Data / Rankings / Establishment exit rate / US states

US states by establishment exit rate

Florida had the highest establishment exit rate of 51 states in 2018, at 10.442%. Iowa had the lowest, at 7.007%. The median was 8.458% and the figure for the United States was 8.902%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest10.442Florida
Lowest7.007Iowa
Median8.45851 states
United States8.902History

Map of states, 2018

Alabama: 7.706 %Alaska: 9.02 %Arizona: 9.448 %Arkansas: 7.952 %California: 9.651 %Colorado: 9.873 %Connecticut: 8.858 %Delaware: 8.775 %District of Columbia: 8.783 %Florida: 10.442 %Georgia: 9.311 %Hawaii: 7.763 %Idaho: 8.235 %Illinois: 8.774 %Indiana: 7.698 %Iowa: 7.007 %Kansas: 8.109 %Kentucky: 8.029 %Louisiana: 8.361 %Maine: 7.861 %Maryland: 8.572 %Massachusetts: 8.238 %Michigan: 7.924 %Minnesota: 8.352 %Mississippi: 7.723 %Missouri: 9.671 %Montana: 8.674 %Nebraska: 8.013 %Nevada: 10.101 %New Hampshire: 7.682 %New Jersey: 9.388 %New Mexico: 8.812 %New York: 9.811 %North Carolina: 8.458 %North Dakota: 8.279 %Ohio: 7.737 %Oklahoma: 8.745 %Oregon: 8.595 %Pennsylvania: 7.611 %Rhode Island: 8.71 %South Carolina: 8.173 %South Dakota: 7.881 %Tennessee: 7.893 %Texas: 9.247 %Utah: 9.425 %Vermont: 7.732 %Virginia: 8.651 %Washington: 9.104 %West Virginia: 8.109 %Wisconsin: 7.508 %Wyoming: 9.597 %
  • Under 7.7
  • 7.7 to 8.1
  • 8.1 to 8.5
  • 8.5 to 8.8
  • 8.8 to 9.4
  • 9.4 and over
%, 2018. 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, 2018

Florida: 10.442 %Florida10.442Nevada: 10.101 %Nevada10.101Colorado: 9.873 %Colorado9.873New York: 9.811 %New York9.811Missouri: 9.671 %Missouri9.671California: 9.651 %California9.651Wyoming: 9.597 %Wyoming9.597Arizona: 9.448 %Arizona9.448Utah: 9.425 %Utah9.425New Jersey: 9.388 %New Jersey9.388Georgia: 9.311 %Georgia9.311Texas: 9.247 %Texas9.247Washington: 9.104 %Washington9.104Alaska: 9.02 %Alaska9.02Connecticut: 8.858 %Connecticut8.858New Mexico: 8.812 %New Mexico8.812District of Columbia: 8.783 %District of Columbia8.783Delaware: 8.775 %Delaware8.775Illinois: 8.774 %Illinois8.774Oklahoma: 8.745 %Oklahoma8.745Rhode Island: 8.71 %Rhode Island8.71Montana: 8.674 %Montana8.674Virginia: 8.651 %Virginia8.651Oregon: 8.595 %Oregon8.595Maryland: 8.572 %Maryland8.572North Carolina: 8.458 %North Carolina8.458Louisiana: 8.361 %Louisiana8.361Minnesota: 8.352 %Minnesota8.352North Dakota: 8.279 %North Dakota8.279Massachusetts: 8.238 %Massachusetts8.238Idaho: 8.235 %Idaho8.235South Carolina: 8.173 %South Carolina8.173Kansas: 8.109 %Kansas8.109West Virginia: 8.109 %West Virginia8.109Kentucky: 8.029 %Kentucky8.029Nebraska: 8.013 %Nebraska8.013Arkansas: 7.952 %Arkansas7.952Michigan: 7.924 %Michigan7.924Tennessee: 7.893 %Tennessee7.893South Dakota: 7.881 %South Dakota7.881Maine: 7.861 %Maine7.861Hawaii: 7.763 %Hawaii7.763Ohio: 7.737 %Ohio7.737Vermont: 7.732 %Vermont7.732Mississippi: 7.723 %Mississippi7.723Alabama: 7.706 %Alabama7.706Indiana: 7.698 %Indiana7.698New Hampshire: 7.682 %New Hampshire7.682Pennsylvania: 7.611 %Pennsylvania7.611Wisconsin: 7.508 %Wisconsin7.508Iowa: 7.007 %Iowa7.007Florida: 10.442 %Florida10.442Nevada: 10.101 %Nevada10.101Colorado: 9.873 %Colorado9.873New York: 9.811 %New York9.811Missouri: 9.671 %Missouri9.671California: 9.651 %California9.651Wyoming: 9.597 %Wyoming9.597Arizona: 9.448 %Arizona9.448Utah: 9.425 %Utah9.425New Jersey: 9.388 %New Jersey9.388Georgia: 9.311 %Georgia9.311Texas: 9.247 %Texas9.247Washington: 9.104 %Washington9.104Alaska: 9.02 %Alaska9.02Connecticut: 8.858 %Connecticut8.858New Mexico: 8.812 %New Mexico8.812District of Columbia: 8.783 %District of Columbia8.783Delaware: 8.775 %Delaware8.775Illinois: 8.774 %Illinois8.774Oklahoma: 8.745 %Oklahoma8.745Rhode Island: 8.71 %Rhode Island8.71Montana: 8.674 %Montana8.674Virginia: 8.651 %Virginia8.651Oregon: 8.595 %Oregon8.595Maryland: 8.572 %Maryland8.572North Carolina: 8.458 %North Carolina8.458Louisiana: 8.361 %Louisiana8.361Minnesota: 8.352 %Minnesota8.352North Dakota: 8.279 %North Dakota8.279Massachusetts: 8.238 %Massachusetts8.238Idaho: 8.235 %Idaho8.235South Carolina: 8.173 %South Carolina8.173Kansas: 8.109 %Kansas8.109West Virginia: 8.109 %West Virginia8.109Kentucky: 8.029 %Kentucky8.029Nebraska: 8.013 %Nebraska8.013Arkansas: 7.952 %Arkansas7.952Michigan: 7.924 %Michigan7.924Tennessee: 7.893 %Tennessee7.893South Dakota: 7.881 %South Dakota7.881Maine: 7.861 %Maine7.861Hawaii: 7.763 %Hawaii7.763Ohio: 7.737 %Ohio7.737Vermont: 7.732 %Vermont7.732Mississippi: 7.723 %Mississippi7.723Alabama: 7.706 %Alabama7.706Indiana: 7.698 %Indiana7.698New Hampshire: 7.682 %New Hampshire7.682Pennsylvania: 7.611 %Pennsylvania7.611Wisconsin: 7.508 %Wisconsin7.508Iowa: 7.007 %Iowa7.007
%. 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

