Datasets / census-bds

Census Business Dynamics Statistics

Annual counts of firm births, firm deaths, job creation, and job destruction by NAICS sector, state, MSA, and county — going back to 1978. The definitive dataset for understanding business formation, failure rates, and employment churn across industries and geographies.

api.census.gov annual Updated May 19, 2026

Latest snapshot

Rows in latest snapshot

19

Last refreshed

May 19, 2026

Cadence

annual

Coverage

1978–2022 (latest); national, state, MSA, county

Total records

Millions of aggregate rows across dimensions

Key fields

  • FIRM
  • ESTABS
  • EMP
  • JOB_CREATION
  • JOB_DESTRUCTION
  • ESTABS_ENTRY
  • ESTABS_ENTRY_RATE
  • ESTABS_EXIT
  • ESTABS_EXIT_RATE
  • NAICS
  • STATE
  • METRO
  • time

Use cases

  • Business formation rates by industry and state
  • Industry failure / death rates over time
  • Job creation vs. destruction by sector
  • Identifying high-growth vs. contracting industries
  • MSA-level economic dynamism scoring

Full table, history & downloads

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