Data / Rankings / Job creation rate / Counties in Kentucky

Counties in Kentucky by job creation rate

Lewis County had the highest job creation rate of 120 counties in 2021, at 22.87%. Hickman County had the lowest, at 4.762%. The median was 10.301% and the figure for Kentucky was 11.12%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest22.87Lewis County
Lowest4.762Hickman County
Median10.301120 counties
Kentucky11.12History

Map of counties, 2021

Adair County: 11.873 %Allen County: 7.101 %Anderson County: 12.739 %Ballard County: 17.378 %Barren County: 8.415 %Bath County: 13.045 %Bell County: 11.262 %Boone County: 11.29 %Bourbon County: 9.562 %Boyd County: 12.195 %Boyle County: 10.558 %Bracken County: 10.77 %Breathitt County: 7.027 %Breckinridge County: 13.825 %Bullitt County: 14.707 %Butler County: 16.711 %Caldwell County: 11.013 %Calloway County: 18.223 %Campbell County: 11.035 %Carlisle County: 12.078 %Carroll County: 5.779 %Carter County: 9.308 %Casey County: 7.368 %Christian County: 10.148 %Clark County: 8.244 %Clay County: 8.045 %Clinton County: 10.323 %Crittenden County: 8.976 %Cumberland County: 7.229 %Daviess County: 11.943 %Edmonson County: 13.691 %Elliott County: 10.938 %Estill County: 9.159 %Fayette County: 10.661 %Fleming County: 9.859 %Floyd County: 9.463 %Franklin County: 12.697 %Fulton County: 10.279 %Gallatin County: 18.924 %Garrard County: 18.121 %Grant County: 16.711 %Graves County: 10.669 %Grayson County: 17.141 %Green County: 6.2 %Greenup County: 9.795 %Hancock County: 7.291 %Hardin County: 10.097 %Harlan County: 11.258 %Harrison County: 7.505 %Hart County: 8.36 %Henderson County: 9.281 %Henry County: 7.497 %Hickman County: 4.762 %Hopkins County: 8.309 %Jackson County: 10.057 %Jefferson County: 10.928 %Jessamine County: 9.618 %Johnson County: 10.817 %Kenton County: 13.662 %Knott County: 21.102 %Knox County: 7.532 %Larue County: 9.925 %Laurel County: 9.44 %Lawrence County: 8.326 %Lee County: 6.852 %Leslie County: 5.06 %Letcher County: 11.079 %Lewis County: 22.87 %Lincoln County: 11.765 %Livingston County: 8.469 %Logan County: 16.803 %Lyon County: 12.293 %McCracken County: 11.699 %McCreary County: 12.117 %McLean County: 10.444 %Madison County: 9.912 %Magoffin County: 14.574 %Marion County: 5.662 %Marshall County: 8.609 %Martin County: 14.033 %Mason County: 10.203 %Meade County: 12.983 %Menifee County: 8.237 %Mercer County: 7.41 %Metcalfe County: 6.851 %Monroe County: 7.181 %Montgomery County: 18.217 %Morgan County: 9.091 %Muhlenberg County: 9.752 %Nelson County: 10.052 %Nicholas County: 14.922 %Ohio County: 11.151 %Oldham County: 15.219 %Owen County: 15.341 %Owsley County: 8.052 %Pendleton County: 10.018 %Perry County: 8.164 %Pike County: 9.987 %Powell County: 12.009 %Pulaski County: 9.107 %Robertson County: 4.848 %Rockcastle County: 6.864 %Rowan County: 9.667 %Russell County: 7.221 %Scott County: 7.361 %Shelby County: 22.436 %Simpson County: 11.285 %Spencer County: 12.368 %Taylor County: 7.369 %Todd County: 11.212 %Trigg County: 9.384 %Trimble County: 13.419 %Union County: 6.371 %Warren County: 12.245 %Washington County: 11.338 %Wayne County: 10.461 %Webster County: 16.459 %Whitley County: 7.318 %Wolfe County: 21.519 %Woodford County: 11.553 %
  • Under 7.4
  • 7.4 to 9.3
  • 9.3 to 10
  • 10 to 11
  • 11 to 14
  • 14 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

