Counties in Massachusetts by job creation rate

Nantucket County had the highest job creation rate of 14 counties in 2016, at 22.222%. Hampshire County had the lowest, at 10.125%. The median was 11.874% and the figure for Massachusetts was 11.561%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest22.222Nantucket County
Lowest10.125Hampshire County
Median11.87414 counties
Massachusetts11.561History

Map of counties, 2016

Barnstable County: 11.959 %Berkshire County: 10.278 %Bristol County: 11.788 %Dukes County: 15.173 %Essex County: 11.993 %Franklin County: 10.595 %Hampden County: 11.253 %Hampshire County: 10.125 %Middlesex County: 11.275 %Nantucket County: 22.222 %Norfolk County: 12.191 %Plymouth County: 12.785 %Suffolk County: 10.543 %Worcester County: 12.044 %
  • Under 11
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%, 2016. 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.

All counties, 2016

Nantucket County: 22.222 %Nantucket County22.222Dukes County: 15.173 %Dukes County15.173Plymouth County: 12.785 %Plymouth County12.785Norfolk County: 12.191 %Norfolk County12.191Worcester County: 12.044 %Worcester County12.044Essex County: 11.993 %Essex County11.993Barnstable County: 11.959 %Barnstable County11.959Bristol County: 11.788 %Bristol County11.788Middlesex County: 11.275 %Middlesex County11.275Hampden County: 11.253 %Hampden County11.253Franklin County: 10.595 %Franklin County10.595Suffolk County: 10.543 %Suffolk County10.543Berkshire County: 10.278 %Berkshire County10.278Hampshire County: 10.125 %Hampshire County10.125Nantucket County: 22.222 %Nantucket County22.222Dukes County: 15.173 %Dukes County15.173Plymouth County: 12.785 %Plymouth County12.785Norfolk County: 12.191 %Norfolk County12.191Worcester County: 12.044 %Worcester County12.044Essex County: 11.993 %Essex County11.993Barnstable County: 11.959 %Barnstable County11.959Bristol County: 11.788 %Bristol County11.788Middlesex County: 11.275 %Middlesex County11.275Hampden County: 11.253 %Hampden County11.253Franklin County: 10.595 %Franklin County10.595Suffolk County: 10.543 %Suffolk County10.543Berkshire County: 10.278 %Berkshire County10.278Hampshire County: 10.125 %Hampshire County10.125
%. 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

RankCounties2016 (%)Change on 2015
1Nantucket County22.222+7.16 pts
2Dukes County15.173+0.92 pts
3Plymouth County12.785+0.38 pts
4Norfolk County12.191+0.16 pts
5Worcester County12.044+0.88 pts
6Essex County11.993+0.07 pts
7Barnstable County11.959-1.14 pts
8Bristol County11.788-0.84 pts
9Middlesex County11.275-0.78 pts
10Hampden County11.253+1.38 pts
11Franklin County10.595+0.7 pts
12Suffolk County10.543-1.4 pts
13Berkshire County10.278-0.92 pts
14Hampshire County10.125+0.69 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 Massachusetts by job creation rate, 2016) [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 Massachusetts by job creation rate, 2016. 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/massachusetts-counties?period=2016. 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 Massachusetts by job creation rate, 2016. 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/massachusetts-counties?period=2016.

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 Massachusetts by job creation rate, 2016 [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/massachusetts-counties?period=2016 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_massachusetts_by_2016,
  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 Massachusetts by job creation rate, 2016}},
  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/massachusetts-counties?period=2016. 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 Massachusetts by job creation rate, 2016
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/massachusetts-counties?period=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-creation-rate/massachusetts-counties?period=2016.
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?

Nantucket County, with 22.222% in 2016, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest job creation rate?

Hampshire County, with 10.125% in 2016.

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 Massachusetts: more rankings