New business filings by state
Last updated .
Every US state keeps its own business entity register, and how busy that register is varies enormously. The figures below are new business applications filed over the last twelve months, taken from the Census Bureau’s Business Formation Statistics, alongside what each state charges to form an LLC and how long it currently takes to process one.
Across all fifty-one jurisdictions that is 6,202,170 new applications in twelve months. Florida alone accounts for 712,650 of them.
Where the most businesses are being formed
Ranked by applications filed in the last twelve months. Each state links to its register search and the office that holds the record.
| # | State | New filings, 12 months | Per business day | Year on year | LLC filing fee | Processing time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Florida | 712,650 | 2,851 | +13.6% | $125 | Processed in the order received |
| 2 | California | 614,530 | 2,458 | +15.7% | $70 | 5-7 business days |
| 3 | Texas | 590,680 | 2,363 | +18.0% | $300 | 10-12 business days (online SOS Direct), 13-15 business days (online SOS Upload), 4-8 weeks plus mail time (paper) |
| 4 | New York | 322,200 | 1,289 | +10.5% | $200 | 2-3 weeks |
| 5 | Georgia | 279,840 | 1,119 | +15.7% | $110 | 7 to 10 business days online, 15 business days paper |
| 6 | Illinois | 199,640 | 799 | +14.5% | $150 | 5-10 business days |
| 7 | North Carolina | 198,120 | 792 | +17.5% | $125 | 5-10 business days |
| 8 | Ohio | 185,450 | 742 | +22.8% | $99 | 5-7 business days |
| 9 | New Jersey | 175,840 | 703 | +13.2% | $100 | 3-5 business days |
| 10 | Michigan | 169,080 | 676 | +23.1% | $50 | 7-10 business days |
| 11 | Pennsylvania | 168,320 | 673 | +12.4% | $125 | 7-10 business days |
| 12 | Colorado | 167,200 | 669 | +20.0% | $50 | Immediate for online filings |
| 13 | Arizona | 156,190 | 625 | +25.4% | $50 | 14-16 business days |
| 14 | Virginia | 149,900 | 600 | +15.4% | $100 | 24 hours online |
| 15 | Washington | 118,030 | 472 | -19.4% | $180 | 5-10 business days |
| 16 | Missouri | 117,180 | 469 | +30.6% | $50 | 5-10 business days |
| 17 | Tennessee | 115,400 | 462 | +23.6% | $300 | 5-10 business days |
| 18 | Maryland | 108,980 | 436 | +12.1% | $100 | 4-6 weeks (paper), 6-8 weeks (online non-expedited), 3-4 weeks current |
| 19 | South Carolina | 102,010 | 408 | +15.2% | $110 | 5-7 business days |
| 20 | Indiana | 99,380 | 398 | +13.5% | $100 | 7-10 business days |
| 21 | Wyoming | 85,750 | 343 | +18.5% | $100 | Up to 15 business days |
| 22 | Massachusetts | 85,600 | 342 | +11.3% | $500 | 5-10 business days |
| 23 | Utah | 84,920 | 340 | +29.0% | $59 | 5-7 business days |
| 24 | Louisiana | 82,590 | 330 | +23.4% | $125 | routine processing (no specific timeframe given) |
| 25 | Wisconsin | 79,830 | 319 | +25.8% | $170 | 5-10 business days |
| 26 | Minnesota | 78,530 | 314 | +13.9% | $155 | 5-7 business days |
| 27 | Alabama | 78,120 | 312 | +24.7% | $200 | 3-5 business days |
| 28 | Kentucky | 77,930 | 312 | +40.5% | $40 | 4-6 business days |
| 29 | Oklahoma | 70,140 | 281 | +29.2% | $100 | about 15 minutes |
| 30 | Nevada | 69,550 | 278 | +9.8% | $75 | 2-3 weeks |
| 31 | Oregon | 64,210 | 257 | -2.9% | $100 | 5-10 business days |
| 32 | Mississippi | 62,950 | 252 | +32.9% | $50 | 3-5 business days |
| 33 | Delaware | 61,150 | 245 | +2.7% | $110 | 3-5 weeks |
| 34 | Connecticut | 55,460 | 222 | +16.3% | $120 | 5-7 business days |
| 35 | Arkansas | 45,900 | 184 | +24.4% | $45 | 3-5 business days |
| 36 | New Mexico | 44,310 | 177 | +20.1% | $50 | 1-3 business days |
| 37 | Kansas | 43,630 | 175 | +30.3% | $90 | within minutes for online filing |
| 38 | Iowa | 38,150 | 153 | +14.1% | $50 | 5-10 business days |
| 39 | Idaho | 37,400 | 150 | +16.0% | $100 | 5-7 business days |
| 40 | Montana | 32,720 | 131 | +15.0% | $35 | 2 weeks |
| 41 | Nebraska | 24,450 | 98 | +14.6% | $100 | approximately a week for document review |
| 42 | New Hampshire | 20,230 | 81 | +23.7% | $100 | within 30 days |
| 43 | West Virginia | 18,950 | 76 | +20.0% | $100 | 5-7 business days |
| 44 | Hawaii | 18,660 | 75 | -2.8% | $50 | Not specified |
| 45 | District of Columbia | 15,980 | 64 | +9.4% | $99 | 4-5 business days |
| 46 | Maine | 15,660 | 63 | +9.2% | $175 | 35-40 business days |
| 47 | South Dakota | 13,640 | 55 | +14.9% | $150 | normal course of business |
| 48 | Alaska | 13,450 | 54 | +35.5% | $250 | 10-15 business days |
| 49 | Rhode Island | 12,930 | 52 | +11.9% | $150 | 5-7 business days |
| 50 | North Dakota | 10,050 | 40 | +13.8% | $135 | 5-7 business days |
| 51 | Vermont | 8,710 | 35 | +15.7% | $155 | 7-10 business days for mail filings, less than 1 business day for online filings |
Where formation is growing fastest
Year-on-year change matters more than raw volume if you are choosing where to form. A state adding filings quickly is usually one where either the rules or the costs recently moved.
| State | Year on year | New filings, 12 months |
|---|---|---|
| Kentucky | +40.5% | 77,930 |
| Alaska | +35.5% | 13,450 |
| Mississippi | +32.9% | 62,950 |
| Missouri | +30.6% | 117,180 |
| Kansas | +30.3% | 43,630 |
| Oklahoma | +29.2% | 70,140 |
| Utah | +29.0% | 84,920 |
| Wisconsin | +25.8% | 79,830 |
3 of the 51 states with data are filing fewer applications than a year ago.
What these numbers are, and what they are not
A business application is not the same as a company. The Census counts applications for an Employer Identification Number that look like genuine business formation, so the figure includes applications that were never completed and excludes businesses formed without one. It is the best available measure of formation activity and it is not a count of live companies on the register.
Filing fees and processing times are the state’s own published figures, checked against the office rather than taken from a summary. Both change without much notice, so the register page for each state links the office that sets them.
Formation figures are Census Business Formation Statistics, retrieved via FRED and refreshed weekly.