Data / Rankings / Business applications / US states

US states by business applications

Florida had the highest business applications of 51 states in December 2025, at 51,721. Vermont had the lowest, at 635. The median was 6,514 and the figure for the United States was 496,139. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest51,721Florida
Lowest635Vermont
Median6,51451 states
United States496,139History

All states, December 2025

CSVChart (SVG)

FloridaFlorida: 51,721 count51,721CaliforniaCalifornia: 48,748 count48,748TexasTexas: 47,752 count47,752New YorkNew York: 25,936 count25,936GeorgiaGeorgia: 23,318 count23,318North CarolinaNorth Carolina: 15,975 count15,975OhioOhio: 15,952 count15,952IllinoisIllinois: 15,895 count15,895PennsylvaniaPennsylvania: 14,517 count14,517New JerseyNew Jersey: 14,300 count14,300VirginiaVirginia: 13,259 count13,259ArizonaArizona: 12,501 count12,501ColoradoColorado: 12,344 count12,344MichiganMichigan: 12,249 count12,249WashingtonWashington: 9,902 count9,902TennesseeTennessee: 9,475 count9,475MarylandMaryland: 9,251 count9,251MissouriMissouri: 9,077 count9,077South CarolinaSouth Carolina: 8,115 count8,115IndianaIndiana: 7,755 count7,755LouisianaLouisiana: 7,646 count7,646AlabamaAlabama: 7,282 count7,282MassachusettsMassachusetts: 7,079 count7,079WyomingWyoming: 7,000 count7,000KentuckyKentucky: 6,626 count6,626UtahUtah: 6,514 count6,514WisconsinWisconsin: 6,420 count6,420MinnesotaMinnesota: 6,226 count6,226NevadaNevada: 5,573 count5,573OregonOregon: 5,141 count5,141DelawareDelaware: 5,054 count5,054MississippiMississippi: 5,011 count5,011OklahomaOklahoma: 4,997 count4,997ConnecticutConnecticut: 4,443 count4,443New MexicoNew Mexico: 4,247 count4,247ArkansasArkansas: 3,493 count3,493KansasKansas: 3,423 count3,423IowaIowa: 2,928 count2,928IdahoIdaho: 2,857 count2,857MontanaMontana: 2,445 count2,445NebraskaNebraska: 2,046 count2,046HawaiiHawaii: 1,631 count1,631West VirginiaWest Virginia: 1,631 count1,631New HampshireNew Hampshire: 1,487 count1,487District of ColumbiaDistrict of Columbia: 1,262 count1,262MaineMaine: 1,158 count1,158Rhode IslandRhode Island: 1,044 count1,044South DakotaSouth Dakota: 1,029 count1,029AlaskaAlaska: 963 count963North DakotaNorth Dakota: 806 count806VermontVermont: 635 count635
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Full ranking

RankStatesDecember 2025
count		Change on December 2024
1Florida51,721-7%
2California48,748+7.6%
3Texas47,752+13.5%
4New York25,936+0.3%
5Georgia23,318+5.5%
6North Carolina15,975+13.7%
7Ohio15,952+18.7%
8Illinois15,895+9.5%
9Pennsylvania14,517+20.1%
10New Jersey14,300+5.5%
11Virginia13,259+20.4%
12Arizona12,501+18.1%
13Colorado12,344-2.7%
14Michigan12,249+0.7%
15Washington9,902-31.3%
16Tennessee9,475+18.5%
17Maryland9,251+13.4%
18Missouri9,077+23.8%
19South Carolina8,115+7.3%
20Indiana7,755+2.1%
21Louisiana7,646+37.6%
22Alabama7,282+38.2%
23Massachusetts7,079+5.1%
24Wyoming7,000+19.9%
25Kentucky6,626+54.7%
26Utah6,514-8.1%
27Wisconsin6,420+23.8%
28Minnesota6,226+7.3%
29Nevada5,573-4.2%
30Oregon5,141-26.7%
31Delaware5,054-10.8%
32Mississippi5,011+26.1%
33Oklahoma4,997+5.4%
34Connecticut4,443+6.7%
35New Mexico4,247+57.2%
36Arkansas3,493+13.9%
37Kansas3,423+23.5%
38Iowa2,928+11.7%
39Idaho2,857-1.8%
40Montana2,445-8.1%
41Nebraska2,046+10.1%
42Hawaii1,631+5.7%
42West Virginia1,631+32.3%
44New Hampshire1,487+22.3%
45District of Columbia1,262+7.4%
46Maine1,158-7.9%
47Rhode Island1,044+2.5%
48South Dakota1,029+4.3%
49Alaska963+23.6%
50North Dakota806+4.8%
51Vermont635-0.3%

Other periods

About this ranking

Applications for an Employer Identification Number (EIN) that indicate a new business, per month, seasonally adjusted. United States: Census Bureau Business Formation Statistics, from July 2004.

Applications are not business formations: many applicants never hire anyone or start operating. Not comparable with companies_created, which counts companies registered in Spain.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the states are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. Business Formation Statistics: business applications (BA_BA), all sectors, seasonally adjusted, United States and states. https://www.census.gov/econ/bfs/csv/bfs_monthly.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank US states by business applications using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"business_applications","level":"region","within":"United States","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=business_applications&level=region&within=United%20States&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which state has the highest business applications?

Florida, with 51,721 in December 2025, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which state has the lowest business applications?

Vermont, with 635 in December 2025.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Formation Statistics: business applications (BA_BA), all sectors, seasonally adjusted, United States and states. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

US states: more rankings