See where aspiring entrepreneurs are showing the most interest in starting a business, ranked

A shopper walks through Santee Alley in downtown Los Angeles on July 28, 2026. Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images US Census Bureau data shows the number of business applications filed in 2025 by county. Overall, the US saw an 8% increase in 2025, possibly fueled by layoffs and the AI boom. Most were in places with big cities, though a small county in Wyoming made the top 20. Los Angeles County and Sheridan County, Wyoming, don't share many similarities, except for one main area: a high volume of business applications. That's one of several findings from the US Census Bureau's most recent business application data release in June. The data track applications for Employer Identification Numbers (EINs) submitted to the Internal Revenue Service. Business Insider sorted the data by which US counties saw the most EIN applications and calculated the percent change compared to 2024 data, while also cross-referencing with the agency's 2025 county population dataset to determine the rate of applications per 1,000 residents. These applications did not necessarily result in a business being formed. Overall, the US saw a roughly 8% increase in business applications in 2025, rising to 5.6 million from 5.2 million in 2024. That could be loosely tied to an economic shift during President Donald Trump's first year of his non-consecutive second term, including a weaker labor market that may have pushed some laid-off or out-of-work Americans toward entrepreneurship. The boom in artificial intelligence, too, has torn down some obstacles that previously barred entrepreneurs from starting and running a business, ushering in an AI startup golden age. While most of the top counties include large metropolitan areas like Philadelphia and Miami, a small county called Sheridan in the US' least-populated state, Wyoming, ranked 16th, with 47,787 business applications in 2025; its population is just 33,241 residents. That's more than half of the state's 79,024 applications overall. George Mocsary, a professor and corporate and small-business law expert at the University of Wyoming, told Business Insider that Wyoming is attractive to entrepreneurs because it has an industry built around simple, low-cost business formation services, particularly for small LLCs, including registered agents that provide designated addresses for receiving official notices. When applying for an EIN, he said businesses can use an address associated with their registered agent, in this case, Sheridan, making it appear as though tens of thousands of businesses are opening in the small Wyoming county when they may actually operate elsewhere. "You've got an entire industry in the state, and in Sheridan in particular, that's set up to let you [start a company]," Moscary said. Here are the 25 US counties with the most business applications in 2025. 25. Philadelphia County, PA Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. /iStockphoto Business applications in 2025: 31,924 Percent change from 2024 to 2025: 5.0% increase Population as of 2025: 1,574,281 residents Applications per 1,000 residents: 20.3 24. Queens County, NY People walk through Corona, Queens, on Aug. 10. Business applications in 2025: 34,304 Percent change from 2024 to 2025: 3.1% decrease Population as of 2025: 2,358,182 residents Applications per 1,000 residents: 14.5 23. Sacramento County, CA Patrons eat lunch at a restaurant in the downtown area of Sacramento. Business applications in 2025: 35,789 Percent change from 2024 to 2025: 14.6% increase Population as of 2025: 1,618,460 residents Applications per 1,000 residents: 22.1 22. Pinellas County, FL Jeremiah Poole watches his wife Ashley take photos of their daughter on Clearwater Beach, Florida in Pinellas County where the government is preparing for the potential impact of Hurricane Ian that is headed for the Florida Gulf Coast on Tuesday, September 26, 2022. Business applications in 2025: 38,333 Percent change from 2024 to 2025: 10.8% increase Population as of 2025: 948,563 Applications per 1,000 residents: 40.4 21. Wayne County, MI Lights are strung across the street at night as cars move along Monroe Avenue in the Greektown neighborhood of downtown Detroit, Michigan, U.S., on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2015. Ten months after emerging from a record $18 billion municipal bankruptcy, Detroit is functioning in ways unseen for months and even years -- street lights are on, Business applications in 2025: 39,517 Percent change from 2024 to 2025: 10.1% increase Population as of 2025: 1,769,038 Applications per 1,000 residents: 22.3 20. Tarrant County, TX