Data / Rankings / Establishment exit rate / US states

US states by establishment exit rate

Wyoming had the highest establishment exit rate of 51 states in 2016, at 10.011%. Iowa had the lowest, at 6.723%. The median was 7.815% and the figure for the United States was 8.393%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest10.011Wyoming
Lowest6.723Iowa
Median7.81551 states
United States8.393History

Map of states, 2016

Alabama: 6.984 %Alaska: 9.121 %Arizona: 8.778 %Arkansas: 7.709 %California: 9.328 %Colorado: 9.489 %Connecticut: 7.815 %Delaware: 7.862 %District of Columbia: 7.754 %Florida: 9.783 %Georgia: 8.686 %Hawaii: 7.441 %Idaho: 8.603 %Illinois: 8.488 %Indiana: 6.991 %Iowa: 6.723 %Kansas: 7.622 %Kentucky: 7.657 %Louisiana: 7.953 %Maine: 7.308 %Maryland: 7.897 %Massachusetts: 7.353 %Michigan: 7.557 %Minnesota: 7.485 %Mississippi: 7.549 %Missouri: 8.626 %Montana: 8.434 %Nebraska: 6.986 %Nevada: 9.74 %New Hampshire: 7.095 %New Jersey: 9.003 %New Mexico: 8.599 %New York: 9.378 %North Carolina: 7.718 %North Dakota: 8.541 %Ohio: 6.957 %Oklahoma: 8.692 %Oregon: 8.151 %Pennsylvania: 7.305 %Rhode Island: 7.798 %South Carolina: 7.409 %South Dakota: 7.174 %Tennessee: 7.293 %Texas: 8.752 %Utah: 9.363 %Vermont: 7.41 %Virginia: 8.118 %Washington: 8.777 %West Virginia: 7.685 %Wisconsin: 6.869 %Wyoming: 10.011 %
  • Under 7.3
  • 7.3 to 7.6
  • 7.6 to 7.8
  • 7.8 to 8.6
  • 8.6 to 8.9
  • 8.9 and over
%, 2016. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: establishment exit rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All states, 2016

