Employer firm births in Washington

Employer firm births in Washington was 12,280 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That is down 6.2% from 2022. That is the 10th highest of 51 states in 2023.

2023, count12,280

Change on 2022-6.2%

Rank10th of 51US states ranked

Series high14,3092006

Series low9,2081982

Employer firm births in Washington, 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	12,280
2022	13,087
2021	12,151
2020	11,561
2019	11,975
2018	12,337
2017	11,751
2016	11,668
2015	10,928
2014	10,328
2013	9,990
2012	9,836
2011	9,873
2010	9,402
2009	9,679
2008	12,867
2007	13,779
2006	14,309
2005	13,225
2004	12,203
2003	11,483
2002	10,970
2001	10,967
2000	11,453
1999	11,545
1998	12,336
1997	12,589
1996	12,669
1995	12,655
1994	12,575
1993	12,060
1992	11,733
1991	11,199
1990	12,086
1989	11,259
1988	11,032
1987	11,118
1986	11,163
1985	10,846
1984	11,682
1983	10,111
1982	9,208
1981	9,499
1980	10,110
1979	11,241
1978	11,817

Compared with United States

Place	2023
Washington	12,280
United States	508,777

Washington compared with nearby places

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. Washington 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

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, Washington, 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, Washington, 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/washington. 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, Washington, 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/washington.

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, Washington, 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/washington (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_employer_firm_births_washington_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, Washington, 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/washington. 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, Washington, 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/washington
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/employer-firm-births/washington.
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 Washington?

Employer firm births in Washington was 12,280 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That is down 6.2% from 2022. That is the 10th 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 Washington?

14,309 in 2006, the highest value since 1978 in this series.

Employer firm births elsewhere in United States

Related statistics for Washington

All statistics for Washington | Washington in figures