Data / Rankings / Job creation rate / Counties in Kentucky

Counties in Kentucky by job creation rate

Henry County had the highest job creation rate of 120 counties in 2015, at 23.383%. Metcalfe County had the lowest, at 3.547%. The median was 10.912% and the figure for Kentucky was 12.51%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest23.383Henry County
Lowest3.547Metcalfe County
Median10.912120 counties
Kentucky12.51History

Map of counties, 2015

Adair County: 9.386 %Allen County: 8.613 %Anderson County: 11.938 %Ballard County: 8.71 %Barren County: 7.746 %Bath County: 12.948 %Bell County: 9.482 %Boone County: 12.821 %Bourbon County: 11.084 %Boyd County: 11.117 %Boyle County: 7.287 %Bracken County: 5.681 %Breathitt County: 10.398 %Breckinridge County: 10.266 %Bullitt County: 17.434 %Butler County: 11.864 %Caldwell County: 11.545 %Calloway County: 11.041 %Campbell County: 15.053 %Carlisle County: 11.842 %Carroll County: 9.631 %Carter County: 8.403 %Casey County: 16.611 %Christian County: 15.563 %Clark County: 13.678 %Clay County: 7.889 %Clinton County: 8.152 %Crittenden County: 11.367 %Cumberland County: 8.718 %Daviess County: 9.619 %Edmonson County: 15.584 %Elliott County: 10.33 %Estill County: 7.986 %Fayette County: 12.469 %Fleming County: 11.169 %Floyd County: 10.927 %Franklin County: 13.411 %Fulton County: 10.012 %Gallatin County: 9.889 %Garrard County: 17.708 %Grant County: 8.814 %Graves County: 12.278 %Grayson County: 13.66 %Green County: 14.094 %Greenup County: 8.728 %Hancock County: 4.294 %Hardin County: 10.866 %Harlan County: 7.296 %Harrison County: 15.027 %Hart County: 8.705 %Henderson County: 9.441 %Henry County: 23.383 %Hickman County: 11.098 %Hopkins County: 12.75 %Jackson County: 6.602 %Jefferson County: 13.308 %Jessamine County: 13.07 %Johnson County: 9.464 %Kenton County: 13.59 %Knott County: 10.216 %Knox County: 9.271 %Larue County: 8.244 %Laurel County: 10.211 %Lawrence County: 10.981 %Lee County: 22.73 %Leslie County: 5.596 %Letcher County: 8.785 %Lewis County: 17.773 %Lincoln County: 10.76 %Livingston County: 11.614 %Logan County: 8.277 %Lyon County: 11.907 %McCracken County: 12.22 %McCreary County: 10.951 %McLean County: 22.343 %Madison County: 11.288 %Magoffin County: 11.4 %Marion County: 15.266 %Marshall County: 9.8 %Martin County: 6.67 %Mason County: 11.028 %Meade County: 9.189 %Menifee County: 13.062 %Mercer County: 12.757 %Metcalfe County: 3.547 %Monroe County: 9.953 %Montgomery County: 10.222 %Morgan County: 6.594 %Muhlenberg County: 12.233 %Nelson County: 10.404 %Nicholas County: 12.74 %Ohio County: 7.186 %Oldham County: 12.706 %Owen County: 10.888 %Owsley County: 11.799 %Pendleton County: 8.3 %Perry County: 16.212 %Pike County: 9.51 %Powell County: 20.64 %Pulaski County: 11.617 %Robertson County: 9.354 %Rockcastle County: 10.697 %Rowan County: 9.97 %Russell County: 9.965 %Scott County: 11.302 %Shelby County: 18.881 %Simpson County: 14.659 %Spencer County: 11.515 %Taylor County: 10.695 %Todd County: 8.215 %Trigg County: 14.099 %Trimble County: 11.8 %Union County: 6.188 %Warren County: 14.413 %Washington County: 8.937 %Wayne County: 9.159 %Webster County: 8.285 %Whitley County: 12.127 %Wolfe County: 10.897 %Woodford County: 8.73 %
  • Under 8.4
  • 8.4 to 9.6
  • 9.6 to 11
  • 11 to 12
  • 12 to 14
  • 14 and over
%, 2015. 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, 2015

