Data / Rankings / Job creation rate / Counties in Kentucky

Counties in Kentucky by job creation rate

Powell County had the highest job creation rate of 120 counties in 2019, at 25.089%. Hancock County had the lowest, at 4.577%. The median was 10.547% and the figure for Kentucky was 11.578%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest25.089Powell County
Lowest4.577Hancock County
Median10.547120 counties
Kentucky11.578History

Map of counties, 2019

Adair County: 10.311 %Allen County: 10.364 %Anderson County: 9.51 %Ballard County: 13.549 %Barren County: 12.903 %Bath County: 12.836 %Bell County: 12.386 %Boone County: 14.627 %Bourbon County: 9.237 %Boyd County: 11.795 %Boyle County: 8.872 %Bracken County: 9.613 %Breathitt County: 9.641 %Breckinridge County: 19.112 %Bullitt County: 16.472 %Butler County: 13.918 %Caldwell County: 12.337 %Calloway County: 6.886 %Campbell County: 10.504 %Carlisle County: 16.908 %Carroll County: 14.65 %Carter County: 11.344 %Casey County: 9.146 %Christian County: 9.118 %Clark County: 6.872 %Clay County: 14.408 %Clinton County: 6.78 %Crittenden County: 9.441 %Cumberland County: 5.755 %Daviess County: 10.427 %Edmonson County: 8.945 %Elliott County: 7.285 %Estill County: 16.324 %Fayette County: 12.704 %Fleming County: 12.016 %Floyd County: 10.933 %Franklin County: 11.347 %Fulton County: 11.765 %Gallatin County: 8.779 %Garrard County: 15.31 %Grant County: 10.589 %Graves County: 8.479 %Grayson County: 10.142 %Green County: 13.322 %Greenup County: 8.648 %Hancock County: 4.577 %Hardin County: 12.406 %Harlan County: 15.528 %Harrison County: 8.681 %Hart County: 5.588 %Henderson County: 9.575 %Henry County: 9.074 %Hickman County: 15.563 %Hopkins County: 10.879 %Jackson County: 9.601 %Jefferson County: 12.515 %Jessamine County: 9.159 %Johnson County: 8.383 %Kenton County: 10.415 %Knott County: 15.347 %Knox County: 8.218 %Larue County: 8.677 %Laurel County: 8.717 %Lawrence County: 15.49 %Lee County: 10.692 %Leslie County: 9.813 %Letcher County: 6.198 %Lewis County: 5.414 %Lincoln County: 11.658 %Livingston County: 10.276 %Logan County: 11.324 %Lyon County: 15.745 %McCracken County: 11.198 %McCreary County: 9.693 %McLean County: 21.488 %Madison County: 13.205 %Magoffin County: 17.58 %Marion County: 9.742 %Marshall County: 11.835 %Martin County: 7.852 %Mason County: 8.019 %Meade County: 11.389 %Menifee County: 23.902 %Mercer County: 10.485 %Metcalfe County: 6.99 %Monroe County: 8.906 %Montgomery County: 6.092 %Morgan County: 8.732 %Muhlenberg County: 16.283 %Nelson County: 13.578 %Nicholas County: 14.597 %Ohio County: 8.655 %Oldham County: 11.103 %Owen County: 7.24 %Owsley County: 16.03 %Pendleton County: 12.092 %Perry County: 9.214 %Pike County: 8.447 %Powell County: 25.089 %Pulaski County: 9.33 %Robertson County: 16.997 %Rockcastle County: 7.541 %Rowan County: 10.649 %Russell County: 7.039 %Scott County: 6.216 %Shelby County: 10.987 %Simpson County: 11.263 %Spencer County: 16.701 %Taylor County: 9.328 %Todd County: 15.646 %Trigg County: 11.424 %Trimble County: 11.75 %Union County: 13.803 %Warren County: 10.417 %Washington County: 11.715 %Wayne County: 7.132 %Webster County: 13.47 %Whitley County: 9.622 %Wolfe County: 15.234 %Woodford County: 9.606 %
  • Under 8.4
  • 8.4 to 9.4
  • 9.4 to 11
  • 11 to 12
  • 12 to 15
  • 15 and over
%, 2019. 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, 2019

