Data / Rankings / Establishment entry rate / US states

US states by establishment entry rate

Florida had the highest establishment entry rate of 51 states in 2017, at 11.989%. West Virginia had the lowest, at 7.28%. The median was 8.816% and the figure for the United States was 9.675%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest11.989Florida
Lowest7.28West Virginia
Median8.81651 states
United States9.675History

Map of states, 2017

Alabama: 8.134 %Alaska: 9.727 %Arizona: 10.997 %Arkansas: 8.717 %California: 10.948 %Colorado: 11.679 %Connecticut: 7.759 %Delaware: 9.703 %District of Columbia: 9.25 %Florida: 11.989 %Georgia: 10.528 %Hawaii: 8.454 %Idaho: 10.75 %Illinois: 9.039 %Indiana: 7.996 %Iowa: 7.558 %Kansas: 8.117 %Kentucky: 8.095 %Louisiana: 8.043 %Maine: 8.421 %Maryland: 8.864 %Massachusetts: 8.816 %Michigan: 8.123 %Minnesota: 8.593 %Mississippi: 7.959 %Missouri: 10.082 %Montana: 9.089 %Nebraska: 8.274 %Nevada: 11.78 %New Hampshire: 7.677 %New Jersey: 9.775 %New Mexico: 8.459 %New York: 10.024 %North Carolina: 9.944 %North Dakota: 8.191 %Ohio: 7.615 %Oklahoma: 8.807 %Oregon: 10.156 %Pennsylvania: 7.848 %Rhode Island: 8.067 %South Carolina: 9.39 %South Dakota: 7.914 %Tennessee: 8.842 %Texas: 10.791 %Utah: 11.797 %Vermont: 7.662 %Virginia: 9.043 %Washington: 10.581 %West Virginia: 7.28 %Wisconsin: 7.694 %Wyoming: 9.659 %
  • Under 7.9
  • 7.9 to 8.2
  • 8.2 to 8.8
  • 8.8 to 9.7
  • 9.7 to 11
  • 11 and over
%, 2017. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: establishment entry rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All states, 2017

