Data / Rankings / Job creation rate / Counties in Virginia

Counties in Virginia by job creation rate

King William County had the highest job creation rate of 133 counties in 2016, at 23.423%. Bath County had the lowest, at 5.678%. The median was 10.884% and the figure for Virginia was 12.66%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest23.423King William County
Lowest5.678Bath County
Median10.884133 counties
Virginia12.66History

Map of counties, 2016

Accomack County: 11.795 %Albemarle County: 11.703 %Alleghany County: 6.36 %Amelia County: 9.039 %Amherst County: 10.759 %Appomattox County: 18.083 %Arlington County: 12.909 %Augusta County: 15.486 %Bath County: 5.678 %Bedford County: 11.343 %Bland County: 8.236 %Botetourt County: 10.902 %Brunswick County: 8.575 %Buchanan County: 8.462 %Buckingham County: 11.711 %Campbell County: 9.507 %Caroline County: 11.075 %Carroll County: 13.82 %Charles City County: 8.717 %Charlotte County: 13.337 %Chesterfield County: 11.518 %Clarke County: 10.802 %Craig County: 19.136 %Culpeper County: 12.836 %Cumberland County: 14.463 %Dickenson County: 7.404 %Dinwiddie County: 9.781 %Essex County: 8.358 %Fairfax County: 14.455 %Fauquier County: 12.43 %Floyd County: 14.951 %Fluvanna County: 12.486 %Franklin County: 9.403 %Frederick County: 10.814 %Giles County: 6.574 %Gloucester County: 11.895 %Goochland County: 19.044 %Grayson County: 9.854 %Greene County: 10.12 %Greensville County: 17.247 %Halifax County: 7.827 %Hanover County: 10.868 %Henrico County: 18.056 %Henry County: 10.456 %Highland County: 10.226 %Isle of Wight County: 11.737 %James City County: 11.346 %King and Queen County: 10.961 %King George County: 16.736 %King William County: 23.423 %Lancaster County: 22.081 %Lee County: 12.281 %Loudoun County: 17.285 %Louisa County: 13.253 %Lunenburg County: 9.44 %Madison County: 9.29 %Mathews County: 19.37 %Mecklenburg County: 7.502 %Middlesex County: 14.797 %Montgomery County: 10.924 %Nelson County: 11.406 %New Kent County: 11.158 %Northampton County: 13.382 %Northumberland County: 10.795 %Nottoway County: 9.595 %Orange County: 9.089 %Page County: 13.595 %Patrick County: 10.682 %Pittsylvania County: 10.072 %Powhatan County: 12.952 %Prince Edward County: 11.893 %Prince George County: 17.814 %Prince William County: 14.298 %Pulaski County: 8.432 %Rappahannock County: 21.645 %Richmond County: 8.629 %Roanoke County: 9.092 %Rockbridge County: 16.419 %Rockingham County: 9.246 %Russell County: 6.316 %Scott County: 6.201 %Shenandoah County: 8.804 %Smyth County: 7.542 %Southampton County: 8.399 %Spotsylvania County: 12.363 %Stafford County: 14.712 %Surry County: 8.003 %Sussex County: 9.782 %Tazewell County: 8.465 %Warren County: 13.104 %Washington County: 10.677 %Westmoreland County: 9.848 %Wise County: 7.39 %Wythe County: 8.528 %York County: 10.823 %Alexandria city: 10.303 %Bristol city: 11.619 %Buena Vista city: 12.827 %Charlottesville city: 12.91 %Chesapeake city: 11.616 %Colonial Heights city: 10.361 %Covington city: 5.873 %Danville city: 9.197 %Emporia city: 10.723 %Fairfax city: 12.21 %Falls Church city: 12.915 %Franklin city: 7.213 %Fredericksburg city: 11.61 %Galax city: 8.693 %Hampton city: 11.603 %Harrisonburg city: 12.908 %Hopewell city: 11.673 %Lexington city: 8.378 %Lynchburg city: 8.484 %Manassas city: 12.264 %Manassas Park city: 20.271 %Martinsville city: 9.917 %Newport News city: 9.566 %Norfolk city: 10.884 %Norton city: 7.397 %Petersburg city: 6.319 %Poquoson city: 13.736 %Portsmouth city: 13.753 %Radford city: 9.277 %Richmond city: 11.492 %Roanoke city: 8.926 %Salem city: 8.742 %Staunton city: 7.847 %Suffolk city: 13.14 %Virginia Beach city: 13.449 %Waynesboro city: 9.969 %Williamsburg city: 11.879 %Winchester city: 9.81 %
  • Under 8.5
  • 8.5 to 9.8
  • 9.8 to 11
  • 11 to 12
  • 12 to 14
  • 14 and over
%, 2016. 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, 2016

