Key finding: The South had 52.9 business applications per 1,000 covered establishments in June 2026, using the latest available Q4 2025 QCEW establishment base. That was the highest rate among the four U.S. Census regions and about 51% higher than the Northeast. RecurSave calculated the regional rates from U.S. Census Bureau Business Formation Statistics and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW data.
The U.S. had 531,423 business applications in June 2026.
The South had 236,198. The West had 132,134. The Midwest had 88,533. The Northeast had 74,558.
But raw totals only tell part of the story.
Each region has a different number of establishments. A large region may get more applications because it has more businesses.
So RecurSave compared June application activity with the latest available count of covered establishments in each region.
| Region | Business applications | Covered establishments | Rate per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| South | 236,198 | 4,462,400 | 52.93 |
| Midwest | 88,533 | 2,306,800 | 38.38 |
| West | 132,134 | 3,531,500 | 37.42 |
| Northeast | 74,558 | 2,127,700 | 35.04 |
| United States | 531,423 | 12,428,400 | 42.76 |
Source: RecurSave analysis of U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
The South had the highest rate
The South had the highest rate at 52.93 applications per 1,000 covered establishments.
The U.S. rate was 42.76.
The Midwest was 38.38. The West was 37.42. The Northeast was 35.04.
The South rate was 51.1% higher than the Northeast rate.
It was also about 24% above the U.S. rate.
This does not mean 51% more businesses opened in the South.
It means the South had more June business application activity relative to the size of its latest measured establishment base.
What the data show
A business application is not the same as a new business.
The Census Bureau uses some EIN applications in its Business Applications data.
EIN means Employer Identification Number.
Getting an EIN does not mean a business later opened.
So these numbers do not show how many new firms opened.
They also do not show if those firms did well.
The data show business application activity.
RecurSave compared that activity with the latest available count of covered establishments in each region.
Method
RecurSave used June 2026 Business Formation Statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Covered-establishment data came from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW for Q4 2025.
QCEW means Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.
States were grouped into the four U.S. Census regions:
- Northeast
- Midwest
- South
- West
The rate was calculated as:
Business applications ÷ covered establishments × 1,000
The Q4 2025 establishment counts were the latest QCEW data available for this analysis.
The figures therefore compare June 2026 business application activity with the latest available establishment base.
Limitations
Business applications are not the same as confirmed business openings. An EIN application does not show that a business later opened or succeeded.
This analysis compares June 2026 business applications with Q4 2025 covered establishments. Q4 2025 was the latest QCEW establishment base used for this analysis.
The regional differences are descriptive. This analysis does not establish why one region had a higher application rate than another.
The population-growth figures shown in Context are separate from the primary rate calculation. This analysis does not test whether population growth caused the South's higher rate.
Why the rate is useful
Raw totals show where the most applications were filed.
The rate gives another view.
It adjusts for the fact that each region has a different-sized business base.
This helps show whether a region has high application activity only because it is large, or whether its application activity is also high relative to its existing establishment base.
Using the latest available establishment counts, the South had about 52.9 June applications per 1,000 covered establishments.
The Northeast had about 35.0.
That is the main finding.