Data / Rankings / Establishment entry rate / Counties in Tennessee

Counties in Tennessee by establishment entry rate

Smith County had the highest establishment entry rate of 95 counties in 2017, at 13.944%. Lake County had the lowest, at 0%. The median was 8.072% and the figure for Tennessee was 8.842%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest13.944Smith County
Lowest0Lake County
Median8.07295 counties
Tennessee8.842History

Map of counties, 2017

Anderson County: 7.493 %Bedford County: 8.999 %Benton County: 7.08 %Bledsoe County: 6.965 %Blount County: 8.239 %Bradley County: 7.409 %Campbell County: 6.859 %Cannon County: 10.198 %Carroll County: 8.557 %Carter County: 7.148 %Cheatham County: 9.974 %Chester County: 9.567 %Claiborne County: 9.697 %Clay County: 13.684 %Cocke County: 8.15 %Coffee County: 7.739 %Crockett County: 8.134 %Cumberland County: 6.196 %Davidson County: 9.912 %Decatur County: 3.893 %DeKalb County: 8.664 %Dickson County: 9.081 %Dyer County: 6.906 %Fayette County: 7.156 %Fentress County: 7.083 %Franklin County: 6.772 %Gibson County: 8.338 %Giles County: 7.088 %Grainger County: 8.933 %Greene County: 7.39 %Grundy County: 6.202 %Hamblen County: 6.475 %Hamilton County: 9.27 %Hancock County: 10.204 %Hardeman County: 8.037 %Hardin County: 7.456 %Hawkins County: 7.692 %Haywood County: 7.167 %Henderson County: 9.16 %Henry County: 8.042 %Hickman County: 12.308 %Houston County: 8 %Humphreys County: 6.667 %Jackson County: 8.163 %Jefferson County: 10.635 %Johnson County: 5.505 %Knox County: 8.256 %Lake County: 0 %Lauderdale County: 5.556 %Lawrence County: 8.166 %Lewis County: 7.772 %Lincoln County: 6.296 %Loudon County: 9.034 %McMinn County: 7.289 %McNairy County: 8.854 %Macon County: 5.068 %Madison County: 6.583 %Marion County: 6.089 %Marshall County: 9.67 %Maury County: 8.999 %Meigs County: 4.348 %Monroe County: 7.468 %Montgomery County: 8.942 %Moore County: 4.8 %Morgan County: 5.556 %Obion County: 6.061 %Overton County: 7.407 %Perry County: 4.587 %Pickett County: 3.922 %Polk County: 13.904 %Putnam County: 8.107 %Rhea County: 8.198 %Roane County: 8.382 %Robertson County: 9.469 %Rutherford County: 10.933 %Scott County: 8.654 %Sequatchie County: 8.621 %Sevier County: 9.275 %Shelby County: 8.161 %Smith County: 13.944 %Stewart County: 8.219 %Sullivan County: 7.224 %Sumner County: 10.187 %Tipton County: 7.915 %Trousdale County: 4.386 %Unicoi County: 8.072 %Union County: 5.587 %Van Buren County: 13.333 %Warren County: 8.213 %Washington County: 7.798 %Wayne County: 8.488 %Weakley County: 7.19 %White County: 9.524 %Williamson County: 13.055 %Wilson County: 10.174 %
  • Under 6.3
  • 6.3 to 7.2
  • 7.2 to 8.1
  • 8.1 to 8.6
  • 8.6 to 9.6
  • 9.6 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