People wearing masks walk downtown Fort Worth, Texas on July 20, 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic. - President Donald Trump changed his tune in favor of face masks as a tool to combat the coronavirus in the United States, as European leaders on July 21 agreed on a massive aid package for their pandemic-ravaged economies. Business applications in 2025: 39,814 Percent change from 2024 to 2025: 13.2% increase Population as of 2025: 2,248,466 residents Applications per 1,000 residents: 17.7 19. Hillsborough County, FL TAMPA, FL - JANUARY 30: National Football League fans walk along the Riverwalk in downtown Tampa ahead of Super Bowl LV during the COVID-19 pandemic on January 30, 2021 in Tampa, Florida. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will play the Kansas City Chiefs in Raymond James Stadium for Super Bowl LV on February 7. Business applications in 2025: 43,619 Percent change from 2024 to 2025: 6.7% increase Population as of 2025: 1,574,115 residents Applications per 1,000 residents: 27.7 18. San Diego County, CA Pedestrians enjoying a leisurely walk along the beachfront boardwalk with palm trees and a high-rise building in the background at sunset, Coronado Island, San Diego, California, December 26, 2023. (Photo by Smith Collection/ ) Smith Collection/ Business applications in 2025: 45,546 Percent change from 2024 to 2025: 8.1% increase Population as of 2025: 3,282,248 residents Applications per 1,000 residents: 13.9 17. King County, WA Pedestrians in downtown Seattle, Washington, US, on Friday, May 17, 2024. With daily worker foot traffic at half of pre-pandemic levels and office vacancy rates nearing 30%, Seattle hopes it can count on attracting more residents to fill the void left by a remote-work world. Photographer: M. Business applications in 2025: 46,989 Percent change from 2024 to 2025: 25.3% increase Population as of 2025: 2,344,939 residents Applications per 1,000 residents: 20.0 16. Sheridan County, WY Sheridan, WY - FEBRUARY 8: The town of Sheridan, WY, population 18,000, sits against the eastern base of the Bighorn Mountain Range in northern Wyoming, on February 8, 2022. (Photo by Tony Bynum for The Washington Post via Getty Images) Tony Bynum for The Washington Post via Getty Images Business applications in 2025: 47,787 Percent change from 2024 to 2025: 25.1% increase Population as of 2025: 33,241 residents Applications per 1,000 residents: 1,438 15. Palm Beach County, FL West Palm Beach skyline features Royal Park Draw Bridge, West Palm Beach, Florida. (Photo by: Visions of America/Joseph Sohm/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) : Visions of America/Joseph Sohm/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Business applications in 2025: 48,510 Percent change from 2024 to 2025: 1% decrease Population as of 2025: 1,575,726 residents Applications per 1,000 residents: 30.8 14. Kings County, NY Residential apartment buildings in the Brooklyn borough of New York, US, on Wednesday, July 17, 2024. President Joe Biden is calling on Congress to pass a form of national rent control for some 20 million apartment units nationwide, a dramatic federal intervention in the housing market on behalf of current tenants. Photographer: Business applications in 2025: 48,687 Percent change from 2024 to 2025: 0.3% decrease Population as of 2025: 2,653,963 residents Applications per 1,000 residents: 18.3 13. Travis County, TX AUSTIN, TEXAS - OCTOBER 4: Pedestrians walk across the faded rainbow crosswalk on 4th Street in Downtown Austin, Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025. (Photo by Mikala Compton/The Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images) Mikala Compton/The Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images Business applications in 2025: 48,974 Percent change from 2024 to 2025: 15.2% increase Population as of 2025: 1,389,670 Applications per 1,000 residents: 35.2 12. Orange County, FL Florida, Orlando, Farmers' Market, vendors around shade tree. (Photo by: Jeff Greenberg/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) : Jeff Greenberg/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Business applications in 2025: 49,392 Percent change from 2024 to 2025: 2.4% increase Population as of 2025: 1,528,002 Applications per 1,000 residents: 32.3 11. Fulton County, GA Pedestrians in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, US, on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. Inflation rates fell under 2% in Atlanta for the first time in almost four years and dropped significantly across the South, providing some relief to consumers, and potential voters, in regions that will be key to the outcome of the US presidential election. Business