Data / Employer firm births / North Carolina

Employer firm births in North Carolina

Employer firm births in North Carolina was 16,322 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That is down 1.7% from 2022. That is the 6th highest of 51 states in 2023.

2023, count16,322
Change on 2022-1.7%
Rank6th of 51US states ranked
Series high16,6112022
Series low9,3871982
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Employer firm births in North Carolina, 1978 to 2023

8,00010K12K14K16K18K19781985199219992006201320231978: 11,914 count1979: 11,384 count1980: 10,146 count1981: 9,997 count1982: 9,387 count1983: 11,286 count1984: 15,940 count1985: 13,479 count1986: 13,695 count1987: 13,226 count1988: 13,545 count1989: 13,388 count1990: 13,460 count1991: 11,613 count1992: 11,170 count1993: 11,889 count1994: 12,930 count1995: 13,851 count1996: 14,018 count1997: 14,895 count1998: 14,189 count1999: 13,844 count2000: 13,213 count2001: 13,304 count2002: 13,011 count2003: 12,814 count2004: 14,302 count2005: 15,200 count2006: 15,891 count2007: 15,398 count2008: 14,197 count2009: 11,118 count2010: 11,279 count2011: 11,216 count2012: 11,282 count2013: 11,121 count2014: 11,300 count2015: 11,644 count2016: 12,917 count2017: 13,258 count2018: 13,479 count2019: 13,471 count2020: 13,736 count2021: 15,534 count2022: 16,611 count2023: 16,322 count8,00010K12K14K16K18K19781994201020231978: 11,914 count1979: 11,384 count1980: 10,146 count1981: 9,997 count1982: 9,387 count1983: 11,286 count1984: 15,940 count1985: 13,479 count1986: 13,695 count1987: 13,226 count1988: 13,545 count1989: 13,388 count1990: 13,460 count1991: 11,613 count1992: 11,170 count1993: 11,889 count1994: 12,930 count1995: 13,851 count1996: 14,018 count1997: 14,895 count1998: 14,189 count1999: 13,844 count2000: 13,213 count2001: 13,304 count2002: 13,011 count2003: 12,814 count2004: 14,302 count2005: 15,200 count2006: 15,891 count2007: 15,398 count2008: 14,197 count2009: 11,118 count2010: 11,279 count2011: 11,216 count2012: 11,282 count2013: 11,121 count2014: 11,300 count2015: 11,644 count2016: 12,917 count2017: 13,258 count2018: 13,479 count2019: 13,471 count2020: 13,736 count2021: 15,534 count2022: 16,611 count2023: 16,322 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
202316,322
202216,611
202115,534
202013,736
201913,471
201813,479
201713,258
201612,917
201511,644
201411,300
201311,121
201211,282
201111,216
201011,279
200911,118
200814,197
200715,398
200615,891
200515,200
200414,302
200312,814
200213,011
200113,304
200013,213
199913,844
199814,189
199714,895
199614,018
199513,851
199412,930
199311,889
199211,170
199111,613
199013,460
198913,388
198813,545
198713,226
198613,695
198513,479
198415,940
198311,286
19829,387
19819,997
198010,146
197911,384
197811,914

Compared with United States

Place2023
North Carolina16,322
United States508,777

North Carolina 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. North Carolina 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, North Carolina, 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, North Carolina, 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/north-carolina. 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, North Carolina, 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/north-carolina.

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, North Carolina, 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/north-carolina (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_employer_firm_births_north_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, North Carolina, 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/north-carolina. 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, North Carolina, 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/north-carolina
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/employer-firm-births/north-carolina.
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 North Carolina?

Employer firm births in North Carolina was 16,322 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That is down 1.7% from 2022. That is the 6th 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 North Carolina?

16,611 in 2022, the highest value since 1978 in this series.

Employer firm births elsewhere in United States

Related statistics for North Carolina

All statistics for North Carolina | North Carolina in figures