Data / Rankings / Job creation rate / Counties in Kentucky

Counties in Kentucky by job creation rate

Todd County had the highest job creation rate of 120 counties in 2022, at 29.072%. Clinton County had the lowest, at 4.886%. The median was 13.912% and the figure for Kentucky was 14.656%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest29.072Todd County
Lowest4.886Clinton County
Median13.912120 counties
Kentucky14.656History

Map of counties, 2022

Adair County: 14.529 %Allen County: 10.924 %Anderson County: 13.293 %Ballard County: 12.6 %Barren County: 12.628 %Bath County: 17.54 %Bell County: 14.347 %Boone County: 13.755 %Bourbon County: 13.017 %Boyd County: 13.463 %Boyle County: 12.571 %Bracken County: 15.504 %Breathitt County: 9.695 %Breckinridge County: 10.578 %Bullitt County: 16.99 %Butler County: 12.482 %Caldwell County: 12.696 %Calloway County: 12.204 %Campbell County: 16.759 %Carlisle County: 8.969 %Carroll County: 14.352 %Carter County: 16.127 %Casey County: 15.813 %Christian County: 13.948 %Clark County: 11.837 %Clay County: 12.113 %Clinton County: 4.886 %Crittenden County: 12.349 %Cumberland County: 14.141 %Daviess County: 12.32 %Edmonson County: 16.27 %Elliott County: 8.122 %Estill County: 16.344 %Fayette County: 16.264 %Fleming County: 14.902 %Floyd County: 15.507 %Franklin County: 14.44 %Fulton County: 13.44 %Gallatin County: 10.656 %Garrard County: 16.667 %Grant County: 13.723 %Graves County: 17.018 %Grayson County: 12.396 %Green County: 20.09 %Greenup County: 19.677 %Hancock County: 7.797 %Hardin County: 12.86 %Harlan County: 19.952 %Harrison County: 13.68 %Hart County: 14.023 %Henderson County: 13.135 %Henry County: 11.114 %Hickman County: 10.073 %Hopkins County: 13.367 %Jackson County: 19.623 %Jefferson County: 15.204 %Jessamine County: 12.103 %Johnson County: 12.995 %Kenton County: 14.011 %Knott County: 13.793 %Knox County: 16.553 %Larue County: 11.127 %Laurel County: 17.197 %Lawrence County: 13.609 %Lee County: 15.508 %Leslie County: 18.373 %Letcher County: 16.312 %Lewis County: 15.638 %Lincoln County: 13.65 %Livingston County: 22.619 %Logan County: 9.548 %Lyon County: 20.504 %McCracken County: 14.102 %McCreary County: 21.601 %McLean County: 20.254 %Madison County: 12.821 %Magoffin County: 13.454 %Marion County: 11.544 %Marshall County: 15.207 %Martin County: 11.643 %Mason County: 13.321 %Meade County: 13.788 %Menifee County: 12.018 %Mercer County: 17.664 %Metcalfe County: 18.255 %Monroe County: 15.331 %Montgomery County: 10.781 %Morgan County: 12.03 %Muhlenberg County: 16.289 %Nelson County: 13.403 %Nicholas County: 16.117 %Ohio County: 18.881 %Oldham County: 14.834 %Owen County: 22.732 %Owsley County: 10.147 %Pendleton County: 16.576 %Perry County: 14.554 %Pike County: 15.072 %Powell County: 19.789 %Pulaski County: 13.903 %Robertson County: 11.806 %Rockcastle County: 28.661 %Rowan County: 12.011 %Russell County: 14.003 %Scott County: 12.774 %Shelby County: 11.93 %Simpson County: 9.263 %Spencer County: 15.49 %Taylor County: 8.203 %Todd County: 29.072 %Trigg County: 13.92 %Trimble County: 9.84 %Union County: 6.724 %Warren County: 15.075 %Washington County: 16.844 %Wayne County: 10.296 %Webster County: 22.732 %Whitley County: 13.075 %Wolfe County: 18.356 %Woodford County: 17.086 %
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%, 2022. 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, 2022