Henry County: 23.383 %Henry County23.383Lee County: 22.73 %Lee County22.73McLean County: 22.343 %McLean County22.343Powell County: 20.64 %Powell County20.64Shelby County: 18.881 %Shelby County18.881Lewis County: 17.773 %Lewis County17.773Garrard County: 17.708 %Garrard County17.708Bullitt County: 17.434 %Bullitt County17.434Casey County: 16.611 %Casey County16.611Perry County: 16.212 %Perry County16.212Edmonson County: 15.584 %Edmonson County15.584Christian County: 15.563 %Christian County15.563Marion County: 15.266 %Marion County15.266Campbell County: 15.053 %Campbell County15.053Harrison County: 15.027 %Harrison County15.027Simpson County: 14.659 %Simpson County14.659Warren County: 14.413 %Warren County14.413Trigg County: 14.099 %Trigg County14.099Green County: 14.094 %Green County14.094Clark County: 13.678 %Clark County13.678Grayson County: 13.66 %Grayson County13.66Kenton County: 13.59 %Kenton County13.59Franklin County: 13.411 %Franklin County13.411Jefferson County: 13.308 %Jefferson County13.308Jessamine County: 13.07 %Jessamine County13.07Menifee County: 13.062 %Menifee County13.062Bath County: 12.948 %Bath County12.948Boone County: 12.821 %Boone County12.821Mercer County: 12.757 %Mercer County12.757Hopkins County: 12.75 %Hopkins County12.75Nicholas County: 12.74 %Nicholas County12.74Oldham County: 12.706 %Oldham County12.706Fayette County: 12.469 %Fayette County12.469Graves County: 12.278 %Graves County12.278Muhlenberg County: 12.233 %Muhlenberg County12.233McCracken County: 12.22 %McCracken County12.22Whitley County: 12.127 %Whitley County12.127Anderson County: 11.938 %Anderson County11.938Lyon County: 11.907 %Lyon County11.907Butler County: 11.864 %Butler County11.864Henry County: 23.383 %Henry County23.383Lee County: 22.73 %Lee County22.73McLean County: 22.343 %McLean County22.343Powell County: 20.64 %Powell County20.64Shelby County: 18.881 %Shelby County18.881Lewis County: 17.773 %Lewis County17.773Garrard County: 17.708 %Garrard County17.708Bullitt County: 17.434 %Bullitt County17.434Casey County: 16.611 %Casey County16.611Perry County: 16.212 %Perry County16.212Edmonson County: 15.584 %Edmonson County15.584Christian County: 15.563 %Christian County15.563Marion County: 15.266 %Marion County15.266Campbell County: 15.053 %Campbell County15.053Harrison County: 15.027 %Harrison County15.027Simpson County: 14.659 %Simpson County14.659Warren County: 14.413 %Warren County14.413Trigg County: 14.099 %Trigg County14.099Green County: 14.094 %Green County14.094Clark County: 13.678 %Clark County13.678Grayson County: 13.66 %Grayson County13.66Kenton County: 13.59 %Kenton County13.59Franklin County: 13.411 %Franklin County13.411Jefferson County: 13.308 %Jefferson County13.308Jessamine County: 13.07 %Jessamine County13.07Menifee County: 13.062 %Menifee County13.062Bath County: 12.948 %Bath County12.948Boone County: 12.821 %Boone County12.821Mercer County: 12.757 %Mercer County12.757Hopkins County: 12.75 %Hopkins County12.75Nicholas County: 12.74 %Nicholas County12.74Oldham County: 12.706 %Oldham County12.706Fayette County: 12.469 %Fayette County12.469Graves County: 12.278 %Graves County12.278Muhlenberg County: 12.233 %Muhlenberg County12.233McCracken County: 12.22 %McCracken County12.22Whitley County: 12.127 %Whitley County12.127Anderson County: 11.938 %Anderson County11.938Lyon County: 11.907 %Lyon County11.907Butler County: 11.864 %Butler County11.864
%. 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

