{"schemaVersion":"1.0","id":"rs-2026-012","slug":"high-propensity-business-applications-by-state-july-2026","title":"High-Propensity Business Applications by State — July 2026","headline":"New York Led the U.S. in High-Propensity Application Share at 41.4%","summary":"New York ranked first in July 2026 with 41.4% of its business applications classified as high propensity. Mississippi ranked last at 18.2%, a 23.3 percentage-point gap. The U.S. share was 26.2%.","published":"2026-08-14","modified":"2026-08-14","status":"published","supersedes":null,"supersededBy":null,"topic":{"slug":"business-formation","label":"Business formation"},"subtopics":["business applications","high-propensity business applications","state comparison","employer firms"],"country":"United States","geographyLevel":"State and district","geographies":["New York","Delaware","Massachusetts","Maine","North Dakota","Rhode Island","California","Vermont","Nebraska","Washington","Idaho","Hawaii","Pennsylvania","Montana","Alaska","Maryland","New Hampshire","Illinois","District of Columbia","New Mexico","West Virginia","Oregon","Iowa","Connecticut","Minnesota","North Carolina","Virginia","New Jersey","Florida","Nevada","South Dakota","Kansas","Utah","Tennessee","South Carolina","Oklahoma","Arizona","Georgia","Louisiana","Texas","Wisconsin","Wyoming","Ohio","Kentucky","Indiana","Arkansas","Michigan","Alabama","Colorado","Missouri","Mississippi"],"period":"July 2026","metric":"High-Propensity Business Applications as a share of Business Applications","provenance":{"primarySources":[{"agency":"U.S. Census Bureau","dataset":"Business Formation Statistics","period":"July 2026","role":"Business Applications and High-Propensity Business Applications by state","url":"https://www.census.gov/econ/bfs/current/index.html"},{"agency":"U.S. Census Bureau","dataset":"Business Formation Statistics Monthly Data","period":"July 2026","role":"Downloadable monthly Business Formation Statistics","dataUrl":"https://www.census.gov/econ/bfs/csv/bfs_monthly.csv"},{"agency":"U.S. Census Bureau","dataset":"Business Formation Statistics Definitions","period":"Current","role":"Definitions for Business Applications and High-Propensity Business Applications","url":"https://www.census.gov/econ/bfs/definitions.html"},{"agency":"U.S. Census Bureau","dataset":"Business Formation Statistics Methodology","period":"Current","role":"Methodology for Business Formation Statistics","url":"https://www.census.gov/econ/bfs/technicaldocumentation/methodology.html"}],"contextSources":[{"agency":"Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis","dataset":"FRED national Business Formation Statistics series","period":"July 2026","role":"National Business Applications and High-Propensity Business Applications used to check U.S. totals","url":"https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?g=1ihty"}]},"transformation":{"calculationType":"calculated","formula":"High-Propensity Business Applications ÷ Business Applications × 100","filters":["July 2026","seasonally adjusted","all types of business","50 states and the District of Columbia"],"transformations":["Divide each state's or district's High-Propensity Business Applications by its Business Applications.","Multiply the result by 100.","Rank the 50 states and District of Columbia by share.","Display shares to one decimal place."]},"findings":[{"claim":"New York High-Propensity Business Application share","value":41.4,"unit":"percent","geography":"New York"},{"claim":"Mississippi High-Propensity Business Application share","value":18.2,"unit":"percent","geography":"Mississippi"},{"claim":"New York–Mississippi share gap","value":23.3,"unit":"percentage points","geography":"United States"},{"claim":"New York share relative to Mississippi","value":2.28,"unit":"times as high","geography":"United States"},{"claim":"United States High-Propensity Business Application share","value":26.2,"unit":"percent","geography":"United States"}],"limitations":["High-Propensity Business Applications do not mean firms have opened.","The data do not measure firm growth, success, or jobs.","The table covers one month, and ranks may change each month.","The Census Bureau may revise historical values.","The Census Bureau changed its HBA rules in 2026, removed some applications tied to online sales, updated historical data, and moved the series to 2022 NAICS.","This descriptive study does not explain why states differ."],"keywords":["high-propensity business applications by state","High-Propensity Business Applications","HBA share","Business Applications","U.S. Census Bureau BFS","New York business applications","Mississippi business applications","July 2026 business applications"],"aliases":["HBA","BFS","high propensity applications","business startup applications","Business Formation Statistics"],"citation":"RecurSave. “New York Led the U.S. in High-Propensity Application Share at 41.4%.” RecurSave Research, August 14, 2026.","canonicalUrl":"https://www.recursave.com/research/high-propensity-business-applications-by-state-july-2026","hasDataset":true,"highPropensityApplicationRows":[{"rank":1,"state":"New