Data / Rankings / Employer firm births / US states

US states by employer firm births

California had the highest employer firm births of 51 states in 2021, at 67,895. Vermont had the lowest, at 905. The median was 5,721 and the figure for the United States was 485,256. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest67,895California
Lowest905Vermont
Median5,72151 states
United States485,256History

Map of states, 2021

Alabama: 5,442 countAlaska: 1,206 countArizona: 10,618 countArkansas: 3,652 countCalifornia: 67,895 countColorado: 12,038 countConnecticut: 4,180 countDelaware: 1,988 countDistrict of Columbia: 1,201 countFlorida: 51,290 countGeorgia: 19,395 countHawaii: 1,473 countIdaho: 3,983 countIllinois: 16,373 countIndiana: 7,415 countIowa: 3,504 countKansas: 3,553 countKentucky: 4,086 countLouisiana: 5,551 countMaine: 2,197 countMaryland: 7,545 countMassachusetts: 8,692 countMichigan: 10,559 countMinnesota: 7,189 countMississippi: 3,093 countMissouri: 8,362 countMontana: 2,402 countNebraska: 2,622 countNevada: 5,721 countNew Hampshire: 1,900 countNew Jersey: 13,221 countNew Mexico: 2,108 countNew York: 29,208 countNorth Carolina: 15,534 countNorth Dakota: 1,098 countOhio: 11,786 countOklahoma: 5,166 countOregon: 6,836 countPennsylvania: 13,684 countRhode Island: 1,426 countSouth Carolina: 7,115 countSouth Dakota: 1,349 countTennessee: 8,303 countTexas: 43,778 countUtah: 7,154 countVermont: 905 countVirginia: 11,422 countWashington: 12,151 countWest Virginia: 1,309 countWisconsin: 5,927 countWyoming: 1,514 count
  • Under 1,600
  • 1,600 to 3,500
  • 3,500 to 5,700
  • 5,700 to 8,300
  • 8,300 to 13K
  • 13K and over
count, 2021. 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, 2021

California: 67,895 countCalifornia67,895Florida: 51,290 countFlorida51,290Texas: 43,778 countTexas43,778New York: 29,208 countNew York29,208Georgia: 19,395 countGeorgia19,395Illinois: 16,373 countIllinois16,373North Carolina: 15,534 countNorth Carolina15,534Pennsylvania: 13,684 countPennsylvania13,684New Jersey: 13,221 countNew Jersey13,221Washington: 12,151 countWashington12,151Colorado: 12,038 countColorado12,038Ohio: 11,786 countOhio11,786Virginia: 11,422 countVirginia11,422Arizona: 10,618 countArizona10,618Michigan: 10,559 countMichigan10,559Massachusetts: 8,692 countMassachusetts8,692Missouri: 8,362 countMissouri8,362Tennessee: 8,303 countTennessee8,303Maryland: 7,545 countMaryland7,545Indiana: 7,415 countIndiana7,415Minnesota: 7,189 countMinnesota7,189Utah: 7,154 countUtah7,154South Carolina: 7,115 countSouth Carolina7,115Oregon: 6,836 countOregon6,836Wisconsin: 5,927 countWisconsin5,927Nevada: 5,721 countNevada5,721Louisiana: 5,551 countLouisiana5,551Alabama: 5,442 countAlabama5,442Oklahoma: 5,166 countOklahoma5,166Connecticut: 4,180 countConnecticut4,180Kentucky: 4,086 countKentucky4,086Idaho: 3,983 countIdaho3,983Arkansas: 3,652 countArkansas3,652Kansas: 3,553 countKansas3,553Iowa: 3,504 countIowa3,504Mississippi: 3,093 countMississippi3,093Nebraska: 2,622 countNebraska2,622Montana: 2,402 countMontana2,402Maine: 2,197 countMaine2,197New Mexico: 2,108 countNew Mexico2,108Delaware: 1,988 countDelaware1,988New Hampshire: 1,900 countNew Hampshire1,900Wyoming: 1,514 countWyoming1,514Hawaii: 1,473 countHawaii1,473Rhode Island: 1,426 countRhode Island1,426South Dakota: 1,349 countSouth Dakota1,349West Virginia: 1,309 countWest Virginia1,309Alaska: 1,206 countAlaska1,206District of Columbia: 1,201 countDistrict of Columbia1,201North Dakota: 1,098 countNorth Dakota1,098Vermont: 905 countVermont905California: 67,895 countCalifornia67,895Florida: 51,290 countFlorida51,290Texas: 43,778 countTexas43,778New York: 29,208 countNew York29,208Georgia: 19,395 countGeorgia19,395Illinois: 16,373 countIllinois16,373North Carolina: 15,534 countNorth Carolina15,534Pennsylvania: 13,684 countPennsylvania13,684New Jersey: 13,221 countNew Jersey13,221Washington: 12,151 countWashington12,151Colorado: 12,038 countColorado12,038Ohio: 11,786 countOhio11,786Virginia: 11,422 countVirginia11,422Arizona: 10,618 countArizona10,618Michigan: 10,559 countMichigan10,559Massachusetts: 8,692 countMassachusetts8,692Missouri: 8,362 countMissouri8,362Tennessee: 8,303 countTennessee8,303Maryland: 7,545 countMaryland7,545Indiana: 7,415 countIndiana7,415Minnesota: 7,189 countMinnesota7,189Utah: 7,154 countUtah7,154South Carolina: 7,115 countSouth Carolina7,115Oregon: 6,836 countOregon6,836Wisconsin: 5,927 countWisconsin5,927Nevada: 5,721 countNevada5,721Louisiana: 5,551 countLouisiana5,551Alabama: 5,442 countAlabama5,442Oklahoma: 5,166 countOklahoma5,166Connecticut: 4,180 countConnecticut4,180Kentucky: 4,086 countKentucky4,086Idaho: 3,983 countIdaho3,983Arkansas: 3,652 countArkansas3,652Kansas: 3,553 countKansas3,553Iowa: 3,504 countIowa3,504Mississippi: 3,093 countMississippi3,093Nebraska: 2,622 countNebraska2,622Montana: 2,402 countMontana2,402Maine: 2,197 countMaine2,197New Mexico: 2,108 countNew Mexico2,108Delaware: 1,988 countDelaware1,988New Hampshire: 1,900 countNew Hampshire1,900Wyoming: 1,514 countWyoming1,514Hawaii: 1,473 countHawaii1,473Rhode Island: 1,426 countRhode Island1,426South Dakota: 1,349 countSouth Dakota1,349West Virginia: 1,309 countWest Virginia1,309Alaska: 1,206 countAlaska1,206District of Columbia: 1,201 countDistrict of Columbia1,201North Dakota: 1,098 countNorth Dakota1,098Vermont: 905 countVermont905
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

