Data / Rankings / Establishment exit rate / US states

US states by establishment exit rate

New York had the highest establishment exit rate of 51 states in 2020, at 10.983%. Iowa had the lowest, at 7.635%. The median was 8.764% and the figure for the United States was 9.29%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest10.983New York
Lowest7.635Iowa
Median8.76451 states
United States9.29History

Map of states, 2020

Alabama: 7.818 %Alaska: 9.198 %Arizona: 9.498 %Arkansas: 8.19 %California: 9.865 %Colorado: 10.726 %Connecticut: 8.983 %Delaware: 8.753 %District of Columbia: 9.045 %Florida: 10.864 %Georgia: 9.487 %Hawaii: 8.764 %Idaho: 9.181 %Illinois: 9.404 %Indiana: 8.349 %Iowa: 7.635 %Kansas: 8.311 %Kentucky: 8.061 %Louisiana: 8.387 %Maine: 8.171 %Maryland: 8.895 %Massachusetts: 8.574 %Michigan: 8.765 %Minnesota: 8.348 %Mississippi: 8.173 %Missouri: 9.184 %Montana: 9.095 %Nebraska: 8.044 %Nevada: 9.91 %New Hampshire: 8.001 %New Jersey: 9.788 %New Mexico: 8.987 %New York: 10.983 %North Carolina: 8.611 %North Dakota: 8.04 %Ohio: 8.258 %Oklahoma: 9.445 %Oregon: 9.215 %Pennsylvania: 7.811 %Rhode Island: 8.386 %South Carolina: 8.54 %South Dakota: 7.972 %Tennessee: 8.284 %Texas: 9.434 %Utah: 10.033 %Vermont: 8.498 %Virginia: 8.813 %Washington: 10.068 %West Virginia: 8.371 %Wisconsin: 7.67 %Wyoming: 10.044 %
  • Under 8.1
  • 8.1 to 8.4
  • 8.4 to 8.8
  • 8.8 to 9.2
  • 9.2 to 9.7
  • 9.7 and over
%, 2020. 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, 2020

New York: 10.983 %New York10.983Florida: 10.864 %Florida10.864Colorado: 10.726 %Colorado10.726Washington: 10.068 %Washington10.068Wyoming: 10.044 %Wyoming10.044Utah: 10.033 %Utah10.033Nevada: 9.91 %Nevada9.91California: 9.865 %California9.865New Jersey: 9.788 %New Jersey9.788Arizona: 9.498 %Arizona9.498Georgia: 9.487 %Georgia9.487Oklahoma: 9.445 %Oklahoma9.445Texas: 9.434 %Texas9.434Illinois: 9.404 %Illinois9.404Oregon: 9.215 %Oregon9.215Alaska: 9.198 %Alaska9.198Missouri: 9.184 %Missouri9.184Idaho: 9.181 %Idaho9.181Montana: 9.095 %Montana9.095District of Columbia: 9.045 %District of Columbia9.045New Mexico: 8.987 %New Mexico8.987Connecticut: 8.983 %Connecticut8.983Maryland: 8.895 %Maryland8.895Virginia: 8.813 %Virginia8.813Michigan: 8.765 %Michigan8.765Hawaii: 8.764 %Hawaii8.764Delaware: 8.753 %Delaware8.753North Carolina: 8.611 %North Carolina8.611Massachusetts: 8.574 %Massachusetts8.574South Carolina: 8.54 %South Carolina8.54Vermont: 8.498 %Vermont8.498Louisiana: 8.387 %Louisiana8.387Rhode Island: 8.386 %Rhode Island8.386West Virginia: 8.371 %West Virginia8.371Indiana: 8.349 %Indiana8.349Minnesota: 8.348 %Minnesota8.348Kansas: 8.311 %Kansas8.311Tennessee: 8.284 %Tennessee8.284Ohio: 8.258 %Ohio8.258Arkansas: 8.19 %Arkansas8.19Mississippi: 8.173 %Mississippi8.173Maine: 8.171 %Maine8.171Kentucky: 8.061 %Kentucky8.061Nebraska: 8.044 %Nebraska8.044North Dakota: 8.04 %North Dakota8.04New Hampshire: 8.001 %New Hampshire8.001South Dakota: 7.972 %South Dakota7.972Alabama: 7.818 %Alabama7.818Pennsylvania: 7.811 %Pennsylvania7.811Wisconsin: 7.67 %Wisconsin7.67Iowa: 7.635 %Iowa7.635New York: 10.983 %New York10.983Florida: 10.864 %Florida10.864Colorado: 10.726 %Colorado10.726Washington: 10.068 %Washington10.068Wyoming: 10.044 %Wyoming10.044Utah: 10.033 %Utah10.033Nevada: 9.91 %Nevada9.91California: 9.865 %California9.865New Jersey: 9.788 %New Jersey9.788Arizona: 9.498 %Arizona9.498Georgia: 9.487 %Georgia9.487Oklahoma: 9.445 %Oklahoma9.445Texas: 9.434 %Texas9.434Illinois: 9.404 %Illinois9.404Oregon: 9.215 %Oregon9.215Alaska: 9.198 %Alaska9.198Missouri: 9.184 %Missouri9.184Idaho: 9.181 %Idaho9.181Montana: 9.095 %Montana9.095District of Columbia: 9.045 %District of Columbia9.045New Mexico: 8.987 %New Mexico8.987Connecticut: 8.983 %Connecticut8.983Maryland: 8.895 %Maryland8.895Virginia: 8.813 %Virginia8.813Michigan: 8.765 %Michigan8.765Hawaii: 8.764 %Hawaii8.764Delaware: 8.753 %Delaware8.753North Carolina: 8.611 %North Carolina8.611Massachusetts: 8.574 %Massachusetts8.574South Carolina: 8.54 %South Carolina8.54Vermont: 8.498 %Vermont8.498Louisiana: 8.387 %Louisiana8.387Rhode Island: 8.386 %Rhode Island8.386West Virginia: 8.371 %West Virginia8.371Indiana: 8.349 %Indiana8.349Minnesota: 8.348 %Minnesota8.348Kansas: 8.311 %Kansas8.311Tennessee: 8.284 %Tennessee8.284Ohio: 8.258 %Ohio8.258Arkansas: 8.19 %Arkansas8.19Mississippi: 8.173 %Mississippi8.173Maine: 8.171 %Maine8.171Kentucky: 8.061 %Kentucky8.061Nebraska: 8.044 %Nebraska8.044North Dakota: 8.04 %North Dakota8.04New Hampshire: 8.001 %New Hampshire8.001South Dakota: 7.972 %South Dakota7.972Alabama: 7.818 %Alabama7.818Pennsylvania: 7.811 %Pennsylvania7.811Wisconsin: 7.67 %Wisconsin7.67Iowa: 7.635 %Iowa7.635
%. 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

