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

Counties in North Carolina by job creation rate

Mitchell County had the highest job creation rate of 100 counties in 2019, at 25.042%. Washington County had the lowest, at 4.38%. The median was 11.819% and the figure for North Carolina was 12.574%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest25.042Mitchell County
Lowest4.38Washington County
Median11.819100 counties
North Carolina12.574History

Map of counties, 2019

Alamance County: 12.549 %Alexander County: 7.807 %Alleghany County: 13.604 %Anson County: 13.22 %Ashe County: 10.986 %Avery County: 13.597 %Beaufort County: 8.271 %Bertie County: 15.03 %Bladen County: 12.705 %Brunswick County: 14.224 %Buncombe County: 16.16 %Burke County: 10.408 %Cabarrus County: 13.388 %Caldwell County: 12.852 %Camden County: 21.474 %Carteret County: 11.429 %Caswell County: 13.998 %Catawba County: 9.682 %Chatham County: 11.313 %Cherokee County: 8.738 %Chowan County: 13.208 %Clay County: 17.576 %Cleveland County: 10.228 %Columbus County: 11.234 %Craven County: 11.577 %Cumberland County: 10.025 %Currituck County: 14.414 %Dare County: 12.048 %Davidson County: 12.464 %Davie County: 12.943 %Duplin County: 14.397 %Durham County: 10.628 %Edgecombe County: 10.09 %Forsyth County: 18.339 %Franklin County: 13.343 %Gaston County: 12.115 %Gates County: 11.566 %Graham County: 22.012 %Granville County: 9.406 %Greene County: 16.044 %Guilford County: 10.249 %Halifax County: 10.247 %Harnett County: 16.637 %Haywood County: 11.296 %Henderson County: 12.882 %Hertford County: 7.475 %Hoke County: 10.009 %Hyde County: 11.245 %Iredell County: 11.651 %Jackson County: 9.625 %Johnston County: 14.429 %Jones County: 20.867 %Lee County: 6.354 %Lenoir County: 9.861 %Lincoln County: 12.644 %McDowell County: 17.024 %Macon County: 14.664 %Madison County: 10.153 %Martin County: 9.919 %Mecklenburg County: 13.904 %Mitchell County: 25.042 %Montgomery County: 12.472 %Moore County: 11.381 %Nash County: 9.959 %New Hanover County: 11.876 %Northampton County: 8.382 %Onslow County: 12.987 %Orange County: 11.874 %Pamlico County: 14.907 %Pasquotank County: 10.037 %Pender County: 16.506 %Perquimans County: 12.564 %Person County: 8.941 %Pitt County: 9.094 %Polk County: 11.067 %Randolph County: 10.494 %Richmond County: 9.825 %Robeson County: 14.18 %Rockingham County: 9.89 %Rowan County: 12.057 %Rutherford County: 11.927 %Sampson County: 9.072 %Scotland County: 10.399 %Stanly County: 11.763 %Stokes County: 12.506 %Surry County: 12.415 %Swain County: 13.614 %Transylvania County: 14.622 %Tyrrell County: 19.104 %Union County: 11.015 %Vance County: 7.731 %Wake County: 13.338 %Warren County: 8.413 %Washington County: 4.38 %Watauga County: 11.134 %Wayne County: 9.472 %Wilkes County: 10.449 %Wilson County: 8.365 %Yadkin County: 9.068 %Yancey County: 14.919 %
  • Under 9.7
  • 9.7 to 10
  • 10 to 12
  • 12 to 13
  • 13 to 15
  • 15 and over
%, 2019. 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, 2019

