clay County: 3.931 %Cleveland County: 7.363 %Columbus County: 5.679 %Craven County: 6.89 %Cumberland County: 8.262 %Currituck County: 10.11 %Dare County: 9.315 %Davidson County: 9.056 %Davie County: 8.82 %Duplin County: 6.845 %Durham County: 9.578 %Edgecombe County: 6.6 %Forsyth County: 9.32 %Franklin County: 10.306 %Gaston County: 9.34 %Gates County: 10 %Graham County: 8.874 %Granville County: 8.323 %Greene County: 6.148 %Guilford County: 8.923 %Halifax County: 7.939 %Harnett County: 8.597 %Haywood County: 9.674 %Henderson County: 10.109 %Hertford County: 3.182 %Hoke County: 10.349 %Hyde County: 6.154 %Iredell County: 11.354 %Jackson County: 9.116 %Johnston County: 10.186 %Jones County: 6.838 %Lee County: 7.65 %Lenoir County: 6.053 %Lincoln County: 10.309 %McDowell County: 8.138 %Macon County: 10.627 %Madison County: 9.105 %Martin County: 5.03 %Mecklenburg County: 11.412 %Mitchell County: 6.202 %Montgomery County: 7.091 %Moore County: 8.898 %Nash County: 6.325 %New Hanover County: 9.935 %Northampton County: 8.98 %Onslow County: 8.913 %Orange County: 10.352 %Pamlico County: 11.538 %Pasquotank County: 8.151 %Pender County: 11.249 %Perquimans County: 6.49 %Person County: 6.78 %Pitt County: 8.419 %Polk County: 10.608 %Randolph County: 7.633 %Richmond County: 7.733 %Robeson County: 8.146 %Rockingham County: 6.79 %Rowan County: 8.352 %Rutherford County: 7.385 %Sampson County: 6.027 %Scotland County: 5.745 %Stanly County: 7.013 %Stokes County: 9.975 %Surry County: 6.605 %Swain County: 7.764 %Transylvania County: 11.397 %Union County: 11.645 %Vance County: 8.161 %Wake County: 10.848 %Warren County: 8.349 %Washington County: 7.353 %Watauga County: 10.193 %Wayne County: 6.228 %Wilkes County: 6.609 %Wilson County: 6.613 %Yadkin County: 7.857 %Yancey County: 7.729 %
  • Under 6.6
  • 6.6 to 7.4
  • 7.4 to 8.2
  • 8.2 to 9.1
  • 9.1 to 10
  • 10 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

