Data / Employer firm births / Illinois

Employer firm births in Illinois

Employer firm births in Illinois was 16,056 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That is down 5.6% from 2022. That is the 7th highest of 51 states in 2023.

2023, count16,056
Change on 2022-5.6%
Rank7th of 51US states ranked
Series high20,2242006
Series low15,0802010
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Employer firm births in Illinois, 1978 to 2023

14K16K18K20K22K19781985199219992006201320231978: 19,918 count1979: 18,774 count1980: 17,509 count1981: 16,859 count1982: 16,678 count1983: 18,432 count1984: 20,208 count1985: 19,175 count1986: 19,364 count1987: 19,691 count1988: 19,526 count1989: 19,599 count1990: 19,469 count1991: 18,295 count1992: 17,823 count1993: 18,756 count1994: 19,167 count1995: 19,748 count1996: 19,504 count1997: 19,286 count1998: 18,507 count1999: 17,421 count2000: 17,152 count2001: 16,271 count2002: 17,103 count2003: 17,594 count2004: 19,145 count2005: 19,677 count2006: 20,224 count2007: 19,155 count2008: 18,339 count2009: 15,670 count2010: 15,080 count2011: 15,994 count2012: 16,052 count2013: 15,726 count2014: 15,250 count2015: 15,676 count2016: 16,238 count2017: 15,669 count2018: 15,434 count2019: 15,692 count2020: 15,272 count2021: 16,373 count2022: 17,007 count2023: 16,056 count14K16K18K20K22K19781994201020231978: 19,918 count1979: 18,774 count1980: 17,509 count1981: 16,859 count1982: 16,678 count1983: 18,432 count1984: 20,208 count1985: 19,175 count1986: 19,364 count1987: 19,691 count1988: 19,526 count1989: 19,599 count1990: 19,469 count1991: 18,295 count1992: 17,823 count1993: 18,756 count1994: 19,167 count1995: 19,748 count1996: 19,504 count1997: 19,286 count1998: 18,507 count1999: 17,421 count2000: 17,152 count2001: 16,271 count2002: 17,103 count2003: 17,594 count2004: 19,145 count2005: 19,677 count2006: 20,224 count2007: 19,155 count2008: 18,339 count2009: 15,670 count2010: 15,080 count2011: 15,994 count2012: 16,052 count2013: 15,726 count2014: 15,250 count2015: 15,676 count2016: 16,238 count2017: 15,669 count2018: 15,434 count2019: 15,692 count2020: 15,272 count2021: 16,373 count2022: 17,007 count2023: 16,056 count
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978. Retrieved 2026-10-22, published 2025-09-25.
All 46 values
Periodcount
202316,056
202217,007
202116,373
202015,272
201915,692
201815,434
201715,669
201616,238
201515,676
201415,250
201315,726
201216,052
201115,994
201015,080
200915,670
200818,339
200719,155
200620,224
200519,677
200419,145
200317,594
200217,103
200116,271
200017,152
199917,421
199818,507
199719,286
199619,504
199519,748
199419,167
199318,756
199217,823
199118,295
199019,469
198919,599
198819,526
198719,691
198619,364
198519,175
198420,208
198318,432
198216,678
198116,859
198017,509
197918,774
197819,918

Compared with United States

Place2023
Illinois16,056
United States508,777

Illinois compared with nearby places

Alabama: 5,688 countAlaska: 1,222 countArizona: 11,411 countArkansas: 3,866 countCalifornia: 70,055 countColorado: 11,839 countConnecticut: 4,349 countDelaware: 2,248 countDistrict of Columbia: 1,129 countFlorida: 51,518 countGeorgia: 17,841 countHawaii: 1,736 countIdaho: 4,074 countIllinois: 16,056 countIndiana: 8,106 countIowa: 3,717 countKansas: 3,975 countKentucky: 4,803 countLouisiana: 5,480 countMaine: 2,288 countMaryland: 7,811 countMassachusetts: 9,985 countMichigan: 11,814 countMinnesota: 7,296 countMississippi: 3,132 countMissouri: 8,453 countMontana: 2,708 countNebraska: 2,871 countNevada: 5,829 countNew Hampshire: 2,040 countNew Jersey: 14,547 countNew Mexico: 2,617 countNew York: 33,208 countNorth Carolina: 16,322 countNorth Dakota: 1,287 countOhio: 11,994 countOklahoma: 5,463 countOregon: 7,399 countPennsylvania: 14,288 countRhode Island: 1,563 countSouth Carolina: 7,641 countSouth Dakota: 1,605 countTennessee: 8,740 countTexas: 47,108 countUtah: 7,199 countVermont: 1,068 countVirginia: 11,835 countWashington: 12,280 countWest Virginia: 1,532 countWisconsin: 6,856 countWyoming: 1,808 count
  • Under 1,900
  • 1,900 to 3,800
  • 3,800 to 5,800
  • 5,800 to 8,500
  • 8,500 to 14K
  • 14K and over
Employer firm births, 2023, count. Illinois is outlined. Same source and period for every area shown. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Rankings

Definition

New employer firms: firms of age zero in March of the year, meaning that every establishment of the firm had its first employees during the previous twelve months. United States: Census Bureau Business Dynamics Statistics, which calls these firms startups.

A firm counts only when it has employees, so a business without staff is not a birth, and a new branch, merger or change of ownership of an existing firm is not a birth either. Not the same as business_applications (requests for an employer number) or enterprise_births (European business demography). The year is the twelve months to March: 2023 compares March 2022 with March 2023.

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How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_fa.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-22.

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 by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978 (Employer firm births, Illinois, 1978 to 2023) [Data set]. Retrieved October 22, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_fa.csv

MLA 9

Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978, Employer firm births, Illinois, 1978 to 2023. U.S. Census Bureau, 25 Sept. 2025, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_fa.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/employer-firm-births/illinois. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2025. Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978. Employer firm births, Illinois, 1978 to 2023. Dataset. Accessed October 22, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_fa.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/employer-firm-births/illinois.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978, Employer firm births, Illinois, 1978 to 2023 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_fa.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/en/employer-firm-births/illinois (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_employer_firm_births_illinois_2023,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978: Employer firm births, Illinois, 1978 to 2023}},
  year = {2025},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_fa.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-22},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/employer-firm-births/illinois. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023\_st\_fa.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-22.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978: Employer firm births, Illinois, 1978 to 2023
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_fa.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/en/employer-firm-births/illinois
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/employer-firm-births/illinois.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_fa.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-22.
ER  -
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Questions

What is the employer firm births in Illinois?

Employer firm births in Illinois was 16,056 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That is down 5.6% from 2022. That is the 7th highest of 51 states in 2023.

Where does this figure come from?

U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978. Retrieved by Invokely on 2026-10-22.

What was the highest employer firm births in Illinois?

20,224 in 2006, the highest value since 1978 in this series.

Employer firm births elsewhere in United States

Related statistics for Illinois

All statistics for Illinois | Illinois in figures