Florida: 11.989 %Florida11.989Utah: 11.797 %Utah11.797Nevada: 11.78 %Nevada11.78Colorado: 11.679 %Colorado11.679Arizona: 10.997 %Arizona10.997California: 10.948 %California10.948Texas: 10.791 %Texas10.791Idaho: 10.75 %Idaho10.75Washington: 10.581 %Washington10.581Georgia: 10.528 %Georgia10.528Oregon: 10.156 %Oregon10.156Missouri: 10.082 %Missouri10.082New York: 10.024 %New York10.024North Carolina: 9.944 %North Carolina9.944New Jersey: 9.775 %New Jersey9.775Alaska: 9.727 %Alaska9.727Delaware: 9.703 %Delaware9.703Wyoming: 9.659 %Wyoming9.659South Carolina: 9.39 %South Carolina9.39District of Columbia: 9.25 %District of Columbia9.25Montana: 9.089 %Montana9.089Virginia: 9.043 %Virginia9.043Illinois: 9.039 %Illinois9.039Maryland: 8.864 %Maryland8.864Tennessee: 8.842 %Tennessee8.842Massachusetts: 8.816 %Massachusetts8.816Oklahoma: 8.807 %Oklahoma8.807Arkansas: 8.717 %Arkansas8.717Minnesota: 8.593 %Minnesota8.593New Mexico: 8.459 %New Mexico8.459Hawaii: 8.454 %Hawaii8.454Maine: 8.421 %Maine8.421Nebraska: 8.274 %Nebraska8.274North Dakota: 8.191 %North Dakota8.191Alabama: 8.134 %Alabama8.134Michigan: 8.123 %Michigan8.123Kansas: 8.117 %Kansas8.117Kentucky: 8.095 %Kentucky8.095Rhode Island: 8.067 %Rhode Island8.067Louisiana: 8.043 %Louisiana8.043Indiana: 7.996 %Indiana7.996Mississippi: 7.959 %Mississippi7.959South Dakota: 7.914 %South Dakota7.914Pennsylvania: 7.848 %Pennsylvania7.848Connecticut: 7.759 %Connecticut7.759Wisconsin: 7.694 %Wisconsin7.694New Hampshire: 7.677 %New Hampshire7.677Vermont: 7.662 %Vermont7.662Ohio: 7.615 %Ohio7.615Iowa: 7.558 %Iowa7.558West Virginia: 7.28 %West Virginia7.28Florida: 11.989 %Florida11.989Utah: 11.797 %Utah11.797Nevada: 11.78 %Nevada11.78Colorado: 11.679 %Colorado11.679Arizona: 10.997 %Arizona10.997California: 10.948 %California10.948Texas: 10.791 %Texas10.791Idaho: 10.75 %Idaho10.75Washington: 10.581 %Washington10.581Georgia: 10.528 %Georgia10.528Oregon: 10.156 %Oregon10.156Missouri: 10.082 %Missouri10.082New York: 10.024 %New York10.024North Carolina: 9.944 %North Carolina9.944New Jersey: 9.775 %New Jersey9.775Alaska: 9.727 %Alaska9.727Delaware: 9.703 %Delaware9.703Wyoming: 9.659 %Wyoming9.659South Carolina: 9.39 %South Carolina9.39District of Columbia: 9.25 %District of Columbia9.25Montana: 9.089 %Montana9.089Virginia: 9.043 %Virginia9.043Illinois: 9.039 %Illinois9.039Maryland: 8.864 %Maryland8.864Tennessee: 8.842 %Tennessee8.842Massachusetts: 8.816 %Massachusetts8.816Oklahoma: 8.807 %Oklahoma8.807Arkansas: 8.717 %Arkansas8.717Minnesota: 8.593 %Minnesota8.593New Mexico: 8.459 %New Mexico8.459Hawaii: 8.454 %Hawaii8.454Maine: 8.421 %Maine8.421Nebraska: 8.274 %Nebraska8.274North Dakota: 8.191 %North Dakota8.191Alabama: 8.134 %Alabama8.134Michigan: 8.123 %Michigan8.123Kansas: 8.117 %Kansas8.117Kentucky: 8.095 %Kentucky8.095Rhode Island: 8.067 %Rhode Island8.067Louisiana: 8.043 %Louisiana8.043Indiana: 7.996 %Indiana7.996Mississippi: 7.959 %Mississippi7.959South Dakota: 7.914 %South Dakota7.914Pennsylvania: 7.848 %Pennsylvania7.848Connecticut: 7.759 %Connecticut7.759Wisconsin: 7.694 %Wisconsin7.694New Hampshire: 7.677 %New Hampshire7.677Vermont: 7.662 %Vermont7.662Ohio: 7.615 %Ohio7.615Iowa: 7.558 %Iowa7.558West Virginia: 7.28 %West Virginia7.28
%. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: establishment entry rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankStates2017 (%)Change on 2016
1Florida11.989-0.77 pts
2Utah11.797-0.22 pts
3Nevada11.78-0.88 pts
4Colorado11.679-0.62 pts
5Arizona10.997-0.2 pts
6California10.948-0.4 pts
7Texas10.791-0.18 pts
8Idaho10.75-0.29 pts
9Washington10.581-0.23 pts
10Georgia10.528-0.35 pts
11Oregon10.156-0.21 pts
12Missouri10.082-0.94 pts
13New York10.024-0.7 pts
14North Carolina9.944-0.12 pts
15New Jersey9.775-0.44 pts
16Alaska9.727-0.55 pts
17Delaware9.703-0.63 pts
18Wyoming9.659+0.08 pts
19South Carolina9.39-0.46 pts
20District of Columbia9.25-1.62 pts
21Montana9.089-0.6 pts
22Virginia9.043-0.6 pts
23Illinois9.039-0.5 pts
24Maryland8.864-0.61 pts
25Tennessee8.842-0.29 pts
26Massachusetts8.816-0.68 pts
27Oklahoma8.807-0.45 pts
28Arkansas8.717-0.33 pts
29Minnesota8.593-0.47 pts
30New Mexico8.459-0.38 pts
31Hawaii8.454-0.32 pts
32Maine8.421-1.2 pts
33Nebraska8.274-0.21 pts
34North Dakota8.191-0.24 pts
35Alabama8.134-0.24 pts
36Michigan8.123-0.75 pts
37Kansas8.117-0.7 pts
38Kentucky8.095-0.18 pts
39Rhode Island8.067-1.95 pts
40Louisiana8.043-0.68 pts
41Indiana7.996-0.54 pts
42Mississippi7.959-0.1 pts
43South Dakota7.914-0.71 pts
44Pennsylvania7.848-0.64 pts
45Connecticut7.759-1.85 pts
46Wisconsin7.694-1.17 pts
47New Hampshire7.677-1.14 pts
48Vermont7.662-0.24 pts
49Ohio7.615-0.79 pts
50Iowa7.558-0.28 pts
51West Virginia7.28+0.14 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Establishments that opened during the year (employees in March of the year and none a year earlier), as a percentage of the average number of establishments in the two years. United States: Census Bureau Business Dynamics Statistics.

An establishment is a single physical location, so a new branch of an existing firm counts as an entry: this is not the rate of new firms. Not comparable with enterprise_birth_rate, which counts new enterprises in Europe. 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: establishment entry rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

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: establishment entry rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010 (US states by establishment entry rate, 2017) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st.csv

MLA 9

Business Dynamics Statistics: establishment entry rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010, US states by establishment entry rate, 2017. U.S. Census Bureau, 25 Sept. 2025, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/establishment-entry-rate/us-states?period=2017. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2025. Business Dynamics Statistics: establishment entry rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. US states by establishment entry rate, 2017. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/establishment-entry-rate/us-states?period=2017.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics: establishment entry rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010, US states by establishment entry rate, 2017 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/establishment-entry-rate/us-states?period=2017 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_us_states_by_establishment_2017,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: establishment entry rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010: US states by establishment entry rate, 2017}},
  year = {2025},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/establishment-entry-rate/us-states?period=2017. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics: establishment entry rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023\_st.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - Business Dynamics Statistics: establishment entry rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010: US states by establishment entry rate, 2017
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.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/establishment-entry-rate/us-states?period=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/establishment-entry-rate/us-states?period=2017.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics: establishment entry rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which state has the highest establishment entry rate?

Florida, with 11.989% in 2017, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which state has the lowest establishment entry rate?

West Virginia, with 7.28% in 2017.

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: establishment entry rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Establishment entry rate: other rankings

US states: more rankings