Comparable baseline
Vermont at a glance
| Population | 644,663 | July 1, 2025; +0.3% since 2020 |
|---|---|---|
| Business applications | 731 | July 2026, seasonally adjusted |
| Trailing-12-month applications | 8,303 | 1,288.0 per 100,000 residents |
| High-propensity applications | 218 | 29.8% of July applications |
| Projected employer formations | 52 | Census four-quarter projection for July's cohort |
| Small businesses | 81,949 | SBA 2025 profile; underlying employer and nonemployer data are from 2022 |
| Small-business employment | 157,959 | 62.1% of private employment in 2022 |
| Employer establishments | 20,841 | 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.
Vermont’s most important small-business fact is about jobs. Small firms employed 157,959 people in the SBA’s latest state profile, equal to 62.1% of private employment. That was the third-highest state share and the highest in the Northeast.
By contrast, Vermont’s raw business-application count looks more dramatic than its rate. The Census Bureau recorded 731 seasonally adjusted applications in July 2026, last among states by count. Dividing by Vermont’s population produces 113.4 applications per 100,000 residents—rank 40 nationally and exactly the median of the nine Northeastern states before rounding.
Vermont’s last-place count primarily reflects the scale of a state with fewer than 650,000 residents. The per-capita rate is still below the national median, but it does not support calling Vermont uniquely inactive within its own region.
A small count, but not a uniquely low regional rate
Vermont recorded 8,303 applications during the 12 months ending in July 2026, equal to 1,288.0 per 100,000 residents and rank 42. The total grew 13.4% from the preceding 12 months, close to the Northeast median of 13.0% and third-fastest in the region.
July applications were 19.1% above July 2025 but 5.2% below June. Compared with July 2019, the count was 69.2% higher. Small monthly numbers can produce noticeable percentage changes, so the count and trailing-year direction belong beside any growth claim.
The high-propensity share and modeled formations per 100 applications both ranked eighth; the latter is a projection rather than an observed outcome.
Vermont’s business base is dense and employment-heavy
The SBA’s 2025 profile reports 81,949 small businesses using underlying 2022 data. The total combines 17,019 small employer firms with 64,930 nonemployer establishments. Nonemployers represented 79.2%, close to the common state share.
The combined count describes a broad business population, while only 17,019 entries were small employer firms. Vermont’s 62.1% small-business employment share is the direct evidence that those firms carry unusual weight in the state’s economy.
Chittenden leads, but does not dominate the state
The 2023 County Business Patterns data counted 20,841 employer establishments and 256,460 employees. Chittenden County held 88,131 employees, or 34.4% of the state total. Washington County held 26,122 and Rutland County 22,482. Together, the three accounted for 53.3%.
Health care and social assistance was the largest sector at 48,409 employees and 18.9% of private employment, 1.20 times the 50-state share. Retail trade’s 14.6% share was 1.27 times its national comparison, while accommodation and food services stood at 12.7% and a 1.22 location quotient.
Those consumer-facing concentrations help describe the employer economy, but they do not prove that visitor demand caused the pattern. CBP also excludes most crop and animal production, leaving part of Vermont’s agricultural activity outside the sector view.
Vermont’s official business starting points
- The Secretary of State provides business-registration guidance and an online filing portal.
- The Department of Taxes’ BR-400 guide explains coordinated registration with the Secretary of State, applicable state tax accounts, and the Department of Labor.
- The Office of Professional Regulation handles covered professions.
- The Vermont SBDC provides confidential one-to-one advising at no fee.
The coordinated registration path is useful, but local permits and activity-specific approvals may still require separate work.
Source and calculation note
July figures 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 Vermont’s July 1, 2025 population estimate; national ranks compare 50 states, while regional claims compare the nine Northeast states. Small-business measures use 2022 SBA profile components, and county/industry employment uses 2023 CBP. Sources were retrieved or checked September 3, 2026.