Data / Rankings / Job creation rate / Counties in Tennessee

Counties in Tennessee by job creation rate

Polk County had the highest job creation rate of 95 counties in 2017, at 23.143%. Perry County had the lowest, at 6.747%. The median was 12.193% and the figure for Tennessee was 13.148%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest23.143Polk County
Lowest6.747Perry County
Median12.19395 counties
Tennessee13.148History

Map of counties, 2017

Anderson County: 11.607 %Bedford County: 9.607 %Benton County: 8.325 %Bledsoe County: 19.869 %Blount County: 10.623 %Bradley County: 9.861 %Campbell County: 9.467 %Cannon County: 14.124 %Carroll County: 14.002 %Carter County: 13.335 %Cheatham County: 13.742 %Chester County: 10.957 %Claiborne County: 9.916 %Clay County: 15.592 %Cocke County: 10.043 %Coffee County: 13.392 %Crockett County: 11.555 %Cumberland County: 11.069 %Davidson County: 13.514 %Decatur County: 11.595 %DeKalb County: 13.962 %Dickson County: 14.269 %Dyer County: 8.158 %Fayette County: 11.982 %Fentress County: 11.431 %Franklin County: 11.229 %Gibson County: 10.697 %Giles County: 13.487 %Grainger County: 10.365 %Greene County: 12.68 %Grundy County: 10.959 %Hamblen County: 11.484 %Hamilton County: 11.511 %Hancock County: 9.011 %Hardeman County: 8.094 %Hardin County: 8.293 %Hawkins County: 12.067 %Haywood County: 16.9 %Henderson County: 12.769 %Henry County: 11.193 %Hickman County: 14.147 %Houston County: 14.434 %Humphreys County: 15.644 %Jackson County: 13.933 %Jefferson County: 13.58 %Johnson County: 12.193 %Knox County: 11.649 %Lake County: 22.975 %Lauderdale County: 16.643 %Lawrence County: 13.465 %Lewis County: 12.059 %Lincoln County: 10.653 %Loudon County: 15.778 %McMinn County: 9.221 %McNairy County: 13.49 %Macon County: 14.352 %Madison County: 10.68 %Marion County: 10.197 %Marshall County: 11.944 %Maury County: 22.409 %Meigs County: 18.247 %Monroe County: 11.674 %Montgomery County: 14.127 %Moore County: 9.78 %Morgan County: 14.043 %Obion County: 8.825 %Overton County: 12.977 %Perry County: 6.747 %Pickett County: 15.165 %Polk County: 23.143 %Putnam County: 11.337 %Rhea County: 12.127 %Roane County: 10.4 %Robertson County: 11.728 %Rutherford County: 15.395 %Scott County: 14.643 %Sequatchie County: 15.34 %Sevier County: 15.041 %Shelby County: 12.719 %Smith County: 13.751 %Stewart County: 14.497 %Sullivan County: 12.297 %Sumner County: 14.143 %Tipton County: 12.697 %Trousdale County: 18.188 %Unicoi County: 8.433 %Union County: 13.462 %Van Buren County: 22.934 %Warren County: 8.73 %Washington County: 11.364 %Wayne County: 10.61 %Weakley County: 11.541 %White County: 10.323 %Williamson County: 16.993 %Wilson County: 15.133 %
  • Under 10
  • 10 to 11
  • 11 to 12
  • 12 to 14
  • 14 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