Powell County: 25.089 %Powell County25.089Menifee County: 23.902 %Menifee County23.902McLean County: 21.488 %McLean County21.488Breckinridge County: 19.112 %Breckinridge County19.112Magoffin County: 17.58 %Magoffin County17.58Robertson County: 16.997 %Robertson County16.997Carlisle County: 16.908 %Carlisle County16.908Spencer County: 16.701 %Spencer County16.701Bullitt County: 16.472 %Bullitt County16.472Estill County: 16.324 %Estill County16.324Muhlenberg County: 16.283 %Muhlenberg County16.283Owsley County: 16.03 %Owsley County16.03Lyon County: 15.745 %Lyon County15.745Todd County: 15.646 %Todd County15.646Hickman County: 15.563 %Hickman County15.563Harlan County: 15.528 %Harlan County15.528Lawrence County: 15.49 %Lawrence County15.49Knott County: 15.347 %Knott County15.347Garrard County: 15.31 %Garrard County15.31Wolfe County: 15.234 %Wolfe County15.234Carroll County: 14.65 %Carroll County14.65Boone County: 14.627 %Boone County14.627Nicholas County: 14.597 %Nicholas County14.597Clay County: 14.408 %Clay County14.408Butler County: 13.918 %Butler County13.918Union County: 13.803 %Union County13.803Nelson County: 13.578 %Nelson County13.578Ballard County: 13.549 %Ballard County13.549Webster County: 13.47 %Webster County13.47Green County: 13.322 %Green County13.322Madison County: 13.205 %Madison County13.205Barren County: 12.903 %Barren County12.903Bath County: 12.836 %Bath County12.836Fayette County: 12.704 %Fayette County12.704Jefferson County: 12.515 %Jefferson County12.515Hardin County: 12.406 %Hardin County12.406Bell County: 12.386 %Bell County12.386Caldwell County: 12.337 %Caldwell County12.337Pendleton County: 12.092 %Pendleton County12.092Fleming County: 12.016 %Fleming County12.016Powell County: 25.089 %Powell County25.089Menifee County: 23.902 %Menifee County23.902McLean County: 21.488 %McLean County21.488Breckinridge County: 19.112 %Breckinridge County19.112Magoffin County: 17.58 %Magoffin County17.58Robertson County: 16.997 %Robertson County16.997Carlisle County: 16.908 %Carlisle County16.908Spencer County: 16.701 %Spencer County16.701Bullitt County: 16.472 %Bullitt County16.472Estill County: 16.324 %Estill County16.324Muhlenberg County: 16.283 %Muhlenberg County16.283Owsley County: 16.03 %Owsley County16.03Lyon County: 15.745 %Lyon County15.745Todd County: 15.646 %Todd County15.646Hickman County: 15.563 %Hickman County15.563Harlan County: 15.528 %Harlan County15.528Lawrence County: 15.49 %Lawrence County15.49Knott County: 15.347 %Knott County15.347Garrard County: 15.31 %Garrard County15.31Wolfe County: 15.234 %Wolfe County15.234Carroll County: 14.65 %Carroll County14.65Boone County: 14.627 %Boone County14.627Nicholas County: 14.597 %Nicholas County14.597Clay County: 14.408 %Clay County14.408Butler County: 13.918 %Butler County13.918Union County: 13.803 %Union County13.803Nelson County: 13.578 %Nelson County13.578Ballard County: 13.549 %Ballard County13.549Webster County: 13.47 %Webster County13.47Green County: 13.322 %Green County13.322Madison County: 13.205 %Madison County13.205Barren County: 12.903 %Barren County12.903Bath County: 12.836 %Bath County12.836Fayette County: 12.704 %Fayette County12.704Jefferson County: 12.515 %Jefferson County12.515Hardin County: 12.406 %Hardin County12.406Bell County: 12.386 %Bell County12.386Caldwell County: 12.337 %Caldwell County12.337Pendleton County: 12.092 %Pendleton County12.092Fleming County: 12.016 %Fleming County12.016
%. 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

