Data / Rankings / Job creation rate / Counties in North Carolina

Counties in North Carolina by job creation rate

Graham County had the highest job creation rate of 100 counties in 2017, at 27.202%. Bladen County had the lowest, at 5.288%. The median was 11.904% and the figure for North Carolina was 13.189%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest27.202Graham County
Lowest5.288Bladen County
Median11.904100 counties
North Carolina13.189History

Map of counties, 2017

Alamance County: 10.473 %Alexander County: 8.051 %Alleghany County: 14.765 %Anson County: 10.974 %Ashe County: 8.026 %Avery County: 12.353 %Beaufort County: 11.578 %Bertie County: 16.756 %Bladen County: 5.288 %Brunswick County: 14.349 %Buncombe County: 14 %Burke County: 11.912 %Cabarrus County: 14.365 %Caldwell County: 13.295 %Camden County: 14.203 %Carteret County: 12.838 %Caswell County: 11.059 %Catawba County: 10.559 %Chatham County: 12.539 %Cherokee County: 12.22 %Chowan County: 10.012 %Clay County: 10.333 %Cleveland County: 10.26 %Columbus County: 9.902 %Craven County: 11.303 %Cumberland County: 10.252 %Currituck County: 16.322 %Dare County: 13.856 %Davidson County: 12.236 %Davie County: 12.189 %Duplin County: 8.495 %Durham County: 11.895 %Edgecombe County: 9.76 %Forsyth County: 11.453 %Franklin County: 14.757 %Gaston County: 9.821 %Gates County: 22.043 %Graham County: 27.202 %Granville County: 15.002 %Greene County: 11.69 %Guilford County: 12.579 %Halifax County: 10.478 %Harnett County: 18.329 %Haywood County: 12.528 %Henderson County: 10.566 %Hertford County: 10.627 %Hoke County: 11.286 %Hyde County: 17.517 %Iredell County: 11.91 %Jackson County: 12.798 %Johnston County: 14.051 %Jones County: 15.456 %Lee County: 11.897 %Lenoir County: 10.301 %Lincoln County: 13.257 %McDowell County: 6.883 %Macon County: 12.349 %Madison County: 22.709 %Martin County: 11.355 %Mecklenburg County: 15.455 %Mitchell County: 11.837 %Montgomery County: 11.157 %Moore County: 12.58 %Nash County: 9.342 %New Hanover County: 16.066 %Northampton County: 6.806 %Onslow County: 12.599 %Orange County: 17.303 %Pamlico County: 12.955 %Pasquotank County: 10.081 %Pender County: 17.196 %Perquimans County: 12.804 %Person County: 9.865 %Pitt County: 11.826 %Polk County: 10.107 %Randolph County: 11.035 %Richmond County: 7.97 %Robeson County: 12.823 %Rockingham County: 11.313 %Rowan County: 10.333 %Rutherford County: 12.147 %Sampson County: 10.92 %Scotland County: 10.157 %Stanly County: 13.132 %Stokes County: 20.199 %Surry County: 10.031 %Swain County: 14.772 %Transylvania County: 13.924 %Tyrrell County: 19.439 %Union County: 13.246 %Vance County: 15.127 %Wake County: 15.053 %Warren County: 11.083 %Washington County: 5.49 %Watauga County: 13.072 %Wayne County: 9.776 %Wilkes County: 8.674 %Wilson County: 8.849 %Yadkin County: 9.596 %Yancey County: 7.68 %
  • Under 9.9
  • 9.9 to 11
  • 11 to 12
  • 12 to 13
  • 13 to 15
  • 15 and over
%, 2017. 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, 2017

