Data / Rankings / Employer firm births / US states

US states by employer firm births

California had the highest employer firm births of 51 states in 2018, at 61,272. Vermont had the lowest, at 844. The median was 5,048 and the figure for the United States was 442,078. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest61,272California
Lowest844Vermont
Median5,04851 states
United States442,078History

Map of states, 2018

Alabama: 4,564 countAlaska: 980 countArizona: 8,992 countArkansas: 3,308 countCalifornia: 61,272 countColorado: 11,402 countConnecticut: 3,870 countDelaware: 1,475 countDistrict of Columbia: 1,248 countFlorida: 40,828 countGeorgia: 14,323 countHawaii: 1,562 countIdaho: 3,317 countIllinois: 15,434 countIndiana: 6,759 countIowa: 3,693 countKansas: 3,390 countKentucky: 4,027 countLouisiana: 5,048 countMaine: 1,915 countMaryland: 6,872 countMassachusetts: 8,854 countMichigan: 10,439 countMinnesota: 6,619 countMississippi: 2,620 countMissouri: 9,059 countMontana: 2,111 countNebraska: 2,478 countNevada: 4,939 countNew Hampshire: 1,808 countNew Jersey: 12,969 countNew Mexico: 2,109 countNew York: 33,115 countNorth Carolina: 13,479 countNorth Dakota: 1,086 countOhio: 9,983 countOklahoma: 4,739 countOregon: 7,186 countPennsylvania: 13,047 countRhode Island: 1,373 countSouth Carolina: 6,170 countSouth Dakota: 1,302 countTennessee: 6,958 countTexas: 38,213 countUtah: 5,756 countVermont: 844 countVirginia: 10,375 countWashington: 12,337 countWest Virginia: 1,263 countWisconsin: 6,013 countWyoming: 1,240 count
  • Under 1,500
  • 1,500 to 3,300
  • 3,300 to 5,000
  • 5,000 to 7,700
  • 7,700 to 13K
  • 13K and over
count, 2018. 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. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All states, 2018

California: 61,272 countCalifornia61,272Florida: 40,828 countFlorida40,828Texas: 38,213 countTexas38,213New York: 33,115 countNew York33,115Illinois: 15,434 countIllinois15,434Georgia: 14,323 countGeorgia14,323North Carolina: 13,479 countNorth Carolina13,479Pennsylvania: 13,047 countPennsylvania13,047New Jersey: 12,969 countNew Jersey12,969Washington: 12,337 countWashington12,337Colorado: 11,402 countColorado11,402Michigan: 10,439 countMichigan10,439Virginia: 10,375 countVirginia10,375Ohio: 9,983 countOhio9,983Missouri: 9,059 countMissouri9,059Arizona: 8,992 countArizona8,992Massachusetts: 8,854 countMassachusetts8,854Oregon: 7,186 countOregon7,186Tennessee: 6,958 countTennessee6,958Maryland: 6,872 countMaryland6,872Indiana: 6,759 countIndiana6,759Minnesota: 6,619 countMinnesota6,619South Carolina: 6,170 countSouth Carolina6,170Wisconsin: 6,013 countWisconsin6,013Utah: 5,756 countUtah5,756Louisiana: 5,048 countLouisiana5,048Nevada: 4,939 countNevada4,939Oklahoma: 4,739 countOklahoma4,739Alabama: 4,564 countAlabama4,564Kentucky: 4,027 countKentucky4,027Connecticut: 3,870 countConnecticut3,870Iowa: 3,693 countIowa3,693Kansas: 3,390 countKansas3,390Idaho: 3,317 countIdaho3,317Arkansas: 3,308 countArkansas3,308Mississippi: 2,620 countMississippi2,620Nebraska: 2,478 countNebraska2,478Montana: 2,111 countMontana2,111New Mexico: 2,109 countNew Mexico2,109Maine: 1,915 countMaine1,915New Hampshire: 1,808 countNew Hampshire1,808Hawaii: 1,562 countHawaii1,562Delaware: 1,475 countDelaware1,475Rhode Island: 1,373 countRhode Island1,373South Dakota: 1,302 countSouth Dakota1,302West Virginia: 1,263 countWest Virginia1,263District of Columbia: 1,248 countDistrict of Columbia1,248Wyoming: 1,240 countWyoming1,240North Dakota: 1,086 countNorth Dakota1,086Alaska: 980 countAlaska980Vermont: 844 countVermont844California: 61,272 countCalifornia61,272Florida: 40,828 countFlorida40,828Texas: 38,213 countTexas38,213New York: 33,115 countNew York33,115Illinois: 15,434 countIllinois15,434Georgia: 14,323 countGeorgia14,323North Carolina: 13,479 countNorth Carolina13,479Pennsylvania: 13,047 countPennsylvania13,047New Jersey: 12,969 countNew Jersey12,969Washington: 12,337 countWashington12,337Colorado: 11,402 countColorado11,402Michigan: 10,439 countMichigan10,439Virginia: 10,375 countVirginia10,375Ohio: 9,983 countOhio9,983Missouri: 9,059 countMissouri9,059Arizona: 8,992 countArizona8,992Massachusetts: 8,854 countMassachusetts8,854Oregon: 7,186 countOregon7,186Tennessee: 6,958 countTennessee6,958Maryland: 6,872 countMaryland6,872Indiana: 6,759 countIndiana6,759Minnesota: 6,619 countMinnesota6,619South Carolina: 6,170 countSouth Carolina6,170Wisconsin: 6,013 countWisconsin6,013Utah: 5,756 countUtah5,756Louisiana: 5,048 countLouisiana5,048Nevada: 4,939 countNevada4,939Oklahoma: 4,739 countOklahoma4,739Alabama: 4,564 countAlabama4,564Kentucky: 4,027 countKentucky4,027Connecticut: 3,870 countConnecticut3,870Iowa: 3,693 countIowa3,693Kansas: 3,390 countKansas3,390Idaho: 3,317 countIdaho3,317Arkansas: 3,308 countArkansas3,308Mississippi: 2,620 countMississippi2,620Nebraska: 2,478 countNebraska2,478Montana: 2,111 countMontana2,111New Mexico: 2,109 countNew Mexico2,109Maine: 1,915 countMaine1,915New Hampshire: 1,808 countNew Hampshire1,808Hawaii: 1,562 countHawaii1,562Delaware: 1,475 countDelaware1,475Rhode Island: 1,373 countRhode Island1,373South Dakota: 1,302 countSouth Dakota1,302West Virginia: 1,263 countWest Virginia1,263District of Columbia: 1,248 countDistrict of Columbia1,248Wyoming: 1,240 countWyoming1,240North Dakota: 1,086 countNorth Dakota1,086Alaska: 980 countAlaska980Vermont: 844 countVermont844
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.