King William County: 23.423 %King William County23.423Lancaster County: 22.081 %Lancaster County22.081Rappahannock County: 21.645 %Rappahannock County21.645Manassas Park city: 20.271 %Manassas Park city20.271Mathews County: 19.37 %Mathews County19.37Craig County: 19.136 %Craig County19.136Goochland County: 19.044 %Goochland County19.044Appomattox County: 18.083 %Appomattox County18.083Henrico County: 18.056 %Henrico County18.056Prince George County: 17.814 %Prince George County17.814Loudoun County: 17.285 %Loudoun County17.285Greensville County: 17.247 %Greensville County17.247King George County: 16.736 %King George County16.736Rockbridge County: 16.419 %Rockbridge County16.419Augusta County: 15.486 %Augusta County15.486Floyd County: 14.951 %Floyd County14.951Middlesex County: 14.797 %Middlesex County14.797Stafford County: 14.712 %Stafford County14.712Cumberland County: 14.463 %Cumberland County14.463Fairfax County: 14.455 %Fairfax County14.455Prince William County: 14.298 %Prince William County14.298Carroll County: 13.82 %Carroll County13.82Portsmouth city: 13.753 %Portsmouth city13.753Poquoson city: 13.736 %Poquoson city13.736Page County: 13.595 %Page County13.595Virginia Beach city: 13.449 %Virginia Beach city13.449Northampton County: 13.382 %Northampton County13.382Charlotte County: 13.337 %Charlotte County13.337Louisa County: 13.253 %Louisa County13.253Suffolk city: 13.14 %Suffolk city13.14Warren County: 13.104 %Warren County13.104Powhatan County: 12.952 %Powhatan County12.952Falls Church city: 12.915 %Falls Church city12.915Charlottesville city: 12.91 %Charlottesville city12.91Arlington County: 12.909 %Arlington County12.909Harrisonburg city: 12.908 %Harrisonburg city12.908Culpeper County: 12.836 %Culpeper County12.836Buena Vista city: 12.827 %Buena Vista city12.827Fluvanna County: 12.486 %Fluvanna County12.486Fauquier County: 12.43 %Fauquier County12.43King William County: 23.423 %King William County23.423Lancaster County: 22.081 %Lancaster County22.081Rappahannock County: 21.645 %Rappahannock County21.645Manassas Park city: 20.271 %Manassas Park city20.271Mathews County: 19.37 %Mathews County19.37Craig County: 19.136 %Craig County19.136Goochland County: 19.044 %Goochland County19.044Appomattox County: 18.083 %Appomattox County18.083Henrico County: 18.056 %Henrico County18.056Prince George County: 17.814 %Prince George County17.814Loudoun County: 17.285 %Loudoun County17.285Greensville County: 17.247 %Greensville County17.247King George County: 16.736 %King George County16.736Rockbridge County: 16.419 %Rockbridge County16.419Augusta County: 15.486 %Augusta County15.486Floyd County: 14.951 %Floyd County14.951Middlesex County: 14.797 %Middlesex County14.797Stafford County: 14.712 %Stafford County14.712Cumberland County: 14.463 %Cumberland County14.463Fairfax County: 14.455 %Fairfax County14.455Prince William County: 14.298 %Prince William County14.298Carroll County: 13.82 %Carroll County13.82Portsmouth city: 13.753 %Portsmouth city13.753Poquoson city: 13.736 %Poquoson city13.736Page County: 13.595 %Page County13.595Virginia Beach city: 13.449 %Virginia Beach city13.449Northampton County: 13.382 %Northampton County13.382Charlotte County: 13.337 %Charlotte County13.337Louisa County: 13.253 %Louisa County13.253Suffolk city: 13.14 %Suffolk city13.14Warren County: 13.104 %Warren County13.104Powhatan County: 12.952 %Powhatan County12.952Falls Church city: 12.915 %Falls Church city12.915Charlottesville city: 12.91 %Charlottesville city12.91Arlington County: 12.909 %Arlington County12.909Harrisonburg city: 12.908 %Harrisonburg city12.908Culpeper County: 12.836 %Culpeper County12.836Buena Vista city: 12.827 %Buena Vista city12.827Fluvanna County: 12.486 %Fluvanna County12.486Fauquier County: 12.43 %Fauquier County12.43
%. 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

