Counties in Massachusetts by job creation rate

Nantucket County had the highest job creation rate of 14 counties in 2021, at 16.118%. Hampshire County had the lowest, at 7.581%. The median was 9.608% and the figure for Massachusetts was 9.638%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest16.118Nantucket County
Lowest7.581Hampshire County
Median9.60814 counties
Massachusetts9.638History

Map of counties, 2021

Barnstable County: 9.916 %Berkshire County: 7.666 %Bristol County: 9.914 %Dukes County: 14.238 %Essex County: 8.976 %Franklin County: 9.689 %Hampden County: 7.846 %Hampshire County: 7.581 %Middlesex County: 9.315 %Nantucket County: 16.118 %Norfolk County: 9.613 %Plymouth County: 9.664 %Suffolk County: 9.602 %Worcester County: 8.789 %
  • Under 8.4
  • 8.4 to 9.4
  • 9.4 to 9.7
  • 9.7 to 9.9
  • 9.9 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.

All counties, 2021

Nantucket County: 16.118 %Nantucket County16.118Dukes County: 14.238 %Dukes County14.238Barnstable County: 9.916 %Barnstable County9.916Bristol County: 9.914 %Bristol County9.914Franklin County: 9.689 %Franklin County9.689Plymouth County: 9.664 %Plymouth County9.664Norfolk County: 9.613 %Norfolk County9.613Suffolk County: 9.602 %Suffolk County9.602Middlesex County: 9.315 %Middlesex County9.315Essex County: 8.976 %Essex County8.976Worcester County: 8.789 %Worcester County8.789Hampden County: 7.846 %Hampden County7.846Berkshire County: 7.666 %Berkshire County7.666Hampshire County: 7.581 %Hampshire County7.581Nantucket County: 16.118 %Nantucket County16.118Dukes County: 14.238 %Dukes County14.238Barnstable County: 9.916 %Barnstable County9.916Bristol County: 9.914 %Bristol County9.914Franklin County: 9.689 %Franklin County9.689Plymouth County: 9.664 %Plymouth County9.664Norfolk County: 9.613 %Norfolk County9.613Suffolk County: 9.602 %Suffolk County9.602Middlesex County: 9.315 %Middlesex County9.315Essex County: 8.976 %Essex County8.976Worcester County: 8.789 %Worcester County8.789Hampden County: 7.846 %Hampden County7.846Berkshire County: 7.666 %Berkshire County7.666Hampshire County: 7.581 %Hampshire County7.581
%. 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
1Nantucket County16.118+4.45 pts
2Dukes County14.238+2.08 pts
3Barnstable County9.916-2.1 pts
4Bristol County9.914-1.25 pts
5Franklin County9.689-2.78 pts
6Plymouth County9.664+0.05 pts
7Norfolk County9.613-0.92 pts
8Suffolk County9.602-0.51 pts
9Middlesex County9.315-1.53 pts
10Essex County8.976-1.31 pts
11Worcester County8.789-2.21 pts
12Hampden County7.846-2.36 pts
13Berkshire County7.666-1.45 pts
14Hampshire County7.581-2.3 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, 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 Massachusetts 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/massachusetts-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 Massachusetts 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/massachusetts-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 Massachusetts 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/massachusetts-counties?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

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

Nantucket County, with 16.118% in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest job creation rate?

Hampshire County, with 7.581% 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 Massachusetts: more rankings