{
    "question": "What percentage of new businesses fail?",
    "answer": "52.8% of new US private-sector business establishments close within five years: of those that opened in the year to March 2021, 47.2% were still open in March 2026, according to BLS Business Employment Dynamics data updated 28 October 2026. In the first year, 21.1% close; 34.2% of establishments opened in 2016 reached ten years.",
    "period": "Mar 2026",
    "key_numbers": [
        {
            "value": "78.9%",
            "label": "New establishments still open after one year (opened in the year to March 2025)",
            "note": "BLS BED, to March 2026",
            "stat": "small-business/new-business-first-year-survival"
        },
        {
            "value": "47.2%",
            "label": "Still open after five years (opened in the year to March 2021)",
            "note": "BLS BED, to March 2026",
            "stat": "small-business/new-business-five-year-survival"
        },
        {
            "value": "34.2%",
            "label": "Still open after ten years (opened in the year to March 2016)",
            "note": "BLS BED, to March 2026",
            "stat": "small-business/new-business-five-year-survival"
        },
        {
            "value": "49.2%",
            "label": "Average five-year survival rate, 1994 to 2022",
            "note": "SBA Office of Advocacy FAQ, Feb 2026, from BLS BED",
            "stat": "small-business/new-business-five-year-survival"
        }
    ],
    "tables": [
        {
            "id": "by-years",
            "title": "New US establishments still open in March 2026, by years since opening",
            "columns": [
                "Years open",
                "Opened in the year to",
                "Still open in March 2026",
                "Survival rate"
            ],
            "rows": [
                [
                    "1 year",
                    "Mar 2025",
                    "770,720",
                    "78.9%"
                ],
                [
                    "2 years",
                    "Mar 2024",
                    "658,624",
                    "66.6%"
                ],
                [
                    "3 years",
                    "Mar 2023",
                    "605,976",
                    "57.8%"
                ],
                [
                    "4 years",
                    "Mar 2022",
                    "534,052",
                    "50.1%"
                ],
                [
                    "5 years",
                    "Mar 2021",
                    "396,316",
                    "47.2%"
                ],
                [
                    "10 years",
                    "Mar 2016",
                    "250,661",
                    "34.2%"
                ],
                [
                    "15 years",
                    "Mar 2011",
                    "147,902",
                    "25.4%"
                ],
                [
                    "20 years",
                    "Mar 2006",
                    "132,860",
                    "18.6%"
                ],
                [
                    "32 years",
                    "Mar 1994",
                    "68,378",
                    "12.0%"
                ]
            ],
            "row_ids": [
                "years-1",
                "years-2",
                "years-3",
                "years-4",
                "years-5",
                "years-10",
                "years-15",
                "years-20",
                "years-32"
            ],
            "note": "BLS Business Employment Dynamics, Table 7 (Total private), last modified 28 Oct 2026. Each row is a different opening-year group read in March 2026, so the rows come from different starting conditions; the 2020 cohort table below follows one group over time.",
            "source": "bls"
        },
        {
            "id": "cohort-2020",
            "title": "One group followed over time: establishments opened in the year to March 2020",
            "columns": [
                "March of",
                "Still open",
                "Survival rate since opening"
            ],
            "rows": [
                [
                    "2020 (opening year)",
                    "767,573",
                    "100%"
                ],
                [
                    "2021",
                    "621,249",
                    "80.9%"
                ],
                [
                    "2022",
                    "554,747",
                    "72.3%"
                ],
                [
                    "2023",
                    "488,169",
                    "63.6%"
                ],
                [
                    "2024",
                    "439,219",
                    "57.2%"
                ],
                [
                    "2025",
                    "394,020",
                    "51.3%"
                ],
                [
                    "2026",
                    "359,524",
                    "46.8%"
                ]
            ],
            "row_ids": [
                "c2020-y0",
                "c2020-y1",
                "c2020-y2",
                "c2020-y3",
                "c2020-y4",
                "c2020-y5",
                "c2020-y6"
            ],