Graham County: 27.202 %Graham County27.202Madison County: 22.709 %Madison County22.709Gates County: 22.043 %Gates County22.043Stokes County: 20.199 %Stokes County20.199Tyrrell County: 19.439 %Tyrrell County19.439Harnett County: 18.329 %Harnett County18.329Hyde County: 17.517 %Hyde County17.517Orange County: 17.303 %Orange County17.303Pender County: 17.196 %Pender County17.196Bertie County: 16.756 %Bertie County16.756Currituck County: 16.322 %Currituck County16.322New Hanover County: 16.066 %New Hanover County16.066Jones County: 15.456 %Jones County15.456Mecklenburg County: 15.455 %Mecklenburg County15.455Vance County: 15.127 %Vance County15.127Wake County: 15.053 %Wake County15.053Granville County: 15.002 %Granville County15.002Swain County: 14.772 %Swain County14.772Alleghany County: 14.765 %Alleghany County14.765Franklin County: 14.757 %Franklin County14.757Cabarrus County: 14.365 %Cabarrus County14.365Brunswick County: 14.349 %Brunswick County14.349Camden County: 14.203 %Camden County14.203Johnston County: 14.051 %Johnston County14.051Buncombe County: 14 %Buncombe County14Transylvania County: 13.924 %Transylvania County13.924Dare County: 13.856 %Dare County13.856Caldwell County: 13.295 %Caldwell County13.295Lincoln County: 13.257 %Lincoln County13.257Union County: 13.246 %Union County13.246Stanly County: 13.132 %Stanly County13.132Watauga County: 13.072 %Watauga County13.072Pamlico County: 12.955 %Pamlico County12.955Carteret County: 12.838 %Carteret County12.838Robeson County: 12.823 %Robeson County12.823Perquimans County: 12.804 %Perquimans County12.804Jackson County: 12.798 %Jackson County12.798Onslow County: 12.599 %Onslow County12.599Moore County: 12.58 %Moore County12.58Guilford County: 12.579 %Guilford County12.579Graham County: 27.202 %Graham County27.202Madison County: 22.709 %Madison County22.709Gates County: 22.043 %Gates County22.043Stokes County: 20.199 %Stokes County20.199Tyrrell County: 19.439 %Tyrrell County19.439Harnett County: 18.329 %Harnett County18.329Hyde County: 17.517 %Hyde County17.517Orange County: 17.303 %Orange County17.303Pender County: 17.196 %Pender County17.196Bertie County: 16.756 %Bertie County16.756Currituck County: 16.322 %Currituck County16.322New Hanover County: 16.066 %New Hanover County16.066Jones County: 15.456 %Jones County15.456Mecklenburg County: 15.455 %Mecklenburg County15.455Vance County: 15.127 %Vance County15.127Wake County: 15.053 %Wake County15.053Granville County: 15.002 %Granville County15.002Swain County: 14.772 %Swain County14.772Alleghany County: 14.765 %Alleghany County14.765Franklin County: 14.757 %Franklin County14.757Cabarrus County: 14.365 %Cabarrus County14.365Brunswick County: 14.349 %Brunswick County14.349Camden County: 14.203 %Camden County14.203Johnston County: 14.051 %Johnston County14.051Buncombe County: 14 %Buncombe County14Transylvania County: 13.924 %Transylvania County13.924Dare County: 13.856 %Dare County13.856Caldwell County: 13.295 %Caldwell County13.295Lincoln County: 13.257 %Lincoln County13.257Union County: 13.246 %Union County13.246Stanly County: 13.132 %Stanly County13.132Watauga County: 13.072 %Watauga County13.072Pamlico County: 12.955 %Pamlico County12.955Carteret County: 12.838 %Carteret County12.838Robeson County: 12.823 %Robeson County12.823Perquimans County: 12.804 %Perquimans County12.804Jackson County: 12.798 %Jackson County12.798Onslow County: 12.599 %Onslow County12.599Moore County: 12.58 %Moore County12.58Guilford County: 12.579 %Guilford County12.579
%. 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

