Data / Rankings / Job creation rate / Counties in Virginia

Counties in Virginia by job creation rate

Patrick County had the highest job creation rate of 133 counties in 2019, at 32.172%. Surry County had the lowest, at 4.878%. The median was 10.933% and the figure for Virginia was 12.009%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest32.172Patrick County
Lowest4.878Surry County
Median10.933133 counties
Virginia12.009History

Map of counties, 2019

Accomack County: 9.322 %Albemarle County: 9.994 %Alleghany County: 8.877 %Amelia County: 11.117 %Amherst County: 8.744 %Appomattox County: 8.999 %Arlington County: 13.912 %Augusta County: 11.362 %Bath County: 7.697 %Bedford County: 17.612 %Bland County: 10.788 %Botetourt County: 13.533 %Brunswick County: 7.238 %Buchanan County: 10.793 %Buckingham County: 8.669 %Campbell County: 11.25 %Caroline County: 9.075 %Carroll County: 12.559 %Charles City County: 9.594 %Charlotte County: 17.652 %Chesterfield County: 11.348 %Clarke County: 10.824 %Craig County: 14.667 %Culpeper County: 10.933 %Cumberland County: 7.428 %Dickenson County: 12.979 %Dinwiddie County: 12.378 %Essex County: 7.166 %Fairfax County: 13.498 %Fauquier County: 10.812 %Floyd County: 16.323 %Fluvanna County: 12.864 %Franklin County: 9.286 %Frederick County: 9.134 %Giles County: 7.041 %Gloucester County: 13.281 %Goochland County: 7.952 %Grayson County: 11.551 %Greene County: 10.615 %Greensville County: 8.826 %Halifax County: 11.225 %Hanover County: 14.095 %Henrico County: 11.081 %Henry County: 12.057 %Highland County: 13.942 %Isle of Wight County: 11.259 %James City County: 12.647 %King and Queen County: 9.704 %King George County: 13.81 %King William County: 10.622 %Lancaster County: 10.657 %Lee County: 9.609 %Loudoun County: 12.517 %Louisa County: 15.189 %Lunenburg County: 14.714 %Madison County: 16.161 %Mathews County: 19.689 %Mecklenburg County: 10.99 %Middlesex County: 14.415 %Montgomery County: 11.18 %Nelson County: 12.82 %New Kent County: 15.257 %Northampton County: 10.911 %Northumberland County: 12.623 %Nottoway County: 10.045 %Orange County: 13.03 %Page County: 11.461 %Patrick County: 32.172 %Pittsylvania County: 10.808 %Powhatan County: 14.774 %Prince Edward County: 12.866 %Prince George County: 13.519 %Prince William County: 12.321 %Pulaski County: 19.391 %Rappahannock County: 13.704 %Richmond County: 7.825 %Roanoke County: 10.189 %Rockbridge County: 11.037 %Rockingham County: 8.722 %Russell County: 9.955 %Scott County: 15.88 %Shenandoah County: 8.072 %Smyth County: 11.591 %Southampton County: 8.31 %Spotsylvania County: 14.789 %Stafford County: 10.615 %Surry County: 4.878 %Sussex County: 10.266 %Tazewell County: 10.662 %Warren County: 10.359 %Washington County: 9.874 %Westmoreland County: 7.762 %Wise County: 14.388 %Wythe County: 6.665 %York County: 11.37 %Alexandria city: 10.209 %Bristol city: 9.997 %Buena Vista city: 6.033 %Charlottesville city: 11.765 %Chesapeake city: 12.903 %Colonial Heights city: 8.289 %Covington city: 13.9 %Danville city: 10.026 %Emporia city: 8.769 %Fairfax city: 12.698 %Falls Church city: 9.915 %Franklin city: 10.016 %Fredericksburg city: 10.4 %Galax city: 11.129 %Hampton city: 11.999 %Harrisonburg city: 10.223 %Hopewell city: 6.853 %Lexington city: 6.964 %Lynchburg city: 9.071 %Manassas city: 12.261 %Manassas Park city: 9.865 %Martinsville city: 6.372 %Newport News city: 8.351 %Norfolk city: 11.274 %Norton city: 12.748 %Petersburg city: 9.955 %Poquoson city: 14.74 %Portsmouth city: 11.432 %Radford city: 7.671 %Richmond city: 12.93 %Roanoke city: 8.275 %Salem city: 8.965 %Staunton city: 9.312 %Suffolk city: 18.271 %Virginia Beach city: 11.827 %Waynesboro city: 11.041 %Williamsburg city: 6.742 %Winchester city: 6.284 %
  • Under 8.7
  • 8.7 to 10
  • 10 to 11
  • 11 to 12
  • 12 to 14
  • 14 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

