Data / Rankings / Job creation rate / Counties in West Virginia

Counties in West Virginia by job creation rate

McDowell County had the highest job creation rate of 55 counties in 2022, at 36.226%. Hardy County had the lowest, at 7.109%. The median was 13.493% and the figure for West Virginia was 14.134%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest36.226McDowell County
Lowest7.109Hardy County
Median13.49355 counties
West Virginia14.134History

Map of counties, 2022

Barbour County: 10.344 %Berkeley County: 13.638 %Boone County: 8.458 %Braxton County: 9.33 %Brooke County: 15.016 %Cabell County: 11.988 %Calhoun County: 11.437 %Clay County: 14.839 %Doddridge County: 12.339 %Fayette County: 15.978 %Gilmer County: 12.538 %Grant County: 11.233 %Greenbrier County: 13.359 %Hampshire County: 17.88 %Hancock County: 10.755 %Hardy County: 7.109 %Harrison County: 16.74 %Jackson County: 17.577 %Jefferson County: 17.029 %Kanawha County: 13.608 %Lewis County: 20.748 %Lincoln County: 13.501 %Logan County: 19.161 %McDowell County: 36.226 %Marion County: 16.051 %Marshall County: 9.977 %Mason County: 15.316 %Mercer County: 17.842 %Mineral County: 10.82 %Mingo County: 25.621 %Monongalia County: 13.146 %Monroe County: 15.193 %Morgan County: 14.095 %Nicholas County: 11.593 %Ohio County: 13.354 %Pendleton County: 20.581 %Pleasants County: 11.765 %Pocahontas County: 11.001 %Preston County: 9.461 %Putnam County: 13.609 %Raleigh County: 15.201 %Randolph County: 12.139 %Ritchie County: 7.889 %Roane County: 11.937 %Summers County: 27.703 %Taylor County: 14.537 %Tucker County: 13.255 %Tyler County: 9.614 %Upshur County: 20.441 %Wayne County: 14.635 %Webster County: 9.684 %Wetzel County: 12.722 %Wirt County: 19.191 %Wood County: 13.493 %Wyoming County: 13.236 %
  • Under 11
  • 11 to 12
  • 12 to 13
  • 13 to 15
  • 15 to 18
  • 18 and over
%, 2022. 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.

All counties, 2022

McDowell County: 36.226 %McDowell County36.226Summers County: 27.703 %Summers County27.703Mingo County: 25.621 %Mingo County25.621Lewis County: 20.748 %Lewis County20.748Pendleton County: 20.581 %Pendleton County20.581Upshur County: 20.441 %Upshur County20.441Wirt County: 19.191 %Wirt County19.191Logan County: 19.161 %Logan County19.161Hampshire County: 17.88 %Hampshire County17.88Mercer County: 17.842 %Mercer County17.842Jackson County: 17.577 %Jackson County17.577Jefferson County: 17.029 %Jefferson County17.029Harrison County: 16.74 %Harrison County16.74Marion County: 16.051 %Marion County16.051Fayette County: 15.978 %Fayette County15.978Mason County: 15.316 %Mason County15.316Raleigh County: 15.201 %Raleigh County15.201Monroe County: 15.193 %Monroe County15.193Brooke County: 15.016 %Brooke County15.016Clay County: 14.839 %Clay County14.839Wayne County: 14.635 %Wayne County14.635Taylor County: 14.537 %Taylor County14.537Morgan County: 14.095 %Morgan County14.095Berkeley County: 13.638 %Berkeley County13.638Putnam County: 13.609 %Putnam County13.609Kanawha County: 13.608 %Kanawha County13.608Lincoln County: 13.501 %Lincoln County13.501Wood County: 13.493 %Wood County13.493Greenbrier County: 13.359 %Greenbrier County13.359Ohio County: 13.354 %Ohio County13.354Tucker County: 13.255 %Tucker County13.255Wyoming County: 13.236 %Wyoming County13.236Monongalia County: 13.146 %Monongalia County13.146Wetzel County: 12.722 %Wetzel County12.722Gilmer County: 12.538 %Gilmer County12.538Doddridge County: 12.339 %Doddridge County12.339Randolph County: 12.139 %Randolph County12.139Cabell County: 11.988 %Cabell County11.988Roane County: 11.937 %Roane County11.937Pleasants County: 11.765 %Pleasants County11.765Nicholas County: 11.593 %Nicholas County11.593Calhoun County: 11.437 %Calhoun County11.437Grant County: 11.233 %Grant County11.233Pocahontas County: 11.001 %Pocahontas County11.001Mineral County: 10.82 %Mineral County10.82Hancock County: 10.755 %Hancock County10.755Barbour County: 10.344 %Barbour County10.344Marshall County: 9.977 %Marshall County9.977Webster County: 9.684 %Webster County9.684Tyler County: 9.614 %Tyler County9.614Preston County: 9.461 %Preston County9.461Braxton County: 9.33 %Braxton County9.33Boone County: 8.458 %Boone County8.458Ritchie County: 7.889 %Ritchie County7.889Hardy County: 7.109 %Hardy County7.109McDowell County: 36.226 %McDowell County36.226Summers County: 27.703 %Summers County27.703Mingo County: 25.621 %Mingo County25.621Lewis County: 20.748 %Lewis County20.748Pendleton County: 20.581 %Pendleton County20.581Upshur County: 20.441 %Upshur County20.441Wirt County: 19.191 %Wirt County19.191Logan County: 19.161 %Logan County19.161Hampshire County: 17.88 %Hampshire County17.88Mercer County: 17.842 %Mercer County17.842Jackson County: 17.577 %Jackson County17.577Jefferson County: 17.029 %Jefferson County17.029Harrison County: 16.74 %Harrison County16.74Marion County: 16.051 %Marion County16.051Fayette County: 15.978 %Fayette County15.978Mason County: 15.316 %Mason County15.316Raleigh County: 15.201 %Raleigh County15.201Monroe County: 15.193 %Monroe County15.193Brooke County: 15.016 %Brooke County15.016Clay County: 14.839 %Clay County14.839Wayne County: 14.635 %Wayne County14.635Taylor County: 14.537 %Taylor County14.537Morgan County: 14.095 %Morgan County14.095Berkeley County: 13.638 %Berkeley County13.638Putnam County: 13.609 %Putnam County13.609Kanawha County: 13.608 %Kanawha County13.608Lincoln County: 13.501 %Lincoln County13.501Wood County: 13.493 %Wood County13.493Greenbrier County: 13.359 %Greenbrier County13.359Ohio County: 13.354 %Ohio County13.354Tucker County: 13.255 %Tucker County13.255Wyoming County: 13.236 %Wyoming County13.236Monongalia County: 13.146 %Monongalia County13.146Wetzel County: 12.722 %Wetzel County12.722Gilmer County: 12.538 %Gilmer County12.538Doddridge County: 12.339 %Doddridge County12.339Randolph County: 12.139 %Randolph County12.139Cabell County: 11.988 %Cabell County11.988Roane County: 11.937 %Roane County11.937Pleasants County: 11.765 %Pleasants County11.765Nicholas County: 11.593 %Nicholas County11.593Calhoun County: 11.437 %Calhoun County11.437Grant County: 11.233 %Grant County11.233Pocahontas County: 11.001 %Pocahontas County11.001Mineral County: 10.82 %Mineral County10.82Hancock County: 10.755 %Hancock County10.755Barbour County: 10.344 %Barbour County10.344Marshall County: 9.977 %Marshall County9.977Webster County: 9.684 %Webster County9.684Tyler County: 9.614 %Tyler County9.614Preston County: 9.461 %Preston County9.461Braxton County: 9.33 %Braxton County9.33Boone County: 8.458 %Boone County8.458Ritchie County: 7.889 %Ritchie County7.889Hardy County: 7.109 %Hardy County7.109
%. 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

