Data / Rankings / Job creation rate / Counties in Kentucky

Counties in Kentucky by job creation rate

Robertson County had the highest job creation rate of 120 counties in 2017, at 45.729%. Mercer County had the lowest, at 5.019%. The median was 11.974% and the figure for Kentucky was 12.956%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest45.729Robertson County
Lowest5.019Mercer County
Median11.974120 counties
Kentucky12.956History

Map of counties, 2017

Adair County: 14.267 %Allen County: 7.029 %Anderson County: 13.581 %Ballard County: 8.216 %Barren County: 12.189 %Bath County: 15.179 %Bell County: 16.113 %Boone County: 14.601 %Bourbon County: 15.084 %Boyd County: 12.877 %Boyle County: 9.733 %Bracken County: 10.878 %Breathitt County: 12.004 %Breckinridge County: 11.326 %Bullitt County: 14.316 %Butler County: 12.821 %Caldwell County: 12.178 %Calloway County: 9.087 %Campbell County: 8.778 %Carlisle County: 15.64 %Carroll County: 7.015 %Carter County: 13.211 %Casey County: 10.551 %Christian County: 13.299 %Clark County: 15.045 %Clay County: 9.658 %Clinton County: 7.739 %Crittenden County: 13.894 %Cumberland County: 8.665 %Daviess County: 12.401 %Edmonson County: 19.042 %Elliott County: 18.156 %Estill County: 14.396 %Fayette County: 14.177 %Fleming County: 17.428 %Floyd County: 10.28 %Franklin County: 10.002 %Fulton County: 8.014 %Gallatin County: 7.935 %Garrard County: 16.281 %Grant County: 11.28 %Graves County: 17.145 %Grayson County: 8.852 %Green County: 19.051 %Greenup County: 11.77 %Hancock County: 6.239 %Hardin County: 12.913 %Harlan County: 10.276 %Harrison County: 13.904 %Hart County: 8.599 %Henderson County: 6.847 %Henry County: 11.147 %Hickman County: 10.466 %Hopkins County: 9.906 %Jackson County: 9.942 %Jefferson County: 13.812 %Jessamine County: 15.674 %Johnson County: 10.289 %Kenton County: 10.786 %Knott County: 19.488 %Knox County: 10.79 %Larue County: 12.859 %Laurel County: 15.584 %Lawrence County: 9.103 %Lee County: 10.523 %Leslie County: 8.201 %Letcher County: 17.322 %Lewis County: 17.127 %Lincoln County: 13.86 %Livingston County: 16.557 %Logan County: 10.124 %Lyon County: 12.27 %McCracken County: 12.997 %McCreary County: 14.902 %McLean County: 9.191 %Madison County: 12.242 %Magoffin County: 11.843 %Marion County: 11.945 %Marshall County: 17.691 %Martin County: 20.747 %Mason County: 10.562 %Meade County: 15.672 %Menifee County: 28.95 %Mercer County: 5.019 %Metcalfe County: 11.407 %Monroe County: 11.043 %Montgomery County: 8.653 %Morgan County: 16.016 %Muhlenberg County: 12.553 %Nelson County: 11.561 %Nicholas County: 11.204 %Ohio County: 5.927 %Oldham County: 11.842 %Owen County: 6.508 %Owsley County: 14.805 %Pendleton County: 13.305 %Perry County: 10.905 %Pike County: 15.467 %Powell County: 10.787 %Pulaski County: 12.068 %Robertson County: 45.729 %Rockcastle County: 12.515 %Rowan County: 10.341 %Russell County: 14.924 %Scott County: 11.319 %Shelby County: 10.352 %Simpson County: 18.376 %Spencer County: 17.079 %Taylor County: 11.382 %Todd County: 6.849 %Trigg County: 9.326 %Trimble County: 14.133 %Union County: 7.547 %Warren County: 14.013 %Washington County: 10.732 %Wayne County: 13.781 %Webster County: 11.808 %Whitley County: 9.306 %Wolfe County: 9.128 %Woodford County: 17.017 %
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%, 2017. 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, 2017