Polk County: 23.143 %Polk County23.143Lake County: 22.975 %Lake County22.975Van Buren County: 22.934 %Van Buren County22.934Maury County: 22.409 %Maury County22.409Bledsoe County: 19.869 %Bledsoe County19.869Meigs County: 18.247 %Meigs County18.247Trousdale County: 18.188 %Trousdale County18.188Williamson County: 16.993 %Williamson County16.993Haywood County: 16.9 %Haywood County16.9Lauderdale County: 16.643 %Lauderdale County16.643Loudon County: 15.778 %Loudon County15.778Humphreys County: 15.644 %Humphreys County15.644Clay County: 15.592 %Clay County15.592Rutherford County: 15.395 %Rutherford County15.395Sequatchie County: 15.34 %Sequatchie County15.34Pickett County: 15.165 %Pickett County15.165Wilson County: 15.133 %Wilson County15.133Sevier County: 15.041 %Sevier County15.041Scott County: 14.643 %Scott County14.643Stewart County: 14.497 %Stewart County14.497Houston County: 14.434 %Houston County14.434Macon County: 14.352 %Macon County14.352Dickson County: 14.269 %Dickson County14.269Hickman County: 14.147 %Hickman County14.147Sumner County: 14.143 %Sumner County14.143Montgomery County: 14.127 %Montgomery County14.127Cannon County: 14.124 %Cannon County14.124Morgan County: 14.043 %Morgan County14.043Carroll County: 14.002 %Carroll County14.002DeKalb County: 13.962 %DeKalb County13.962Jackson County: 13.933 %Jackson County13.933Smith County: 13.751 %Smith County13.751Cheatham County: 13.742 %Cheatham County13.742Jefferson County: 13.58 %Jefferson County13.58Davidson County: 13.514 %Davidson County13.514McNairy County: 13.49 %McNairy County13.49Giles County: 13.487 %Giles County13.487Lawrence County: 13.465 %Lawrence County13.465Union County: 13.462 %Union County13.462Coffee County: 13.392 %Coffee County13.392Polk County: 23.143 %Polk County23.143Lake County: 22.975 %Lake County22.975Van Buren County: 22.934 %Van Buren County22.934Maury County: 22.409 %Maury County22.409Bledsoe County: 19.869 %Bledsoe County19.869Meigs County: 18.247 %Meigs County18.247Trousdale County: 18.188 %Trousdale County18.188Williamson County: 16.993 %Williamson County16.993Haywood County: 16.9 %Haywood County16.9Lauderdale County: 16.643 %Lauderdale County16.643Loudon County: 15.778 %Loudon County15.778Humphreys County: 15.644 %Humphreys County15.644Clay County: 15.592 %Clay County15.592Rutherford County: 15.395 %Rutherford County15.395Sequatchie County: 15.34 %Sequatchie County15.34Pickett County: 15.165 %Pickett County15.165Wilson County: 15.133 %Wilson County15.133Sevier County: 15.041 %Sevier County15.041Scott County: 14.643 %Scott County14.643Stewart County: 14.497 %Stewart County14.497Houston County: 14.434 %Houston County14.434Macon County: 14.352 %Macon County14.352Dickson County: 14.269 %Dickson County14.269Hickman County: 14.147 %Hickman County14.147Sumner County: 14.143 %Sumner County14.143Montgomery County: 14.127 %Montgomery County14.127Cannon County: 14.124 %Cannon County14.124Morgan County: 14.043 %Morgan County14.043Carroll County: 14.002 %Carroll County14.002DeKalb County: 13.962 %DeKalb County13.962Jackson County: 13.933 %Jackson County13.933Smith County: 13.751 %Smith County13.751Cheatham County: 13.742 %Cheatham County13.742Jefferson County: 13.58 %Jefferson County13.58Davidson County: 13.514 %Davidson County13.514McNairy County: 13.49 %McNairy County13.49Giles County: 13.487 %Giles County13.487Lawrence County: 13.465 %Lawrence County13.465Union County: 13.462 %Union County13.462Coffee County: 13.392 %Coffee County13.392
%. 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
1Polk County23.143+12.08 pts
2Lake County22.975+9.55 pts
3Van Buren County22.934+15.13 pts
4Maury County22.409+3.53 pts
5Bledsoe County19.869+6.53 pts
6Meigs County18.247+7.13 pts
7Trousdale County18.188-0.74 pts
8Williamson County16.993+0.23 pts
9Haywood County16.9+2.36 pts
10Lauderdale County16.643+7.65 pts
11Loudon County15.778+1.1 pts
12Humphreys County15.644+4.18 pts
13Clay County15.592-0.65 pts
14Rutherford County15.395+2.8 pts
15Sequatchie County15.34+5.77 pts
16Pickett County15.165+0.14 pts
17Wilson County15.133-0.06 pts
18Sevier County15.041-0.89 pts
19Scott County14.643+1.93 pts
20Stewart County14.497+5.78 pts
