Comparable baseline
Missouri at a glance
| Population | 6,270,541 | July 1, 2025; +1.9% since 2020 |
|---|---|---|
| Business applications | 12,159 | July 2026, seasonally adjusted |
| Trailing-12-month applications | 115,274 | 1,838.3 per 100,000 residents |
| High-propensity applications | 2,436 | 20.0% of July applications |
| Projected employer formations | 661 | Census four-quarter projection for July's cohort |
| Small businesses | 590,131 | SBA 2025 profile; underlying employer and nonemployer data are from 2022 |
| Small-business employment | 1,139,031 | 44.4% of private employment in 2022 |
| Employer establishments | 151,475 | 2023 County Business Patterns |
Application rankings cover the 50 states and use unrounded figures. Applications are qualifying EIN filings, not confirmed business openings. Measurement years differ because federal datasets are released on different schedules.
Missouri’s business-application growth is broad enough to survive more than one comparison. The Census Bureau recorded 12,159 seasonally adjusted applications in July 2026, 43.8% more than in July 2025 and 34.5% more than in June. Across the 12 months ending in July, the total rose 32.1%—third-fastest among the states and fastest in the Midwest.
The state also had the Midwest’s highest July application rate, at 193.9 per 100,000 residents. Those are meaningful regional leads. They describe a sharp increase in qualifying EIN applications, not an equivalent number of new stores, employers, or surviving businesses.
The rise extends beyond July
Missouri recorded 115,274 applications from August 2025 through July 2026, up from 87,241 during the preceding 12 months. The resulting rate of 1,838.3 applications per 100,000 residents ranked 13th nationally. Missouri therefore combines top-tier growth with an application level near the upper quarter of states.
July 2026 applications were also 147.3% above July 2019. The trailing-year result is the stronger evidence that Missouri’s momentum is not confined to one month.
Scale and intensity reinforce the story without making Missouri a national volume leader. The state ranked 15th by raw July count and ninth per resident; its trailing-year rate ranked 13th.
Application volume and employer orientation diverge
Census classified 2,436 of Missouri’s July applications as high propensity, or 20.0% of the total. That share ranked 49th among states. Applications grew rapidly, but only one-fifth met the high-propensity definition. The Census model projected 661 employer formations within four quarters, equal to 5.44 per 100 July applications and rank 21; that figure is modeled rather than observed.
A large small-business base with two metropolitan poles
The SBA’s 2025 profile reports 590,131 small businesses using underlying 2022 data. The total combines 114,694 small employer firms with 475,437 nonemployer establishments. Nonemployers made up 80.6%, almost exactly the common state pattern.
Small employer firms provided 1,139,031 jobs, or 44.4% of private employment, ranking 39th. That is substantial employment in absolute terms, but a lower share than in most states.
Missouri’s 2023 County Business Patterns data counted 151,475 employer establishments and 2,631,543 employees. St. Louis County held 629,036 employees, or 23.9%; Jackson County held 360,017, or 13.7%; and the independent city of St. Louis held 195,963, or 7.4%. Together, the three county-equivalents accounted for 45.0%, reflecting major St. Louis and Kansas City nodes without one county dominating the state.
Health care and social assistance was the largest employer sector, with 427,714 employees. Manufacturing employed 283,563, but its share was only 1.22 times the 50-state share—a modest difference.
Official resources for Missouri businesses
- The Secretary of State’s Starting a Business page covers entity and name filings; its startup steps route other agency requirements.
- The Department of Revenue explains business tax registration for applicable sales/use, withholding, corporate-income, and other accounts.
- The Division of Professional Registration lists regulated professions and boards.
- The Missouri SBDC provides statewide advising, specialists, and training.
Source and calculation note
July counts and comparisons use the seasonally adjusted July 2026 BFS release. The trailing-year total sums unadjusted applications from August 2025 through July 2026 and compares them with the preceding 12 months. Rates use Missouri’s July 1, 2025 population estimate of 6,270,541. Ranks compare 50 states using unrounded figures. Small-business measures use 2022 components in the SBA profile; county and industry figures use 2023 CBP. Sources were retrieved or checked September 3, 2026.