Robertson County: 45.729 %Robertson County45.729Menifee County: 28.95 %Menifee County28.95Martin County: 20.747 %Martin County20.747Knott County: 19.488 %Knott County19.488Green County: 19.051 %Green County19.051Edmonson County: 19.042 %Edmonson County19.042Simpson County: 18.376 %Simpson County18.376Elliott County: 18.156 %Elliott County18.156Marshall County: 17.691 %Marshall County17.691Fleming County: 17.428 %Fleming County17.428Letcher County: 17.322 %Letcher County17.322Graves County: 17.145 %Graves County17.145Lewis County: 17.127 %Lewis County17.127Spencer County: 17.079 %Spencer County17.079Woodford County: 17.017 %Woodford County17.017Livingston County: 16.557 %Livingston County16.557Garrard County: 16.281 %Garrard County16.281Bell County: 16.113 %Bell County16.113Morgan County: 16.016 %Morgan County16.016Jessamine County: 15.674 %Jessamine County15.674Meade County: 15.672 %Meade County15.672Carlisle County: 15.64 %Carlisle County15.64Laurel County: 15.584 %Laurel County15.584Pike County: 15.467 %Pike County15.467Bath County: 15.179 %Bath County15.179Bourbon County: 15.084 %Bourbon County15.084Clark County: 15.045 %Clark County15.045Russell County: 14.924 %Russell County14.924McCreary County: 14.902 %McCreary County14.902Owsley County: 14.805 %Owsley County14.805Boone County: 14.601 %Boone County14.601Estill County: 14.396 %Estill County14.396Bullitt County: 14.316 %Bullitt County14.316Adair County: 14.267 %Adair County14.267Fayette County: 14.177 %Fayette County14.177Trimble County: 14.133 %Trimble County14.133Warren County: 14.013 %Warren County14.013Harrison County: 13.904 %Harrison County13.904Crittenden County: 13.894 %Crittenden County13.894Lincoln County: 13.86 %Lincoln County13.86Robertson County: 45.729 %Robertson County45.729Menifee County: 28.95 %Menifee County28.95Martin County: 20.747 %Martin County20.747Knott County: 19.488 %Knott County19.488Green County: 19.051 %Green County19.051Edmonson County: 19.042 %Edmonson County19.042Simpson County: 18.376 %Simpson County18.376Elliott County: 18.156 %Elliott County18.156Marshall County: 17.691 %Marshall County17.691Fleming County: 17.428 %Fleming County17.428Letcher County: 17.322 %Letcher County17.322Graves County: 17.145 %Graves County17.145Lewis County: 17.127 %Lewis County17.127Spencer County: 17.079 %Spencer County17.079Woodford County: 17.017 %Woodford County17.017Livingston County: 16.557 %Livingston County16.557Garrard County: 16.281 %Garrard County16.281Bell County: 16.113 %Bell County16.113Morgan County: 16.016 %Morgan County16.016Jessamine County: 15.674 %Jessamine County15.674Meade County: 15.672 %Meade County15.672Carlisle County: 15.64 %Carlisle County15.64Laurel County: 15.584 %Laurel County15.584Pike County: 15.467 %Pike County15.467Bath County: 15.179 %Bath County15.179Bourbon County: 15.084 %Bourbon County15.084Clark County: 15.045 %Clark County15.045Russell County: 14.924 %Russell County14.924McCreary County: 14.902 %McCreary County14.902Owsley County: 14.805 %Owsley County14.805Boone County: 14.601 %Boone County14.601Estill County: 14.396 %Estill County14.396Bullitt County: 14.316 %Bullitt County14.316Adair County: 14.267 %Adair County14.267Fayette County: 14.177 %Fayette County14.177Trimble County: 14.133 %Trimble County14.133Warren County: 14.013 %Warren County14.013Harrison County: 13.904 %Harrison County13.904Crittenden County: 13.894 %Crittenden County13.894Lincoln County: 13.86 %Lincoln County13.86
%. 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

