Comparable baseline
Oregon at a glance
| Population | 4,273,586 | July 1, 2025; +0.7% since 2020 |
|---|---|---|
| Business applications | 5,742 | July 2026, seasonally adjusted |
| Trailing-12-month applications | 63,499 | 1,485.8 per 100,000 residents |
| High-propensity applications | 1,553 | 27.0% of July applications |
| Projected employer formations | 430 | Census four-quarter projection for July's cohort |
| Small businesses | 417,747 | SBA 2025 profile; underlying employer and nonemployer data are from 2022 |
| Small-business employment | 889,528 | 53.4% of private employment in 2022 |
| Employer establishments | 122,451 | 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.
Oregon’s latest business-application reading points up, while the broader year still points down. Census recorded 5,742 applications in July 2026, 22.1% more than in July 2025. Yet the 63,499 applications filed from August 2025 through July 2026 were 3.4% below the preceding 12 months.
That trailing-year decline ranked 49th among states. July may be the beginning of an improvement, but one month cannot establish a turn in the trend. Both windows belong in any account of Oregon’s current application activity.
July has not erased the weaker year
The timing difference is substantial. Oregon ranked 26th for July year-over-year growth but 49th over the trailing year. July was also 0.5% below June, so the positive signal comes from the year-over-year comparison rather than an uninterrupted month-to-month rise.
Application intensity remains around the lower middle of the states. Oregon’s 134.4 July applications per 100,000 residents ranked 36th; its trailing-year rate ranked 31st at 1,485.8 per 100,000. July applications were still 76.0% above July 2019, showing that the recent annual decline has not returned activity to its pre-pandemic level.
Oregon also trailed the West’s broader pattern. The region’s median trailing-year rate was 2,024.8 applications per 100,000 residents and median growth was 15.5%; Oregon recorded 1,485.8 and negative 3.4%. The weaker comparison is regional as well as national.
Oregon’s population reached an estimated 4.27 million in July 2025, 0.7% above the 2020 Census base. The population and application comparisons use different periods and do not establish a cause for either direction.
Business applications are qualifying EIN filings, not confirmed openings. That distinction is particularly important when one monthly signal conflicts with the longer trend.
Employer-oriented indicators look stronger than the application level
Census classified 1,553 July filings as high propensity, 27.0% of applications and 21st among states. It projected 430 employer formations from the July cohort within four quarters. Relative to all applications, that model output ranked sixth at 7.49 projected formations per 100 filings.
The modeled ratio is not evidence that Oregon applicants have already opened or that 7.49% will succeed. It is a Census projection of future payroll formation, and it ranked much higher than Oregon’s overall application rate and trailing-year direction.
The established small-business base also has a large employment role. The SBA reported 417,747 small businesses from 2022 component data—96,969 small employer firms and 320,778 nonemployer businesses. Small firms employed 889,528 people, or 53.4% of private-sector workers, ranking 10th among states.
Earlier small-business data moved in different directions: from March 2023 to March 2024, the SBA counted 17,826 establishment openings but a net loss of 548 small-business jobs. The period predates the current applications, but it shows why openings alone do not describe the net change in jobs across the sector.
Portland’s employer economy spans three counties
Multnomah County held 442,844 jobs, or 26.1% of employment covered by 2023 County Business Patterns. Washington County contributed 18.1% and Clackamas County 9.3%. Together, the three Portland-area counties accounted for 53.5% of covered private employment.
The regional cluster is more informative than Multnomah alone. Washington County is a substantial second center, while nearly half of covered employment remains outside the three-county group.
County Business Patterns counted 122,451 employer establishments and about 1.70 million covered private jobs statewide. The three-county Portland share is therefore large without making the rest of Oregon economically incidental.
Health care and social assistance was the largest covered sector, with 286,220 jobs. Construction employed 115,773 people, or 6.8% of covered jobs—1.24 times the 50-state share. That modest difference does not explain the recent application pattern.
Official starting points for an Oregon business
- Plan and register: The Secretary of State’s startup guide covers entity, tax, license, employer, and ongoing-report steps; the Oregon Business Registry handles online filings.
- Register taxes: The Department of Revenue explains applicable state programs and Revenue Online.
- Find licenses: Oregon Business Xpress links state licensing and permit resources. Local rules can be separate.
- Get advice: Business Oregon’s SBDC directory connects owners with regional advising centers.
Source and calculation note
Application data use the Census July 2026 Business Formation Statistics release. Monthly values are seasonally adjusted; trailing-year totals sum unadjusted applications from August 2025 through July 2026 and compare them with the preceding August–July period. Rates use the July 1, 2025 population estimate. SBA measures use 2022 employer and nonemployer components. County and sector figures use 2023 County Business Patterns employment. BizFacts calculated changes, rates, regional medians, ratios, shares, location quotients, and 50-state ranks from sources retrieved September 3, 2026.