Business applications hit a September record, and hiring plans ticked up for the first time this year
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Americans filed 534,947 applications to start a business in September, seasonally adjusted, the U.S. Census Bureau reported October 14. That is 0.5 percent more than in August and 4.4 percent more than in September 2025. No September since the bureau's records begin in 2004 has had more.
The bureau also revised August up slightly, to 532,051 from the 531,728 first reported. Through the first nine months of the year, Americans filed 4,927,840 applications on an unadjusted basis, 15.3 percent more than in the same months of 2025.
Retail drove most of the monthly gain. Retail applications rose 4.7 percent to 110,048. They are still 13.6 percent below a year ago, the largest yearly drop of any major sector. Information businesses rose 4.3 percent for the month and are up 49.2 percent from September 2025.
| Rank | Sector | September applications | Change from August | Change from September 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Retail trade | 110,048 | +4.7% | −13.6% |
| 2 | Professional, scientific, and technical services | 78,937 | −1.7% | +20.3% |
| 3 | Construction | 48,078 | +0.1% | +9.1% |
| 4 | Other services | 42,149 | −2.0% | +5.2% |
| 5 | Administrative and support services | 38,030 | +0.7% | +16.0% |
| 6 | Transportation and warehousing | 34,792 | −0.9% | +13.1% |
| 7 | Health care and social assistance | 32,198 | −1.5% | +2.6% |
| 8 | Accommodation and food services | 26,600 | −1.7% | −2.3% |
| 9 | Real estate | 23,857 | +0.9% | −5.0% |
| 10 | Finance and insurance | 20,548 | +2.1% | +9.7% |
| 11 | Arts, entertainment, and recreation | 15,180 | +0.1% | +8.0% |
| 12 | Information | 13,806 | +4.3% | +49.2% |
| 13 | Wholesale trade | 9,997 | −0.6% | +17.1% |
| 14 | Educational services | 8,554 | −1.1% | +14.1% |
| 15 | Manufacturing | 8,114 | +2.2% | +30.3% |
Applications with planned wages, a sign the founder expects to hire, rose 4.3 percent to 35,786. It was the first monthly increase this year. That series had slipped from 39,077 in January to 34,310 in August, and it remains 2.8 percent below September 2025.
High-propensity applications, the ones the bureau considers most likely to become businesses with a payroll, rose 1.3 percent to 147,331, or 27.5 percent of all filings. Corporate applications were roughly flat at 40,951.
The bureau projects that 29,022 employer businesses will form within four quarters from September's applications, up 1.4 percent from August and 4.3 percent from a year earlier. That works out to about 5.4 percent of all applications.
Missouri had the biggest monthly jump among states with at least 3,000 applications, up 22.1 percent to 14,385. It is also up 40.2 percent from a year earlier, the largest annual gain among those states. Utah was up 31.2 percent over the year and Oklahoma 21.5 percent. Colorado fell 13.7 percent from August and Nevada 9.1 percent.
Florida again led in volume with 58,694 applications, followed by California with 52,974 and Texas with 49,761. Texas is down 4.9 percent from last September. Nevada, down 15.2 percent, Tennessee, down 10.7 percent, and Wisconsin, down 10.4 percent, had the steepest annual declines among states with 3,000 or more applications.
The October report, scheduled for November 12, will include the bureau's annual revision of the series. August's results are in our August business formation statistics coverage.
Sources
Figures are from the U.S. Census Bureau Business Formation Statistics for September 2026 (CB26-TPS.61, released October 14, 2026), developed with economists from the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, the University of Maryland, and the University of Notre Dame. Monthly, sector, and state figures come from the bureau's monthly data file and are seasonally adjusted; the year-to-date total uses unadjusted applications. High-propensity applications are series BA_HBA, applications with planned wages BA_WBA, corporate applications BA_CBA, and projected formations within four quarters BF_PBF4Q. Sectors with fewer than 8,000 applications are not shown in the table. Business applications are counted from filings for an Employer Identification Number with the IRS, and not every application becomes an operating business.
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How many business applications were filed in September 2026?
Americans filed 534,947 business applications in September 2026, seasonally adjusted, according to the Census Bureau. That was up 0.5 percent from August and 4.4 percent from September 2025, and the most for any September since 2004.
Are new business applications up in 2026?
Yes. Through September, Americans filed 4,927,840 business applications on an unadjusted basis, 15.3 percent more than in the first nine months of 2025, according to the Census Bureau's Business Formation Statistics.
Which states had the most business applications in September 2026?
Florida led with 58,694 seasonally adjusted applications, followed by California with 52,974 and Texas with 49,761. Missouri had the largest monthly increase among states with at least 3,000 applications, up 22.1 percent.