RankCounties2017 (%)Change on 2016
1Robertson County45.729+40.4 pts
2Menifee County28.95+20.65 pts
3Martin County20.747+10.97 pts
4Knott County19.488+4.29 pts
5Green County19.051+11.62 pts
6Edmonson County19.042+4.13 pts
7Simpson County18.376+10.01 pts
8Elliott County18.156+8.24 pts
9Marshall County17.691+4.31 pts
10Fleming County17.428+7.64 pts
11Letcher County17.322+8.92 pts
12Graves County17.145+8.47 pts
13Lewis County17.127-1.16 pts
14Spencer County17.079+6.91 pts
15Woodford County17.017+2.85 pts
16Livingston County16.557+8.52 pts
17Garrard County16.281-1.22 pts
18Bell County16.113+5.86 pts
19Morgan County16.016+3.25 pts
20Jessamine County15.674+3.6 pts
21Meade County15.672+6.93 pts
22Carlisle County15.64+3.8 pts
23Laurel County15.584+6.52 pts
24Pike County15.467+6.72 pts
25Bath County15.179-21.5 pts
26Bourbon County15.084+5.1 pts
27Clark County15.045+4.57 pts
28Russell County14.924+2.62 pts
29McCreary County14.902-2.04 pts
30Owsley County14.805-0.16 pts
31Boone County14.601+1.08 pts
32Estill County14.396-0.95 pts
33Bullitt County14.316+2.57 pts
34Adair County14.267+1.69 pts
35Fayette County14.177+3 pts
36Trimble County14.133+3.69 pts
37Warren County14.013+2.23 pts
38Harrison County13.904+4.02 pts
39Crittenden County13.894-11.16 pts
40Lincoln County13.86-4.92 pts
41Jefferson County13.812+1.72 pts
42Wayne County13.781-5.05 pts
43Anderson County13.581+2.55 pts
44Pendleton County13.305+5.37 pts
45Christian County13.299+0.71 pts
46Carter County13.211+5.29 pts
47McCracken County12.997+1.94 pts
48Hardin County12.913+1.18 pts
49Boyd County12.877+2.78 pts
50Larue County12.859+3.26 pts
51Butler County12.821+4.48 pts
52Muhlenberg County12.553-6.7 pts
53Rockcastle County12.515-1.88 pts
54Daviess County12.401+1.46 pts
55Lyon County12.27-4.69 pts
56Madison County12.242+1.18 pts
57Barren County12.189+2.22 pts
58Caldwell County12.178-0.04 pts
59Pulaski County12.068+1.34 pts
60Breathitt County12.004-7.57 pts
61Marion County11.945+2.27 pts
62Magoffin County11.843+3.19 pts
63Oldham County11.842-3.67 pts
64Webster County11.808-2.08 pts
65Greenup County11.77+2.29 pts
66Nelson County11.561+2.35 pts
67Metcalfe County11.407+1.2 pts
68Taylor County11.382+2.59 pts
69Breckinridge County11.326+1.15 pts
70Scott County11.319-0.58 pts
71Grant County11.28-4.82 pts
72Nicholas County11.204+2.79 pts
73Henry County11.147-1.1 pts
74Monroe County11.043-1.02 pts
75Perry County10.905+0.8 pts
76Bracken County10.878-3.44 pts
77Knox County10.79-1.45 pts
78Powell County10.787+1.22 pts
79Kenton County10.786-1.94 pts
80Washington County10.732+3.45 pts
81Mason County10.562+4.81 pts
82Casey County10.551+3.19 pts
83Lee County10.523+4.47 pts
84Hickman County10.466+3.56 pts
85Shelby County10.352-2.89 pts
86Rowan County10.341-4.21 pts
87Johnson County10.289-0.25 pts
88Floyd County10.28-3.16 pts
89Harlan County10.276+1.53 pts
90Logan County10.124-17.38 pts
91Franklin County10.002-0.28 pts
92Jackson County9.942+3.41 pts
93Hopkins County9.906-1.28 pts
94Boyle County9.733+1.04 pts
95Clay County9.658+1.49 pts
96Trigg County9.326-0.79 pts
97Whitley County9.306-4.69 pts
98McLean County9.191-8.19 pts
99Wolfe County9.128-4.02 pts
100Lawrence County9.103-9.29 pts
101Calloway County9.087-0.08 pts
102Grayson County8.852-4.27 pts
103Campbell County8.778-3.13 pts
104Cumberland County8.665+2.28 pts
105Montgomery County8.653-2.34 pts
106Hart County8.599-5.06 pts
107Ballard County8.216+2.33 pts
108Leslie County8.201-4 pts
109Fulton County8.014-6.46 pts
110Gallatin County7.935+4.04 pts
111Clinton County7.739-4.94 pts
112Union County7.547+0.52 pts
113Allen County7.029-7.4 pts
114Carroll County7.015+1.14 pts
115Todd County6.849-12.54 pts
116Henderson County6.847-2.21 pts
117Owen County6.508-6.58 pts
118Hancock County6.239-7.61 pts
119Ohio County5.927-0.7 pts
120Mercer County5.019-1.29 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, 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: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010, Counties in Kentucky by job creation 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/job-creation-rate/kentucky-counties?period=2017. 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, 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/job-creation-rate/kentucky-counties?period=2017.

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, 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/job-creation-rate/kentucky-counties?period=2017 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_kentucky_by_2017,
  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, 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/job-creation-rate/kentucky-counties?period=2017. 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, 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/job-creation-rate/kentucky-counties?period=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-creation-rate/kentucky-counties?period=2017.
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?

Robertson County, with 45.729% in 2017, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest job creation rate?

Mercer County, with 5.019% 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: 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