RankCounties2016 (%)Change on 2015
1King William County23.423+12.51 pts
2Lancaster County22.081+13.18 pts
3Rappahannock County21.645+8.04 pts
4Manassas Park city20.271+6.92 pts
5Mathews County19.37+6.55 pts
6Craig County19.136+9.58 pts
7Goochland County19.044+10.37 pts
8Appomattox County18.083+7.55 pts
9Henrico County18.056+4.83 pts
10Prince George County17.814+0.53 pts
11Loudoun County17.285+2.56 pts
12Greensville County17.247+8.12 pts
13King George County16.736-1.4 pts
14Rockbridge County16.419+7 pts
15Augusta County15.486+8.14 pts
16Floyd County14.951+0.91 pts
17Middlesex County14.797+1.1 pts
18Stafford County14.712+1.22 pts
19Cumberland County14.463+0.54 pts
20Fairfax County14.455-0.03 pts
21Prince William County14.298+0.61 pts
22Carroll County13.82+4.66 pts
23Portsmouth city13.753+1.53 pts
24Poquoson city13.736+1.52 pts
25Page County13.595+3.04 pts
26Virginia Beach city13.449+0.37 pts
27Northampton County13.382+4.83 pts
28Charlotte County13.337+2.73 pts
29Louisa County13.253+1.93 pts
30Suffolk city13.14+1.37 pts
31Warren County13.104+5.67 pts
32Powhatan County12.952-2.98 pts
33Falls Church city12.915-3.11 pts
34Charlottesville city12.91-0.39 pts
35Arlington County12.909-0.57 pts
36Harrisonburg city12.908+1.32 pts
37Culpeper County12.836+0.3 pts
38Buena Vista city12.827-3.13 pts
39Fluvanna County12.486-0.63 pts
40Fauquier County12.43+1.2 pts
41Spotsylvania County12.363-0.18 pts
42Lee County12.281+3.83 pts
43Manassas city12.264+3.74 pts
44Fairfax city12.21+1.06 pts
45Gloucester County11.895+1.54 pts
46Prince Edward County11.893+3.72 pts
47Williamsburg city11.879+4.56 pts
48Accomack County11.795+0.56 pts
49Isle of Wight County11.737-12.77 pts
50Buckingham County11.711+0.15 pts
51Albemarle County11.703+0.25 pts
52Hopewell city11.673+0.31 pts
53Bristol city11.619+2.1 pts
54Chesapeake city11.616-0.23 pts
55Fredericksburg city11.61+2.47 pts
56Hampton city11.603-0.54 pts
57Chesterfield County11.518-1.78 pts
58Richmond city11.492-7.56 pts
59Nelson County11.406+2.45 pts
60James City County11.346-1.39 pts
61Bedford County11.343-0.39 pts
62New Kent County11.158-0.35 pts
63Caroline County11.075-1.81 pts
64King and Queen County10.961-0.58 pts
65Montgomery County10.924-2.34 pts
66Botetourt County10.902-2 pts
67Norfolk city10.884-2.54 pts
68Hanover County10.868-1.83 pts
69York County10.823-2.19 pts
70Frederick County10.814-5.48 pts
71Clarke County10.802+0.68 pts
72Northumberland County10.795-11.6 pts
73Amherst County10.759+1.96 pts
74Emporia city10.723+4.56 pts
75Patrick County10.682-0.26 pts
76Washington County10.677-2.16 pts
77Henry County10.456+1.39 pts
78Colonial Heights city10.361-2.46 pts
79Alexandria city10.303-0.87 pts
80Highland County10.226-2.06 pts
81Greene County10.12-1.49 pts
82Pittsylvania County10.072-0.63 pts
83Waynesboro city9.969+0.42 pts
84Martinsville city9.917-0.13 pts
85Grayson County9.854-2.76 pts
86Westmoreland County9.848+1.32 pts