21Houston County14.434+3.11 pts
22Macon County14.352+1.7 pts
23Dickson County14.269+0.85 pts
24Hickman County14.147+4.7 pts
25Sumner County14.143-1.25 pts
26Montgomery County14.127+2.43 pts
27Cannon County14.124-2.63 pts
28Morgan County14.043-1.78 pts
29Carroll County14.002+4.84 pts
30DeKalb County13.962-10.57 pts
31Jackson County13.933-3.64 pts
32Smith County13.751-0.23 pts
33Cheatham County13.742-2.53 pts
34Jefferson County13.58+1 pts
35Davidson County13.514+0.5 pts
36McNairy County13.49-0.45 pts
37Giles County13.487+2.58 pts
38Lawrence County13.465+0.01 pts
39Union County13.462-0.91 pts
40Coffee County13.392+2.42 pts
41Carter County13.335+4.02 pts
42Overton County12.977-2.52 pts
43Henderson County12.769-0.59 pts
44Shelby County12.719+1.32 pts
45Tipton County12.697+1.4 pts
46Greene County12.68+3.77 pts
47Sullivan County12.297+1.37 pts
48Johnson County12.193-1.34 pts
49Rhea County12.127+1.07 pts
50Hawkins County12.067+2.15 pts
51Lewis County12.059-3.67 pts
52Fayette County11.982+0.33 pts
53Marshall County11.944+1.54 pts
54Robertson County11.728+2.02 pts
55Monroe County11.674+0.57 pts
56Knox County11.649+0.06 pts
57Anderson County11.607-0.72 pts
58Decatur County11.595+2.45 pts
59Crockett County11.555+4.92 pts
60Weakley County11.541-0 pts
61Hamilton County11.511+0.11 pts
62Hamblen County11.484-2.31 pts
63Fentress County11.431+3.8 pts
64Washington County11.364+0.93 pts
65Putnam County11.337-0.04 pts
66Franklin County11.229+3.15 pts
67Henry County11.193+0.04 pts
68Cumberland County11.069-0.59 pts
69Grundy County10.959-2.67 pts
70Chester County10.957+0.57 pts
71Gibson County10.697-0.94 pts
72Madison County10.68-0.61 pts
73Lincoln County10.653-7.97 pts
74Blount County10.623-2.48 pts
75Wayne County10.61-0.66 pts
76Roane County10.4-4.65 pts
77Grainger County10.365-6.13 pts
78White County10.323-8.41 pts
79Marion County10.197-4.4 pts
80Cocke County10.043+0.78 pts
81Claiborne County9.916+1.8 pts
82Bradley County9.861-3.04 pts
83Moore County9.78-3.03 pts
84Bedford County9.607+0.97 pts
85Campbell County9.467-1.88 pts
86McMinn County9.221-2.14 pts
87Hancock County9.011-10.73 pts
88Obion County8.825-2.74 pts
89Warren County8.73-10.66 pts
90Unicoi County8.433+0.63 pts
91Benton County8.325-7.66 pts
92Hardin County8.293-1.88 pts
93Dyer County8.158-1.34 pts
94Hardeman County8.094+1.66 pts
95Perry County6.747-0.51 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 Tennessee 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 Tennessee 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/tennessee-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 Tennessee 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/tennessee-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 Tennessee 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/tennessee-counties?period=2017 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_tennessee_by_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 Tennessee 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/tennessee-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 Tennessee 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/tennessee-counties?period=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-creation-rate/tennessee-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  -
Embed this chart

Paste this code into a web page or a blog post. The chart shows the latest figures as they are published, with the source and a link back to this page.

Sites that read oEmbed links, such as WordPress, can show the chart when you paste the link to this page.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank Counties in Tennessee by job creation rate using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"job_creation_rate","level":"province","within":"Tennessee","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=job_creation_rate&level=province&within=Tennessee&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which county has the highest job creation rate?

Polk County, with 23.143% in 2017, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest job creation rate?

Perry County, with 6.747% 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 Tennessee: more rankings