# Employer firms in United States

Employer firms in United States was 5.59 million in 2023. Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

- Indicator id: `employer_firms`
- Place id: `us`
- Unit: count
- Definition: Number of firms in the private nonfarm sectors covered by the US Census Bureau Business Dynamics Statistics. Establishments under common ownership form one firm.
- Note: Excludes nonemployer businesses and other activities outside the BDS scope. A firm operating in several states or counties is counted in each area, so geographic counts cannot be added to reproduce the national total. This differs from the INE DIRCE active-company count, which includes businesses without employees. Past values can be revised.
- Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties (https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023.csv)
- Retrieved: 2026-10-10
- License: Public domain (US federal government work, citation requested)
- Citation: U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
- Web page: https://invokely.ai/en/employer-firms/united-states
- CSV: https://invokely.ai/download/employer-firms/united-states.csv
- API: https://invokely.ai/api/v1/series?indicator=employer_firms&place=us

| Period | count |
|---|---:|
| 2023 | 5,593,727 |
| 2022 | 5,541,603 |
| 2021 | 5,391,471 |
| 2020 | 5,335,214 |
| 2019 | 5,330,349 |
| 2018 | 5,281,916 |
| 2017 | 5,246,978 |
| 2016 | 5,212,130 |
| 2015 | 5,146,908 |
| 2014 | 5,100,719 |
| 2013 | 5,064,208 |
| 2012 | 5,039,673 |
| 2011 | 4,993,099 |
| 2010 | 5,016,353 |
| 2009 | 5,088,072 |
| 2008 | 5,230,315 |
| 2007 | 5,291,526 |
| 2006 | 5,254,916 |
| 2005 | 5,166,062 |
| 2004 | 5,084,924 |
| 2003 | 4,991,927 |
| 2002 | 4,929,332 |
| 2001 | 4,912,908 |
| 2000 | 4,902,719 |
| 1999 | 4,883,018 |
| 1998 | 4,853,548 |
| 1997 | 4,776,424 |
| 1996 | 4,721,540 |
| 1995 | 4,674,006 |
| 1994 | 4,575,281 |
| 1993 | 4,495,611 |
| 1992 | 4,413,841 |
| 1991 | 4,412,581 |
| 1990 | 4,445,528 |
| 1989 | 4,382,013 |
| 1988 | 4,308,236 |
| 1987 | 4,223,952 |
| 1986 | 4,158,219 |
| 1985 | 4,073,155 |
| 1984 | 4,001,390 |
| 1983 | 3,830,757 |
| 1982 | 3,741,859 |
| 1981 | 3,768,498 |
| 1980 | 3,739,767 |
| 1979 | 3,692,635 |
| 1978 | 3,560,318 |