Data / Rankings / Job creation rate / Counties in Colorado

Counties in Colorado by job creation rate

Ouray County had the highest job creation rate of 64 counties in 2021, at 29.821%. Costilla County had the lowest, at 4.148%. The median was 12.839% and the figure for Colorado was 13.421%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest29.821Ouray County
Lowest4.148Costilla County
Median12.83964 counties
Colorado13.421History

Map of counties, 2021

Adams County: 12.039 %Alamosa County: 11.912 %Arapahoe County: 15.871 %Archuleta County: 16.51 %Baca County: 12.476 %Bent County: 7.626 %Boulder County: 11.79 %Broomfield County: 13.602 %Chaffee County: 15.212 %Cheyenne County: 8.437 %Clear Creek County: 8.979 %Conejos County: 18.066 %Costilla County: 4.148 %Crowley County: 8.333 %Custer County: 21.192 %Delta County: 12.886 %Denver County: 13.625 %Dolores County: 18.88 %Douglas County: 14.808 %Eagle County: 20.874 %Elbert County: 17.636 %El Paso County: 12.776 %Fremont County: 12.844 %Garfield County: 12.271 %Gilpin County: 18.451 %Grand County: 9.862 %Gunnison County: 16.536 %Hinsdale County: 14.085 %Huerfano County: 18.083 %Jackson County: 25.113 %Jefferson County: 11.729 %Kiowa County: 5.246 %Kit Carson County: 10.364 %Lake County: 17.172 %La Plata County: 13.879 %Larimer County: 13.166 %Las Animas County: 14 %Lincoln County: 15.409 %Logan County: 7.725 %Mesa County: 10.421 %Mineral County: 11.707 %Moffat County: 12.077 %Montezuma County: 13.082 %Montrose County: 14.684 %Morgan County: 7.701 %Otero County: 12.799 %Ouray County: 29.821 %Park County: 17.663 %Phillips County: 9.036 %Pitkin County: 8.074 %Prowers County: 8.1 %Pueblo County: 9.468 %Rio Blanco County: 14.09 %Rio Grande County: 12.843 %Routt County: 11.295 %Saguache County: 10.888 %San Juan County: 21.455 %San Miguel County: 10.177 %Sedgwick County: 14.335 %Summit County: 13.916 %Teller County: 10.152 %Washington County: 10.721 %Weld County: 12.834 %Yuma County: 10.387 %
  • Under 9.3
  • 9.3 to 12
  • 12 to 13
  • 13 to 14
  • 14 to 17
  • 17 and over
%, 2021. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 2021

