Data / Rankings / Job creation rate / Counties in Kentucky

Counties in Kentucky by job creation rate

Elliott County had the highest job creation rate of 120 counties in 2020, at 31.919%. Breathitt County had the lowest, at 5.564%. The median was 10.153% and the figure for Kentucky was 10.587%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest31.919Elliott County
Lowest5.564Breathitt County
Median10.153120 counties
Kentucky10.587History

Map of counties, 2020

Adair County: 10.236 %Allen County: 26.929 %Anderson County: 9.024 %Ballard County: 30.211 %Barren County: 7.98 %Bath County: 10.857 %Bell County: 10.969 %Boone County: 8.755 %Bourbon County: 8.709 %Boyd County: 9.431 %Boyle County: 8.856 %Bracken County: 9.021 %Breathitt County: 5.564 %Breckinridge County: 11.37 %Bullitt County: 9.906 %Butler County: 16.365 %Caldwell County: 17.212 %Calloway County: 7.544 %Campbell County: 8.965 %Carlisle County: 14.615 %Carroll County: 6.58 %Carter County: 13.682 %Casey County: 7.085 %Christian County: 10.397 %Clark County: 13.426 %Clay County: 10.755 %Clinton County: 7.427 %Crittenden County: 17.549 %Cumberland County: 9.091 %Daviess County: 9.705 %Edmonson County: 24.85 %Elliott County: 31.919 %Estill County: 7.138 %Fayette County: 10.613 %Fleming County: 9.631 %Floyd County: 18.625 %Franklin County: 12.098 %Fulton County: 8.933 %Gallatin County: 20.734 %Garrard County: 10.06 %Grant County: 14.431 %Graves County: 10.16 %Grayson County: 9.414 %Green County: 9.764 %Greenup County: 11.571 %Hancock County: 7.211 %Hardin County: 13.477 %Harlan County: 18.388 %Harrison County: 8.389 %Hart County: 5.686 %Henderson County: 7.616 %Henry County: 7.918 %Hickman County: 11.694 %Hopkins County: 11.047 %Jackson County: 13.652 %Jefferson County: 9.738 %Jessamine County: 10.427 %Johnson County: 9.213 %Kenton County: 10.293 %Knott County: 7.837 %Knox County: 12.23 %Larue County: 7.262 %Laurel County: 9.122 %Lawrence County: 11.077 %Lee County: 7.257 %Leslie County: 7.111 %Letcher County: 7.983 %Lewis County: 16.788 %Lincoln County: 15.265 %Livingston County: 26.893 %Logan County: 7.86 %Lyon County: 12.613 %McCracken County: 8.973 %McCreary County: 26.063 %McLean County: 18.225 %Madison County: 10.743 %Magoffin County: 14.018 %Marion County: 7.574 %Marshall County: 9.961 %Martin County: 18.309 %Mason County: 7.763 %Meade County: 10.145 %Menifee County: 7.692 %Mercer County: 8.304 %Metcalfe County: 6.07 %Monroe County: 6.231 %Montgomery County: 11.537 %Morgan County: 29.137 %Muhlenberg County: 19.455 %Nelson County: 12.318 %Nicholas County: 7.955 %Ohio County: 16.71 %Oldham County: 13.342 %Owen County: 15.446 %Owsley County: 6.634 %Pendleton County: 9.036 %Perry County: 13.315 %Pike County: 11.726 %Powell County: 14.943 %Pulaski County: 9.417 %Robertson County: 20.613 %Rockcastle County: 7.257 %Rowan County: 9.205 %Russell County: 9.204 %Scott County: 8.103 %Shelby County: 11.891 %Simpson County: 10.477 %Spencer County: 17.418 %Taylor County: 7.612 %Todd County: 13.629 %Trigg County: 15.358 %Trimble County: 9.64 %Union County: 11.122 %Warren County: 9.871 %Washington County: 7.915 %Wayne County: 7.821 %Webster County: 8.605 %Whitley County: 7.89 %Wolfe County: 15.442 %Woodford County: 14.07 %
  • Under 7.8
  • 7.8 to 9
  • 9 to 10
  • 10 to 12
  • 12 to 16
  • 16 and over
%, 2020. 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, 2020