Patrick County: 32.172 %Patrick County32.172Mathews County: 19.689 %Mathews County19.689Pulaski County: 19.391 %Pulaski County19.391Suffolk city: 18.271 %Suffolk city18.271Charlotte County: 17.652 %Charlotte County17.652Bedford County: 17.612 %Bedford County17.612Floyd County: 16.323 %Floyd County16.323Madison County: 16.161 %Madison County16.161Scott County: 15.88 %Scott County15.88New Kent County: 15.257 %New Kent County15.257Louisa County: 15.189 %Louisa County15.189Spotsylvania County: 14.789 %Spotsylvania County14.789Powhatan County: 14.774 %Powhatan County14.774Poquoson city: 14.74 %Poquoson city14.74Lunenburg County: 14.714 %Lunenburg County14.714Craig County: 14.667 %Craig County14.667Middlesex County: 14.415 %Middlesex County14.415Wise County: 14.388 %Wise County14.388Hanover County: 14.095 %Hanover County14.095Highland County: 13.942 %Highland County13.942Arlington County: 13.912 %Arlington County13.912Covington city: 13.9 %Covington city13.9King George County: 13.81 %King George County13.81Rappahannock County: 13.704 %Rappahannock County13.704Botetourt County: 13.533 %Botetourt County13.533Prince George County: 13.519 %Prince George County13.519Fairfax County: 13.498 %Fairfax County13.498Gloucester County: 13.281 %Gloucester County13.281Orange County: 13.03 %Orange County13.03Dickenson County: 12.979 %Dickenson County12.979Richmond city: 12.93 %Richmond city12.93Chesapeake city: 12.903 %Chesapeake city12.903Prince Edward County: 12.866 %Prince Edward County12.866Fluvanna County: 12.864 %Fluvanna County12.864Nelson County: 12.82 %Nelson County12.82Norton city: 12.748 %Norton city12.748Fairfax city: 12.698 %Fairfax city12.698James City County: 12.647 %James City County12.647Northumberland County: 12.623 %Northumberland County12.623Carroll County: 12.559 %Carroll County12.559Patrick County: 32.172 %Patrick County32.172Mathews County: 19.689 %Mathews County19.689Pulaski County: 19.391 %Pulaski County19.391Suffolk city: 18.271 %Suffolk city18.271Charlotte County: 17.652 %Charlotte County17.652Bedford County: 17.612 %Bedford County17.612Floyd County: 16.323 %Floyd County16.323Madison County: 16.161 %Madison County16.161Scott County: 15.88 %Scott County15.88New Kent County: 15.257 %New Kent County15.257Louisa County: 15.189 %Louisa County15.189Spotsylvania County: 14.789 %Spotsylvania County14.789Powhatan County: 14.774 %Powhatan County14.774Poquoson city: 14.74 %Poquoson city14.74Lunenburg County: 14.714 %Lunenburg County14.714Craig County: 14.667 %Craig County14.667Middlesex County: 14.415 %Middlesex County14.415Wise County: 14.388 %Wise County14.388Hanover County: 14.095 %Hanover County14.095Highland County: 13.942 %Highland County13.942Arlington County: 13.912 %Arlington County13.912Covington city: 13.9 %Covington city13.9King George County: 13.81 %King George County13.81Rappahannock County: 13.704 %Rappahannock County13.704Botetourt County: 13.533 %Botetourt County13.533Prince George County: 13.519 %Prince George County13.519Fairfax County: 13.498 %Fairfax County13.498Gloucester County: 13.281 %Gloucester County13.281Orange County: 13.03 %Orange County13.03Dickenson County: 12.979 %Dickenson County12.979Richmond city: 12.93 %Richmond city12.93Chesapeake city: 12.903 %Chesapeake city12.903Prince Edward County: 12.866 %Prince Edward County12.866Fluvanna County: 12.864 %Fluvanna County12.864Nelson County: 12.82 %Nelson County12.82Norton city: 12.748 %Norton city12.748Fairfax city: 12.698 %Fairfax city12.698James City County: 12.647 %James City County12.647Northumberland County: 12.623 %Northumberland County12.623Carroll County: 12.559 %Carroll County12.559
%. 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
1Patrick County32.172+18.38 pts
2Mathews County19.689+11.59 pts
3Pulaski County19.391+11.19 pts
4Suffolk city18.271+5.41 pts
5Charlotte County17.652+7.02 pts
6Bedford County17.612+3.41 pts
7Floyd County16.323-0.26 pts
8Madison County16.161+7.6 pts
9Scott County15.88+4.61 pts
10New Kent County15.257+1.54 pts
11Louisa County15.189+4.51 pts
12Spotsylvania County14.789-0.32 pts
13Powhatan County14.774+3.24 pts
14Poquoson city14.74+3.18 pts
15Lunenburg County14.714+7.43 pts
16Craig County14.667+3.73 pts
17Middlesex County14.415+1.53 pts
18Wise County14.388-2.28 pts
19Hanover County14.095+3.31 pts
20Highland County13.942+2.72 pts
21Arlington County13.912+1.35 pts
22Covington city13.9+3.9 pts
23King George County13.81-0.36 pts