Mitchell County: 25.042 %Mitchell County25.042Graham County: 22.012 %Graham County22.012Camden County: 21.474 %Camden County21.474Jones County: 20.867 %Jones County20.867Tyrrell County: 19.104 %Tyrrell County19.104Forsyth County: 18.339 %Forsyth County18.339Clay County: 17.576 %Clay County17.576McDowell County: 17.024 %McDowell County17.024Harnett County: 16.637 %Harnett County16.637Pender County: 16.506 %Pender County16.506Buncombe County: 16.16 %Buncombe County16.16Greene County: 16.044 %Greene County16.044Bertie County: 15.03 %Bertie County15.03Yancey County: 14.919 %Yancey County14.919Pamlico County: 14.907 %Pamlico County14.907Macon County: 14.664 %Macon County14.664Transylvania County: 14.622 %Transylvania County14.622Johnston County: 14.429 %Johnston County14.429Currituck County: 14.414 %Currituck County14.414Duplin County: 14.397 %Duplin County14.397Brunswick County: 14.224 %Brunswick County14.224Robeson County: 14.18 %Robeson County14.18Caswell County: 13.998 %Caswell County13.998Mecklenburg County: 13.904 %Mecklenburg County13.904Swain County: 13.614 %Swain County13.614Alleghany County: 13.604 %Alleghany County13.604Avery County: 13.597 %Avery County13.597Cabarrus County: 13.388 %Cabarrus County13.388Franklin County: 13.343 %Franklin County13.343Wake County: 13.338 %Wake County13.338Anson County: 13.22 %Anson County13.22Chowan County: 13.208 %Chowan County13.208Onslow County: 12.987 %Onslow County12.987Davie County: 12.943 %Davie County12.943Henderson County: 12.882 %Henderson County12.882Caldwell County: 12.852 %Caldwell County12.852Bladen County: 12.705 %Bladen County12.705Lincoln County: 12.644 %Lincoln County12.644Perquimans County: 12.564 %Perquimans County12.564Alamance County: 12.549 %Alamance County12.549Mitchell County: 25.042 %Mitchell County25.042Graham County: 22.012 %Graham County22.012Camden County: 21.474 %Camden County21.474Jones County: 20.867 %Jones County20.867Tyrrell County: 19.104 %Tyrrell County19.104Forsyth County: 18.339 %Forsyth County18.339Clay County: 17.576 %Clay County17.576McDowell County: 17.024 %McDowell County17.024Harnett County: 16.637 %Harnett County16.637Pender County: 16.506 %Pender County16.506Buncombe County: 16.16 %Buncombe County16.16Greene County: 16.044 %Greene County16.044Bertie County: 15.03 %Bertie County15.03Yancey County: 14.919 %Yancey County14.919Pamlico County: 14.907 %Pamlico County14.907Macon County: 14.664 %Macon County14.664Transylvania County: 14.622 %Transylvania County14.622Johnston County: 14.429 %Johnston County14.429Currituck County: 14.414 %Currituck County14.414Duplin County: 14.397 %Duplin County14.397Brunswick County: 14.224 %Brunswick County14.224Robeson County: 14.18 %Robeson County14.18Caswell County: 13.998 %Caswell County13.998Mecklenburg County: 13.904 %Mecklenburg County13.904Swain County: 13.614 %Swain County13.614Alleghany County: 13.604 %Alleghany County13.604Avery County: 13.597 %Avery County13.597Cabarrus County: 13.388 %Cabarrus County13.388Franklin County: 13.343 %Franklin County13.343Wake County: 13.338 %Wake County13.338Anson County: 13.22 %Anson County13.22Chowan County: 13.208 %Chowan County13.208Onslow County: 12.987 %Onslow County12.987Davie County: 12.943 %Davie County12.943Henderson County: 12.882 %Henderson County12.882Caldwell County: 12.852 %Caldwell County12.852Bladen County: 12.705 %Bladen County12.705Lincoln County: 12.644 %Lincoln County12.644Perquimans County: 12.564 %Perquimans County12.564Alamance County: 12.549 %Alamance County12.549
%. 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