            "note": "BLS BED Table 7, edition of 28 Oct 2026. The edition we read on 23 Oct 2026 showed 394,689 survivors (51.4%) for March 2025; BLS revises earlier years with each release.",
            "source": "bls"
        },
        {
            "id": "by-industry",
            "title": "Survival of new US establishments by industry, as of March 2026",
            "columns": [
                "Industry",
                "After 1 year (opened by Mar 2025)",
                "After 5 years (opened by Mar 2021)",
                "After 10 years (opened by Mar 2016)"
            ],
            "rows": [
                [
                    "Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting",
                    "85.4%",
                    "59.4%",
                    "51.2%"
                ],
                [
                    "Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction",
                    "79.4%",
                    "47.7%",
                    "27.4%"
                ],
                [
                    "Utilities",
                    "76.7%",
                    "50.3%",
                    "44.1%"
                ],
                [
                    "Construction",
                    "79.2%",
                    "52.8%",
                    "41.7%"
                ],
                [
                    "Manufacturing",
                    "79.8%",
                    "53.0%",
                    "44.4%"
                ],
                [
                    "Wholesale trade",
                    "77.7%",
                    "47.6%",
                    "34.6%"
                ],
                [
                    "Retail trade",
                    "84.5%",
                    "55.2%",
                    "43.5%"
                ],
                [
                    "Transportation and warehousing",
                    "77.3%",
                    "44.2%",
                    "35.4%"
                ],
                [
                    "Information",
                    "73.3%",
                    "41.4%",
                    "30.5%"
                ],
                [
                    "Finance and insurance",
                    "79.4%",
                    "48.9%",
                    "38.5%"
                ],
                [
                    "Real estate and rental and leasing",
                    "80.9%",
                    "52.4%",
                    "44.5%"
                ],
                [
                    "Professional, scientific, and technical services",
                    "74.7%",
                    "44.7%",
                    "34.4%"
                ],
                [
                    "Management of companies and enterprises",
                    "77.7%",
                    "48.3%",
                    "35.2%"
                ],
                [
                    "Administrative and waste services",
                    "75.8%",
                    "46.4%",
                    "36.0%"
                ],
                [
                    "Educational services",
                    "79.6%",
                    "49.0%",
                    "43.4%"
                ],
                [
                    "Health care and social assistance",
                    "83.3%",
                    "52.1%",
                    "35.8%"
                ],
                [
                    "Arts, entertainment, and recreation",
                    "80.9%",
                    "52.7%",
                    "41.6%"
                ],
                [
                    "Accommodation and food services",
                    "85.3%",
                    "56.3%",
                    "42.9%"
                ],
                [
                    "Other services (except public administration)",
                    "82.4%",
                    "55.4%",
                    "42.6%"
                ],
                [
                    "All private industries",
                    "78.9%",
                    "47.2%",
                    "34.2%"
                ]
            ],
            "row_ids": [
                "ind-agriculture",
                "ind-mining",
                "ind-utilities",
                "ind-construction",
                "ind-manufacturing",
                "ind-wholesale",
                "ind-retail",
                "ind-transportation",
                "ind-information",
                "ind-finance",
                "ind-real-estate",
                "ind-professional",
                "ind-management",
                "ind-admin-waste",
                "ind-education",
                "ind-health-care",
                "ind-arts",
                "ind-accommodation-food",
                "ind-other-services",
                "ind-all"
            ],
            "note": "BLS BED Table 7, one file per NAICS sector, last modified 28 Oct 2026. Mining, utilities and agriculture have few openings (1,318 to 6,051 in the year to March 2021), so their rates move more from year to year.",
            "source": "bls"
        },
        {
            "id": "by-state",
            "title": "Survival of new establishments in each state and DC, as of March 2026",
            "columns": [
                "State",
                "After 1 year (opened by Mar 2025)",
                "After 5 years (opened by Mar 2021)",
                "After 10 years (opened by Mar 2016)"
            ],
            "rows": [