Union County: 11.645 %Union County11.645Pamlico County: 11.538 %Pamlico County11.538Mecklenburg County: 11.412 %Mecklenburg County11.412Transylvania County: 11.397 %Transylvania County11.397Iredell County: 11.354 %Iredell County11.354Pender County: 11.249 %Pender County11.249Wake County: 10.848 %Wake County10.848Cabarrus County: 10.682 %Cabarrus County10.682Macon County: 10.627 %Macon County10.627Polk County: 10.608 %Polk County10.608Carteret County: 10.543 %Carteret County10.543Buncombe County: 10.355 %Buncombe County10.355Orange County: 10.352 %Orange County10.352Hoke County: 10.349 %Hoke County10.349Lincoln County: 10.309 %Lincoln County10.309Franklin County: 10.306 %Franklin County10.306Chatham County: 10.235 %Chatham County10.235Watauga County: 10.193 %Watauga County10.193Johnston County: 10.186 %Johnston County10.186Currituck County: 10.11 %Currituck County10.11Henderson County: 10.109 %Henderson County10.109Gates County: 10 %Gates County10Stokes County: 9.975 %Stokes County9.975New Hanover County: 9.935 %New Hanover County9.935Camden County: 9.804 %Camden County9.804Haywood County: 9.674 %Haywood County9.674Durham County: 9.578 %Durham County9.578Brunswick County: 9.452 %Brunswick County9.452Gaston County: 9.34 %Gaston County9.34Forsyth County: 9.32 %Forsyth County9.32Dare County: 9.315 %Dare County9.315Ashe County: 9.156 %Ashe County9.156Jackson County: 9.116 %Jackson County9.116Madison County: 9.105 %Madison County9.105Davidson County: 9.056 %Davidson County9.056Northampton County: 8.98 %Northampton County8.98Guilford County: 8.923 %Guilford County8.923Onslow County: 8.913 %Onslow County8.913Moore County: 8.898 %Moore County8.898Graham County: 8.874 %Graham County8.874Union County: 11.645 %Union County11.645Pamlico County: 11.538 %Pamlico County11.538Mecklenburg County: 11.412 %Mecklenburg County11.412Transylvania County: 11.397 %Transylvania County11.397Iredell County: 11.354 %Iredell County11.354Pender County: 11.249 %Pender County11.249Wake County: 10.848 %Wake County10.848Cabarrus County: 10.682 %Cabarrus County10.682Macon County: 10.627 %Macon County10.627Polk County: 10.608 %Polk County10.608Carteret County: 10.543 %Carteret County10.543Buncombe County: 10.355 %Buncombe County10.355Orange County: 10.352 %Orange County10.352Hoke County: 10.349 %Hoke County10.349Lincoln County: 10.309 %Lincoln County10.309Franklin County: 10.306 %Franklin County10.306Chatham County: 10.235 %Chatham County10.235Watauga County: 10.193 %Watauga County10.193Johnston County: 10.186 %Johnston County10.186Currituck County: 10.11 %Currituck County10.11Henderson County: 10.109 %Henderson County10.109Gates County: 10 %Gates County10Stokes County: 9.975 %Stokes County9.975New Hanover County: 9.935 %New Hanover County9.935Camden County: 9.804 %Camden County9.804Haywood County: 9.674 %Haywood County9.674Durham County: 9.578 %Durham County9.578Brunswick County: 9.452 %Brunswick County9.452Gaston County: 9.34 %Gaston County9.34Forsyth County: 9.32 %Forsyth County9.32Dare County: 9.315 %Dare County9.315Ashe County: 9.156 %Ashe County9.156Jackson County: 9.116 %Jackson County9.116Madison County: 9.105 %Madison County9.105Davidson County: 9.056 %Davidson County9.056Northampton County: 8.98 %Northampton County8.98Guilford County: 8.923 %Guilford County8.923Onslow County: 8.913 %Onslow County8.913Moore County: 8.898 %Moore County8.898Graham County: 8.874 %Graham County8.874
%. 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
1Union County11.645+0.39 pts
2Pamlico County11.538+2.45 pts
3Mecklenburg County11.412-0.06 pts
4Transylvania County11.397-0.05 pts
5Iredell County11.354+1.5 pts
6Pender County11.249-0.4 pts
7Wake County10.848+0.01 pts
8Cabarrus County10.682-0.51 pts
9Macon County10.627+2.08 pts
10Polk County10.608+1.57 pts
11Carteret County10.543+1.99 pts
12Buncombe County10.355-0.7 pts
13Orange County10.352+0.73 pts
14Hoke County10.349+3.11 pts
15Lincoln County10.309-0.11 pts
16Franklin County10.306-0.49 pts
17Chatham County10.235-0.46 pts
18Watauga County10.193+1.98 pts
19Johnston County10.186+0.01 pts
20Currituck County10.11-1.96 pts
21Henderson County10.109-0.16 pts
22Gates County10+6.31 pts
23Stokes County9.975+1.64 pts
24New Hanover County9.935+0.7 pts
25Camden County9.804+0.67 pts
26Haywood County9.674+1.5 pts
27Durham County9.578+0.22 pts
28Brunswick County9.452-0.91 pts
29Gaston County9.34-0.36 pts
30Forsyth County9.32+1.03 pts
31Dare County9.315-0.6 pts
32Ashe County9.156+1.33 pts
33Jackson County9.116-0.83 pts
34Madison County9.105-1.3 pts
35Davidson County9.056-0.19 pts
36Northampton County8.98+4.42 pts
37Guilford County8.923+0.56 pts
38Onslow County8.913-0.84 pts
39Moore County8.898+0.04 pts
40Graham County8.874+0.82 pts
41Davie County8.82-0.05 pts
42Harnett County8.597-0.76 pts
43Pitt County8.419+0.9 pts
44Rowan County8.352+0.62 pts
45Warren County8.349+0.42 pts
46Granville County8.323-0.11 pts
47Cumberland County8.262+0.21 pts
48Alamance County8.258-0.28 pts
49Vance County8.161+0.99 pts
50Pasquotank County8.151+1.48 pts
51Robeson County8.146+2.04 pts
52McDowell County8.138-1.73 pts
53Halifax County7.939+2.01 pts
54Yadkin County7.857-1.19 pts
55Swain County7.764-3.38 pts
56Burke County7.74+1.07 pts
57Richmond County7.733+1.62 pts
58Yancey County7.729+0.86 pts
59Lee County7.65+1.18 pts
60Chowan County7.647+2.06 pts
61Randolph County7.633+0.14 pts
62Cherokee County7.489-1.06 pts
63Caswell County7.407-1.27 pts
64Rutherford County7.385+0.26 pts
65Cleveland County7.363+0.82 pts
66Catawba County7.358-0.03 pts
67Washington County7.353+1.57 pts
68Montgomery County7.091+2.54 pts
69Stanly County7.013-0.69 pts
70Beaufort County6.986+0.11 pts
71Craven County6.89-1.68 pts
72Duplin County6.845-1.5 pts
73Jones County6.838-2.1 pts
74Rockingham County6.79-0.63 pts
75Person County6.78-0.07 pts
76Bladen County6.766-2.31 pts
77Alleghany County6.637-1.75 pts
78Wilson County6.613-0.72 pts
79Wilkes County6.609-1.04 pts
80Alexander County6.608-0.6 pts
81Surry County6.605-0.95 pts
82Edgecombe County6.6-2.32 pts
83Caldwell County6.598-0.11 pts
84Perquimans County6.49-4.52 pts
85Anson County6.362-2.69 pts
86Nash County6.325+0.12 pts
87Wayne County6.228-1.23 pts
88Mitchell County6.202-0.6 pts
89Bertie County6.171-1.74 pts
90Hyde County6.154-1.79 pts
91Greene County6.148-2.07 pts
92Lenoir County6.053-0.27 pts
93Sampson County6.027-2.3 pts
94Scotland County5.745-0.56 pts
95Avery County5.735-0.9 pts
96Columbus County5.679-0.44 pts
97Martin County5.03-3.05 pts
98Clay County3.931-7.81 pts
99Hertford County3.182+0.51 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 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 North Carolina 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 North Carolina 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/north-carolina-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 North Carolina 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/north-carolina-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 North Carolina 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/north-carolina-counties?period=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_north_carolina_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 North Carolina 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/north-carolina-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 North Carolina 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/north-carolina-counties?period=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/establishment-entry-rate/north-carolina-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?

Union County, with 11.645% in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest establishment entry rate?

Hertford County, with 3.182% 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. 1 counties have no value for 2020 and are not ranked.

Establishment entry rate: other rankings

Counties in North Carolina: more rankings