Data / Employer firm births / West Virginia

Employer firm births in West Virginia

Employer firm births in West Virginia was 1,532 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That is down 1.9% from 2022. That is the 47th highest of 51 states in 2023.

2023, count1,532
Change on 2022-1.9%
Rank47th of 51US states ranked
Series high3,4621984
Series low1,2472020
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Employer firm births in West Virginia, 1978 to 2023

1,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,50019781985199219992006201320231978: 3,062 count1979: 3,328 count1980: 2,750 count1981: 2,658 count1982: 2,514 count1983: 2,446 count1984: 3,462 count1985: 3,126 count1986: 2,806 count1987: 2,861 count1988: 2,832 count1989: 2,712 count1990: 2,803 count1991: 2,477 count1992: 2,409 count1993: 2,605 count1994: 2,576 count1995: 2,831 count1996: 2,619 count1997: 2,615 count1998: 2,395 count1999: 2,233 count2000: 2,142 count2001: 1,926 count2002: 2,030 count2003: 2,004 count2004: 2,238 count2005: 2,293 count2006: 2,273 count2007: 1,984 count2008: 1,806 count2009: 1,473 count2010: 1,325 count2011: 1,400 count2012: 1,479 count2013: 1,305 count2014: 1,278 count2015: 1,368 count2016: 1,385 count2017: 1,406 count2018: 1,263 count2019: 1,392 count2020: 1,247 count2021: 1,309 count2022: 1,562 count2023: 1,532 count1,0002,0003,0004,00019781994201020231978: 3,062 count1979: 3,328 count1980: 2,750 count1981: 2,658 count1982: 2,514 count1983: 2,446 count1984: 3,462 count1985: 3,126 count1986: 2,806 count1987: 2,861 count1988: 2,832 count1989: 2,712 count1990: 2,803 count1991: 2,477 count1992: 2,409 count1993: 2,605 count1994: 2,576 count1995: 2,831 count1996: 2,619 count1997: 2,615 count1998: 2,395 count1999: 2,233 count2000: 2,142 count2001: 1,926 count2002: 2,030 count2003: 2,004 count2004: 2,238 count2005: 2,293 count2006: 2,273 count2007: 1,984 count2008: 1,806 count2009: 1,473 count2010: 1,325 count2011: 1,400 count2012: 1,479 count2013: 1,305 count2014: 1,278 count2015: 1,368 count2016: 1,385 count2017: 1,406 count2018: 1,263 count2019: 1,392 count2020: 1,247 count2021: 1,309 count2022: 1,562 count2023: 1,532 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
20231,532
20221,562
20211,309
20201,247
20191,392
20181,263
20171,406
20161,385
20151,368
20141,278
20131,305
20121,479
20111,400
20101,325
20091,473
20081,806
20071,984
20062,273
20052,293
20042,238
20032,004
20022,030
20011,926
20002,142
19992,233
19982,395
19972,615
19962,619
19952,831
19942,576
19932,605
19922,409
19912,477
19902,803
19892,712
19882,832
19872,861
19862,806
19853,126
19843,462
19832,446
19822,514
19812,658
19802,750
19793,328
19783,062

Compared with United States

Place2023
West Virginia1,532
United States508,777

West Virginia 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. West Virginia 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, West Virginia, 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, West Virginia, 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/west-virginia. 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, West Virginia, 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/west-virginia.

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, West Virginia, 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/west-virginia (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_employer_firm_births_west_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, West Virginia, 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/west-virginia. 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, West Virginia, 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/west-virginia
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/employer-firm-births/west-virginia.
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 West Virginia?

Employer firm births in West Virginia was 1,532 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That is down 1.9% from 2022. That is the 47th 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 West Virginia?

3,462 in 1984, the highest value since 1978 in this series.

Employer firm births elsewhere in United States

Related statistics for West Virginia

All statistics for West Virginia | West Virginia in figures