                [
                    "Alabama",
                    "81.9%",
                    "50.1%",
                    "36.6%"
                ],
                [
                    "Alaska",
                    "74.4%",
                    "46.3%",
                    "37.2%"
                ],
                [
                    "Arizona",
                    "73.5%",
                    "44.8%",
                    "33.5%"
                ],
                [
                    "Arkansas",
                    "76.3%",
                    "46.8%",
                    "31.3%"
                ],
                [
                    "California",
                    "83.9%",
                    "51.5%",
                    "34.1%"
                ],
                [
                    "Colorado",
                    "78.0%",
                    "43.3%",
                    "32.3%"
                ],
                [
                    "Connecticut",
                    "79.0%",
                    "45.5%",
                    "30.9%"
                ],
                [
                    "Delaware",
                    "76.9%",
                    "45.9%",
                    "30.6%"
                ],
                [
                    "District of Columbia",
                    "71.8%",
                    "37.0%",
                    "28.5%"
                ],
                [
                    "Florida",
                    "80.2%",
                    "45.2%",
                    "33.3%"
                ],
                [
                    "Georgia",
                    "74.3%",
                    "43.1%",
                    "31.4%"
                ],
                [
                    "Hawaii",
                    "76.9%",
                    "49.0%",
                    "36.2%"
                ],
                [
                    "Idaho",
                    "78.0%",
                    "43.1%",
                    "34.9%"
                ],
                [
                    "Illinois",
                    "80.4%",
                    "49.6%",
                    "37.0%"
                ],
                [
                    "Indiana",
                    "79.4%",
                    "50.6%",
                    "38.2%"
                ],
                [
                    "Iowa",
                    "79.2%",
                    "48.9%",
                    "36.5%"
                ],
                [
                    "Kansas",
                    "72.8%",
                    "44.2%",
                    "27.2%"
                ],
                [
                    "Kentucky",
                    "79.2%",
                    "49.7%",
                    "38.7%"
                ],
                [
                    "Louisiana",
                    "79.2%",
                    "47.7%",
                    "37.0%"
                ],
                [
                    "Maine",
                    "76.9%",
                    "46.9%",
                    "37.8%"
                ],
                [
                    "Maryland",
                    "79.2%",
                    "44.2%",
                    "32.3%"
                ],
                [
                    "Massachusetts",
                    "78.4%",
                    "48.4%",
                    "36.1%"
                ],
                [
                    "Michigan",
                    "79.5%",
                    "51.3%",
                    "38.1%"
                ],
                [
                    "Minnesota",
                    "77.8%",
                    "51.2%",
                    "41.0%"
                ],
                [
                    "Mississippi",
                    "78.9%",
                    "48.2%",
                    "35.0%"
                ],
                [
                    "Missouri",
                    "73.9%",
                    "39.9%",
                    "28.6%"
                ],
                [
                    "Montana",
                    "77.4%",
                    "47.6%",
                    "40.7%"
                ],
                [
                    "Nebraska",
                    "77.4%",
                    "48.2%",
                    "34.9%"
                ],
                [
                    "Nevada",
                    "78.7%",
                    "43.2%",
                    "33.2%"
                ],
                [
                    "New Hampshire",
                    "74.9%",
                    "42.7%",
                    "31.1%"
                ],
                [
                    "New Jersey",
                    "80.3%",
                    "46.8%",
                    "34.0%"
                ],
                [
                    "New Mexico",
                    "78.2%",
                    "42.0%",
                    "31.1%"
                ],
                [
                    "New York",
                    "72.9%",
                    "45.9%",
                    "31.9%"
                ],
                [
                    "North Carolina",
                    "78.6%",
                    "49.4%",
                    "35.8%"
                ],
                [
                    "North Dakota",
                    "78.0%",
                    "47.4%",
                    "38.0%"
