Americans submitted 5.5 million business applications in 2023, an all-time high marking the third consecutive year of record-breaking growth.
According to Census data, the number of business applications filed in 2022 and 2021 reached 5.3 million (third-highest) and 5.4 million (second-highest), respectively. With a combined three-year total of more than 16 million applications, the Biden Administration has now overseen the first, second, and third-highest years of application growth in U.S. history. The average monthly filing rate of 440,000 seen from 2021 through 2023 is 46% higher than the previous four years.
Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) chief, celebrated the growth of business applications in a statement emphasizing the improving diversity of America’s business owner community. “America’s great diversity continues to propel entrepreneurship with Black, Latino, and women founders starting up at higher rates than ever,” she commented. “As we enter 2024, the SBA will continue its work to increase access to the resources needed to start and grow resilient new businesses, harnessing the unique optimism and ingenuity of American entrepreneurs.”
As is typical, the business application rate and business creation rate differ greatly between 2021 and 2023. The number of private-sector enterprises started since the beginning of the Biden Presidency is 2.8 million. Subtracting company closures from the total number of U.S. businesses reveals a net gain of 1.3 million establishments. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the annualized rate of business growth seen during the Biden Administration is the fastest seen in the last 25 years.
