Small businesses are an economic pillar in the United States. Businesses with fewer than 500 employees account for two-thirds of net new jobs in the U.S. and generate 44% of economic activity nationwide, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Though small businesses in the U.S. were hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, with an estimated one-third closing either temporarily or permanently since early 2020, American entrepreneurs appear undeterred.
From January 2021 through January 2022, over 5.8 million applications for new businesses were filed, according to Business Formation Statistics from the U.S Census Bureau – or 1,772 for every 100,000 Americans.
Ohio accounted for 166,938 of all new business applications filed nationwide over the same period, the 10th most among states. Adjusting for population, however, there were 1,428 applications for every 100,000 people in Ohio, lower than the national average and the 22nd lowest among states.
Ohio saw the most applications submitted in April 2021, at 15,974, while October 2021 marked a low point over the period with just 11,439 new business applications. It is important to note that not all new business applications result in the creation of a new business, and only about 80% of new businesses last for more than a year.
| Rank | State | New business applications per 100,000 people | Total new business applications, 01/21 – 01/22 |
| 1 | Wyoming | 6,395 | 37,014 |
| 2 | Delaware | 4,973 | 48,427 |
| 3 | Georgia | 3,291 | 349,426 |
| 4 | Florida | 3,183 | 683,680 |
| 5 | Nevada | 2,384 | 73,430 |
| 6 | Mississippi | 2,347 | 69,856 |
| 7 | Louisiana | 2,308 | 107,292 |
| 8 | Utah | 2,139 | 68,579 |
| 9 | Colorado | 2,098 | 120,830 |
| 10 | Maryland | 2,050 | 123,921 |
| 11 | South Carolina | 2,016 | 103,781 |
| 12 | New Jersey | 1,998 | 177,506 |
| 13 | Montana | 1,942 | 20,761 |
| 14 | Texas | 1,850 | 536,301 |
| 15 | North Carolina | 1,785 | 187,229 |
| 16 | Idaho | 1,732 | 30,952 |
| 17 | New York | 1,730 | 336,510 |
| 18 | Arizona | 1,693 | 123,245 |
| 19 | Illinois | 1,686 | 213,601 |
| 20 | Virginia | 1,658 | 141,514 |
| 21 | Alabama | 1,653 | 81,071 |
| 22 | Michigan | 1,627 | 162,478 |
| 23 | Oklahoma | 1,576 | 62,351 |
| 24 | Tennessee | 1,488 | 101,631 |
| 25 | Missouri | 1,488 | 91,326 |
| 26 | Arkansas | 1,481 | 44,695 |
| 27 | Hawaii | 1,472 | 20,839 |
| 28 | Connecticut | 1,437 | 51,217 |
| 29 | Ohio | 1,428 | 166,938 |
| 30 | California | 1,425 | 563,102 |
| 31 | Indiana | 1,393 | 93,786 |
| 32 | Pennsylvania | 1,335 | 170,934 |
| 33 | Washington | 1,321 | 100,567 |
| 34 | Vermont | 1,304 | 8,138 |
| 35 | Oregon | 1,278 | 53,900 |
| 36 | New Mexico | 1,274 | 26,721 |
| 37 | Minnesota | 1,242 | 70,033 |
| 38 | South Dakota | 1,240 | 10,972 |
| 39 | Wisconsin | 1,209 | 70,392 |
| 40 | Alaska | 1,206 | 8,826 |
| 41 | Massachusetts | 1,190 | 81,991 |
| 42 | Rhode Island | 1,165 | 12,341 |
| 43 | Kentucky | 1,145 | 51,151 |
| 44 | Kansas | 1,139 | 33,173 |
| 45 | North Dakota | 1,132 | 8,626 |
| 46 | New Hampshire | 1,094 | 14,876 |
| 47 | Maine | 1,088 | 14,626 |
| 48 | Nebraska | 1,078 | 20,855 |
| 49 | Iowa | 1,018 | 32,131 |
| 50 | West Virginia | 805 | 14,435 |