24Rappahannock County13.704-3.36 pts
25Botetourt County13.533+2.41 pts
26Prince George County13.519-1.61 pts
27Fairfax County13.498-0.73 pts
28Gloucester County13.281+1.03 pts
29Orange County13.03+3.89 pts
30Dickenson County12.979+0.22 pts
31Richmond city12.93+2.59 pts
32Chesapeake city12.903+1.25 pts
33Prince Edward County12.866-1.6 pts
34Fluvanna County12.864-0.75 pts
35Nelson County12.82+3.92 pts
36Norton city12.748+4.21 pts
37Fairfax city12.698+0.04 pts
38James City County12.647-2.58 pts
39Northumberland County12.623-0.8 pts
40Carroll County12.559+0.23 pts
41Loudoun County12.517+0.01 pts
42Dinwiddie County12.378+1.85 pts
43Prince William County12.321-2.26 pts
44Manassas city12.261+0.6 pts
45Henry County12.057+3.13 pts
46Hampton city11.999-1.94 pts
47Virginia Beach city11.827-1.54 pts
48Charlottesville city11.765-0.4 pts
49Smyth County11.591+4.57 pts
50Grayson County11.551-0.05 pts
51Page County11.461-2.91 pts
52Portsmouth city11.432-0.49 pts
53York County11.37-0.64 pts
54Augusta County11.362+3.72 pts
55Chesterfield County11.348-0.56 pts
56Norfolk city11.274-2.32 pts
57Isle of Wight County11.259+2.21 pts
58Campbell County11.25-1.16 pts
59Halifax County11.225+2.49 pts
60Montgomery County11.18-1.07 pts
61Galax city11.129+4.13 pts
62Amelia County11.117+2.41 pts
63Henrico County11.081-4.44 pts
64Waynesboro city11.041+0.77 pts
65Rockbridge County11.037+0.08 pts
66Mecklenburg County10.99+0.53 pts
67Culpeper County10.933-9.26 pts
68Northampton County10.911-1.01 pts
69Clarke County10.824+4.12 pts
70Fauquier County10.812-0.06 pts
71Pittsylvania County10.808+0.73 pts
72Buchanan County10.793-7.45 pts
73Bland County10.788+2.66 pts
74Tazewell County10.662+0.52 pts
75Lancaster County10.657+0.01 pts
76King William County10.622-2.9 pts
77Greene County10.615-1.34 pts
77Stafford County10.615-1.92 pts
79Fredericksburg city10.4-0.11 pts
80Warren County10.359-2.25 pts
81Sussex County10.266-0.44 pts
82Harrisonburg city10.223-1.44 pts
83Alexandria city10.209-0.17 pts
84Roanoke County10.189-0.03 pts
85Nottoway County10.045-1.65 pts
86Danville city10.026+0.34 pts
87Franklin city10.016-0.02 pts
88Bristol city9.997-2.21 pts
89Albemarle County9.994+0.19 pts
90Petersburg city9.955+1.1 pts
90Russell County9.955+1.72 pts
92Falls Church city9.915-2.38 pts
93Washington County9.874+1.33 pts
94Manassas Park city9.865-3.86 pts
95King and Queen County9.704-0.58 pts
96Lee County9.609+1.9 pts
97Charles City County9.594+0.23 pts
98Accomack County9.322-0.43 pts
99Staunton city9.312+0.02 pts
100Franklin County9.286-1.55 pts
101Frederick County9.134-4.27 pts
102Caroline County9.075-1.09 pts
103Lynchburg city9.071+0.7 pts
104Appomattox County8.999+0.27 pts
105Salem city8.965+0.17 pts
106Alleghany County8.877-4.16 pts
107Greensville County8.826+1.59 pts
108Emporia city8.769-0.29 pts
109Amherst County8.744-0.42 pts
110Rockingham County8.722-3.58 pts
111Buckingham County8.669-3.2 pts
112Newport News city8.351-1.72 pts
113Southampton County8.31-0.58 pts
114Colonial Heights city8.289-3.64 pts
115Roanoke city8.275-8.69 pts
116Shenandoah County8.072-4.42 pts
117Goochland County7.952-15.08 pts
118Richmond County7.825-2.94 pts
119Westmoreland County7.762-5.23 pts
120Bath County7.697+0.52 pts
121Radford city7.671-0.75 pts
122Cumberland County7.428-5.43 pts
123Brunswick County7.238-0.91 pts
124Essex County7.166-5.65 pts
125Giles County7.041+1.87 pts
126Lexington city6.964-2.5 pts
127Hopewell city6.853-7.8 pts
128Williamsburg city6.742-6.3 pts
129Wythe County6.665-3.78 pts
130Martinsville city6.372-4.88 pts
131Winchester city6.284-4.8 pts
132Buena Vista city6.033-5.85 pts
133Surry County4.878+0.15 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, 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 Virginia 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/virginia-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 Virginia 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/virginia-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 Virginia 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/virginia-counties?period=2019 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

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

Patrick County, with 32.172% in 2019, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest job creation rate?

Surry County, with 4.878% 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 Virginia: more rankings