RankCounties2019 (%)Change on 2018
1Mitchell County25.042+14.98 pts
2Graham County22.012+9.07 pts
3Camden County21.474+8.76 pts
4Jones County20.867+10.21 pts
5Tyrrell County19.104-5.26 pts
6Forsyth County18.339+6.46 pts
7Clay County17.576+6.71 pts
8McDowell County17.024+7.12 pts
9Harnett County16.637+6 pts
10Pender County16.506+2.59 pts
11Buncombe County16.16+3.5 pts
12Greene County16.044+0.47 pts
13Bertie County15.03+10.56 pts
14Yancey County14.919+2.71 pts
15Pamlico County14.907+4.26 pts
16Macon County14.664+2.7 pts
17Transylvania County14.622+2.8 pts
18Johnston County14.429+1.69 pts
19Currituck County14.414-0.63 pts
20Duplin County14.397+4.16 pts
21Brunswick County14.224-4.87 pts
22Robeson County14.18+2.83 pts
23Caswell County13.998+2.49 pts
24Mecklenburg County13.904-0.29 pts
25Swain County13.614+1.38 pts
26Alleghany County13.604+0.67 pts
27Avery County13.597+3.4 pts
28Cabarrus County13.388+0.85 pts
29Franklin County13.343+0.29 pts
30Wake County13.338-0.64 pts
31Anson County13.22+2.38 pts
32Chowan County13.208-2.59 pts
33Onslow County12.987+0.68 pts
34Davie County12.943+0.94 pts
35Henderson County12.882-1.38 pts
36Caldwell County12.852-0.8 pts
37Bladen County12.705+4.86 pts
38Lincoln County12.644+1.41 pts
39Perquimans County12.564-8.76 pts
40Alamance County12.549-0.85 pts
41Stokes County12.506-2.77 pts
42Montgomery County12.472+1.51 pts
43Davidson County12.464+1.08 pts
44Surry County12.415-1.01 pts
45Gaston County12.115-1.6 pts
46Rowan County12.057+1.92 pts
47Dare County12.048-3.26 pts
48Rutherford County11.927-2.3 pts
49New Hanover County11.876-1.77 pts
50Orange County11.874+1.4 pts
51Stanly County11.763+0.43 pts
52Iredell County11.651-1.92 pts
53Craven County11.577+2.39 pts
54Gates County11.566+1.88 pts
55Carteret County11.429-1.14 pts
56Moore County11.381-0.46 pts
57Chatham County11.313-4.09 pts
58Haywood County11.296+0.38 pts
59Hyde County11.245+0.49 pts
60Columbus County11.234-0.83 pts
61Watauga County11.134-2.13 pts
62Polk County11.067-1.71 pts
63Union County11.015-3.34 pts
64Ashe County10.986-4.08 pts
65Durham County10.628-0.47 pts
66Randolph County10.494+0.25 pts
67Wilkes County10.449+2.14 pts
68Burke County10.408-6.04 pts
69Scotland County10.399+0.14 pts
70Guilford County10.249-1.56 pts
71Halifax County10.247-2.32 pts
72Cleveland County10.228+0.03 pts
73Madison County10.153-3.07 pts
74Edgecombe County10.09-0.93 pts
75Pasquotank County10.037-1.89 pts
76Cumberland County10.025-2.02 pts
77Hoke County10.009-7.07 pts
78Nash County9.959-2.97 pts
79Martin County9.919+1.29 pts
80Rockingham County9.89-1 pts
81Lenoir County9.861+2.81 pts
82Richmond County9.825-3.47 pts
83Catawba County9.682-0.5 pts
84Jackson County9.625-3.02 pts
85Wayne County9.472-0.13 pts
86Granville County9.406-12.09 pts
87Pitt County9.094-2.81 pts
88Sampson County9.072-0.97 pts
89Yadkin County9.068-4.4 pts
90Person County8.941-9.68 pts
91Cherokee County8.738-1.63 pts
92Warren County8.413-3.54 pts
93Northampton County8.382-1.93 pts
94Wilson County8.365-3.25 pts
95Beaufort County8.271-6.81 pts
96Alexander County7.807-1.05 pts
97Vance County7.731-1.63 pts
98Hertford County7.475+0.31 pts
99Lee County6.354-7.04 pts
100Washington County4.38-2.09 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, 2019) [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, 2019. 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=2019. 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, 2019. 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=2019.

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, 2019 [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=2019 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_north_carolina_2019,
  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, 2019}},
  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=2019. 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, 2019
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=2019
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-creation-rate/north-carolina-counties?period=2019.
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?

Mitchell County, with 25.042% in 2019, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest job creation rate?

Washington County, with 4.38% in 2019.

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