Counties in West Virginia by job creation rate
Hardy County had the highest job creation rate of 55 counties in 2020, at 29.797%. Webster County had the lowest, at 4.741%. The median was 8.774% and the figure for West Virginia was 9.529%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.
Map of counties, 2020
- Under 6.5
- 6.5 to 7.7
- 7.7 to 8.8
- 8.8 to 9.6
- 9.6 to 11
- 11 and over
All counties, 2020
Full ranking
| Rank | Counties | 2020 (%) | Change on 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hardy County | 29.797 | +23.48 pts |
| 2 | Morgan County | 26.212 | +14.23 pts |
| 3 | Clay County | 20.326 | +6.51 pts |
| 4 | Wyoming County | 16.323 | +2.87 pts |
| 5 | McDowell County | 15.947 | +4.6 pts |
| 6 | Berkeley County | 13.717 | +1.67 pts |
| 7 | Monongalia County | 13.53 | +4.46 pts |
| 8 | Doddridge County | 12.637 | -0.46 pts |
| 9 | Tucker County | 10.919 | +4.4 pts |
| 10 | Greenbrier County | 10.774 | +0.91 pts |
| 11 | Lincoln County | 10.628 | -1.82 pts |
| 12 | Braxton County | 10.414 | +2.33 pts |
| 13 | Marion County | 10.271 | -0.62 pts |
| 14 | Grant County | 10.149 | +4.31 pts |
| 15 | Wood County | 9.982 | -0.78 pts |
| 16 | Jefferson County | 9.931 | +0.7 pts |
| 17 | Gilmer County | 9.897 | -1.56 pts |
| 18 | Boone County | 9.681 | -0.77 pts |
| 19 | Barbour County | 9.61 | -0.49 pts |
| 20 | Putnam County | 9.498 | -5.15 pts |
| 21 | Summers County | 9.457 | -2.49 pts |
| 22 | Ohio County | 9.358 | +0.43 pts |
| 23 | Wirt County | 9.225 | -4.21 pts |
| 24 | Pendleton County | 9.046 | -3.78 pts |
| 25 | Mineral County | 9.033 | +0.99 pts |
| 26 | Marshall County | 8.978 | +0.52 pts |
| 27 | Hampshire County | 8.939 | +2.16 pts |
| 28 | Mercer County | 8.774 | -2.04 pts |
| 29 | Brooke County | 8.552 | +0.91 pts |
| 30 | Preston County | 8.518 | +0.67 pts |
| 31 | Raleigh County | 8.211 | -3.52 pts |
| 32 | Harrison County | 8.201 | -5.93 pts |
| 33 | Calhoun County | 8.149 | -9.05 pts |
| 34 | Mingo County | 8.021 | -9.11 pts |
| 35 | Kanawha County | 7.78 | -2.4 pts |
| 36 | Cabell County | 7.687 | -2.35 pts |
| 37 | Nicholas County | 7.659 | -1.87 pts |
| 38 | Mason County | 7.537 | -2.74 pts |
| 39 | Monroe County | 7.496 | -1.16 pts |
| 40 | Logan County | 7.469 | -7.42 pts |
| 41 | Wetzel County | 7.104 | -2.63 pts |
| 42 | Ritchie County | 6.754 | +0.45 pts |
| 43 | Roane County | 6.724 | -0.61 pts |
| 44 | Jackson County | 6.71 | -1.85 pts |
| 45 | Upshur County | 6.579 | -2.76 pts |
| 46 | Lewis County | 6.515 | -2.88 pts |
| 47 | Wayne County | 6.437 | -2.61 pts |
| 48 | Pocahontas County | 6.306 | +0.32 pts |
| 49 | Randolph County | 6.237 | +0.37 pts |
| 50 | Hancock County | 5.926 | -2.51 pts |
| 51 | Fayette County | 5.834 | -8.23 pts |
| 52 | Tyler County | 5.735 | -8.51 pts |
| 53 | Pleasants County | 5.46 | -6.35 pts |
| 54 | Taylor County | 5.206 | -0.57 pts |
| 55 | Webster County | 4.741 | +0.5 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
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 West Virginia by job creation rate, 2020) [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 West Virginia by job creation rate, 2020. 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/west-virginia-counties?period=2020. 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 West Virginia by job creation rate, 2020. 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/west-virginia-counties?period=2020.
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 West Virginia by job creation rate, 2020 [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/west-virginia-counties?period=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_west_virginia_2020,
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 West Virginia by job creation rate, 2020}},
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/west-virginia-counties?period=2020. 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 West Virginia by job creation rate, 2020
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/west-virginia-counties?period=2020
Y2 - 2026/10/12
N1 - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-creation-rate/west-virginia-counties?period=2020.
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 -
Use this data in your AI agent
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Rank Counties in West Virginia by job creation rate using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"job_creation_rate","level":"province","within":"West Virginia","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=job_creation_rate&level=province&within=West%20Virginia&limit=10Questions
Which county has the highest job creation rate?
Hardy County, with 29.797% in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Which county has the lowest job creation rate?
Webster County, with 4.741% in 2020.
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.