Elliott County: 31.919 %Elliott County31.919Ballard County: 30.211 %Ballard County30.211Morgan County: 29.137 %Morgan County29.137Allen County: 26.929 %Allen County26.929Livingston County: 26.893 %Livingston County26.893McCreary County: 26.063 %McCreary County26.063Edmonson County: 24.85 %Edmonson County24.85Gallatin County: 20.734 %Gallatin County20.734Robertson County: 20.613 %Robertson County20.613Muhlenberg County: 19.455 %Muhlenberg County19.455Floyd County: 18.625 %Floyd County18.625Harlan County: 18.388 %Harlan County18.388Martin County: 18.309 %Martin County18.309McLean County: 18.225 %McLean County18.225Crittenden County: 17.549 %Crittenden County17.549Spencer County: 17.418 %Spencer County17.418Caldwell County: 17.212 %Caldwell County17.212Lewis County: 16.788 %Lewis County16.788Ohio County: 16.71 %Ohio County16.71Butler County: 16.365 %Butler County16.365Owen County: 15.446 %Owen County15.446Wolfe County: 15.442 %Wolfe County15.442Trigg County: 15.358 %Trigg County15.358Lincoln County: 15.265 %Lincoln County15.265Powell County: 14.943 %Powell County14.943Carlisle County: 14.615 %Carlisle County14.615Grant County: 14.431 %Grant County14.431Woodford County: 14.07 %Woodford County14.07Magoffin County: 14.018 %Magoffin County14.018Carter County: 13.682 %Carter County13.682Jackson County: 13.652 %Jackson County13.652Todd County: 13.629 %Todd County13.629Hardin County: 13.477 %Hardin County13.477Clark County: 13.426 %Clark County13.426Oldham County: 13.342 %Oldham County13.342Perry County: 13.315 %Perry County13.315Lyon County: 12.613 %Lyon County12.613Nelson County: 12.318 %Nelson County12.318Knox County: 12.23 %Knox County12.23Franklin County: 12.098 %Franklin County12.098Elliott County: 31.919 %Elliott County31.919Ballard County: 30.211 %Ballard County30.211Morgan County: 29.137 %Morgan County29.137Allen County: 26.929 %Allen County26.929Livingston County: 26.893 %Livingston County26.893McCreary County: 26.063 %McCreary County26.063Edmonson County: 24.85 %Edmonson County24.85Gallatin County: 20.734 %Gallatin County20.734Robertson County: 20.613 %Robertson County20.613Muhlenberg County: 19.455 %Muhlenberg County19.455Floyd County: 18.625 %Floyd County18.625Harlan County: 18.388 %Harlan County18.388Martin County: 18.309 %Martin County18.309McLean County: 18.225 %McLean County18.225Crittenden County: 17.549 %Crittenden County17.549Spencer County: 17.418 %Spencer County17.418Caldwell County: 17.212 %Caldwell County17.212Lewis County: 16.788 %Lewis County16.788Ohio County: 16.71 %Ohio County16.71Butler County: 16.365 %Butler County16.365Owen County: 15.446 %Owen County15.446Wolfe County: 15.442 %Wolfe County15.442Trigg County: 15.358 %Trigg County15.358Lincoln County: 15.265 %Lincoln County15.265Powell County: 14.943 %Powell County14.943Carlisle County: 14.615 %Carlisle County14.615Grant County: 14.431 %Grant County14.431Woodford County: 14.07 %Woodford County14.07Magoffin County: 14.018 %Magoffin County14.018Carter County: 13.682 %Carter County13.682Jackson County: 13.652 %Jackson County13.652Todd County: 13.629 %Todd County13.629Hardin County: 13.477 %Hardin County13.477Clark County: 13.426 %Clark County13.426Oldham County: 13.342 %Oldham County13.342Perry County: 13.315 %Perry County13.315Lyon County: 12.613 %Lyon County12.613Nelson County: 12.318 %Nelson County12.318Knox County: 12.23 %Knox County12.23Franklin County: 12.098 %Franklin County12.098
%. 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