applications in 2025: 49,873 Percent change from 2024 to 2025: 5.3% increase Population as of 2025: 1,098,791 residents Applications per 1,000 residents: 45.4 10. Orange County, CA HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA - AUGUST 12, 2020 - - Pedestrians dont heed the, Masks Up, Surf City, banner campaign to prevent coronavirus on Main Street in Huntington Beach on August 12, 2020. The campaign, a play on the phrase Surfs Up, includes 100 pennants, a banner at the pier and digital displays citywide, Huntington Beach Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images Business applications in 2025: 49,945 Percent change from 2024 to 2025: 6.6% increase Population as of 2025: 3,149,507 residents Applications per 1,000 residents: 15.9 9. Clark County, NV LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - NOVEMBER 07: Pedestrians cross Las Vegas Boulevard along the Las Vegas Strip with the Trump International Hotel visible one day before midterms Election Day on November 7, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Several races in the swing state of Nevada, including the Senate race, are close as former President Business applications in 2025: 51,725 Percent change from 2024 to 2025: 7.7% increase Population as of 2025: 2,407,226 residents Applications per 1,000 residents: 21.5 8. New York County, NY Pedestrians cross a street after a rainfall in Times Square, New York City on August 27, 2026. CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP via Getty Images Business applications in 2025: 54,695 Percent change from 2024 to 2025: 5.2% increase Population as of 2025: 1,664,862 residents Applications per 1,000 residents: 32.9 7. Dallas County, TX Early morning view of the Dallas, TX skyline. (Photo by: HUM Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) : HUM Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Business applications in 2025: 61,000 Percent change from 2024 to 2025: 8.3% increase Population as of 2025: 2,661,397 residents Applications per 1,000 residents: 22.9 6. Broward County, FL Fort Lauderdale, Florida. /iStockphoto Business applications in 2025: 72,422 Percent change from 2024 to 2025: 1.4% decrease Population as of 2025: 2,013,317 residents Applications per 1,000 residents: 36.0 5. Maricopa County, AZ OENIX, ARIZONA - JULY 15: In an aerial view, the downtown skyline is seen during a heat wave on July 15, 2023 in Phoenix, Arizona. Weather forecasts today are expecting temperatures to reach 115 degrees. The Phoenix area is grappling with record-breaking temperatures as prolonged heat waves continue soaring across the Southwest. Business applications in 2025: 98,384 Percent change from 2024 to 2025: 14.5% increase Population as of 2025: 4,689,558 residents Applications per 1,000 residents: 21.0 4. Cook County, IL Tourists in the downtown area of Chicago, Illinois, US, on Sunday, May 26, 2024. The Bureau of Economic Analysis is scheduled to release personal consumption figures on May 31. Photographer: Business applications in 2025: 99,217 Percent change from 2024 to 2025: 8.1% increase Population as of 2025: 5,194,625 residents Applications per 1,000 residents: 19.1 3. Harris County, TX OUSTON, TEXAS - MAY 29: People pass by a Downtown Houston ambassador and their cart along the new permanent car-free Main Street Promenade where sidewalk pavers, landscaping and other features have been added ahead of the World Cup in Houston Friday, May 29, 2026. (Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images) Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images Business applications in 2025: 99,688 Percent change from 2024 to 2025: 6.5% increase Population as of 2025: 5,045,026 residents Applications per 1,000 residents: 19.8 2. Miami-Dade County, FL Miami, Florida, Brickell Financial District, Brickell City center, shopping mall, The Henry bistro Quinto restaurant Sephora, Victoria's Secret, Chanel, Lululemon and pedestrian skywalk bridge. (Photo by: Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) : Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Business applications in 2025: 135,758 Percent change from 2024 to 2025: 2% decrease Population as of 2025: 2,802,029 Applications per 1,000 residents: 48.4 1. Los Angeles County, CA OS ANGELES, USA - OCTOBER 1: Venice Beach Boardwalk promenade on October 1, 2025 in Los Angeles, USA. (Photo by Thomas Imo/Photothek via Getty Images) Thomas Imo/Photothek via Getty Images Business applications in 2025: 172,540 Percent change from 2024 to 2025: 4.1% increase Population as of 2025: 9,694,934 residents Applications per 1,000 residents: 17.8 Read the original article on Business Insider

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