America’s Entrepreneurship Surge Continues: More Than 1.6 Million Business Applications Filed Over the Summer

By SBE Council at 13 September, 2026, 9:22 am

The U.S. entrepreneurial pipeline remains remarkably strong. Policymakers need to advance pro-growth policies, address key pain points, and keep removing barriers that prevent entrepreneurs from launching, hiring and scaling their businesses.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The latest Business Formation Statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau continue to show extraordinary levels of entrepreneurial activity across America. More than 1.64 million business applications were filed during June, July and August 2026 alone, demonstrating that the surge in Americans pursuing entrepreneurship remains a powerful and durable economic trend.

Seasonally adjusted business applications totaled:

● 535,690 in June

● 578,926 in July

● 531,728 in August

In response to the release of the August Census Bureau data that provides a full snapshot of summer entrepreneurial activity, Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (SBE Council) President & CEO Karen Kerrigan noted the continued strength in entrepreneurial intent, and the importance of focusing on policy priorities that encourage startup activity and small business success:

“America’s entrepreneurial pipeline continues to offer extraordinary growth opportunities for our economy, which works to sustain resiliency, global competitiveness and economic mobility. The policy opportunity is to help more of these entrepreneurs launch and succeed.”

July produced an especially large 8.1% monthly increase, as retail trade jumped 44.5% representing nearly the entire gain from June’s data. Applications subsequently declined 7.8% in August from that unusually elevated level, but the August total remained strong by historical standards.

The Census Bureau’s High-Propensity Business Applications (HBA) series – applications that have characteristics associated with a greater likelihood of becoming businesses with payroll – also points to a healthy pipeline of potential employer firms:

● 149,792 in June

● 151,857 in July

● 145,387 in August

Taken together, nearly 447,000 high-propensity applications were filed during these three months.

A Remarkable Entrepreneurial Pipeline

The latest data continue a fundamental shift that SBE Council has tracked since the pandemic: Americans are pursuing entrepreneurship at levels substantially higher than those that prevailed before 2020. An EIN or business application is not an actual business launch, but represents an important step in the business startup process. A larger pool of people taking concrete steps toward business ownership creates a larger pipeline from which tomorrow’s new businesses, innovators and employers can emerge.

The policy imperative should be straightforward, observed Kerrigan, which is to keep that pipeline strong and make it easier for more aspiring entrepreneurs to successfully move from an idea to launch, and from launch to sustainable growth.

The Importance of Both Nonemployer and Employer Businesses

America’s small business economy includes a massive number of nonemployer firms, independent contractors, freelancers, creators, consultants and self-employed professionals. Many entrepreneurs deliberately choose independent work because it offers flexibility, autonomy and the opportunity to build businesses around the lives they want to lead.

Technology is also changing what business scale looks like. Entrepreneurs can use digital tools and AI, collaborate with other independent contractors and small firms, assemble specialized teams for particular projects, and serve customers across the country – or around the world – without necessarily building a large traditional workforce.

These businesses generate significant economic activity, help entrepreneurs build their businesses, fill important niches in the nation’s supply chain, innovate and contribute to local economic activity. They are an important component of America’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

We Also Need More Businesses That Hire and Scale

At the same time, a dynamic economy needs a healthy pipeline of businesses that aspire to hire workers and grow, which creates opportunity for workers and competition in the economy.

That is why the Census Bureau’s high-propensity and business-formation measures provide an important additional lens. For August, Census projects that 28,501 new employer businesses will emerge within four quarters from the applications filed that month.

That projection should not be interpreted as suggesting that the remaining applicants “failed” or do not matter. Many will operate successfully as nonemployer businesses, some will hire later, and others may ultimately decide not to launch.

Rather, the data illustrate the enormous opportunity represented by America’s entrepreneurial pipeline.

The objective of public policy should not be to dictate what type of business entrepreneurs build. It should be to ensure that taxes, regulation, access to capital, health care costs, workforce policies and other government-imposed barriers do not prevent entrepreneurs from starting – or prevent businesses that want to hire, invest and scale from doing so.

The Policy Opportunity

The sustained entrepreneurship surge is one of the most encouraging developments in the U.S. economy. Every month, hundreds of thousands of Americans continue to raise their hands and say, in effect: I want to build something of my own.

Policymakers should view that enormous reservoir of entrepreneurial ambition as a national economic asset.

A competitive tax system, reasonable regulation, access to affordable capital, flexible workforce models, strong digital infrastructure and access to innovative technologies such as AI can improve the environment in which these entrepreneurs operate. Such policies can help more people successfully launch businesses while enabling existing firms to become more productive, competitive and resilient.

About the Data

The Census Bureau’s Business Formation Statistics measure business initiation activity using applications for Employer Identification Numbers submitted on IRS Form SS-4. The broader Business Applications series excludes certain EIN filings not associated with normal business formation activity. High-Propensity Business Applications are applications with characteristics Census has identified as being associated with a higher probability of becoming businesses with payroll.

The Census Bureau periodically revises the series. During its 2025 annual update, published in February 2026, Census modified the HBA methodology, including removing certain internet-sales applications that historically demonstrated low transition rates to employer businesses. Census also transitioned its industry data to the 2022 NAICS structure and recalculated historical and seasonally adjusted series. For this reason, SBE Council uses the current Census data vintage when making historical comparisons.

CONTACT:

KAREN KERRIGAN, kkerrigan@sbecouncil.org

SBE Council is a nonpartisan advocacy, research and education organization dedicated to protecting small business and promoting entrepreneurship. For more than 30 years, SBE Council has advanced a range of private sector and public policy initiatives to strengthen the ecosystem for strong startup activity and small business growth.

Visit www.sbecouncil.org for additional information. X: @SBECouncil

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