US business applications lookup
How many Americans applied to start a business in the year your company was founded, or in any month since July 2004? Enter a year or a month, or compare two months, to see the Census Bureau's count of new business applications, how it compares with today and where it ranks in the record. The latest figure is 534,947 applications, for September 2026.
Updated 31 October 2026. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Formation Statistics. Monthly chart and CSV: US business applications tracker. Key figures: US business formation statistics.
In September 2026, Americans filed 534,947 applications to start a business (seasonally adjusted, Census Bureau Business Formation Statistics). That is the latest month published. It was 0.5% more than in August 2026 (532,051) and 4.4% more than a year earlier (512,569). It ranks 4th busiest of the 267 months since July 2004. The record is 576,264, in July 2026.
Key figures
- Americans filed 534,947 applications to start a business in September 2026 (seasonally adjusted), +0.5% on the month and +4.4% on the year. It ranks 4th busiest of the 267 months since July 2004. #
- The busiest month since the series began in July 2004 is July 2026, with 576,264 applications. September 2026 was 7.2% below that record. #
- The busiest complete year is 2025, the latest, with 5,636,693 applications (469,724 a month). 2025 had 125.0% more applications than 2005, the first complete year in the series (2,504,996). #
- The largest yearly rise was in 2020, when applications grew 24.5% on 2019, from 3,517,607 to 4,379,813. #
- The largest yearly fall was in 2022, when applications dropped 6.0% from 2021, from 5,408,801 to 5,083,802. #
- In total, 78,769,602 business applications were filed in the 267 months from July 2004 to September 2026, an average of 295,017 a month. #
Example: 2019, the last year before the pandemic
In 2019, Americans filed 3,517,607 applications to start a business (seasonally adjusted, Census Bureau Business Formation Statistics), an average of 293,134 a month. That is 0.5% more than in 2018 (3,498,607). The busiest month was December 2019 (315,267) and the quietest January 2019 (275,827). Among the 21 complete years since 2005, it ranks 7th busiest. The 2025 total (5,636,693) was 60.2% more than in 2019, and the latest month, September 2026 (534,947), was 82.5% more than the 2019 monthly average.
US business applications by year since 2004
Yearly totals of the monthly, seasonally adjusted counts, with the monthly average, the change on the previous year, the busiest and quietest month, and the rank among the complete years (1 = busiest). The series starts in July 2004, so 2004 covers only part of the year. Each row has its own link, for example #year-2020.
| Year | Applications | Monthly average | Change on year | Busiest month | Quietest month | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (so far) | 4,728,479 | 525,387 | – | July (576,264) | March (493,792) | – |
| 2025 | 5,636,693 | 469,724 | +7.4% | November (537,266) | January (385,618) | 1 |
| 2024 | 5,246,630 | 437,219 | −4.4% | December (464,450) | July (424,927) | 4 |
| 2023 | 5,489,174 | 457,431 | +8.0% | July (478,273) | January (428,614) | 2 |
| 2022 | 5,083,802 | 423,650 | −6.0% | January (436,674) | June (407,753) | 5 |
| 2021 | 5,408,801 | 450,733 | +23.5% | May (505,645) | September (427,508) | 3 |
| 2020 | 4,379,813 | 364,984 | +24.5% | July (546,719) | April (235,568) | 6 |
| 2019 | 3,517,607 | 293,134 | +0.5% | December (315,267) | January (275,827) | 7 |
| 2018 | 3,498,607 | 291,551 | +9.4% | December (298,548) | February (285,597) | 8 |
| 2017 | 3,197,455 | 266,455 | +7.4% | November (282,216) | February (260,199) | 9 |
| 2016 | 2,975,857 | 247,988 | +5.4% | July (261,383) | June (216,520) | 10 |
| 2015 | 2,822,714 | 235,226 | +5.9% | January (255,317) | May (225,203) | 11 |
| 2014 | 2,666,367 | 222,197 | +2.2% | September (228,220) | December (205,929) | 12 |
| 2013 | 2,610,142 | 217,512 | +1.4% | December (228,339) | May (207,148) | 15 |
| 2012 | 2,574,634 | 214,553 | +0.1% | December (274,870) | January (185,168) | 16 |
| 2011 | 2,573,236 | 214,436 | +3.0% | December (228,767) | May (186,215) | 17 |
| 2010 | 2,497,405 | 208,117 | +2.8% | November (220,986) | January (201,730) | 20 |
| 2009 | 2,428,403 | 202,367 | −3.7% | January (208,117) | February (195,238) | 21 |
| 2008 | 2,521,737 | 210,145 | −4.9% | August (222,223) | December (187,289) | 18 |
| 2007 | 2,652,392 | 221,033 | +1.2% | December (245,899) | January (208,246) | 13 |
| 2006 | 2,621,411 | 218,451 | +4.6% | December (247,845) | November (201,617) | 14 |
| 2005 | 2,504,996 | 208,750 | – | December (233,874) | September (183,543) | 19 |
| 2004 (from July) | 1,133,247 | 188,875 | – | November (210,436) | July (158,475) | – |
Cite or link to this tool
Founders, students, teachers, writers, analysts and researchers are welcome to use and link to this lookup. Each year and key figure has its own link, such as #year-2021, #record-month or #largest-annual-rise.
How the lookup works
Monthly values are the U.S. Census Bureau's count of business applications, total for all industries in the United States, seasonally adjusted, from the Business Formation Statistics, as published on FRED (series BABATOTALSAUS) from July 2004. They are the same figures as the US business applications tracker. A business application is an application for an Employer Identification Number (EIN) with the Internal Revenue Service that is tied to starting a business; filings for estates, trusts and similar purposes are left out. Not every application becomes an operating business, and many never hire staff.
Yearly figures are the sum of the seasonally adjusted monthly counts in each calendar year, so they can differ slightly from the Census Bureau's unadjusted annual totals; the current year shows the months published so far and is compared with the same months a year earlier, and only complete years (2005 to 2025) are ranked. Changes, ranks, totals and average yearly growth rates are calculated by CorporaWire from the official counts. Ranks count months or years with more applications, so 1st is the busiest. The Census Bureau revises recent months and the seasonal factors, so figures here can change. This page is updated daily with the tracker's latest data.