York","businessApplications":31072,"highPropensityApplications":12866,"share":41.4},{"rank":2,"state":"Delaware","businessApplications":5314,"highPropensityApplications":1916,"share":36.1},{"rank":3,"state":"Massachusetts","businessApplications":7497,"highPropensityApplications":2557,"share":34.1},{"rank":4,"state":"Maine","businessApplications":1467,"highPropensityApplications":474,"share":32.3},{"rank":5,"state":"North Dakota","businessApplications":862,"highPropensityApplications":269,"share":31.2},{"rank":6,"state":"Rhode Island","businessApplications":1063,"highPropensityApplications":327,"share":30.8},{"rank":7,"state":"California","businessApplications":61133,"highPropensityApplications":18548,"share":30.3},{"rank":8,"state":"Vermont","businessApplications":731,"highPropensityApplications":218,"share":29.8},{"rank":9,"state":"Nebraska","businessApplications":2059,"highPropensityApplications":611,"share":29.7},{"rank":10,"state":"Washington","businessApplications":9885,"highPropensityApplications":2888,"share":29.2},{"rank":11,"state":"Idaho","businessApplications":3454,"highPropensityApplications":1002,"share":29},{"rank":12,"state":"Hawaii","businessApplications":1478,"highPropensityApplications":427,"share":28.9},{"rank":13,"state":"Pennsylvania","businessApplications":13920,"highPropensityApplications":4021,"share":28.9},{"rank":14,"state":"Montana","businessApplications":2730,"highPropensityApplications":776,"share":28.4},{"rank":15,"state":"Alaska","businessApplications":1367,"highPropensityApplications":384,"share":28.1},{"rank":16,"state":"Maryland","businessApplications":9134,"highPropensityApplications":2531,"share":27.7},{"rank":17,"state":"New Hampshire","businessApplications":1947,"highPropensityApplications":538,"share":27.6},{"rank":18,"state":"Illinois","businessApplications":18288,"highPropensityApplications":5042,"share":27.6},{"rank":19,"state":"District of Columbia","businessApplications":1422,"highPropensityApplications":391,"share":27.5},{"rank":20,"state":"New Mexico","businessApplications":3439,"highPropensityApplications":944,"share":27.4},{"rank":21,"state":"West Virginia","businessApplications":1645,"highPropensityApplications":447,"share":27.2},{"rank":22,"state":"Oregon","businessApplications":5742,"highPropensityApplications":1553,"share":27},{"rank":23,"state":"Iowa","businessApplications":3321,"highPropensityApplications":898,"share":27},{"rank":24,"state":"Connecticut","businessApplications":5026,"highPropensityApplications":1337,"share":26.6},{"rank":25,"state":"Minnesota","businessApplications":6604,"highPropensityApplications":1753,"share":26.5},{"rank":26,"state":"North Carolina","businessApplications":17717,"highPropensityApplications":4701,"share":26.5},{"rank":27,"state":"Virginia","businessApplications":12753,"highPropensityApplications":3358,"share":26.3},{"rank":28,"state":"New Jersey","businessApplications":15826,"highPropensityApplications":4077,"share":25.8},{"rank":29,"state":"Florida","businessApplications":65332,"highPropensityApplications":16438,"share":25.2},{"rank":30,"state":"Nevada","businessApplications":6174,"highPropensityApplications":1523,"share":24.7},{"rank":31,"state":"South Dakota","businessApplications":1224,"highPropensityApplications":301,"share":24.6},{"rank":32,"state":"Kansas","businessApplications":4392,"highPropensityApplications":1062,"share":24.2},{"rank":33,"state":"Utah","businessApplications":7663,"highPropensityApplications":1842,"share":24},{"rank":34,"state":"Tennessee","businessApplications":11313,"highPropensityApplications":2716,"share":24},{"rank":35,"state":"South Carolina","businessApplications":9368,"highPropensityApplications":2231,"share":23.8},{"rank":36,"state":"Oklahoma","businessApplications":6461,"highPropensityApplications":1522,"share":23.6},{"rank":37,"state":"Arizona","businessApplications":14085,"highPropensityApplications":3306,"share":23.5},{"rank":38,"state":"Georgia","businessApplications":25863,"highPropensityApplications":6069,"share":23.5},{"rank":39,"state":"Louisiana","businessApplications":7317,"highPropensityApplications":1712,"share":23.4},{"rank":40,"state":"Texas","businessApplications":57190,"highPropensityApplications":13343,"share":23.3},{"rank":41,"state":"Wisconsin","businessApplications":7657,"highPropensityApplications":1784,"share":23.3},{"rank":42,"state":"Wyoming","businessApplications":7538,"highPropensityApplications":1714,"share":22.7},{"rank":43,"state":"Ohio","businessApplications":17061,"highPropensityApplications":3871,"share":22.7},{"rank":44,"state":"Kentucky","businessApplications":7088,"highPropensityApplications":1582,"share":22.3},{"rank":45,"state":"Indiana","businessApplications":10639,"highPropensityApplications":2336,"share":22},{"rank":46,"state":"Arkansas","businessApplications":5023,"highPropensityApplications":1095,"share":21.8},{"rank":47,"state":"Michigan","businessApplications":16514,"highPropensityApplications":3577,"share":21.7},{"rank":48,"state":"Alabama","businessApplications":7731,"highPropensityApplications":1663,"share":21.5},{"rank":49,"state":"Colorado","businessApplications":17259,"highPropensityApplications":3613,"share":20.9},{"rank":50,"state":"Missouri","businessApplications":12159,"highPropensityApplications":2436,"share":20},{"rank":51,"state":"Mississippi","businessApplications":6979,"highPropensityApplications":1267,"share":18.2}],"metaDescription":"New York led the U.S. in July 2026. Its high-propensity application share was 41.4%. Mississippi was lowest at 18.2%."}