Employer firm births in Santa Cruz County

Employer firm births in Santa Cruz County was 428 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That is down 1.2% from 2022. That is the 25th highest of 58 counties in 2023.

2023, count428

Change on 2022-1.2%

Rank25th of 58Counties in California ranked

Series high6851978

Series low3292010

Employer firm births in Santa Cruz County, 1978 to 2023

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

Period	count
2023	428
2022	433
2021	361
2020	455
2019	403
2018	378
2017	411
2016	365
2015	385
2014	379
2013	335
2012	355
2011	330
2010	329
2009	381
2008	443
2007	458
2006	486
2005	490
2004	426
2003	422
2002	461
2001	475
2000	500
1999	429
1998	473
1997	485
1996	475
1995	513
1994	471
1993	444
1992	487
1991	587
1990	634
1989	619
1988	628
1987	635
1986	675
1985	669
1984	665
1983	502
1982	529
1981	590
1980	623
1979	575
1978	685

Compared with California and United States

Place	2023
Santa Cruz County	428
California	70,055
United States	508,777

Santa Cruz County compared with nearby places

Under 100
100 to 200
200 to 600
600 to 1,500
1,500 and over

Employer firm births, 2023, count. Santa Cruz County is outlined. Same source and period for every area shown. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Rankings

US states by employer firm births 51 places
Counties in California by employer firm births 58 places

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_cty_fac.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, Santa Cruz County, 1978 to 2023) [Data set]. Retrieved October 22, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty_fac.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, Santa Cruz County, 1978 to 2023. U.S. Census Bureau, 25 Sept. 2025, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty_fac.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/employer-firm-births/santa-cruz-county-california. 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, Santa Cruz County, 1978 to 2023. Dataset. Accessed October 22, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty_fac.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/employer-firm-births/santa-cruz-county-california.

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, Santa Cruz County, 1978 to 2023 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty_fac.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/en/employer-firm-births/santa-cruz-county-california (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_employer_firm_births_santa_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, Santa Cruz County, 1978 to 2023}},
  year = {2025},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty_fac.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-22},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/employer-firm-births/santa-cruz-county-california. 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\_cty\_fac.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, Santa Cruz County, 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_cty_fac.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/en/employer-firm-births/santa-cruz-county-california
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/employer-firm-births/santa-cruz-county-california.
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_cty_fac.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-22.
ER  -

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Questions

What is the employer firm births in Santa Cruz County?

Employer firm births in Santa Cruz County was 428 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That is down 1.2% from 2022. That is the 25th highest of 58 counties 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 Santa Cruz County?

685 in 1978, the highest value since 1978 in this series.

Related statistics for Santa Cruz County

All statistics for Santa Cruz County | Santa Cruz County in figures