Data / Rankings / Employer firm births / US states

US states by employer firm births

California had the highest employer firm births of 51 states in 2019, at 64,516. Vermont had the lowest, at 867. The median was 5,169 and the figure for the United States was 453,027. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest64,516California
Lowest867Vermont
Median5,16951 states
United States453,027History

Map of states, 2019

Alabama: 4,793 countAlaska: 956 countArizona: 9,069 countArkansas: 3,320 countCalifornia: 64,516 countColorado: 11,580 countConnecticut: 4,056 countDelaware: 1,474 countDistrict of Columbia: 1,187 countFlorida: 42,819 countGeorgia: 14,875 countHawaii: 1,661 countIdaho: 3,658 countIllinois: 15,692 countIndiana: 6,471 countIowa: 3,420 countKansas: 3,402 countKentucky: 4,226 countLouisiana: 5,169 countMaine: 1,988 countMaryland: 6,984 countMassachusetts: 9,016 countMichigan: 10,209 countMinnesota: 6,615 countMississippi: 2,675 countMissouri: 9,033 countMontana: 2,148 countNebraska: 2,368 countNevada: 4,990 countNew Hampshire: 1,862 countNew Jersey: 13,396 countNew Mexico: 2,169 countNew York: 33,027 countNorth Carolina: 13,471 countNorth Dakota: 1,097 countOhio: 10,454 countOklahoma: 4,995 countOregon: 7,077 countPennsylvania: 13,519 countRhode Island: 1,429 countSouth Carolina: 6,315 countSouth Dakota: 1,284 countTennessee: 7,095 countTexas: 40,086 countUtah: 5,991 countVermont: 867 countVirginia: 10,647 countWashington: 11,975 countWest Virginia: 1,392 countWisconsin: 6,007 countWyoming: 1,272 count
  • Under 1,500
  • 1,500 to 3,400
  • 3,400 to 5,200
  • 5,200 to 7,700
  • 7,700 to 13K
  • 13K and over
count, 2019. 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, 2019

California: 64,516 countCalifornia64,516Florida: 42,819 countFlorida42,819Texas: 40,086 countTexas40,086New York: 33,027 countNew York33,027Illinois: 15,692 countIllinois15,692Georgia: 14,875 countGeorgia14,875Pennsylvania: 13,519 countPennsylvania13,519North Carolina: 13,471 countNorth Carolina13,471New Jersey: 13,396 countNew Jersey13,396Washington: 11,975 countWashington11,975Colorado: 11,580 countColorado11,580Virginia: 10,647 countVirginia10,647Ohio: 10,454 countOhio10,454Michigan: 10,209 countMichigan10,209Arizona: 9,069 countArizona9,069Missouri: 9,033 countMissouri9,033Massachusetts: 9,016 countMassachusetts9,016Tennessee: 7,095 countTennessee7,095Oregon: 7,077 countOregon7,077Maryland: 6,984 countMaryland6,984Minnesota: 6,615 countMinnesota6,615Indiana: 6,471 countIndiana6,471South Carolina: 6,315 countSouth Carolina6,315Wisconsin: 6,007 countWisconsin6,007Utah: 5,991 countUtah5,991Louisiana: 5,169 countLouisiana5,169Oklahoma: 4,995 countOklahoma4,995Nevada: 4,990 countNevada4,990Alabama: 4,793 countAlabama4,793Kentucky: 4,226 countKentucky4,226Connecticut: 4,056 countConnecticut4,056Idaho: 3,658 countIdaho3,658Iowa: 3,420 countIowa3,420Kansas: 3,402 countKansas3,402Arkansas: 3,320 countArkansas3,320Mississippi: 2,675 countMississippi2,675Nebraska: 2,368 countNebraska2,368New Mexico: 2,169 countNew Mexico2,169Montana: 2,148 countMontana2,148Maine: 1,988 countMaine1,988New Hampshire: 1,862 countNew Hampshire1,862Hawaii: 1,661 countHawaii1,661Delaware: 1,474 countDelaware1,474Rhode Island: 1,429 countRhode Island1,429West Virginia: 1,392 countWest Virginia1,392South Dakota: 1,284 countSouth Dakota1,284Wyoming: 1,272 countWyoming1,272District of Columbia: 1,187 countDistrict of Columbia1,187North Dakota: 1,097 countNorth Dakota1,097Alaska: 956 countAlaska956Vermont: 867 countVermont867California: 64,516 countCalifornia64,516Florida: 42,819 countFlorida42,819Texas: 40,086 countTexas40,086New York: 33,027 countNew York33,027Illinois: 15,692 countIllinois15,692Georgia: 14,875 countGeorgia14,875Pennsylvania: 13,519 countPennsylvania13,519North Carolina: 13,471 countNorth Carolina13,471New Jersey: 13,396 countNew Jersey13,396Washington: 11,975 countWashington11,975Colorado: 11,580 countColorado11,580Virginia: 10,647 countVirginia10,647Ohio: 10,454 countOhio10,454Michigan: 10,209 countMichigan10,209Arizona: 9,069 countArizona9,069Missouri: 9,033 countMissouri9,033Massachusetts: 9,016 countMassachusetts9,016Tennessee: 7,095 countTennessee7,095Oregon: 7,077 countOregon7,077Maryland: 6,984 countMaryland6,984Minnesota: 6,615 countMinnesota6,615Indiana: 6,471 countIndiana6,471South Carolina: 6,315 countSouth Carolina6,315Wisconsin: 6,007 countWisconsin6,007Utah: 5,991 countUtah5,991Louisiana: 5,169 countLouisiana5,169Oklahoma: 4,995 countOklahoma4,995Nevada: 4,990 countNevada4,990Alabama: 4,793 countAlabama4,793Kentucky: 4,226 countKentucky4,226Connecticut: 4,056 countConnecticut4,056Idaho: 3,658 countIdaho3,658Iowa: 3,420 countIowa3,420Kansas: 3,402 countKansas3,402Arkansas: 3,320 countArkansas3,320Mississippi: 2,675 countMississippi2,675Nebraska: 2,368 countNebraska2,368New Mexico: 2,169 countNew Mexico2,169Montana: 2,148 countMontana2,148Maine: 1,988 countMaine1,988New Hampshire: 1,862 countNew Hampshire1,862Hawaii: 1,661 countHawaii1,661Delaware: 1,474 countDelaware1,474Rhode Island: 1,429 countRhode Island1,429West Virginia: 1,392 countWest Virginia1,392South Dakota: 1,284 countSouth Dakota1,284Wyoming: 1,272 countWyoming1,272District of Columbia: 1,187 countDistrict of Columbia1,187North Dakota: 1,097 countNorth Dakota1,097Alaska: 956 countAlaska956Vermont: 867 countVermont867
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

