Data / Employer firm births / Massachusetts

Employer firm births in Massachusetts

Employer firm births in Massachusetts was 9,985 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That is down 1.9% from 2022. That is the 16th highest of 51 states in 2023.

2023, count9,985
Change on 2022-1.9%
Rank16th of 51US states ranked
Series high14,0011987
Series low7,4182010
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Employer firm births in Massachusetts, 1978 to 2023

6,0008,00010K12K14K16K19781985199219992006201320231978: 9,637 count1979: 9,478 count1980: 8,980 count1981: 8,648 count1982: 8,921 count1983: 10,055 count1984: 11,538 count1985: 12,351 count1986: 13,255 count1987: 14,001 count1988: 13,652 count1989: 12,551 count1990: 10,477 count1991: 8,510 count1992: 8,467 count1993: 9,194 count1994: 9,951 count1995: 10,543 count1996: 10,191 count1997: 10,752 count1998: 10,137 count1999: 10,947 count2000: 10,174 count2001: 9,652 count2002: 9,738 count2003: 10,968 count2004: 10,286 count2005: 10,065 count2006: 10,501 count2007: 9,416 count2008: 8,653 count2009: 7,437 count2010: 7,418 count2011: 7,671 count2012: 8,179 count2013: 8,105 count2014: 8,130 count2015: 8,056 count2016: 9,070 count2017: 8,985 count2018: 8,854 count2019: 9,016 count2020: 9,081 count2021: 8,692 count2022: 10,178 count2023: 9,985 count6,0008,00010K12K14K16K19781994201020231978: 9,637 count1979: 9,478 count1980: 8,980 count1981: 8,648 count1982: 8,921 count1983: 10,055 count1984: 11,538 count1985: 12,351 count1986: 13,255 count1987: 14,001 count1988: 13,652 count1989: 12,551 count1990: 10,477 count1991: 8,510 count1992: 8,467 count1993: 9,194 count1994: 9,951 count1995: 10,543 count1996: 10,191 count1997: 10,752 count1998: 10,137 count1999: 10,947 count2000: 10,174 count2001: 9,652 count2002: 9,738 count2003: 10,968 count2004: 10,286 count2005: 10,065 count2006: 10,501 count2007: 9,416 count2008: 8,653 count2009: 7,437 count2010: 7,418 count2011: 7,671 count2012: 8,179 count2013: 8,105 count2014: 8,130 count2015: 8,056 count2016: 9,070 count2017: 8,985 count2018: 8,854 count2019: 9,016 count2020: 9,081 count2021: 8,692 count2022: 10,178 count2023: 9,985 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
20239,985
202210,178
20218,692
20209,081
20199,016
20188,854
20178,985
20169,070
20158,056
20148,130
20138,105
20128,179
20117,671
20107,418
20097,437
20088,653
20079,416
200610,501
200510,065
200410,286
200310,968
20029,738
20019,652
200010,174
199910,947
199810,137
199710,752
199610,191
199510,543
19949,951
19939,194
19928,467
19918,510
199010,477
198912,551
198813,652
198714,001
198613,255
198512,351
198411,538
198310,055
19828,921
19818,648
19808,980
19799,478
19789,637

Compared with United States

Place2023
Massachusetts9,985
United States508,777

Massachusetts 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. Massachusetts 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, Massachusetts, 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, Massachusetts, 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/massachusetts. 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, Massachusetts, 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/massachusetts.

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, Massachusetts, 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/massachusetts (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_employer_firm_births_massachusetts_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, Massachusetts, 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/massachusetts. 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, Massachusetts, 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/massachusetts
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/employer-firm-births/massachusetts.
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 Massachusetts?

Employer firm births in Massachusetts was 9,985 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That is down 1.9% from 2022. That is the 16th 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 Massachusetts?

14,001 in 1987, the highest value since 1978 in this series.

Employer firm births elsewhere in United States

Related statistics for Massachusetts

All statistics for Massachusetts | Massachusetts in figures