Smith County: 13.944 %Smith County13.944Polk County: 13.904 %Polk County13.904Clay County: 13.684 %Clay County13.684Van Buren County: 13.333 %Van Buren County13.333Williamson County: 13.055 %Williamson County13.055Hickman County: 12.308 %Hickman County12.308Rutherford County: 10.933 %Rutherford County10.933Jefferson County: 10.635 %Jefferson County10.635Hancock County: 10.204 %Hancock County10.204Cannon County: 10.198 %Cannon County10.198Sumner County: 10.187 %Sumner County10.187Wilson County: 10.174 %Wilson County10.174Cheatham County: 9.974 %Cheatham County9.974Davidson County: 9.912 %Davidson County9.912Claiborne County: 9.697 %Claiborne County9.697Marshall County: 9.67 %Marshall County9.67Chester County: 9.567 %Chester County9.567White County: 9.524 %White County9.524Robertson County: 9.469 %Robertson County9.469Sevier County: 9.275 %Sevier County9.275Hamilton County: 9.27 %Hamilton County9.27Henderson County: 9.16 %Henderson County9.16Dickson County: 9.081 %Dickson County9.081Loudon County: 9.034 %Loudon County9.034Bedford County: 8.999 %Bedford County8.999Maury County: 8.999 %Maury County8.999Montgomery County: 8.942 %Montgomery County8.942Grainger County: 8.933 %Grainger County8.933McNairy County: 8.854 %McNairy County8.854DeKalb County: 8.664 %DeKalb County8.664Scott County: 8.654 %Scott County8.654Sequatchie County: 8.621 %Sequatchie County8.621Carroll County: 8.557 %Carroll County8.557Wayne County: 8.488 %Wayne County8.488Roane County: 8.382 %Roane County8.382Gibson County: 8.338 %Gibson County8.338Knox County: 8.256 %Knox County8.256Blount County: 8.239 %Blount County8.239Stewart County: 8.219 %Stewart County8.219Warren County: 8.213 %Warren County8.213Smith County: 13.944 %Smith County13.944Polk County: 13.904 %Polk County13.904Clay County: 13.684 %Clay County13.684Van Buren County: 13.333 %Van Buren County13.333Williamson County: 13.055 %Williamson County13.055Hickman County: 12.308 %Hickman County12.308Rutherford County: 10.933 %Rutherford County10.933Jefferson County: 10.635 %Jefferson County10.635Hancock County: 10.204 %Hancock County10.204Cannon County: 10.198 %Cannon County10.198Sumner County: 10.187 %Sumner County10.187Wilson County: 10.174 %Wilson County10.174Cheatham County: 9.974 %Cheatham County9.974Davidson County: 9.912 %Davidson County9.912Claiborne County: 9.697 %Claiborne County9.697Marshall County: 9.67 %Marshall County9.67Chester County: 9.567 %Chester County9.567White County: 9.524 %White County9.524Robertson County: 9.469 %Robertson County9.469Sevier County: 9.275 %Sevier County9.275Hamilton County: 9.27 %Hamilton County9.27Henderson County: 9.16 %Henderson County9.16Dickson County: 9.081 %Dickson County9.081Loudon County: 9.034 %Loudon County9.034Bedford County: 8.999 %Bedford County8.999Maury County: 8.999 %Maury County8.999Montgomery County: 8.942 %Montgomery County8.942Grainger County: 8.933 %Grainger County8.933McNairy County: 8.854 %McNairy County8.854DeKalb County: 8.664 %DeKalb County8.664Scott County: 8.654 %Scott County8.654Sequatchie County: 8.621 %Sequatchie County8.621Carroll County: 8.557 %Carroll County8.557Wayne County: 8.488 %Wayne County8.488Roane County: 8.382 %Roane County8.382Gibson County: 8.338 %Gibson County8.338Knox County: 8.256 %Knox County8.256Blount County: 8.239 %Blount County8.239Stewart County: 8.219 %Stewart County8.219Warren County: 8.213 %Warren County8.213
%. 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
1Smith County13.944+4.54 pts
2Polk County13.904+5.88 pts
3Clay County13.684-1.62 pts
4Van Buren County13.333n/a
5Williamson County13.055+0.61 pts
6Hickman County12.308+4.18 pts
7Rutherford County10.933+0.74 pts
8Jefferson County10.635+1.54 pts
9Hancock County10.204+1.78 pts
10Cannon County10.198-2.26 pts