RankStates2019
count		Change on 2018
1California64,516+5.3%
2Florida42,819+4.9%
3Texas40,086+4.9%
4New York33,027-0.3%
5Illinois15,692+1.7%
6Georgia14,875+3.9%
7Pennsylvania13,519+3.6%
8North Carolina13,471-0.1%
9New Jersey13,396+3.3%
10Washington11,975-2.9%
11Colorado11,580+1.6%
12Virginia10,647+2.6%
13Ohio10,454+4.7%
14Michigan10,209-2.2%
15Arizona9,069+0.9%
16Missouri9,033-0.3%
17Massachusetts9,016+1.8%
18Tennessee7,095+2%
19Oregon7,077-1.5%
20Maryland6,984+1.6%
21Minnesota6,615-0.1%
22Indiana6,471-4.3%
23South Carolina6,315+2.4%
24Wisconsin6,007-0.1%
25Utah5,991+4.1%
26Louisiana5,169+2.4%
27Oklahoma4,995+5.4%
28Nevada4,990+1%
29Alabama4,793+5%
30Kentucky4,226+4.9%
31Connecticut4,056+4.8%
32Idaho3,658+10.3%
33Iowa3,420-7.4%
34Kansas3,402+0.4%
35Arkansas3,320+0.4%
36Mississippi2,675+2.1%
37Nebraska2,368-4.4%
38New Mexico2,169+2.8%
39Montana2,148+1.8%
40Maine1,988+3.8%
41New Hampshire1,862+3%
42Hawaii1,661+6.3%
43Delaware1,474-0.1%
44Rhode Island1,429+4.1%
45West Virginia1,392+10.2%
46South Dakota1,284-1.4%
47Wyoming1,272+2.6%
48District of Columbia1,187-4.9%
49North Dakota1,097+1%
50Alaska956-2.4%
51Vermont867+2.7%

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, 2019) [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, 2019. 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=2019. 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, 2019. 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=2019.

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, 2019 [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=2019 (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_us_states_by_employer_2019,
  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, 2019}},
  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=2019. 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, 2019
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=2019
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/us-states?period=2019.
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 64,516 in 2019, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which state has the lowest employer firm births?

Vermont, with 867 in 2019.

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