RankStates2020 (%)Change on 2019
1New York10.983+1.71 pts
2Florida10.864+0.76 pts
3Colorado10.726+0.76 pts
4Washington10.068+0.96 pts
5Wyoming10.044+0.91 pts
6Utah10.033+0.62 pts
7Nevada9.91-0.08 pts
8California9.865+0.42 pts
9New Jersey9.788+0.83 pts
10Arizona9.498+0.46 pts
11Georgia9.487+0.68 pts
12Oklahoma9.445+1.01 pts
13Texas9.434+0.72 pts
14Illinois9.404+0.88 pts
15Oregon9.215+0.45 pts
16Alaska9.198+0.59 pts
17Missouri9.184+0.4 pts
18Idaho9.181+0.81 pts
19Montana9.095+0.58 pts
20District of Columbia9.045+0.87 pts
21New Mexico8.987+0.9 pts
22Connecticut8.983+1.12 pts
23Maryland8.895+0.83 pts
24Virginia8.813+0.94 pts
25Michigan8.765+0.96 pts
26Hawaii8.764+1.06 pts
27Delaware8.753+0.59 pts
28North Carolina8.611+0.74 pts
29Massachusetts8.574+0.91 pts
30South Carolina8.54+0.69 pts
31Vermont8.498+0.63 pts
32Louisiana8.387+0.56 pts
33Rhode Island8.386+0.38 pts
34West Virginia8.371+1.09 pts
35Indiana8.349+1.32 pts
36Minnesota8.348+0.58 pts
37Kansas8.311+0.43 pts
38Tennessee8.284+0.68 pts
39Ohio8.258+0.72 pts
40Arkansas8.19+0.32 pts
41Mississippi8.173+0.84 pts
42Maine8.171+0.52 pts
43Kentucky8.061+0.71 pts
44Nebraska8.044+0.67 pts
45North Dakota8.04+0.91 pts
46New Hampshire8.001+0.74 pts
47South Dakota7.972+0.29 pts
48Alabama7.818+0.64 pts
49Pennsylvania7.811+0.29 pts
50Wisconsin7.67+0.57 pts
51Iowa7.635+0.45 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, 2020) [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, 2020. 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=2020. 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, 2020. 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=2020.

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, 2020 [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=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_us_states_by_establishment_2020,
  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, 2020}},
  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=2020. 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, 2020
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=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/establishment-exit-rate/us-states?period=2020.
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?

New York, with 10.983% in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which state has the lowest establishment exit rate?

Iowa, with 7.635% in 2020.

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