Lewis County: 22.87 %Lewis County22.87Shelby County: 22.436 %Shelby County22.436Wolfe County: 21.519 %Wolfe County21.519Knott County: 21.102 %Knott County21.102Gallatin County: 18.924 %Gallatin County18.924Calloway County: 18.223 %Calloway County18.223Montgomery County: 18.217 %Montgomery County18.217Garrard County: 18.121 %Garrard County18.121Ballard County: 17.378 %Ballard County17.378Grayson County: 17.141 %Grayson County17.141Logan County: 16.803 %Logan County16.803Butler County: 16.711 %Butler County16.711Grant County: 16.711 %Grant County16.711Webster County: 16.459 %Webster County16.459Owen County: 15.341 %Owen County15.341Oldham County: 15.219 %Oldham County15.219Nicholas County: 14.922 %Nicholas County14.922Bullitt County: 14.707 %Bullitt County14.707Magoffin County: 14.574 %Magoffin County14.574Martin County: 14.033 %Martin County14.033Breckinridge County: 13.825 %Breckinridge County13.825Edmonson County: 13.691 %Edmonson County13.691Kenton County: 13.662 %Kenton County13.662Trimble County: 13.419 %Trimble County13.419Bath County: 13.045 %Bath County13.045Meade County: 12.983 %Meade County12.983Anderson County: 12.739 %Anderson County12.739Franklin County: 12.697 %Franklin County12.697Spencer County: 12.368 %Spencer County12.368Lyon County: 12.293 %Lyon County12.293Warren County: 12.245 %Warren County12.245Boyd County: 12.195 %Boyd County12.195McCreary County: 12.117 %McCreary County12.117Carlisle County: 12.078 %Carlisle County12.078Powell County: 12.009 %Powell County12.009Daviess County: 11.943 %Daviess County11.943Adair County: 11.873 %Adair County11.873Lincoln County: 11.765 %Lincoln County11.765McCracken County: 11.699 %McCracken County11.699Woodford County: 11.553 %Woodford County11.553Lewis County: 22.87 %Lewis County22.87Shelby County: 22.436 %Shelby County22.436Wolfe County: 21.519 %Wolfe County21.519Knott County: 21.102 %Knott County21.102Gallatin County: 18.924 %Gallatin County18.924Calloway County: 18.223 %Calloway County18.223Montgomery County: 18.217 %Montgomery County18.217Garrard County: 18.121 %Garrard County18.121Ballard County: 17.378 %Ballard County17.378Grayson County: 17.141 %Grayson County17.141Logan County: 16.803 %Logan County16.803Butler County: 16.711 %Butler County16.711Grant County: 16.711 %Grant County16.711Webster County: 16.459 %Webster County16.459Owen County: 15.341 %Owen County15.341Oldham County: 15.219 %Oldham County15.219Nicholas County: 14.922 %Nicholas County14.922Bullitt County: 14.707 %Bullitt County14.707Magoffin County: 14.574 %Magoffin County14.574Martin County: 14.033 %Martin County14.033Breckinridge County: 13.825 %Breckinridge County13.825Edmonson County: 13.691 %Edmonson County13.691Kenton County: 13.662 %Kenton County13.662Trimble County: 13.419 %Trimble County13.419Bath County: 13.045 %Bath County13.045Meade County: 12.983 %Meade County12.983Anderson County: 12.739 %Anderson County12.739Franklin County: 12.697 %Franklin County12.697Spencer County: 12.368 %Spencer County12.368Lyon County: 12.293 %Lyon County12.293Warren County: 12.245 %Warren County12.245Boyd County: 12.195 %Boyd County12.195McCreary County: 12.117 %McCreary County12.117Carlisle County: 12.078 %Carlisle County12.078Powell County: 12.009 %Powell County12.009Daviess County: 11.943 %Daviess County11.943Adair County: 11.873 %Adair County11.873Lincoln County: 11.765 %Lincoln County11.765McCracken County: 11.699 %McCracken County11.699Woodford County: 11.553 %Woodford County11.553
%. 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
1Lewis County22.87+6.08 pts
2Shelby County22.436+10.54 pts
3Wolfe County21.519+6.08 pts
4Knott County21.102+13.27 pts
5Gallatin County18.924-1.81 pts
6Calloway County18.223+10.68 pts
7Montgomery County18.217+6.68 pts
8Garrard County18.121+8.06 pts
9Ballard County17.378-12.83 pts
10Grayson County17.141+7.73 pts
11Logan County16.803+8.94 pts
12Butler County16.711+0.35 pts
12Grant County16.711+2.28 pts
14Webster County16.459+7.85 pts
15Owen County15.341-0.11 pts
16Oldham County15.219+1.88 pts
17Nicholas County14.922+6.97 pts
18Bullitt County14.707+4.8 pts
19Magoffin County14.574+0.56 pts
20Martin County14.033-4.28 pts
21Breckinridge County13.825+2.46 pts