RankStates2021
count		Change on 2020
1California67,895-2.7%
2Florida51,290+19.7%
3Texas43,778+9.4%
4New York29,208-8.8%
5Georgia19,395+27.4%
6Illinois16,373+7.2%
7North Carolina15,534+13.1%
8Pennsylvania13,684+1.4%
9New Jersey13,221+2.9%
10Washington12,151+5.1%
11Colorado12,038+5.8%
12Ohio11,786+13.9%
13Virginia11,422+8.2%
14Arizona10,618+14.5%
15Michigan10,559+0.7%
16Massachusetts8,692-4.3%
17Missouri8,362+4.1%
18Tennessee8,303+11.9%
19Maryland7,545+7.3%
20Indiana7,415+12.6%
21Minnesota7,189+8%
22Utah7,154+16.6%
23South Carolina7,115+12.8%
24Oregon6,836-0.7%
25Wisconsin5,927-0.1%
26Nevada5,721+15.7%
27Louisiana5,551+14.5%
28Alabama5,442+17.8%
29Oklahoma5,166+3.7%
30Connecticut4,180+4.5%
31Kentucky4,086+3.1%
32Idaho3,983+8.9%
33Arkansas3,652+8.7%
34Kansas3,553+7.3%
35Iowa3,504+0.7%
36Mississippi3,093+13.1%
37Nebraska2,622+5%
38Montana2,402+3.9%
39Maine2,197+7.4%
40New Mexico2,108-0.7%
41Delaware1,988-9.8%
42New Hampshire1,900+4.6%
43Wyoming1,514+5.1%
44Hawaii1,473-5.8%
45Rhode Island1,426+0.6%
46South Dakota1,349+0.7%
47West Virginia1,309+5%
48Alaska1,206+18.5%
49District of Columbia1,201+2.6%
50North Dakota1,098+1.9%
51Vermont905+0.1%

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, 2021) [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, 2021. 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=2021. 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, 2021. 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=2021.

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, 2021 [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=2021 (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_us_states_by_employer_2021,
  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, 2021}},
  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=2021. 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, 2021
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=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/us-states?period=2021.
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 67,895 in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which state has the lowest employer firm births?

Vermont, with 905 in 2021.

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