Data / Rankings / Job creation rate / Counties in Nebraska

Counties in Nebraska by job creation rate

Thurston County had the highest job creation rate of 93 counties in 2021, at 28.503%. Hayes County had the lowest, at 4.082%. The median was 10.111% and the figure for Nebraska was 10.707%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest28.503Thurston County
Lowest4.082Hayes County
Median10.11193 counties
Nebraska10.707History

Map of counties, 2021

Adams County: 9.275 %Antelope County: 8.831 %Arthur County: 9.302 %Banner County: 14.966 %Blaine County: 7.273 %Boone County: 15.007 %Box Butte County: 9.031 %Boyd County: 6.618 %Brown County: 14.293 %Buffalo County: 10.452 %Burt County: 9.571 %Butler County: 9.565 %Cass County: 15.889 %Cedar County: 11.774 %Chase County: 14.899 %Cherry County: 14.386 %Cheyenne County: 16.139 %Clay County: 8.301 %Colfax County: 6.554 %Cuming County: 13.464 %Custer County: 8.033 %Dakota County: 4.916 %Dawes County: 9.976 %Dawson County: 7.507 %Deuel County: 13.596 %Dixon County: 11.34 %Dodge County: 7.992 %Douglas County: 11.332 %Dundy County: 8.989 %Fillmore County: 9.553 %Franklin County: 9.252 %Frontier County: 14.213 %Furnas County: 11.771 %Gage County: 9.929 %Garden County: 17.115 %Garfield County: 13.018 %Gosper County: 23.324 %Grant County: 24.39 %Greeley County: 21.125 %Hall County: 8.372 %Hamilton County: 9.514 %Harlan County: 9.274 %Hayes County: 4.082 %Hitchcock County: 5.607 %Holt County: 11.037 %Hooker County: 26.201 %Howard County: 11.832 %Jefferson County: 6.329 %Johnson County: 8.832 %Kearney County: 8.743 %Keith County: 11.475 %Keya Paha County: 25.882 %Kimball County: 9.669 %Knox County: 8.571 %Lancaster County: 10.096 %Lincoln County: 9.966 %Logan County: 8 %Loup County: 12.903 %McPherson County: 22.222 %Madison County: 8.523 %Merrick County: 15.553 %Morrill County: 9.283 %Nance County: 8.4 %Nemaha County: 10.111 %Nuckolls County: 11.691 %Otoe County: 12.294 %Pawnee County: 11.324 %Perkins County: 10.267 %Phelps County: 11.393 %Pierce County: 7.656 %Platte County: 10.952 %Polk County: 8.918 %Red Willow County: 10.807 %Richardson County: 10.972 %Rock County: 9.932 %Saline County: 10.803 %Sarpy County: 10.253 %Saunders County: 15.945 %Scotts Bluff County: 9.01 %Seward County: 8.133 %Sheridan County: 10.724 %Sherman County: 11.41 %Sioux County: 22.222 %Stanton County: 13.187 %Thayer County: 7.514 %Thomas County: 7.282 %Thurston County: 28.503 %Valley County: 7.245 %Washington County: 11.762 %Wayne County: 9.3 %Webster County: 14.002 %Wheeler County: 8 %York County: 7.717 %
  • Under 8
  • 8 to 9.3
  • 9.3 to 10
  • 10 to 12
  • 12 to 15
  • 15 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