22Edmonson County13.691-11.16 pts
23Kenton County13.662+3.37 pts
24Trimble County13.419+3.78 pts
25Bath County13.045+2.19 pts
26Meade County12.983+2.84 pts
27Anderson County12.739+3.72 pts
28Franklin County12.697+0.6 pts
29Spencer County12.368-5.05 pts
30Lyon County12.293-0.32 pts
31Warren County12.245+2.37 pts
32Boyd County12.195+2.76 pts
33McCreary County12.117-13.95 pts
34Carlisle County12.078-2.54 pts
35Powell County12.009-2.93 pts
36Daviess County11.943+2.24 pts
37Adair County11.873+1.64 pts
38Lincoln County11.765-3.5 pts
39McCracken County11.699+2.73 pts
40Woodford County11.553-2.52 pts
41Washington County11.338+3.42 pts
42Boone County11.29+2.53 pts
43Simpson County11.285+0.81 pts
44Bell County11.262+0.29 pts
45Harlan County11.258-7.13 pts
46Todd County11.212-2.42 pts
47Ohio County11.151-5.56 pts
48Letcher County11.079+3.1 pts
49Campbell County11.035+2.07 pts
50Caldwell County11.013-6.2 pts
51Elliott County10.938-20.98 pts
52Jefferson County10.928+1.19 pts
53Johnson County10.817+1.6 pts
54Bracken County10.77+1.75 pts
55Graves County10.669+0.51 pts
56Fayette County10.661+0.05 pts
57Boyle County10.558+1.7 pts
58Wayne County10.461+2.64 pts
59McLean County10.444-7.78 pts
60Clinton County10.323+2.9 pts
61Fulton County10.279+1.35 pts
62Mason County10.203+2.44 pts
63Christian County10.148-0.25 pts
64Hardin County10.097-3.38 pts
65Jackson County10.057-3.59 pts
66Nelson County10.052-2.27 pts
67Pendleton County10.018+0.98 pts
68Pike County9.987-1.74 pts
69Larue County9.925+2.66 pts
70Madison County9.912-0.83 pts
71Fleming County9.859+0.23 pts
72Greenup County9.795-1.78 pts
73Muhlenberg County9.752-9.7 pts
74Rowan County9.667+0.46 pts
75Jessamine County9.618-0.81 pts
76Bourbon County9.562+0.85 pts
77Floyd County9.463-9.16 pts
78Laurel County9.44+0.32 pts
79Trigg County9.384-5.97 pts
80Carter County9.308-4.37 pts
81Henderson County9.281+1.67 pts
82Estill County9.159+2.02 pts
83Pulaski County9.107-0.31 pts
84Morgan County9.091-20.05 pts
85Crittenden County8.976-8.57 pts
86Marshall County8.609-1.35 pts
87Livingston County8.469-18.42 pts
88Barren County8.415+0.43 pts
89Hart County8.36+2.67 pts
90Lawrence County8.326-2.75 pts
91Hopkins County8.309-2.74 pts
92Clark County8.244-5.18 pts
93Menifee County8.237+0.54 pts
94Perry County8.164-5.15 pts
95Owsley County8.052+1.42 pts
96Clay County8.045-2.71 pts
97Knox County7.532-4.7 pts
98Harrison County7.505-0.88 pts
99Henry County7.497-0.42 pts
100Mercer County7.41-0.89 pts
101Taylor County7.369-0.24 pts
102Casey County7.368+0.28 pts
103Scott County7.361-0.74 pts
104Whitley County7.318-0.57 pts
105Hancock County7.291+0.08 pts
106Cumberland County7.229-1.86 pts
107Russell County7.221-1.98 pts
108Monroe County7.181+0.95 pts
109Allen County7.101-19.83 pts
110Breathitt County7.027+1.46 pts
111Rockcastle County6.864-0.39 pts
112Lee County6.852-0.4 pts
113Metcalfe County6.851+0.78 pts
114Union County6.371-4.75 pts
115Green County6.2-3.56 pts
116Carroll County5.779-0.8 pts
117Marion County5.662-1.91 pts
118Leslie County5.06-2.05 pts
119Robertson County4.848-15.77 pts
120Hickman County4.762-6.93 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, 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 Kentucky 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/kentucky-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 Kentucky 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/kentucky-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 Kentucky 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/kentucky-counties?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_kentucky_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 Kentucky 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/kentucky-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 Kentucky 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/kentucky-counties?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-creation-rate/kentucky-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?

Lewis County, with 22.87% in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest job creation rate?

Hickman County, with 4.762% 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 Kentucky: more rankings