Counties in West Virginia by establishment entry rate
Clay County had the highest establishment entry rate of 55 counties in 2017, at 14.103%. Grant County had the lowest, at 3.241%. The median was 7.268% and the figure for West Virginia was 7.28%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.
Map of counties, 2017
- Under 5.8
- 5.8 to 6.6
- 6.6 to 7.3
- 7.3 to 8
- 8 to 9.2
- 9.2 and over
All counties, 2017
Full ranking
| Rank | Counties | 2017 (%) | Change on 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clay County | 14.103 | +6.56 pts |
| 2 | Tyler County | 13.146 | -1.63 pts |
| 3 | Mingo County | 11.538 | +3.45 pts |
| 4 | Wirt County | 10.417 | -0.22 pts |
| 5 | Wyoming County | 10.379 | +1.32 pts |
| 6 | Upshur County | 10.152 | +2.24 pts |
| 7 | Pocahontas County | 10.106 | +4.7 pts |
| 8 | Taylor County | 9.744 | +1.6 pts |
| 9 | Berkeley County | 9.612 | -1.41 pts |
| 10 | Nicholas County | 9.237 | +2.54 pts |
| 11 | Preston County | 9.137 | +0.75 pts |
| 12 | Webster County | 9.129 | -1.62 pts |
| 13 | Mineral County | 8.654 | +1.72 pts |
| 14 | Greenbrier County | 8.582 | +1.58 pts |
| 15 | Pendleton County | 8.56 | +0.72 pts |
| 16 | Jefferson County | 8.405 | -2.46 pts |
| 17 | Monongalia County | 8.114 | -0.69 pts |
| 18 | Pleasants County | 8 | -0.8 pts |
| 19 | Tucker County | 7.973 | +0.69 pts |
| 20 | Mason County | 7.856 | +2.28 pts |
| 21 | Fayette County | 7.778 | -0.25 pts |
| 22 | Putnam County | 7.76 | -0.02 pts |
| 23 | Hampshire County | 7.692 | +1.49 pts |
| 24 | Hardy County | 7.631 | -1.48 pts |
| 25 | Jackson County | 7.547 | +1.05 pts |
| 25 | Raleigh County | 7.547 | -0.62 pts |
| 27 | Summers County | 7.5 | -2.38 pts |
| 28 | Brooke County | 7.268 | +1.67 pts |
| 29 | Gilmer County | 7.24 | +1.23 pts |
| 30 | Monroe County | 7.166 | -2.64 pts |
| 31 | Hancock County | 7.165 | +0.07 pts |
| 32 | Marion County | 6.982 | +0.69 pts |
| 33 | Wayne County | 6.971 | +1.38 pts |
| 34 | Marshall County | 6.881 | +2.32 pts |
| 35 | Cabell County | 6.713 | +1.04 pts |
| 36 | Kanawha County | 6.646 | -0.06 pts |
| 37 | Harrison County | 6.552 | +0.04 pts |
| 38 | Morgan County | 6.28 | -2.31 pts |
| 39 | Ritchie County | 6.268 | -0.46 pts |
| 40 | Logan County | 6.189 | +0.19 pts |
| 41 | Calhoun County | 6.024 | +1.4 pts |
| 42 | Roane County | 5.955 | +0.2 pts |
| 43 | Wood County | 5.926 | -0.44 pts |
| 44 | McDowell County | 5.896 | +2.12 pts |
| 45 | Barbour County | 5.868 | +1.27 pts |
| 46 | Boone County | 5.773 | +0.98 pts |
| 47 | Mercer County | 5.742 | -0.79 pts |
| 48 | Ohio County | 5.522 | +1.78 pts |
| 49 | Randolph County | 5.515 | -0.87 pts |
| 50 | Lewis County | 5.233 | -2.26 pts |
| 51 | Doddridge County | 5.229 | -3.41 pts |
| 52 | Wetzel County | 4.923 | -0.8 pts |
| 53 | Lincoln County | 4.72 | -0.81 pts |
| 54 | Braxton County | 3.361 | -2.81 pts |
| 55 | Grant County | 3.241 | -3.18 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
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 West Virginia 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 West Virginia 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/west-virginia-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 West Virginia 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/west-virginia-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 West Virginia 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/west-virginia-counties?period=2017 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_west_virginia_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 West Virginia 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/west-virginia-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 West Virginia 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/west-virginia-counties?period=2017
Y2 - 2026/10/12
N1 - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/establishment-entry-rate/west-virginia-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 -
Use this data in your AI agent
Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:
Rank Counties in West Virginia by establishment entry rate using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"establishment_entry_rate","level":"province","within":"West Virginia","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=establishment_entry_rate&level=province&within=West%20Virginia&limit=10Questions
Which county has the highest establishment entry rate?
Clay County, with 14.103% in 2017, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Which county has the lowest establishment entry rate?
Grant County, with 3.241% 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.