RankCounties2020 (%)Change on 2019
1Elliott County31.919+24.63 pts
2Ballard County30.211+16.66 pts
3Morgan County29.137+20.41 pts
4Allen County26.929+16.56 pts
5Livingston County26.893+16.62 pts
6McCreary County26.063+16.37 pts
7Edmonson County24.85+15.91 pts
8Gallatin County20.734+11.96 pts
9Robertson County20.613+3.62 pts
10Muhlenberg County19.455+3.17 pts
11Floyd County18.625+7.69 pts
12Harlan County18.388+2.86 pts
13Martin County18.309+10.46 pts
14McLean County18.225-3.26 pts
15Crittenden County17.549+8.11 pts
16Spencer County17.418+0.72 pts
17Caldwell County17.212+4.88 pts
18Lewis County16.788+11.37 pts
19Ohio County16.71+8.06 pts
20Butler County16.365+2.45 pts
21Owen County15.446+8.21 pts
22Wolfe County15.442+0.21 pts
23Trigg County15.358+3.93 pts
24Lincoln County15.265+3.61 pts
25Powell County14.943-10.15 pts
26Carlisle County14.615-2.29 pts
27Grant County14.431+3.84 pts
28Woodford County14.07+4.46 pts
29Magoffin County14.018-3.56 pts
30Carter County13.682+2.34 pts
31Jackson County13.652+4.05 pts
32Todd County13.629-2.02 pts
33Hardin County13.477+1.07 pts
34Clark County13.426+6.55 pts
35Oldham County13.342+2.24 pts
36Perry County13.315+4.1 pts
37Lyon County12.613-3.13 pts
38Nelson County12.318-1.26 pts
39Knox County12.23+4.01 pts
40Franklin County12.098+0.75 pts
41Shelby County11.891+0.9 pts
42Pike County11.726+3.28 pts
43Hickman County11.694-3.87 pts
44Greenup County11.571+2.92 pts
45Montgomery County11.537+5.45 pts
46Breckinridge County11.37-7.74 pts
47Union County11.122-2.68 pts
48Lawrence County11.077-4.41 pts
49Hopkins County11.047+0.17 pts
50Bell County10.969-1.42 pts
51Bath County10.857-1.98 pts
52Clay County10.755-3.65 pts
53Madison County10.743-2.46 pts
54Fayette County10.613-2.09 pts
55Simpson County10.477-0.79 pts
56Jessamine County10.427+1.27 pts
57Christian County10.397+1.28 pts
58Kenton County10.293-0.12 pts
59Adair County10.236-0.07 pts
60Graves County10.16+1.68 pts
61Meade County10.145-1.24 pts
62Garrard County10.06-5.25 pts
63Marshall County9.961-1.87 pts
64Bullitt County9.906-6.57 pts
65Warren County9.871-0.55 pts
66Green County9.764-3.56 pts
67Jefferson County9.738-2.78 pts
68Daviess County9.705-0.72 pts
69Trimble County9.64-2.11 pts
70Fleming County9.631-2.38 pts
71Boyd County9.431-2.36 pts
72Pulaski County9.417+0.09 pts
73Grayson County9.414-0.73 pts
74Johnson County9.213+0.83 pts
75Rowan County9.205-1.44 pts
76Russell County9.204+2.17 pts
77Laurel County9.122+0.4 pts
78Cumberland County9.091+3.34 pts
79Pendleton County9.036-3.06 pts
80Anderson County9.024-0.49 pts
81Bracken County9.021-0.59 pts
82McCracken County8.973-2.22 pts
83Campbell County8.965-1.54 pts
84Fulton County8.933-2.83 pts
85Boyle County8.856-0.02 pts
86Boone County8.755-5.87 pts
87Bourbon County8.709-0.53 pts
88Webster County8.605-4.87 pts
89Harrison County8.389-0.29 pts
90Mercer County8.304-2.18 pts
91Scott County8.103+1.89 pts
92Letcher County7.983+1.78 pts
93Barren County7.98-4.92 pts
94Nicholas County7.955-6.64 pts
95Henry County7.918-1.16 pts
96Washington County7.915-3.8 pts
97Whitley County7.89-1.73 pts
98Logan County7.86-3.46 pts
99Knott County7.837-7.51 pts
100Wayne County7.821+0.69 pts
101Mason County7.763-0.26 pts
102Menifee County7.692-16.21 pts
103Henderson County7.616-1.96 pts
104Taylor County7.612-1.72 pts
105Marion County7.574-2.17 pts
106Calloway County7.544+0.66 pts
107Clinton County7.427+0.65 pts
108Larue County7.262-1.42 pts
109Lee County7.257-3.44 pts
109Rockcastle County7.257-0.28 pts
111Hancock County7.211+2.63 pts
112Estill County7.138-9.19 pts
113Leslie County7.111-2.7 pts
114Casey County7.085-2.06 pts
115Owsley County6.634-9.4 pts
116Carroll County6.58-8.07 pts
117Monroe County6.231-2.68 pts
118Metcalfe County6.07-0.92 pts
119Hart County5.686+0.1 pts
120Breathitt County5.564-4.08 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, 2020) [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, 2020. 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=2020. 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, 2020. 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=2020.

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, 2020 [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=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_kentucky_by_2020,
  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, 2020}},
  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=2020. 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, 2020
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=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-creation-rate/kentucky-counties?period=2020.
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?

Elliott County, with 31.919% in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest job creation rate?

Breathitt County, with 5.564% in 2020.

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