RankCounties2017 (%)Change on 2016
1Graham County27.202+10.43 pts
2Madison County22.709+10.96 pts
3Gates County22.043-0.19 pts
4Stokes County20.199+9.29 pts
5Tyrrell County19.439+2.39 pts
6Harnett County18.329+1.75 pts
7Hyde County17.517-4.14 pts
8Orange County17.303+5.52 pts
9Pender County17.196-2.47 pts
10Bertie County16.756+10.69 pts
11Currituck County16.322+2.57 pts
12New Hanover County16.066+2.28 pts
13Jones County15.456-3.41 pts
14Mecklenburg County15.455+0.12 pts
15Vance County15.127+3.68 pts
16Wake County15.053-0.05 pts
17Granville County15.002+4.39 pts
18Swain County14.772-0.85 pts
19Alleghany County14.765-3.32 pts
20Franklin County14.757+1.38 pts
21Cabarrus County14.365+1.11 pts
22Brunswick County14.349+0.78 pts
23Camden County14.203-15.75 pts
24Johnston County14.051+1.55 pts
25Buncombe County14-0.78 pts
26Transylvania County13.924+1.44 pts
27Dare County13.856-0.61 pts
28Caldwell County13.295+4.72 pts
29Lincoln County13.257-1.09 pts
30Union County13.246-0.39 pts
31Stanly County13.132+0.38 pts
32Watauga County13.072+0.28 pts
33Pamlico County12.955+2.93 pts
34Carteret County12.838+1.89 pts
35Robeson County12.823+3.05 pts
36Perquimans County12.804+1.36 pts
37Jackson County12.798+0.71 pts
38Onslow County12.599-0.85 pts
39Moore County12.58+1.19 pts
40Guilford County12.579+2.06 pts
41Chatham County12.539-1.09 pts
42Haywood County12.528+0.21 pts
43Avery County12.353+1.35 pts
44Macon County12.349-0.64 pts
45Davidson County12.236+1.84 pts
46Cherokee County12.22-10.35 pts
47Davie County12.189-4.31 pts
48Rutherford County12.147+0.19 pts
49Burke County11.912+1.33 pts
50Iredell County11.91-0.92 pts
51Lee County11.897+1.95 pts
52Durham County11.895-0.63 pts
53Mitchell County11.8370 pts
54Pitt County11.826+0.68 pts
55Greene County11.69-0.85 pts
56Beaufort County11.578-0.22 pts
57Forsyth County11.453-0.21 pts
58Martin County11.355-2.9 pts
59Rockingham County11.313+0.85 pts
60Craven County11.303-0.57 pts
61Hoke County11.286+2.62 pts
62Montgomery County11.157-0.28 pts
63Warren County11.083-0.41 pts
64Caswell County11.059-1.96 pts
65Randolph County11.035+1.05 pts
66Anson County10.974-2.73 pts
67Sampson County10.92+0.51 pts
68Hertford County10.627+1.87 pts
69Henderson County10.566-2.6 pts
70Catawba County10.559-1.64 pts
71Halifax County10.478-0.06 pts
72Alamance County10.473-1.33 pts
73Clay County10.333-5.53 pts
73Rowan County10.333+0.46 pts
75Lenoir County10.301+1.8 pts
76Cleveland County10.26-3.53 pts
77Cumberland County10.252-2.53 pts
78Scotland County10.157-0.31 pts
79Polk County10.107-1.45 pts
80Pasquotank County10.081-9.15 pts
81Surry County10.031-0.76 pts
82Chowan County10.012-1.04 pts
83Columbus County9.902-2.33 pts
84Person County9.865-1.74 pts
85Gaston County9.821-3.09 pts
86Wayne County9.776-0.74 pts
87Edgecombe County9.76+0.21 pts
88Yadkin County9.596-1.35 pts
89Nash County9.342-0.27 pts
90Wilson County8.849-1.25 pts
91Wilkes County8.674-0.53 pts
92Duplin County8.495+0.7 pts
93Alexander County8.051-6.96 pts
94Ashe County8.026-8.82 pts
95Richmond County7.97-7.3 pts
96Yancey County7.68-6.21 pts
97McDowell County6.883-4.45 pts
98Northampton County6.806-5.08 pts
99Washington County5.49-2.1 pts
100Bladen County5.288-2.97 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 North Carolina by job creation rate, 2017) [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 North Carolina by job creation rate, 2017. 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/north-carolina-counties?period=2017. 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 North Carolina by job creation rate, 2017. 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/north-carolina-counties?period=2017.

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 North Carolina by job creation rate, 2017 [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/north-carolina-counties?period=2017 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_north_carolina_2017,
  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 North Carolina by job creation rate, 2017}},
  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/north-carolina-counties?period=2017. 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 North Carolina by job creation rate, 2017
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/north-carolina-counties?period=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-creation-rate/north-carolina-counties?period=2017.
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?

Graham County, with 27.202% in 2017, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest job creation rate?

Bladen County, with 5.288% in 2017.

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 North Carolina: more rankings