Data / Rankings / Employer firm births / US states

US states by employer firm births

California had the highest employer firm births of 51 states in 2022, at 74,582. Vermont had the lowest, at 1,074. The median was 6,205 and the figure for the United States was 521,312. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest74,582California
Lowest1,074Vermont
Median6,20551 states
United States521,312History

Map of states, 2022

Alabama: 5,815 countAlaska: 1,182 countArizona: 11,609 countArkansas: 3,766 countCalifornia: 74,582 countColorado: 12,359 countConnecticut: 4,578 countDelaware: 2,155 countDistrict of Columbia: 1,317 countFlorida: 51,449 countGeorgia: 18,628 countHawaii: 1,770 countIdaho: 4,405 countIllinois: 17,007 countIndiana: 8,109 countIowa: 3,773 countKansas: 3,781 countKentucky: 4,584 countLouisiana: 5,710 countMaine: 2,392 countMaryland: 7,999 countMassachusetts: 10,178 countMichigan: 11,975 countMinnesota: 7,551 countMississippi: 3,129 countMissouri: 8,852 countMontana: 2,732 countNebraska: 2,829 countNevada: 6,205 countNew Hampshire: 2,177 countNew Jersey: 14,894 countNew Mexico: 2,438 countNew York: 32,962 countNorth Carolina: 16,611 countNorth Dakota: 1,217 countOhio: 12,211 countOklahoma: 5,284 countOregon: 7,624 countPennsylvania: 15,253 countRhode Island: 1,678 countSouth Carolina: 7,685 countSouth Dakota: 1,607 countTennessee: 8,767 countTexas: 47,546 countUtah: 7,463 countVermont: 1,074 countVirginia: 12,241 countWashington: 13,087 countWest Virginia: 1,562 countWisconsin: 6,859 countWyoming: 1,620 count
  • Under 1,900
  • 1,900 to 3,800
  • 3,800 to 6,200
  • 6,200 to 8,800
  • 8,800 to 14K
  • 14K and over
count, 2022. 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, 2022

California: 74,582 countCalifornia74,582Florida: 51,449 countFlorida51,449Texas: 47,546 countTexas47,546New York: 32,962 countNew York32,962Georgia: 18,628 countGeorgia18,628Illinois: 17,007 countIllinois17,007North Carolina: 16,611 countNorth Carolina16,611Pennsylvania: 15,253 countPennsylvania15,253New Jersey: 14,894 countNew Jersey14,894Washington: 13,087 countWashington13,087Colorado: 12,359 countColorado12,359Virginia: 12,241 countVirginia12,241Ohio: 12,211 countOhio12,211Michigan: 11,975 countMichigan11,975Arizona: 11,609 countArizona11,609Massachusetts: 10,178 countMassachusetts10,178Missouri: 8,852 countMissouri8,852Tennessee: 8,767 countTennessee8,767Indiana: 8,109 countIndiana8,109Maryland: 7,999 countMaryland7,999South Carolina: 7,685 countSouth Carolina7,685Oregon: 7,624 countOregon7,624Minnesota: 7,551 countMinnesota7,551Utah: 7,463 countUtah7,463Wisconsin: 6,859 countWisconsin6,859Nevada: 6,205 countNevada6,205Alabama: 5,815 countAlabama5,815Louisiana: 5,710 countLouisiana5,710Oklahoma: 5,284 countOklahoma5,284Kentucky: 4,584 countKentucky4,584Connecticut: 4,578 countConnecticut4,578Idaho: 4,405 countIdaho4,405Kansas: 3,781 countKansas3,781Iowa: 3,773 countIowa3,773Arkansas: 3,766 countArkansas3,766Mississippi: 3,129 countMississippi3,129Nebraska: 2,829 countNebraska2,829Montana: 2,732 countMontana2,732New Mexico: 2,438 countNew Mexico2,438Maine: 2,392 countMaine2,392New Hampshire: 2,177 countNew Hampshire2,177Delaware: 2,155 countDelaware2,155Hawaii: 1,770 countHawaii1,770Rhode Island: 1,678 countRhode Island1,678Wyoming: 1,620 countWyoming1,620South Dakota: 1,607 countSouth Dakota1,607West Virginia: 1,562 countWest Virginia1,562District of Columbia: 1,317 countDistrict of Columbia1,317North Dakota: 1,217 countNorth Dakota1,217Alaska: 1,182 countAlaska1,182Vermont: 1,074 countVermont1,074California: 74,582 countCalifornia74,582Florida: 51,449 countFlorida51,449Texas: 47,546 countTexas47,546New York: 32,962 countNew York32,962Georgia: 18,628 countGeorgia18,628Illinois: 17,007 countIllinois17,007North Carolina: 16,611 countNorth Carolina16,611Pennsylvania: 15,253 countPennsylvania15,253New Jersey: 14,894 countNew Jersey14,894Washington: 13,087 countWashington13,087Colorado: 12,359 countColorado12,359Virginia: 12,241 countVirginia12,241Ohio: 12,211 countOhio12,211Michigan: 11,975 countMichigan11,975Arizona: 11,609 countArizona11,609Massachusetts: 10,178 countMassachusetts10,178Missouri: 8,852 countMissouri8,852Tennessee: 8,767 countTennessee8,767Indiana: 8,109 countIndiana8,109Maryland: 7,999 countMaryland7,999South Carolina: 7,685 countSouth Carolina7,685Oregon: 7,624 countOregon7,624Minnesota: 7,551 countMinnesota7,551Utah: 7,463 countUtah7,463Wisconsin: 6,859 countWisconsin6,859Nevada: 6,205 countNevada6,205Alabama: 5,815 countAlabama5,815Louisiana: 5,710 countLouisiana5,710Oklahoma: 5,284 countOklahoma5,284Kentucky: 4,584 countKentucky4,584Connecticut: 4,578 countConnecticut4,578Idaho: 4,405 countIdaho4,405Kansas: 3,781 countKansas3,781Iowa: 3,773 countIowa3,773Arkansas: 3,766 countArkansas3,766Mississippi: 3,129 countMississippi3,129Nebraska: 2,829 countNebraska2,829Montana: 2,732 countMontana2,732New Mexico: 2,438 countNew Mexico2,438Maine: 2,392 countMaine2,392New Hampshire: 2,177 countNew Hampshire2,177Delaware: 2,155 countDelaware2,155Hawaii: 1,770 countHawaii1,770Rhode Island: 1,678 countRhode Island1,678Wyoming: 1,620 countWyoming1,620South Dakota: 1,607 countSouth Dakota1,607West Virginia: 1,562 countWest Virginia1,562District of Columbia: 1,317 countDistrict of Columbia1,317North Dakota: 1,217 countNorth Dakota1,217Alaska: 1,182 countAlaska1,182Vermont: 1,074 countVermont1,074
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