RankStates2018 (%)Change on 2017
1Florida10.442-0.11 pts
2Nevada10.101-0.36 pts
3Colorado9.873-0.02 pts
4New York9.811-0.03 pts
5Missouri9.671-0.27 pts
6California9.651-0.13 pts
7Wyoming9.597-0.61 pts
8Arizona9.448+0.05 pts
9Utah9.425-0.27 pts
10New Jersey9.388-0.25 pts
11Georgia9.311+0.26 pts
12Texas9.247-0.33 pts
13Washington9.104-0.05 pts
14Alaska9.02-0.87 pts
15Connecticut8.858+0.11 pts
16New Mexico8.812-0.02 pts
17District of Columbia8.783+0.3 pts
18Delaware8.775-0.82 pts
19Illinois8.774-0.28 pts
20Oklahoma8.745-0.42 pts
21Rhode Island8.71+0.59 pts
22Montana8.674-0.09 pts
23Virginia8.651+0.04 pts
24Oregon8.595-0.08 pts
25Maryland8.572-0.25 pts
26North Carolina8.458+0.21 pts
27Louisiana8.361-0.15 pts
28Minnesota8.352+0.13 pts
29North Dakota8.279-0.93 pts
30Massachusetts8.238+0.04 pts
31Idaho8.235-0.81 pts
32South Carolina8.173+0.33 pts
33Kansas8.109-0.46 pts
33West Virginia8.109-0.44 pts
35Kentucky8.029-0.57 pts
36Nebraska8.013+0.36 pts
37Arkansas7.952-0.11 pts
38Michigan7.924-0.34 pts
39Tennessee7.893-0.12 pts
40South Dakota7.881+0.02 pts
41Maine7.861-0.52 pts
42Hawaii7.763-0.24 pts
43Ohio7.737-1.05 pts
44Vermont7.732-0.33 pts
45Mississippi7.723-0.26 pts
46Alabama7.706-0.22 pts
47Indiana7.698+0.15 pts
48New Hampshire7.682-0.26 pts
49Pennsylvania7.611-0.52 pts
50Wisconsin7.508-0.28 pts
51Iowa7.007-0.63 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, 2018) [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, 2018. 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=2018. 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, 2018. 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=2018.

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, 2018 [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=2018 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_us_states_by_establishment_2018,
  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, 2018}},
  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=2018. 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, 2018
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=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/establishment-exit-rate/us-states?period=2018.
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?

Florida, with 10.442% in 2018, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which state has the lowest establishment exit rate?

Iowa, with 7.007% in 2018.

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