Todd County: 29.072 %Todd County29.072Rockcastle County: 28.661 %Rockcastle County28.661Owen County: 22.732 %Owen County22.732Webster County: 22.732 %Webster County22.732Livingston County: 22.619 %Livingston County22.619McCreary County: 21.601 %McCreary County21.601Lyon County: 20.504 %Lyon County20.504McLean County: 20.254 %McLean County20.254Green County: 20.09 %Green County20.09Harlan County: 19.952 %Harlan County19.952Powell County: 19.789 %Powell County19.789Greenup County: 19.677 %Greenup County19.677Jackson County: 19.623 %Jackson County19.623Ohio County: 18.881 %Ohio County18.881Leslie County: 18.373 %Leslie County18.373Wolfe County: 18.356 %Wolfe County18.356Metcalfe County: 18.255 %Metcalfe County18.255Mercer County: 17.664 %Mercer County17.664Bath County: 17.54 %Bath County17.54Laurel County: 17.197 %Laurel County17.197Woodford County: 17.086 %Woodford County17.086Graves County: 17.018 %Graves County17.018Bullitt County: 16.99 %Bullitt County16.99Washington County: 16.844 %Washington County16.844Campbell County: 16.759 %Campbell County16.759Garrard County: 16.667 %Garrard County16.667Pendleton County: 16.576 %Pendleton County16.576Knox County: 16.553 %Knox County16.553Estill County: 16.344 %Estill County16.344Letcher County: 16.312 %Letcher County16.312Muhlenberg County: 16.289 %Muhlenberg County16.289Edmonson County: 16.27 %Edmonson County16.27Fayette County: 16.264 %Fayette County16.264Carter County: 16.127 %Carter County16.127Nicholas County: 16.117 %Nicholas County16.117Casey County: 15.813 %Casey County15.813Lewis County: 15.638 %Lewis County15.638Lee County: 15.508 %Lee County15.508Floyd County: 15.507 %Floyd County15.507Bracken County: 15.504 %Bracken County15.504Todd County: 29.072 %Todd County29.072Rockcastle County: 28.661 %Rockcastle County28.661Owen County: 22.732 %Owen County22.732Webster County: 22.732 %Webster County22.732Livingston County: 22.619 %Livingston County22.619McCreary County: 21.601 %McCreary County21.601Lyon County: 20.504 %Lyon County20.504McLean County: 20.254 %McLean County20.254Green County: 20.09 %Green County20.09Harlan County: 19.952 %Harlan County19.952Powell County: 19.789 %Powell County19.789Greenup County: 19.677 %Greenup County19.677Jackson County: 19.623 %Jackson County19.623Ohio County: 18.881 %Ohio County18.881Leslie County: 18.373 %Leslie County18.373Wolfe County: 18.356 %Wolfe County18.356Metcalfe County: 18.255 %Metcalfe County18.255Mercer County: 17.664 %Mercer County17.664Bath County: 17.54 %Bath County17.54Laurel County: 17.197 %Laurel County17.197Woodford County: 17.086 %Woodford County17.086Graves County: 17.018 %Graves County17.018Bullitt County: 16.99 %Bullitt County16.99Washington County: 16.844 %Washington County16.844Campbell County: 16.759 %Campbell County16.759Garrard County: 16.667 %Garrard County16.667Pendleton County: 16.576 %Pendleton County16.576Knox County: 16.553 %Knox County16.553Estill County: 16.344 %Estill County16.344Letcher County: 16.312 %Letcher County16.312Muhlenberg County: 16.289 %Muhlenberg County16.289Edmonson County: 16.27 %Edmonson County16.27Fayette County: 16.264 %Fayette County16.264Carter County: 16.127 %Carter County16.127Nicholas County: 16.117 %Nicholas County16.117Casey County: 15.813 %Casey County15.813Lewis County: 15.638 %Lewis County15.638Lee County: 15.508 %Lee County15.508Floyd County: 15.507 %Floyd County15.507Bracken County: 15.504 %Bracken County15.504
%. 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