Full ranking

RankStates2018
count		Change on 2017
1California61,272+0.7%
2Florida40,828+0.6%
3Texas38,213+1.1%
4New York33,115-2.4%
5Illinois15,434-1.5%
6Georgia14,323+1.3%
7North Carolina13,479+1.7%
8Pennsylvania13,047+0.2%
9New Jersey12,969-1.9%
10Washington12,337+5%
11Colorado11,402+2.6%
12Michigan10,439+2.6%
13Virginia10,375-1.2%
14Ohio9,983-1.7%
15Missouri9,059-9.1%
16Arizona8,992+1.9%
17Massachusetts8,854-1.5%
18Oregon7,186+2.2%
19Tennessee6,958-1%
20Maryland6,872-0.2%
21Indiana6,759+3.6%
22Minnesota6,619-4.4%
23South Carolina6,170+4.2%
24Wisconsin6,013+1.6%
25Utah5,756+6.2%
26Louisiana5,048+3.6%
27Nevada4,939+6.3%
28Oklahoma4,739+0.5%
29Alabama4,564-2%
30Kentucky4,027-4.7%
31Connecticut3,870+3.3%
32Iowa3,693+9.8%
33Kansas3,390-0.5%
34Idaho3,317+11.6%
35Arkansas3,308+2.9%
36Mississippi2,620-2.2%
37Nebraska2,478-4.7%
38Montana2,111+5.9%
39New Mexico2,109+4%
40Maine1,915-1.5%
41New Hampshire1,808+3.2%
42Hawaii1,562-1%
43Delaware1,475+6.7%
44Rhode Island1,373+3.5%
45South Dakota1,302+4.6%
46West Virginia1,263-10.2%
47District of Columbia1,248+5.2%
48Wyoming1,240+4.6%
49North Dakota1,086-3.2%
50Alaska980-6.7%
51Vermont844-5.2%

Other periods

About this ranking

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.

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 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 (US states by employer firm births, 2018) [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, US states by employer firm births, 2018. 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/rankings/employer-firm-births/us-states?period=2018. 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. US states by employer firm births, 2018. 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/rankings/employer-firm-births/us-states?period=2018.

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, US states by employer firm births, 2018 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_fa.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/us-states?period=2018 (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_us_states_by_employer_2018,
  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: US states by employer firm births, 2018}},
  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/rankings/employer-firm-births/us-states?period=2018. 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: US states by employer firm births, 2018
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/rankings/employer-firm-births/us-states?period=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/us-states?period=2018.
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

Which state has the highest employer firm births?

California, with 61,272 in 2018, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which state has the lowest employer firm births?

Vermont, with 844 in 2018.

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 Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978. Retrieved 2026-10-22.

Employer firm births: other rankings

US states: more rankings