Business Formation Report | August 2025

Key Takeaways

• Business formations nationwide are up 9% since this time last year, despite 35 states seeing fewer formations month over month.
• Growth was concentrated. Eight states (FL, TX, CA, DE, NY, GA, WY, and CO) made up almost half of all new formations in the country in August.
• Wyoming hit 20,000 new formations—a milestone for the Business Formation Report.
• Other than Wyoming, Montana has seen the most growth year to date (18%) outpacing more populous states like Delaware and Florida.
• Business owners have continued to report optimism, with 44% saying they’d use more capital to hire talent.

Concentrated Growth Carries the Country

The month-to-month trend in business formations in 2025 has closely mirrored that of 2024, but with bigger numbers. While business formations were 9% higher this August, 35 states had fewer new businesses filed, demonstrating concentrated growth in certain high-performing states.

In fact, eight states accounted for almost half (49%) of new formations nationwide. These states were typical high performers—Florida, Texas, California, Delaware, New York, Georgia, Wyoming, and Colorado.

Wyoming Hit 20,000 New Formations in August

Wyoming hit a milestone in August: 20,000 new formations. This is the highest number of formations recorded since the start of the Business Formation Report, and marks a strong return from July’s -15% downturn. Thanks to its strong privacy protections, Wyoming is a popular state for LLC formation for both out-of-state and international owners. August’s sharp uptick is noteworthy and could be a sign of volatile trends going forward.

Just Behind Wyoming, Montana Sees Big Growth

Montana’s new business formations are up 18% year to date. This marks more growth than Texas, Florida, and Delaware—states that consistently show high formations. During the pandemic, Montana saw high rates of population growth as remote workers migrated to the picturesque state. While the population boom has leveled out and returned to a rate closer to that of pre-pandemic levels, Montana’s business growth continues to climb.

Business Owners Remain Optimistic, With Sights on Hiring

Business owners who we spoke with reported optimism at high levels, with 80% saying they felt “very optimistic” about the success of their businesses over the next 12 months. When asked what they would do if given access to more capital, a majority (44%) said they’d hire rather than pay off debt, save, or invest in automation.

Note: Data for Maryland is not yet available; the data represented here is a projection based on historical data and will be updated when state data becomes available.