Data / Employer firm births / Pennsylvania

Employer firm births in Pennsylvania

Employer firm births in Pennsylvania was 14,288 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That is down 6.3% from 2022. That is the 9th highest of 51 states in 2023.

2023, count14,288
Change on 2022-6.3%
Rank9th of 51US states ranked
Series high20,5871987
Series low11,5752010
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Employer firm births in Pennsylvania, 1978 to 2023

10K12K14K16K18K20K22K19781985199219992006201320231978: 17,811 count1979: 17,575 count1980: 15,604 count1981: 14,326 count1982: 14,551 count1983: 16,744 count1984: 19,007 count1985: 18,736 count1986: 20,086 count1987: 20,587 count1988: 20,312 count1989: 20,248 count1990: 19,225 count1991: 16,898 count1992: 15,665 count1993: 15,640 count1994: 15,256 count1995: 17,001 count1996: 16,432 count1997: 16,903 count1998: 16,206 count1999: 15,273 count2000: 15,045 count2001: 14,649 count2002: 15,266 count2003: 15,103 count2004: 16,346 count2005: 16,904 count2006: 16,521 count2007: 15,494 count2008: 14,719 count2009: 12,761 count2010: 11,575 count2011: 12,545 count2012: 12,824 count2013: 12,625 count2014: 12,643 count2015: 12,544 count2016: 13,452 count2017: 13,015 count2018: 13,047 count2019: 13,519 count2020: 13,495 count2021: 13,684 count2022: 15,253 count2023: 14,288 count10K12.5K15K17.5K20K22.5K19781994201020231978: 17,811 count1979: 17,575 count1980: 15,604 count1981: 14,326 count1982: 14,551 count1983: 16,744 count1984: 19,007 count1985: 18,736 count1986: 20,086 count1987: 20,587 count1988: 20,312 count1989: 20,248 count1990: 19,225 count1991: 16,898 count1992: 15,665 count1993: 15,640 count1994: 15,256 count1995: 17,001 count1996: 16,432 count1997: 16,903 count1998: 16,206 count1999: 15,273 count2000: 15,045 count2001: 14,649 count2002: 15,266 count2003: 15,103 count2004: 16,346 count2005: 16,904 count2006: 16,521 count2007: 15,494 count2008: 14,719 count2009: 12,761 count2010: 11,575 count2011: 12,545 count2012: 12,824 count2013: 12,625 count2014: 12,643 count2015: 12,544 count2016: 13,452 count2017: 13,015 count2018: 13,047 count2019: 13,519 count2020: 13,495 count2021: 13,684 count2022: 15,253 count2023: 14,288 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
202314,288
202215,253
202113,684
202013,495
201913,519
201813,047
201713,015
201613,452
201512,544
201412,643
201312,625
201212,824
201112,545
201011,575
200912,761
200814,719
200715,494
200616,521
200516,904
200416,346
200315,103
200215,266
200114,649
200015,045
199915,273
199816,206
199716,903
199616,432
199517,001
199415,256
199315,640
199215,665
199116,898
199019,225
198920,248
198820,312
198720,587
198620,086
198518,736
198419,007
198316,744
198214,551
198114,326
198015,604
197917,575
197817,811

Compared with United States

Place2023
Pennsylvania14,288
United States508,777

Pennsylvania 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. Pennsylvania 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, Pennsylvania, 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, Pennsylvania, 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/pennsylvania. 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, Pennsylvania, 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/pennsylvania.

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, Pennsylvania, 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/pennsylvania (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

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

Employer firm births in Pennsylvania was 14,288 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That is down 6.3% from 2022. That is the 9th 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 Pennsylvania?

20,587 in 1987, the highest value since 1978 in this series.

Employer firm births elsewhere in United States

Related statistics for Pennsylvania

All statistics for Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania in figures