11Sumner County10.187-0.54 pts
12Wilson County10.174-0.44 pts
13Cheatham County9.974-4.57 pts
14Davidson County9.912-0.54 pts
15Claiborne County9.697-0.83 pts
16Marshall County9.67+2.12 pts
17Chester County9.567+3.64 pts
18White County9.524-3.65 pts
19Robertson County9.469+0.04 pts
20Sevier County9.275-0.59 pts
21Hamilton County9.27-0.06 pts
22Henderson County9.16+0.99 pts
23Dickson County9.081+0.2 pts
24Loudon County9.034-1.27 pts
25Bedford County8.999+2.36 pts
25Maury County8.999-0.63 pts
27Montgomery County8.942+0.21 pts
28Grainger County8.933+1.41 pts
29McNairy County8.854+3.41 pts
30DeKalb County8.664-5.7 pts
31Scott County8.654+0.42 pts
32Sequatchie County8.621+2.26 pts
33Carroll County8.557-0.86 pts
34Wayne County8.488-1.04 pts
35Roane County8.382+0.23 pts
36Gibson County8.338+0.44 pts
37Knox County8.256-1.06 pts
38Blount County8.239+0.11 pts
39Stewart County8.219+0.5 pts
40Warren County8.213+0.22 pts
41Rhea County8.198+1.57 pts
42Lawrence County8.166+0.12 pts
43Jackson County8.163-0.93 pts
44Shelby County8.161+0.05 pts
45Cocke County8.15-0.41 pts
46Crockett County8.134+1.37 pts
47Putnam County8.107-0.91 pts
48Unicoi County8.072-1.02 pts
49Henry County8.042+2.23 pts
50Hardeman County8.037+3.76 pts
51Houston County8+0.04 pts
52Tipton County7.915-0.46 pts
53Washington County7.798+0.11 pts
54Lewis County7.772-0.97 pts
55Coffee County7.739-0.76 pts
56Hawkins County7.692-0.07 pts
57Anderson County7.493+0.4 pts
58Monroe County7.468+0.5 pts
59Hardin County7.456+0.65 pts
60Bradley County7.409+0.26 pts
61Overton County7.407-6.16 pts
62Greene County7.39+1.05 pts
63McMinn County7.289-1.18 pts
64Sullivan County7.224-0.8 pts
65Weakley County7.19+0.4 pts
66Haywood County7.167+1.41 pts
67Fayette County7.156-1.32 pts
68Carter County7.148-0.41 pts
69Giles County7.088+0.07 pts
70Fentress County7.083+0.26 pts
71Benton County7.08-0.25 pts
72Bledsoe County6.965-0.48 pts
73Dyer County6.906+0.34 pts
74Campbell County6.859+0.22 pts
75Franklin County6.772-2.35 pts
76Humphreys County6.667+1.11 pts
77Madison County6.583-0.45 pts
78Hamblen County6.475-1.57 pts
79Lincoln County6.296-3.17 pts
80Grundy County6.202-3.25 pts
81Cumberland County6.196-2.98 pts
82Marion County6.089+0.28 pts
83Obion County6.061-0.78 pts
84Union County5.587-4.67 pts
85Lauderdale County5.556-1.27 pts
85Morgan County5.556-5.63 pts
87Johnson County5.505+1.41 pts
88Macon County5.068-5.39 pts
89Moore County4.8-8.21 pts
90Perry County4.587-6.37 pts
91Trousdale County4.386-5.31 pts
92Meigs County4.348-3.02 pts
93Pickett County3.922-9.24 pts
94Decatur County3.893-7.76 pts
95Lake County0-3.77 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 Tennessee 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 Tennessee 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/tennessee-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 Tennessee 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/tennessee-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 Tennessee 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/tennessee-counties?period=2017 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_tennessee_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 Tennessee 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/tennessee-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 Tennessee 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/tennessee-counties?period=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/establishment-entry-rate/tennessee-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?

Smith County, with 13.944% in 2017, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest establishment entry rate?

Lake County, with 0% 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 Tennessee: more rankings