Thurston County: 28.503 %Thurston County28.503Hooker County: 26.201 %Hooker County26.201Keya Paha County: 25.882 %Keya Paha County25.882Grant County: 24.39 %Grant County24.39Gosper County: 23.324 %Gosper County23.324McPherson County: 22.222 %McPherson County22.222Sioux County: 22.222 %Sioux County22.222Greeley County: 21.125 %Greeley County21.125Garden County: 17.115 %Garden County17.115Cheyenne County: 16.139 %Cheyenne County16.139Saunders County: 15.945 %Saunders County15.945Cass County: 15.889 %Cass County15.889Merrick County: 15.553 %Merrick County15.553Boone County: 15.007 %Boone County15.007Banner County: 14.966 %Banner County14.966Chase County: 14.899 %Chase County14.899Cherry County: 14.386 %Cherry County14.386Brown County: 14.293 %Brown County14.293Frontier County: 14.213 %Frontier County14.213Webster County: 14.002 %Webster County14.002Deuel County: 13.596 %Deuel County13.596Cuming County: 13.464 %Cuming County13.464Stanton County: 13.187 %Stanton County13.187Garfield County: 13.018 %Garfield County13.018Loup County: 12.903 %Loup County12.903Otoe County: 12.294 %Otoe County12.294Howard County: 11.832 %Howard County11.832Cedar County: 11.774 %Cedar County11.774Furnas County: 11.771 %Furnas County11.771Washington County: 11.762 %Washington County11.762Nuckolls County: 11.691 %Nuckolls County11.691Keith County: 11.475 %Keith County11.475Sherman County: 11.41 %Sherman County11.41Phelps County: 11.393 %Phelps County11.393Dixon County: 11.34 %Dixon County11.34Douglas County: 11.332 %Douglas County11.332Pawnee County: 11.324 %Pawnee County11.324Holt County: 11.037 %Holt County11.037Richardson County: 10.972 %Richardson County10.972Platte County: 10.952 %Platte County10.952Thurston County: 28.503 %Thurston County28.503Hooker County: 26.201 %Hooker County26.201Keya Paha County: 25.882 %Keya Paha County25.882Grant County: 24.39 %Grant County24.39Gosper County: 23.324 %Gosper County23.324McPherson County: 22.222 %McPherson County22.222Sioux County: 22.222 %Sioux County22.222Greeley County: 21.125 %Greeley County21.125Garden County: 17.115 %Garden County17.115Cheyenne County: 16.139 %Cheyenne County16.139Saunders County: 15.945 %Saunders County15.945Cass County: 15.889 %Cass County15.889Merrick County: 15.553 %Merrick County15.553Boone County: 15.007 %Boone County15.007Banner County: 14.966 %Banner County14.966Chase County: 14.899 %Chase County14.899Cherry County: 14.386 %Cherry County14.386Brown County: 14.293 %Brown County14.293Frontier County: 14.213 %Frontier County14.213Webster County: 14.002 %Webster County14.002Deuel County: 13.596 %Deuel County13.596Cuming County: 13.464 %Cuming County13.464Stanton County: 13.187 %Stanton County13.187Garfield County: 13.018 %Garfield County13.018Loup County: 12.903 %Loup County12.903Otoe County: 12.294 %Otoe County12.294Howard County: 11.832 %Howard County11.832Cedar County: 11.774 %Cedar County11.774Furnas County: 11.771 %Furnas County11.771Washington County: 11.762 %Washington County11.762Nuckolls County: 11.691 %Nuckolls County11.691Keith County: 11.475 %Keith County11.475Sherman County: 11.41 %Sherman County11.41Phelps County: 11.393 %Phelps County11.393Dixon County: 11.34 %Dixon County11.34Douglas County: 11.332 %Douglas County11.332Pawnee County: 11.324 %Pawnee County11.324Holt County: 11.037 %Holt County11.037Richardson County: 10.972 %Richardson County10.972Platte County: 10.952 %Platte County10.952
%. 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
1Thurston County28.503-13.71 pts
2Hooker County26.201+13.3 pts
3Keya Paha County25.882+21.18 pts
4Grant County24.39+16.8 pts
5Gosper County23.324+12.93 pts
6McPherson County22.222+22.22 pts
6Sioux County22.222+9.72 pts
8Greeley County21.125+8.18 pts
9Garden County17.115-5.81 pts
10Cheyenne County16.139+5.03 pts
11Saunders County15.945+2.13 pts
12Cass County15.889+1.72 pts
13Merrick County15.553+7.22 pts
14Boone County15.007+7.59 pts
15Banner County14.966+9.08 pts
16Chase County14.899+3.62 pts
17Cherry County14.386-1.02 pts
18Brown County14.293+0.3 pts
19Frontier County14.213+6.46 pts
20Webster County14.002+5.65 pts
21Deuel County13.596+5.16 pts
22Cuming County13.464+5.79 pts
23Stanton County13.187+0.26 pts
24Garfield County13.018-4.29 pts
25Loup County12.903+0.66 pts
26Otoe County12.294+3.82 pts
27Howard County11.832+4.14 pts
28Cedar County11.774-0.34 pts
29Furnas County11.771+0.49 pts
30Washington County11.762+1.87 pts
31Nuckolls County11.691+3.79 pts
32Keith County11.475-4.56 pts
33Sherman County11.41+4.81 pts
34Phelps County11.393+4.37 pts
35Dixon County11.34+0.09 pts
36Douglas County11.332+0.41 pts
37Pawnee County11.324-0.5 pts
38Holt County11.037+0.83 pts
39Richardson County10.972-0.18 pts
40Platte County10.952+3.67 pts
41Red Willow County10.807+2.53 pts
42Saline County10.803+7.01 pts
43Sheridan County10.724+1.59 pts
44Buffalo County10.452+0.17 pts
45Perkins County10.267+4.4 pts
46Sarpy County10.253-1.32 pts
47Nemaha County10.111-0.11 pts
48Lancaster County10.096-0.46 pts
49Dawes County9.976+1.11 pts
50Lincoln County9.966-0.02 pts
51Rock County9.932+5.05 pts
52Gage County9.929+1.27 pts
53Kimball County9.669-12.79 pts
54Burt County9.571-2.47 pts
55Butler County9.565+1.09 pts
56Fillmore County9.553+2.05 pts
57Hamilton County9.514+0.79 pts
58Arthur County9.302-0.15 pts
59Wayne County9.3-8.47 pts
60Morrill County9.283-12.81 pts
61Adams County9.275+2.16 pts
62Harlan County9.274-1.57 pts
63Franklin County9.252-7.2 pts
64Box Butte County9.031-3.15 pts
65Scotts Bluff County9.01-2.06 pts
66Dundy County8.989+2.95 pts
67Polk County8.918+1.56 pts
68Johnson County8.832-0.46 pts
69Antelope County8.831+0.21 pts
70Kearney County8.743-6.27 pts
71Knox County8.571-5.08 pts
72Madison County8.523-3.17 pts
73Nance County8.4-3.79 pts
74Hall County8.372-4.53 pts
75Clay County8.301-0.56 pts
76Seward County8.133+1.54 pts
77Custer County8.033-1.92 pts
78Logan County8+1.67 pts
78Wheeler County8-5.01 pts
80Dodge County7.992+0.22 pts
81York County7.717-0.36 pts
82Pierce County7.656-2.67 pts
83Thayer County7.514+0.5 pts
84Dawson County7.507-3.39 pts
85Thomas County7.282+5.63 pts
86Blaine County7.273-7.27 pts
87Valley County7.245-3.67 pts
88Boyd County6.618+0.85 pts
89Colfax County6.554+1.15 pts
90Jefferson County6.329-1.53 pts
91Hitchcock County5.607-8.2 pts
92Dakota County4.916-2.31 pts
93Hayes County4.082-20.41 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 Nebraska 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 Nebraska 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/nebraska-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 Nebraska 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/nebraska-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 Nebraska 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/nebraska-counties?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

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

Thurston County, with 28.503% in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest job creation rate?

Hayes County, with 4.082% 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 Nebraska: more rankings