Wyoming: 10.011 %Wyoming10.011Florida: 9.783 %Florida9.783Nevada: 9.74 %Nevada9.74Colorado: 9.489 %Colorado9.489New York: 9.378 %New York9.378Utah: 9.363 %Utah9.363California: 9.328 %California9.328Alaska: 9.121 %Alaska9.121New Jersey: 9.003 %New Jersey9.003Arizona: 8.778 %Arizona8.778Washington: 8.777 %Washington8.777Texas: 8.752 %Texas8.752Oklahoma: 8.692 %Oklahoma8.692Georgia: 8.686 %Georgia8.686Missouri: 8.626 %Missouri8.626Idaho: 8.603 %Idaho8.603New Mexico: 8.599 %New Mexico8.599North Dakota: 8.541 %North Dakota8.541Illinois: 8.488 %Illinois8.488Montana: 8.434 %Montana8.434Oregon: 8.151 %Oregon8.151Virginia: 8.118 %Virginia8.118Louisiana: 7.953 %Louisiana7.953Maryland: 7.897 %Maryland7.897Delaware: 7.862 %Delaware7.862Connecticut: 7.815 %Connecticut7.815Rhode Island: 7.798 %Rhode Island7.798District of Columbia: 7.754 %District of Columbia7.754North Carolina: 7.718 %North Carolina7.718Arkansas: 7.709 %Arkansas7.709West Virginia: 7.685 %West Virginia7.685Kentucky: 7.657 %Kentucky7.657Kansas: 7.622 %Kansas7.622Michigan: 7.557 %Michigan7.557Mississippi: 7.549 %Mississippi7.549Minnesota: 7.485 %Minnesota7.485Hawaii: 7.441 %Hawaii7.441Vermont: 7.41 %Vermont7.41South Carolina: 7.409 %South Carolina7.409Massachusetts: 7.353 %Massachusetts7.353Maine: 7.308 %Maine7.308Pennsylvania: 7.305 %Pennsylvania7.305Tennessee: 7.293 %Tennessee7.293South Dakota: 7.174 %South Dakota7.174New Hampshire: 7.095 %New Hampshire7.095Indiana: 6.991 %Indiana6.991Nebraska: 6.986 %Nebraska6.986Alabama: 6.984 %Alabama6.984Ohio: 6.957 %Ohio6.957Wisconsin: 6.869 %Wisconsin6.869Iowa: 6.723 %Iowa6.723Wyoming: 10.011 %Wyoming10.011Florida: 9.783 %Florida9.783Nevada: 9.74 %Nevada9.74Colorado: 9.489 %Colorado9.489New York: 9.378 %New York9.378Utah: 9.363 %Utah9.363California: 9.328 %California9.328Alaska: 9.121 %Alaska9.121New Jersey: 9.003 %New Jersey9.003Arizona: 8.778 %Arizona8.778Washington: 8.777 %Washington8.777Texas: 8.752 %Texas8.752Oklahoma: 8.692 %Oklahoma8.692Georgia: 8.686 %Georgia8.686Missouri: 8.626 %Missouri8.626Idaho: 8.603 %Idaho8.603New Mexico: 8.599 %New Mexico8.599North Dakota: 8.541 %North Dakota8.541Illinois: 8.488 %Illinois8.488Montana: 8.434 %Montana8.434Oregon: 8.151 %Oregon8.151Virginia: 8.118 %Virginia8.118Louisiana: 7.953 %Louisiana7.953Maryland: 7.897 %Maryland7.897Delaware: 7.862 %Delaware7.862Connecticut: 7.815 %Connecticut7.815Rhode Island: 7.798 %Rhode Island7.798District of Columbia: 7.754 %District of Columbia7.754North Carolina: 7.718 %North Carolina7.718Arkansas: 7.709 %Arkansas7.709West Virginia: 7.685 %West Virginia7.685Kentucky: 7.657 %Kentucky7.657Kansas: 7.622 %Kansas7.622Michigan: 7.557 %Michigan7.557Mississippi: 7.549 %Mississippi7.549Minnesota: 7.485 %Minnesota7.485Hawaii: 7.441 %Hawaii7.441Vermont: 7.41 %Vermont7.41South Carolina: 7.409 %South Carolina7.409Massachusetts: 7.353 %Massachusetts7.353Maine: 7.308 %Maine7.308Pennsylvania: 7.305 %Pennsylvania7.305Tennessee: 7.293 %Tennessee7.293South Dakota: 7.174 %South Dakota7.174New Hampshire: 7.095 %New Hampshire7.095Indiana: 6.991 %Indiana6.991Nebraska: 6.986 %Nebraska6.986Alabama: 6.984 %Alabama6.984Ohio: 6.957 %Ohio6.957Wisconsin: 6.869 %Wisconsin6.869Iowa: 6.723 %Iowa6.723
%. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: establishment exit rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankStates2016 (%)Change on 2015
1Wyoming10.011+1.57 pts
2Florida9.783-0.63 pts
3Nevada9.74-0.32 pts
4Colorado9.489-0.46 pts
5New York9.378-0.46 pts
6Utah9.363-0.24 pts
7California9.328-0.15 pts
8Alaska9.121+0.27 pts
9New Jersey9.003-0.78 pts
10Arizona8.778-0.85 pts
11Washington8.777-0.01 pts
12Texas8.752-0.17 pts
13Oklahoma8.692+0.19 pts
14Georgia8.686-0.56 pts
15Missouri8.626-0.48 pts
16Idaho8.603-0.12 pts
17New Mexico8.599-0.16 pts
18North Dakota8.541+0.36 pts
19Illinois8.488-0.31 pts
20Montana8.434-0.1 pts
21Oregon8.151+0.1 pts
22Virginia8.118-0.5 pts
23Louisiana7.953-0.15 pts
24Maryland7.897-0.88 pts
25Delaware7.862-1.17 pts
26Connecticut7.815-0.55 pts
27Rhode Island7.798-0.48 pts
28District of Columbia7.754-1.79 pts
29North Carolina7.718-0.61 pts
30Arkansas7.709-0.44 pts
31West Virginia7.685-0.22 pts
32Kentucky7.657-0.18 pts
33Kansas7.622-0.29 pts
34Michigan7.557-0.54 pts
35Mississippi7.549-0.27 pts
36Minnesota7.485-0.44 pts
37Hawaii7.441-0.52 pts
38Vermont7.41+0.18 pts
39South Carolina7.409-0.72 pts
40Massachusetts7.353-0.81 pts
41Maine7.308-0.85 pts
42Pennsylvania7.305-0.57 pts
43Tennessee7.293-0.71 pts
44South Dakota7.174-0.1 pts
45New Hampshire7.095-0.75 pts
46Indiana6.991-0.53 pts
47Nebraska6.986-0.32 pts
48Alabama6.984-0.85 pts
49Ohio6.957-0.67 pts
50Wisconsin6.869-0.27 pts
51Iowa6.723-0.31 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

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

Counts closed locations, including branches of firms that keep operating elsewhere, so it is not a firm failure rate. Not comparable with enterprise_death_rate, which counts enterprise deaths 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 exit 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 exit rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010 (US states by establishment exit rate, 2016) [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 exit rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010, US states by establishment exit rate, 2016. 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-exit-rate/us-states?period=2016. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2025. Business Dynamics Statistics: establishment exit rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. US states by establishment exit rate, 2016. 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-exit-rate/us-states?period=2016.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics: establishment exit rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010, US states by establishment exit rate, 2016 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/establishment-exit-rate/us-states?period=2016 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_us_states_by_establishment_2016,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: establishment exit rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010: US states by establishment exit rate, 2016}},
  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-exit-rate/us-states?period=2016. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics: establishment exit 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 exit rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010: US states by establishment exit rate, 2016
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-exit-rate/us-states?period=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/establishment-exit-rate/us-states?period=2016.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics: establishment exit 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 exit rate?

Wyoming, with 10.011% in 2016, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which state has the lowest establishment exit rate?

Iowa, with 6.723% in 2016.

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

Establishment exit rate: other rankings

US states: more rankings