Counties in West Virginia by establishment entry rate
Hampshire County had the highest establishment entry rate of 55 counties in 2018, at 11.092%. Monroe County had the lowest, at 3.367%. The median was 6.484% and the figure for West Virginia was 6.796%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.
Map of counties, 2018
- Under 5.2
- 5.2 to 6
- 6 to 6.5
- 6.5 to 7.3
- 7.3 to 8
- 8 and over
All counties, 2018
Full ranking
| Rank | Counties | 2018 (%) | Change on 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hampshire County | 11.092 | +3.4 pts |
| 2 | Calhoun County | 10.909 | +4.89 pts |
| 3 | Berkeley County | 10.319 | +0.71 pts |
| 4 | Tyler County | 10 | -3.15 pts |
| 5 | Taylor County | 9.5 | -0.24 pts |
| 6 | Pleasants County | 9.244 | +1.24 pts |
| 7 | Jackson County | 8.568 | +1.02 pts |
| 8 | Monongalia County | 8.433 | +0.32 pts |
| 9 | Upshur County | 8.258 | -1.89 pts |
| 10 | Wyoming County | 7.968 | -2.41 pts |
| 11 | Jefferson County | 7.887 | -0.52 pts |
| 12 | Morgan County | 7.805 | +1.52 pts |
| 13 | Summers County | 7.767 | +0.27 pts |
| 14 | Mingo County | 7.692 | -3.85 pts |
| 15 | Mason County | 7.553 | -0.3 pts |
| 16 | Mineral County | 7.506 | -1.15 pts |
| 17 | Harrison County | 7.383 | +0.83 pts |
| 18 | Logan County | 7.367 | +1.18 pts |
| 19 | Greenbrier County | 7.327 | -1.26 pts |
| 20 | Lewis County | 7.143 | +1.91 pts |
| 21 | Grant County | 7.075 | +3.83 pts |
| 22 | Pocahontas County | 6.842 | -3.26 pts |
| 23 | Fayette County | 6.828 | -0.95 pts |
| 24 | Putnam County | 6.822 | -0.94 pts |
| 25 | Webster County | 6.695 | -2.43 pts |
| 26 | Preston County | 6.694 | -2.44 pts |
| 27 | McDowell County | 6.619 | +0.72 pts |
| 28 | Barbour County | 6.484 | +0.62 pts |
| 29 | Kanawha County | 6.47 | -0.18 pts |
| 30 | Nicholas County | 6.458 | -2.78 pts |
| 31 | Raleigh County | 6.418 | -1.13 pts |
| 32 | Wirt County | 6.383 | -4.03 pts |
| 33 | Boone County | 6.276 | +0.5 pts |
| 34 | Randolph County | 6.24 | +0.73 pts |
| 35 | Tucker County | 6.081 | -1.89 pts |
| 36 | Wayne County | 6.056 | -0.92 pts |
| 37 | Marion County | 5.979 | -1 pts |
| 38 | Marshall County | 5.862 | -1.02 pts |
| 39 | Wood County | 5.841 | -0.08 pts |
| 40 | Ritchie County | 5.814 | -0.45 pts |
| 41 | Doddridge County | 5.714 | +0.49 pts |
| 42 | Gilmer County | 5.556 | -1.68 pts |
| 43 | Clay County | 5.442 | -8.66 pts |
| 44 | Mercer County | 5.439 | -0.3 pts |
| 45 | Cabell County | 5.206 | -1.51 pts |
| 46 | Hardy County | 5.2 | -2.43 pts |
| 47 | Roane County | 5.102 | -0.85 pts |
| 48 | Lincoln County | 5.016 | +0.3 pts |
| 49 | Hancock County | 4.948 | -2.22 pts |
| 50 | Braxton County | 4.835 | +1.47 pts |
| 51 | Ohio County | 4.824 | -0.7 pts |
| 52 | Pendleton County | 4.781 | -3.78 pts |
| 53 | Wetzel County | 4.747 | -0.18 pts |
| 54 | Brooke County | 4.156 | -3.11 pts |
| 55 | Monroe County | 3.367 | -3.8 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, 2018) [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, 2018. 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=2018. 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, 2018. 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=2018.
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, 2018 [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=2018 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_west_virginia_2018,
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, 2018}},
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=2018. 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, 2018
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=2018
Y2 - 2026/10/12
N1 - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/establishment-entry-rate/west-virginia-counties?period=2018.
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?
Hampshire County, with 11.092% in 2018, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Which county has the lowest establishment entry rate?
Monroe County, with 3.367% in 2018.
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.