RankCounties2022 (%)Change on 2021
1McDowell County36.226+22.61 pts
2Summers County27.703+17.58 pts
3Mingo County25.621+15.76 pts
4Lewis County20.748+5.17 pts
5Pendleton County20.581+12.55 pts
6Upshur County20.441+12.25 pts
7Wirt County19.191-7.75 pts
8Logan County19.161+12.75 pts
9Hampshire County17.88+10.18 pts
10Mercer County17.842+7.9 pts
11Jackson County17.577+11.73 pts
12Jefferson County17.029+9.09 pts
13Harrison County16.74+6.63 pts
14Marion County16.051-1.61 pts
15Fayette County15.978+7.5 pts
16Mason County15.316+5.41 pts
17Raleigh County15.201+6.49 pts
18Monroe County15.193+7.16 pts
19Brooke County15.016+6.59 pts
20Clay County14.839+4.74 pts
21Wayne County14.635+6.73 pts
22Taylor County14.537+7.33 pts
23Morgan County14.095+5.25 pts
24Berkeley County13.638+1.76 pts
25Putnam County13.609+3.11 pts
26Kanawha County13.608+5.11 pts
27Lincoln County13.501+6.78 pts
28Wood County13.493+3.58 pts
29Greenbrier County13.359+5.29 pts
30Ohio County13.354+5.58 pts
31Tucker County13.255-2.85 pts
32Wyoming County13.236+4.98 pts
33Monongalia County13.146-2.94 pts
34Wetzel County12.722-0.2 pts
35Gilmer County12.538+5.98 pts
36Doddridge County12.339+3.24 pts
37Randolph County12.139+4.17 pts
38Cabell County11.988+4.9 pts
39Roane County11.937-14.88 pts
40Pleasants County11.765+3 pts
41Nicholas County11.593+1.09 pts
42Calhoun County11.437-3.02 pts
43Grant County11.233+4.62 pts
44Pocahontas County11.001+3.08 pts
45Mineral County10.82-1.64 pts
46Hancock County10.755+6.28 pts
47Barbour County10.344-4.5 pts
48Marshall County9.977-1.61 pts
49Webster County9.684-4.12 pts
50Tyler County9.614+3.57 pts
51Preston County9.461+1.87 pts
52Braxton County9.33+1.06 pts
53Boone County8.458-2.3 pts
54Ritchie County7.889-2.25 pts
55Hardy County7.109+1.73 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 West Virginia by job creation rate, 2022) [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, 2022. 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=2022. 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, 2022. 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=2022.

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, 2022 [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=2022 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_west_virginia_2022,
  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, 2022}},
  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=2022. 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, 2022
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=2022
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-creation-rate/west-virginia-counties?period=2022.
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 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=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?

McDowell County, with 36.226% in 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest job creation rate?

Hardy County, with 7.109% in 2022.

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 West Virginia: more rankings