RankStates2022
count		Change on 2021
1California74,582+9.8%
2Florida51,449+0.3%
3Texas47,546+8.6%
4New York32,962+12.9%
5Georgia18,628-4%
6Illinois17,007+3.9%
7North Carolina16,611+6.9%
8Pennsylvania15,253+11.5%
9New Jersey14,894+12.7%
10Washington13,087+7.7%
11Colorado12,359+2.7%
12Virginia12,241+7.2%
13Ohio12,211+3.6%
14Michigan11,975+13.4%
15Arizona11,609+9.3%
16Massachusetts10,178+17.1%
17Missouri8,852+5.9%
18Tennessee8,767+5.6%
19Indiana8,109+9.4%
20Maryland7,999+6%
21South Carolina7,685+8%
22Oregon7,624+11.5%
23Minnesota7,551+5%
24Utah7,463+4.3%
25Wisconsin6,859+15.7%
26Nevada6,205+8.5%
27Alabama5,815+6.9%
28Louisiana5,710+2.9%
29Oklahoma5,284+2.3%
30Kentucky4,584+12.2%
31Connecticut4,578+9.5%
32Idaho4,405+10.6%
33Kansas3,781+6.4%
34Iowa3,773+7.7%
35Arkansas3,766+3.1%
36Mississippi3,129+1.2%
37Nebraska2,829+7.9%
38Montana2,732+13.7%
39New Mexico2,438+15.7%
40Maine2,392+8.9%
41New Hampshire2,177+14.6%
42Delaware2,155+8.4%
43Hawaii1,770+20.2%
44Rhode Island1,678+17.7%
45Wyoming1,620+7%
46South Dakota1,607+19.1%
47West Virginia1,562+19.3%
48District of Columbia1,317+9.7%
49North Dakota1,217+10.8%
50Alaska1,182-2%
51Vermont1,074+18.7%

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, 2022) [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, 2022. 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=2022. 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, 2022. 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=2022.

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, 2022 [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=2022 (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_us_states_by_employer_2022,
  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, 2022}},
  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=2022. 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, 2022
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=2022
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/us-states?period=2022.
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 74,582 in 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which state has the lowest employer firm births?

Vermont, with 1,074 in 2022.

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