87Winchester city9.81-1.96 pts
88Sussex County9.782+0.05 pts
89Dinwiddie County9.781+1.07 pts
90Nottoway County9.595-2.18 pts
91Newport News city9.566+1.54 pts
92Campbell County9.507-3.14 pts
93Lunenburg County9.44-6.66 pts
94Franklin County9.403-1.39 pts
95Madison County9.29-0.76 pts
96Radford city9.277+0.83 pts
97Rockingham County9.246+3.94 pts
98Danville city9.197+1.76 pts
99Roanoke County9.092-0.13 pts
100Orange County9.089-6.94 pts
101Amelia County9.039-2.14 pts
102Roanoke city8.926-2.41 pts
103Shenandoah County8.804-0.54 pts
104Salem city8.742-1.49 pts
105Charles City County8.717+0.72 pts
106Galax city8.693-1.74 pts
107Richmond County8.629-1.48 pts
108Brunswick County8.575-2.33 pts
109Wythe County8.528-6.74 pts
110Lynchburg city8.484-0.79 pts
111Tazewell County8.465+0.6 pts
112Buchanan County8.462+2.12 pts
113Pulaski County8.432-4.34 pts
114Southampton County8.399-16.83 pts
115Lexington city8.378+2.28 pts
116Essex County8.358-0.2 pts
117Bland County8.236-1.81 pts
118Surry County8.003+3.57 pts
119Staunton city7.847-4.1 pts
120Halifax County7.827-3.01 pts
121Smyth County7.542-2.93 pts
122Mecklenburg County7.502-7.76 pts
123Dickenson County7.404-10.15 pts
124Norton city7.397-19.63 pts
125Wise County7.39-3.55 pts
126Franklin city7.213-3.23 pts
127Giles County6.574-8.44 pts
128Alleghany County6.36-2.1 pts
129Petersburg city6.319-4.93 pts
130Russell County6.316-3 pts
131Scott County6.201-8.37 pts
132Covington city5.873-4.07 pts
133Bath County5.678-1.46 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 Virginia by job creation rate, 2016) [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 Virginia by job creation rate, 2016. 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/virginia-counties?period=2016. 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 Virginia by job creation rate, 2016. 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/virginia-counties?period=2016.

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 Virginia by job creation rate, 2016 [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/virginia-counties?period=2016 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_virginia_by_2016,
  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 Virginia by job creation rate, 2016}},
  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/virginia-counties?period=2016. 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 Virginia by job creation rate, 2016
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/virginia-counties?period=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-creation-rate/virginia-counties?period=2016.
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?

King William County, with 23.423% in 2016, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest job creation rate?

Bath County, with 5.678% in 2016.

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 Virginia: more rankings