Startup Statistics
Last updated: 2026-10-28 · 13 sourced statistics
Americans are starting businesses at a record pace, but only a small share of those starts hire anyone, and far fewer raise venture capital. The Census Bureau counted 5,671,836 business applications in 2025, the most in any full year since its series began in 2004, and 534,947 in September 2026 alone (seasonally adjusted). Only 30.1% of 2025 applications were high-propensity filings likely to lead to a business with payroll, down from 59.2% in 2005. In 2023, 508,777 new employer firms appeared in the Census data, while US venture capital deals in 2025 numbered an estimated 16,709. This page separates applications, formations, new employers and venture-backed startups, because they are very different things.
Key takeaways
- 5,671,836 business applications were filed in 2025, the highest full-year total in the Census series, and January to September 2026 ran 15.3% above the same months of 2025.
- Only 30.1% of 2025 applications were high-propensity (likely to hire), compared with 59.2% in 2005; most new filings are for businesses without employees.
- 508,777 new employer firms appeared in 2023, about 9.1% of all US employer firms (Census Business Dynamics Statistics).
- US venture deal value reached $339.4 billion in 2025, but 65.4% went to AI companies and half of it went to 0.05% of deals (PitchBook-NVCA).
At a glance.
Every figure on this page in one table, each linked to its named source. Scroll down for the full context behind each number.
| Figure | What it measures | Source | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 534,947 | US business applications for September 2026 were 534,947, seasonally adjusted, up 0.5% from August 2026. | US Census Bureau, Business Formation Statistics (monthly release and time series) | 2026 |
| 5.67M | Americans filed 5,671,836 business applications in 2025, the highest total for any full year since the series began in 2004 and 62% more than the 3,498,990 filed in 2019 (our sum of unadjusted monthly data). | US Census Bureau, Business Formation Statistics (monthly release and time series) | 2026 |
| +15.3% | From January to September 2026, 4,927,840 business applications were filed, 15.3% more than in the same nine months of 2025 (our sum of unadjusted monthly data). | US Census Bureau, Business Formation Statistics (monthly release and time series) | 2026 |
| 30.1% | High-propensity applications, the Census Bureau's measure of filings with a high likelihood of becoming businesses with payroll, were 30.1% of 2025 applications, down from 59.2% in 2005. | US Census Bureau, Business Formation Statistics (monthly release and time series) | 2026 |
| 29,022 | The Census Bureau projects that 29,022 businesses with payroll will form within four quarters from the applications filed in September 2026 (seasonally adjusted), about 5% of that month's applications. | US Census Bureau, Business Formation Statistics (monthly release and time series) | 2026 |
| 508,777 | 508,777 new employer firms (firm age zero) appeared in 2023, about 9.1% of the 5,593,727 employer firms in the US that year. | US Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics 2023 (by firm age) | 2023 |
| 980,333 | 980,333 private sector establishments opened in the year ended March 2025. The largest opening cohort since 1994 was the year ended March 2022, at 1,065,228. | US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Business Employment Dynamics: Survival of private sector establishments by opening year (Table 7) | 2025 |
| 0.36% | The rate of new entrepreneurs was 0.36% in 2025: on average, 360 of every 100,000 US adults became new entrepreneurs each month, up from 2024 and above the 2019 level. | Kauffman Foundation, Kauffman Indicators of Entrepreneurship: 2025 Early-Stage Entrepreneurship National Report | 2025 |
| 83.3% | 83.3% of new entrepreneurs in 2025 started by choice rather than necessity (the opportunity share), up from 69.8% in 2020 but below 86.9% in 2019. | Kauffman Foundation, Kauffman Indicators of Entrepreneurship: 2025 Early-Stage Entrepreneurship National Report | 2025 |
| 5.3 | Startups created 5.3 jobs per 1,000 people in 2025 on Kauffman's startup early job creation measure, unchanged from the year before and above pre-pandemic levels. | Kauffman Foundation, Kauffman Indicators of Entrepreneurship: 2025 Early-Stage Entrepreneurship National Report | 2025 |
| $339.4B | US venture capital deal value was $339.4 billion across an estimated 16,709 deals in 2025, second only to 2021 ($358.2 billion) in the past decade. | PitchBook and NVCA, Venture Monitor Q4 2025 (free edition on nvca.org) | 2025 |
| 65.4% | AI companies took 65.4% of US venture deal value and 39.4% of deal count in 2025, and 50% of all deal value went to just 0.05% of completed deals. | PitchBook and NVCA, Venture Monitor Q4 2025 (free edition on nvca.org) | 2025 |
| 70% | Analyst survey: of 431 VC-backed companies that shut down since 2023 (385 with identifiable reasons), 70% ran out of capital and 43% cited poor product-market fit; many cited more than one reason. | CB Insights, The top reasons startups fail (March 2026) | 2026 |
The statistics
US business applications for September 2026 were 534,947, seasonally adjusted, up 0.5% from August 2026.
Source:US Census Bureau, Business Formation Statistics (monthly release and time series)2026
Americans filed 5,671,836 business applications in 2025, the highest total for any full year since the series began in 2004 and 62% more than the 3,498,990 filed in 2019 (our sum of unadjusted monthly data).
Source:US Census Bureau, Business Formation Statistics (monthly release and time series)2026
From January to September 2026, 4,927,840 business applications were filed, 15.3% more than in the same nine months of 2025 (our sum of unadjusted monthly data).
Source:US Census Bureau, Business Formation Statistics (monthly release and time series)2026
High-propensity applications, the Census Bureau's measure of filings with a high likelihood of becoming businesses with payroll, were 30.1% of 2025 applications, down from 59.2% in 2005.