RankCounties2019 (%)Change on 2018
1Powell County25.089+12.97 pts
2Menifee County23.902+10.06 pts
3McLean County21.488+13.2 pts
4Breckinridge County19.112+6.46 pts
5Magoffin County17.58+4.72 pts
6Robertson County16.997+5.2 pts
7Carlisle County16.908+5.32 pts
8Spencer County16.701+4.97 pts
9Bullitt County16.472+3.63 pts
10Estill County16.324+3.53 pts
11Muhlenberg County16.283+0.87 pts
12Owsley County16.03+6.2 pts
13Lyon County15.745+3.43 pts
14Todd County15.646+1.01 pts
15Hickman County15.563+6.79 pts
16Harlan County15.528+1.54 pts
17Lawrence County15.49+6.85 pts
18Knott County15.347+1.84 pts
19Garrard County15.31-1.86 pts
20Wolfe County15.234+0.41 pts
21Carroll County14.65+9.67 pts
22Boone County14.627+1.83 pts
23Nicholas County14.597-2.86 pts
24Clay County14.408+6.92 pts
25Butler County13.918-8.86 pts
26Union County13.803+6.32 pts
27Nelson County13.578+4.54 pts
28Ballard County13.549-0.89 pts
29Webster County13.47+0.41 pts
30Green County13.322+2.63 pts
31Madison County13.205-0.01 pts
32Barren County12.903+5 pts
33Bath County12.836+0.13 pts
34Fayette County12.704+0.78 pts
35Jefferson County12.515-0.85 pts
36Hardin County12.406+1.67 pts
37Bell County12.386+0.48 pts
38Caldwell County12.337+3.31 pts
39Pendleton County12.092+2.25 pts
40Fleming County12.016+1.53 pts
41Marshall County11.835-0.05 pts
42Boyd County11.795+2.04 pts
43Fulton County11.765+1.38 pts
44Trimble County11.75-6.04 pts
45Washington County11.715+3.53 pts
46Lincoln County11.658+3.46 pts
47Trigg County11.424-2.98 pts
48Meade County11.389+1.61 pts
49Franklin County11.347+1.54 pts
50Carter County11.344+3.84 pts
51Logan County11.324+1.43 pts
52Simpson County11.263-1.31 pts
53McCracken County11.198-0.8 pts
54Oldham County11.103+0.85 pts
55Shelby County10.987-0.86 pts
56Floyd County10.933+1.62 pts
57Hopkins County10.879-0.38 pts
58Lee County10.692-8.09 pts
59Rowan County10.649+2.51 pts
60Grant County10.589-5.89 pts
61Campbell County10.504-3.73 pts
62Mercer County10.485+1.38 pts
63Daviess County10.427+1.13 pts
64Warren County10.417-2.25 pts
65Kenton County10.415-1.71 pts
66Allen County10.364+3.88 pts
67Adair County10.311+0.2 pts
68Livingston County10.276+2.8 pts
69Grayson County10.142+1.07 pts
70Leslie County9.813+0.96 pts
71Marion County9.742-1.44 pts
72McCreary County9.693+0.92 pts
73Breathitt County9.641+3.43 pts
74Whitley County9.622-0.2 pts
75Bracken County9.613+4.68 pts
76Woodford County9.606-2.48 pts
77Jackson County9.601-13.2 pts
78Henderson County9.575-0.94 pts
79Anderson County9.51+0.44 pts
80Crittenden County9.441+0.1 pts
81Pulaski County9.33-2.57 pts
82Taylor County9.328-3.84 pts
83Bourbon County9.237-0.42 pts
84Perry County9.214+0.69 pts
85Jessamine County9.159-0.19 pts
86Casey County9.146+1.08 pts
87Christian County9.118-0.45 pts
88Henry County9.074-3.95 pts
89Edmonson County8.945-0.87 pts
90Monroe County8.906-1.69 pts
91Boyle County8.872-2.93 pts
92Gallatin County8.779+1.28 pts
93Morgan County8.732-2.32 pts
94Laurel County8.717+0.03 pts
95Harrison County8.681+1.43 pts
96Larue County8.677-4.45 pts
97Ohio County8.655+1.71 pts
98Greenup County8.648-7.71 pts
99Graves County8.479-5.75 pts
100Pike County8.447-1.26 pts
101Johnson County8.383-1.23 pts
102Knox County8.218-6.83 pts
103Mason County8.019-1.96 pts
104Martin County7.852-1.57 pts
105Rockcastle County7.541+0.03 pts
106Elliott County7.285-2.96 pts
107Owen County7.24-4.64 pts
108Wayne County7.132-4.73 pts
109Russell County7.039-2.55 pts
110Metcalfe County6.99-1.31 pts
111Calloway County6.886-0.91 pts
112Clark County6.872-0.65 pts
113Clinton County6.78-0.54 pts
114Scott County6.216-3.16 pts
115Letcher County6.198-4.99 pts
116Montgomery County6.092+0.24 pts
117Cumberland County5.755-4 pts
118Hart County5.588+0.81 pts
119Lewis County5.414-4.88 pts
120Hancock County4.577+0.93 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, 2019) [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, 2019. 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=2019. 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, 2019. 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=2019.

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, 2019 [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=2019 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_kentucky_by_2019,
  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, 2019}},
  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=2019. 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, 2019
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=2019
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-creation-rate/kentucky-counties?period=2019.
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  -
Embed this chart

Paste this code into a web page or a blog post. The chart shows the latest figures as they are published, with the source and a link back to this page.

Sites that read oEmbed links, such as WordPress, can show the chart when you paste the link to this page.

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 Kentucky by job creation rate using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"job_creation_rate","level":"province","within":"Kentucky","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=job_creation_rate&level=province&within=Kentucky&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which county has the highest job creation rate?

Powell County, with 25.089% in 2019, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest job creation rate?

Hancock County, with 4.577% in 2019.

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