Ouray County: 29.821 %Ouray County29.821Jackson County: 25.113 %Jackson County25.113San Juan County: 21.455 %San Juan County21.455Custer County: 21.192 %Custer County21.192Eagle County: 20.874 %Eagle County20.874Dolores County: 18.88 %Dolores County18.88Gilpin County: 18.451 %Gilpin County18.451Huerfano County: 18.083 %Huerfano County18.083Conejos County: 18.066 %Conejos County18.066Park County: 17.663 %Park County17.663Elbert County: 17.636 %Elbert County17.636Lake County: 17.172 %Lake County17.172Gunnison County: 16.536 %Gunnison County16.536Archuleta County: 16.51 %Archuleta County16.51Arapahoe County: 15.871 %Arapahoe County15.871Lincoln County: 15.409 %Lincoln County15.409Chaffee County: 15.212 %Chaffee County15.212Douglas County: 14.808 %Douglas County14.808Montrose County: 14.684 %Montrose County14.684Sedgwick County: 14.335 %Sedgwick County14.335Rio Blanco County: 14.09 %Rio Blanco County14.09Hinsdale County: 14.085 %Hinsdale County14.085Las Animas County: 14 %Las Animas County14Summit County: 13.916 %Summit County13.916La Plata County: 13.879 %La Plata County13.879Denver County: 13.625 %Denver County13.625Broomfield County: 13.602 %Broomfield County13.602Larimer County: 13.166 %Larimer County13.166Montezuma County: 13.082 %Montezuma County13.082Delta County: 12.886 %Delta County12.886Fremont County: 12.844 %Fremont County12.844Rio Grande County: 12.843 %Rio Grande County12.843Weld County: 12.834 %Weld County12.834Otero County: 12.799 %Otero County12.799El Paso County: 12.776 %El Paso County12.776Baca County: 12.476 %Baca County12.476Garfield County: 12.271 %Garfield County12.271Moffat County: 12.077 %Moffat County12.077Adams County: 12.039 %Adams County12.039Alamosa County: 11.912 %Alamosa County11.912Ouray County: 29.821 %Ouray County29.821Jackson County: 25.113 %Jackson County25.113San Juan County: 21.455 %San Juan County21.455Custer County: 21.192 %Custer County21.192Eagle County: 20.874 %Eagle County20.874Dolores County: 18.88 %Dolores County18.88Gilpin County: 18.451 %Gilpin County18.451Huerfano County: 18.083 %Huerfano County18.083Conejos County: 18.066 %Conejos County18.066Park County: 17.663 %Park County17.663Elbert County: 17.636 %Elbert County17.636Lake County: 17.172 %Lake County17.172Gunnison County: 16.536 %Gunnison County16.536Archuleta County: 16.51 %Archuleta County16.51Arapahoe County: 15.871 %Arapahoe County15.871Lincoln County: 15.409 %Lincoln County15.409Chaffee County: 15.212 %Chaffee County15.212Douglas County: 14.808 %Douglas County14.808Montrose County: 14.684 %Montrose County14.684Sedgwick County: 14.335 %Sedgwick County14.335Rio Blanco County: 14.09 %Rio Blanco County14.09Hinsdale County: 14.085 %Hinsdale County14.085Las Animas County: 14 %Las Animas County14Summit County: 13.916 %Summit County13.916La Plata County: 13.879 %La Plata County13.879Denver County: 13.625 %Denver County13.625Broomfield County: 13.602 %Broomfield County13.602Larimer County: 13.166 %Larimer County13.166Montezuma County: 13.082 %Montezuma County13.082Delta County: 12.886 %Delta County12.886Fremont County: 12.844 %Fremont County12.844Rio Grande County: 12.843 %Rio Grande County12.843Weld County: 12.834 %Weld County12.834Otero County: 12.799 %Otero County12.799El Paso County: 12.776 %El Paso County12.776Baca County: 12.476 %Baca County12.476Garfield County: 12.271 %Garfield County12.271Moffat County: 12.077 %Moffat County12.077Adams County: 12.039 %Adams County12.039Alamosa County: 11.912 %Alamosa County11.912
%. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2021 (%)Change on 2020
1Ouray County29.821+10.91 pts
2Jackson County25.113+12.48 pts
3San Juan County21.455+4.39 pts
4Custer County21.192+5.23 pts
5Eagle County20.874+7.26 pts
6Dolores County18.88+5.73 pts
7Gilpin County18.451+10.5 pts
8Huerfano County18.083+4.79 pts
9Conejos County18.066+10.1 pts
10Park County17.663-3.14 pts
11Elbert County17.636-4.12 pts
12Lake County17.172+0.57 pts
13Gunnison County16.536-6.29 pts
14Archuleta County16.51+3.97 pts
15Arapahoe County15.871+1.19 pts
16Lincoln County15.409+5.95 pts
17Chaffee County15.212-2.06 pts
18Douglas County14.808-2.17 pts
19Montrose County14.684+3.44 pts
20Sedgwick County14.335+8.07 pts
21Rio Blanco County14.09+2.61 pts
22Hinsdale County14.085-11.85 pts
23Las Animas County14+1.1 pts
24Summit County13.916+1.95 pts
25La Plata County13.879+0.46 pts
26Denver County13.625-0.44 pts
27Broomfield County13.602+0.04 pts
28Larimer County13.166+0.17 pts
29Montezuma County13.082+2.11 pts
30Delta County12.886+1.38 pts
31Fremont County12.844+0.48 pts
32Rio Grande County12.843+1.46 pts
33Weld County12.834-2.07 pts
34Otero County12.799+3.84 pts
35El Paso County12.776-1.06 pts
36Baca County12.476+2.4 pts
37Garfield County12.271-0.65 pts
38Moffat County12.077+2.14 pts
39Adams County12.039-1.1 pts
40Alamosa County11.912+4.03 pts
41Boulder County11.79-1.07 pts
42Jefferson County11.729-1.88 pts
43Mineral County11.707-8.44 pts
44Routt County11.295-0.06 pts
45Saguache County10.888-2.94 pts
46Washington County10.721-0.88 pts
47Mesa County10.421-1.7 pts
48Yuma County10.387-0.02 pts
49Kit Carson County10.364-0.42 pts
50San Miguel County10.177+0.76 pts
51Teller County10.152-0.11 pts
52Grand County9.862+1.99 pts
53Pueblo County9.468-0.43 pts
54Phillips County9.036-1.64 pts
55Clear Creek County8.979-1.14 pts
56Cheyenne County8.437-5.9 pts
57Crowley County8.333-4.44 pts
58Prowers County8.1-0.41 pts
59Pitkin County8.074-5.61 pts
60Logan County7.725-0.61 pts
61Morgan County7.701+0.07 pts
62Bent County7.626-5.8 pts
63Kiowa County5.246-8.94 pts
64Costilla County4.148-3.18 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Jobs added at opening and expanding establishments during the year, as a percentage of average employment in the two years. United States: Census Bureau Business Dynamics Statistics.

A gross flow: jobs lost elsewhere are not subtracted, so the net change is this rate minus job_destruction_rate. Not the same as payroll job growth from the monthly employment surveys. 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: job creation 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: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010 (Counties in Colorado by job creation rate, 2021) [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: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010, Counties in Colorado by job creation rate, 2021. 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/job-creation-rate/colorado-counties?period=2021. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2025. Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. Counties in Colorado by job creation rate, 2021. 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/job-creation-rate/colorado-counties?period=2021.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010, Counties in Colorado by job creation rate, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-creation-rate/colorado-counties?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_colorado_by_2021,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010: Counties in Colorado by job creation rate, 2021}},
  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/job-creation-rate/colorado-counties?period=2021. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation 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: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010: Counties in Colorado by job creation rate, 2021
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/job-creation-rate/colorado-counties?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-creation-rate/colorado-counties?period=2021.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation 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 job creation rate?

Ouray County, with 29.821% in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest job creation rate?

Costilla County, with 4.148% in 2021.

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: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Job creation rate: other rankings

Counties in Colorado: more rankings