Source:US Census Bureau, Business Formation Statistics (monthly release and time series)2026
The Census Bureau projects that 29,022 businesses with payroll will form within four quarters from the applications filed in September 2026 (seasonally adjusted), about 5% of that month's applications.
Source:US Census Bureau, Business Formation Statistics (monthly release and time series)2026
508,777 new employer firms (firm age zero) appeared in 2023, about 9.1% of the 5,593,727 employer firms in the US that year.
Source:US Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics 2023 (by firm age)2023
980,333 private sector establishments opened in the year ended March 2025. The largest opening cohort since 1994 was the year ended March 2022, at 1,065,228.
The rate of new entrepreneurs was 0.36% in 2025: on average, 360 of every 100,000 US adults became new entrepreneurs each month, up from 2024 and above the 2019 level.
83.3% of new entrepreneurs in 2025 started by choice rather than necessity (the opportunity share), up from 69.8% in 2020 but below 86.9% in 2019.
Startups created 5.3 jobs per 1,000 people in 2025 on Kauffman's startup early job creation measure, unchanged from the year before and above pre-pandemic levels.
US venture capital deal value was $339.4 billion across an estimated 16,709 deals in 2025, second only to 2021 ($358.2 billion) in the past decade.
Source:PitchBook and NVCA, Venture Monitor Q4 2025 (free edition on nvca.org)2025
AI companies took 65.4% of US venture deal value and 39.4% of deal count in 2025, and 50% of all deal value went to just 0.05% of completed deals.
Source:PitchBook and NVCA, Venture Monitor Q4 2025 (free edition on nvca.org)2025
Analyst survey: of 431 VC-backed companies that shut down since 2023 (385 with identifiable reasons), 70% ran out of capital and 43% cited poor product-market fit; many cited more than one reason.
Source:CB Insights, The top reasons startups fail (March 2026)2026
When these numbers don't apply
Aggregate statistics hide a lot. Read these caveats before quoting a figure as if it describes your specific situation.
- A business application is a request for an employer identification number (EIN), not a new business. Many applications never become an operating firm, and many sole proprietors never apply. The Census Bureau's projected business formations (businesses with payroll within four quarters) are a much smaller number.
- Annual application totals and year-to-date comparisons on this page are our sums of the Census Bureau's unadjusted monthly series; the headline monthly figure is seasonally adjusted, as the Census Bureau publishes it.
- Census Business Dynamics Statistics counts new employer firms (age zero) and BLS counts new establishments (locations), so the two counts differ in scope and timing; neither includes owner-only businesses.
- Kauffman's rate of new entrepreneurs is based on monthly household survey data and measures people starting businesses, not firms; it is not directly comparable with Census counts.
- Venture capital figures cover only VC-backed companies, a tiny fraction of new businesses, and the PitchBook-NVCA counts include estimates that are revised in later editions. CB Insights' shutdown reasons come from a sample of 431 VC-backed companies (385 with identifiable reasons), not from all failed startups.
- All figures are for the United States.
How we compiled this data
Reviewed 2026-10-28. Business application figures come from the Census Bureau's Business Formation Statistics: the September 2026 seasonally adjusted headline and projected formations from the current release page, and annual and year-to-date totals summed by us from the unadjusted national series in bfs_monthly.csv (series BA_BA and BA_HBA). New employer firms come from the Census Business Dynamics Statistics 2023 firm-age file; establishment openings from the BLS Business Employment Dynamics Table 7 (data to March 2025, read through an Internet Archive capture because bls.gov blocks automated access). Kauffman figures were read on Kauffman's own 2025 national report page (May 2026). Venture figures come from the free Q4 2025 PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor PDF on nvca.org (data as of 31 December 2025); the Q3 2026 edition was not downloadable from nvca.org on the review date, so 2026 venture totals are not included. The shutdown survey was read on CB Insights' own page (published 5 March 2026). Earlier versions of this page cited a 2023 application total, a 38% CB Insights figure from an older edition, a "$200B+" venture figure linked to a landing page, rounded BLS survival rates and a 2016 cash buffer study; these were updated, moved to our small business failure and cash flow pages, or removed.
We hand-collected each figure from its original publisher rather than recycling secondary round-ups, cross-checked the headline numbers against the source documents in 2026-10-28, and link every statistic to the report it came from so you can verify it yourself. Where a publisher issues annual updates, we cite the report edition and flag the year inline.
Frequently asked questions
How many new businesses are started each year in the US?
Americans filed 5,671,836 business applications in 2025, the most in any full year since the Census series began in 2004. Applications are not businesses, though: in 2023 the Census Bureau counted 508,777 new employer firms, and most applications are for businesses that will never hire.
How many business applications were filed most recently?
534,947 in September 2026, seasonally adjusted, up 0.5% from August (Census Business Formation Statistics). From January to September 2026, unadjusted applications totalled 4,927,840, 15.3% more than a year earlier.
How many startups hire employees?
A minority. Only 30.1% of 2025 business applications were high-propensity filings likely to lead to payroll, and the Census Bureau projects 29,022 businesses with payroll will form within four quarters from September 2026's applications.
What percentage of startups are venture-backed?
A very small share. There were an estimated 16,709 US venture deals in 2025, including follow-on rounds for existing companies, against more than 5.6 million business applications and 508,777 new employer firms in 2023.
Why do venture-backed startups fail?
In CB Insights' analysis of 431 VC-backed shutdowns since 2023, 70% of those with identifiable reasons ran out of capital and 43% cited poor product-market fit. This is an analyst sample of venture-backed companies, not all small businesses.
What share of startups survive?
This page counts starts rather than closures. Our small business failure statistics page covers survival, using the BLS tables that track each year's new establishments one, five and ten years on.
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