Comparable baseline
Pennsylvania at a glance
| Population | 13,059,432 | July 1, 2025; +0.5% since 2020 |
|---|---|---|
| Business applications | 13,920 | July 2026, seasonally adjusted |
| Trailing-12-month applications | 167,561 | 1,283.1 per 100,000 residents |
| High-propensity applications | 4,021 | 28.9% of July applications |
| Projected employer formations | 707 | Census four-quarter projection for July's cohort |
| Small businesses | 1,169,008 | SBA 2025 profile; underlying employer and nonemployer data are from 2022 |
| Small-business employment | 2,526,466 | 45.2% of private employment in 2022 |
| Employer establishments | 307,065 | 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.
Pennsylvania’s business-application total looks large until population enters the comparison. Census recorded 13,920 applications in July 2026, the 13th-highest state count. That equaled only 106.6 applications per 100,000 residents, ranking 43rd.
The trailing year produced the same rank after population adjustment: 167,561 applications, or 1,283.1 per 100,000 residents. Pennsylvania is a large application market in absolute terms and a low-intensity one relative to its population.
The regional comparison adds nuance. Pennsylvania’s trailing-year rate was almost identical to the Northeast median of 1,288.0 per 100,000, and its 13.1% growth was essentially the region’s 13.0% median. The state ranks low nationally while looking typical for its lower-rate region.
July cooled while the trailing year stayed positive
July applications were 2.6% below July 2025 and 1.3% below June. The year-over-year change ranked 47th among states. Over the full 12 months through July, however, applications were 13.1% higher than in the preceding year.
The positive trailing-year total captures earlier strength, while the latest monthly comparison suggests recent cooling.
July applications remained 71.4% above the 8,121 recorded in July 2019. Pennsylvania’s population reached an estimated 13.06 million in July 2025, only 0.5% above the 2020 Census base. The periods differ, and population change does not explain the application trend.
Applications are qualifying EIN filings rather than confirmed openings. Pennsylvania’s 28.9% high-propensity share ranked 13th, while the modeled formations-per-application ratio sat near the middle of the states.
More than one million small businesses, but a lower job share
The SBA reported 1,169,008 Pennsylvania small businesses, the seventh-highest state count, using 2022 data. That total combined 230,244 small employer firms with 938,764 nonemployer businesses. Four out of five businesses in the published total had no paid employees.
Small firms employed 2,526,466 people, or 45.2% of private-sector workers. That share ranked 36th. The contrast is another scale lesson: a state can contain more than one million small businesses without small employers accounting for an unusually large portion of payroll employment.
Pennsylvania is unusually resistant to a one-county story
Allegheny County led the state with 709,774 jobs, or 12.4% of employment covered by 2023 County Business Patterns. Philadelphia County was nearly tied at 12.2%, and Montgomery County held 9.8%. Together, the three accounted for only 34.4% of covered private employment.
Pennsylvania’s leading-county share ranked 47th among states. The near balance between Allegheny and Philadelphia, combined with substantial employment elsewhere, makes the state one of the least dominated by a single county. Statewide figures are not shorthand for either Pittsburgh or Philadelphia.
The statewide base itself is large: County Business Patterns counted 307,065 employer establishments and about 5.71 million covered private jobs. Nearly two-thirds of those jobs were outside the three leading counties.
Health care and social assistance was the largest covered sector, employing 1.14 million people. Private educational services supplied the sharper specialization: 270,201 jobs, or 4.7% of covered employment—1.70 times the 50-state share. County Business Patterns excludes government establishments, so this measure does not include all public-school and public-university employment.
Official starting points for a Pennsylvania business
- Create a checklist: The Business One-Stop Hub asks business-specific questions and returns relevant forms, permits, contacts, and next steps.
- Register an entity: The Department of State links Business Filing Services for domestic, foreign, nonprofit, name, and amendment filings.
- Register taxes: The Department of Revenue directs businesses to myPATH for applicable accounts.
- Find permits: The common permits and licenses guide routes owners to activity-specific agencies and licensing systems.
- Get advice: Pennsylvania SBDC provides confidential consulting through centers serving all 67 counties.
Source and calculation note
Application figures 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 prior August–July period. Rates use the July 1, 2025 population estimate. SBA measures use 2022 employer and nonemployer components. County and industry 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.