RankCounties2015 (%)Change on 2014
1Henry County23.383+12.75 pts
2Lee County22.73+17.02 pts
3McLean County22.343+8.03 pts
4Powell County20.64+4.65 pts
5Shelby County18.881+6.06 pts
6Lewis County17.773-3.75 pts
7Garrard County17.708+3.86 pts
8Bullitt County17.434+1.59 pts
9Casey County16.611+4.84 pts
10Perry County16.212+1.38 pts
11Edmonson County15.584+4.76 pts
12Christian County15.563+4.08 pts
13Marion County15.266+4.4 pts
14Campbell County15.053+3.15 pts
15Harrison County15.027+5.44 pts
16Simpson County14.659+7.3 pts
17Warren County14.413+2.3 pts
18Trigg County14.099+1.15 pts
19Green County14.094+6.49 pts
20Clark County13.678-12.59 pts
21Grayson County13.66+2.91 pts
22Kenton County13.59-6.5 pts
23Franklin County13.411+1.4 pts
24Jefferson County13.308+0.62 pts
25Jessamine County13.07+2.64 pts
26Menifee County13.062+1.17 pts
27Bath County12.948-10.24 pts
28Boone County12.821-2.35 pts
29Mercer County12.757+5.59 pts
30Hopkins County12.75+3.98 pts
31Nicholas County12.74+5.08 pts
32Oldham County12.706-3 pts
33Fayette County12.469+0.16 pts
34Graves County12.278-1.35 pts
35Muhlenberg County12.233+1.89 pts
36McCracken County12.22+2.04 pts
37Whitley County12.127+0.23 pts
38Anderson County11.938+0.94 pts
39Lyon County11.907-3.62 pts
40Butler County11.864-4.2 pts
41Carlisle County11.842-1.25 pts
42Trimble County11.8-0.64 pts
43Owsley County11.799-1.26 pts
44Pulaski County11.617+0.47 pts
45Livingston County11.614-3.89 pts
46Caldwell County11.545+1.13 pts
47Spencer County11.515-0.95 pts
48Magoffin County11.4-1.33 pts
49Crittenden County11.367-0.36 pts
50Scott County11.302-1.4 pts
51Madison County11.288-7.78 pts
52Fleming County11.169+3.31 pts
53Boyd County11.117+3.29 pts
54Hickman County11.098+0.44 pts
55Bourbon County11.084+1.68 pts
56Calloway County11.041+0.97 pts
57Mason County11.028+3.9 pts
58Lawrence County10.981-2.01 pts
59McCreary County10.951-1.03 pts
60Floyd County10.927-6.47 pts
61Wolfe County10.897-11.58 pts
62Owen County10.888-1.72 pts
63Hardin County10.866+0.33 pts
64Lincoln County10.76+1.74 pts
65Rockcastle County10.697-3.05 pts
66Taylor County10.695+2.89 pts
67Nelson County10.404-3.78 pts
68Breathitt County10.398+3.95 pts
69Elliott County10.33-15.8 pts
70Breckinridge County10.266-3.29 pts
71Montgomery County10.222+1.36 pts
72Knott County10.216-0.61 pts
73Laurel County10.211-15.9 pts
74Fulton County10.012+3.5 pts
75Rowan County9.97-1.09 pts
76Russell County9.965-1.18 pts
77Monroe County9.953-5.5 pts
78Gallatin County9.889-1.5 pts
79Marshall County9.8-5.38 pts
80Carroll County9.631+2.12 pts
81Daviess County9.619+0.09 pts
82Pike County9.51+0.45 pts
83Bell County9.482+0.6 pts
84Johnson County9.464-0.45 pts
85Henderson County9.441-3.29 pts
86Adair County9.386-0.84 pts
87Robertson County9.354-15.9 pts
88Knox County9.271+1.89 pts
89Meade County9.189-2.33 pts
90Wayne County9.159+1.73 pts
91Washington County8.937-0.87 pts
92Grant County8.814-0.6 pts
93Letcher County8.785-3.63 pts
94Woodford County8.73+0.2 pts
95Greenup County8.728-3.59 pts
96Cumberland County8.718-1.17 pts
97Ballard County8.71-0.47 pts
98Hart County8.705+1.82 pts
99Allen County8.613-3.21 pts
100Carter County8.403-2.17 pts
101Pendleton County8.3+1.66 pts
102Webster County8.285-1.06 pts
103Logan County8.277+0.65 pts
104Larue County8.244-4.52 pts
105Todd County8.215-4.76 pts
106Clinton County8.152-1.39 pts
107Estill County7.986-7.72 pts
108Clay County7.889-5.81 pts
109Barren County7.746-2.23 pts
110Harlan County7.296-0.38 pts
111Boyle County7.287-2.48 pts
112Ohio County7.186-1.69 pts
113Martin County6.67-5.62 pts
114Jackson County6.602+2.99 pts
115Morgan County6.594-2.64 pts
116Union County6.188-4.79 pts
117Bracken County5.681-4.54 pts
118Leslie County5.596-26.08 pts
119Hancock County4.294+0.68 pts
120Metcalfe County3.547-4.04 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 Kentucky by job creation rate, 2015) [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 Kentucky by job creation rate, 2015. 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/kentucky-counties?period=2015. 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 Kentucky by job creation rate, 2015. 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/kentucky-counties?period=2015.

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 Kentucky by job creation rate, 2015 [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/kentucky-counties?period=2015 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_kentucky_by_2015,
  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 Kentucky by job creation rate, 2015}},
  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/kentucky-counties?period=2015. 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 Kentucky by job creation rate, 2015
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/kentucky-counties?period=2015
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-creation-rate/kentucky-counties?period=2015.
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?

Henry County, with 23.383% in 2015, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest job creation rate?

Metcalfe County, with 3.547% in 2015.

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 Kentucky: more rankings