RankCounties2022 (%)Change on 2021
1Todd County29.072+17.86 pts
2Rockcastle County28.661+21.8 pts
3Owen County22.732+7.39 pts
3Webster County22.732+6.27 pts
5Livingston County22.619+14.15 pts
6McCreary County21.601+9.48 pts
7Lyon County20.504+8.21 pts
8McLean County20.254+9.81 pts
9Green County20.09+13.89 pts
10Harlan County19.952+8.69 pts
11Powell County19.789+7.78 pts
12Greenup County19.677+9.88 pts
13Jackson County19.623+9.57 pts
14Ohio County18.881+7.73 pts
15Leslie County18.373+13.31 pts
16Wolfe County18.356-3.16 pts
17Metcalfe County18.255+11.4 pts
18Mercer County17.664+10.25 pts
19Bath County17.54+4.49 pts
20Laurel County17.197+7.76 pts
21Woodford County17.086+5.53 pts
22Graves County17.018+6.35 pts
23Bullitt County16.99+2.28 pts
24Washington County16.844+5.51 pts
25Campbell County16.759+5.72 pts
26Garrard County16.667-1.45 pts
27Pendleton County16.576+6.56 pts
28Knox County16.553+9.02 pts
29Estill County16.344+7.19 pts
30Letcher County16.312+5.23 pts
31Muhlenberg County16.289+6.54 pts
32Edmonson County16.27+2.58 pts
33Fayette County16.264+5.6 pts
34Carter County16.127+6.82 pts
35Nicholas County16.117+1.2 pts
36Casey County15.813+8.45 pts
37Lewis County15.638-7.23 pts
38Lee County15.508+8.66 pts
39Floyd County15.507+6.04 pts
40Bracken County15.504+4.73 pts
41Spencer County15.49+3.12 pts
42Monroe County15.331+8.15 pts
43Marshall County15.207+6.6 pts
44Jefferson County15.204+4.28 pts
45Warren County15.075+2.83 pts
46Pike County15.072+5.08 pts
47Fleming County14.902+5.04 pts
48Oldham County14.834-0.38 pts
49Perry County14.554+6.39 pts
50Adair County14.529+2.66 pts
51Franklin County14.44+1.74 pts
52Carroll County14.352+8.57 pts
53Bell County14.347+3.08 pts
54Cumberland County14.141+6.91 pts
55McCracken County14.102+2.4 pts
56Hart County14.023+5.66 pts
57Kenton County14.011+0.35 pts
58Russell County14.003+6.78 pts
59Christian County13.948+3.8 pts
60Trigg County13.92+4.54 pts
61Pulaski County13.903+4.8 pts
62Knott County13.793-7.31 pts
63Meade County13.788+0.8 pts
64Boone County13.755+2.47 pts
65Grant County13.723-2.99 pts
66Harrison County13.68+6.17 pts
67Lincoln County13.65+1.88 pts
68Lawrence County13.609+5.28 pts
69Boyd County13.463+1.27 pts
70Magoffin County13.454-1.12 pts
71Fulton County13.44+3.16 pts
72Nelson County13.403+3.35 pts
73Hopkins County13.367+5.06 pts
74Mason County13.321+3.12 pts
75Anderson County13.293+0.55 pts
76Henderson County13.135+3.85 pts
77Whitley County13.075+5.76 pts
78Bourbon County13.017+3.46 pts
79Johnson County12.995+2.18 pts
80Hardin County12.86+2.76 pts
81Madison County12.821+2.91 pts
82Scott County12.774+5.41 pts
83Caldwell County12.696+1.68 pts
84Barren County12.628+4.21 pts
85Ballard County12.6-4.78 pts
86Boyle County12.571+2.01 pts
87Butler County12.482-4.23 pts
88Grayson County12.396-4.74 pts
89Crittenden County12.349+3.37 pts
90Daviess County12.32+0.38 pts
91Calloway County12.204-6.02 pts
92Clay County12.113+4.07 pts
93Jessamine County12.103+2.48 pts
94Morgan County12.03+2.94 pts
95Menifee County12.018+3.78 pts
96Rowan County12.011+2.34 pts
97Shelby County11.93-10.51 pts
98Clark County11.837+3.59 pts
99Robertson County11.806+6.96 pts
100Martin County11.643-2.39 pts
101Marion County11.544+5.88 pts
102Larue County11.127+1.2 pts
103Henry County11.114+3.62 pts
104Allen County10.924+3.82 pts
105Montgomery County10.781-7.44 pts
106Gallatin County10.656-8.27 pts
107Breckinridge County10.578-3.25 pts
108Wayne County10.296-0.17 pts
109Owsley County10.147+2.1 pts
110Hickman County10.073+5.31 pts
111Trimble County9.84-3.58 pts
112Breathitt County9.695+2.67 pts
113Logan County9.548-7.26 pts
114Simpson County9.263-2.02 pts
115Carlisle County8.969-3.11 pts
116Taylor County8.203+0.83 pts
117Elliott County8.122-2.82 pts
118Hancock County7.797+0.51 pts
119Union County6.724+0.35 pts
120Clinton County4.886-5.44 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, 2022) [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, 2022. 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=2022. 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, 2022. 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=2022.

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, 2022 [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=2022 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_kentucky_by_2022,
  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, 2022}},
  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=2022. 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, 2022
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=2022
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-creation-rate/kentucky-counties?period=2022.
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?

Todd County, with 29.072% in 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest job creation rate?

Clinton County, with 4.886% in 2022.

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