                ],
                [
                    "Ohio",
                    "79.1%",
                    "50.0%",
                    "36.5%"
                ],
                [
                    "Oklahoma",
                    "78.9%",
                    "46.1%",
                    "34.5%"
                ],
                [
                    "Oregon",
                    "74.6%",
                    "43.6%",
                    "36.9%"
                ],
                [
                    "Pennsylvania",
                    "79.3%",
                    "50.7%",
                    "37.0%"
                ],
                [
                    "Rhode Island",
                    "75.4%",
                    "41.4%",
                    "31.7%"
                ],
                [
                    "South Carolina",
                    "67.8%",
                    "49.5%",
                    "35.2%"
                ],
                [
                    "South Dakota",
                    "80.6%",
                    "48.8%",
                    "41.6%"
                ],
                [
                    "Tennessee",
                    "76.3%",
                    "43.1%",
                    "34.1%"
                ],
                [
                    "Texas",
                    "79.9%",
                    "48.6%",
                    "35.5%"
                ],
                [
                    "Utah",
                    "77.2%",
                    "43.4%",
                    "34.1%"
                ],
                [
                    "Vermont",
                    "78.4%",
                    "44.8%",
                    "34.4%"
                ],
                [
                    "Virginia",
                    "77.9%",
                    "45.6%",
                    "33.6%"
                ],
                [
                    "Washington",
                    "82.6%",
                    "40.9%",
                    "27.6%"
                ],
                [
                    "West Virginia",
                    "72.0%",
                    "53.4%",
                    "39.1%"
                ],
                [
                    "Wisconsin",
                    "77.5%",
                    "47.4%",
                    "35.6%"
                ],
                [
                    "Wyoming",
                    "76.0%",
                    "42.9%",
                    "33.5%"
                ]
            ],
            "row_ids": [
                "state-al",
                "state-ak",
                "state-az",
                "state-ar",
                "state-ca",
                "state-co",
                "state-ct",
                "state-de",
                "state-dc",
                "state-fl",
                "state-ga",
                "state-hi",
                "state-id",
                "state-il",
                "state-in",
                "state-ia",
                "state-ks",
                "state-ky",
                "state-la",
                "state-me",
                "state-md",
                "state-ma",
                "state-mi",
                "state-mn",
                "state-ms",
                "state-mo",
                "state-mt",
                "state-ne",
                "state-nv",
                "state-nh",
                "state-nj",
                "state-nm",
                "state-ny",
                "state-nc",
                "state-nd",
                "state-oh",
                "state-ok",
                "state-or",
                "state-pa",
                "state-ri",
                "state-sc",
                "state-sd",
                "state-tn",
                "state-tx",
                "state-ut",
                "state-vt",
                "state-va",
                "state-wa",
                "state-wv",
                "state-wi",
                "state-wy"
            ],
            "note": "BLS BED Table 7, one file per state (Total private), last modified 28 Oct 2026. Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands also have files and are left out. Small states have few openings, so their rates move more from year to year.",
            "source": "bls"
        },
        {
            "id": "history",
            "title": "First-year and five-year survival of every group of new US establishments since 1994",
            "columns": [
                "Opened in the year to",
                "New establishments",
                "Still open after 1 year",
                "Still open after 5 years"
            ],
            "rows": [
                [
                    "Mar 1994",
                    "569,387",
                    "79.6%",
                    "49.6%"
                ],
                [
                    "Mar 1995",
                    "604,381",
                    "78.8%",
                    "48.8%"
                ],
                [
                    "Mar 1996",
                    "609,571",
                    "78.2%",
                    "48.1%"
                ],
                [
                    "Mar 1997",
                    "639,071",
                    "78.5%",
                    "47.6%"
                ],
                [
                    "Mar 1998",
                    "642,965",
                    "80.1%",
                    "48.1%"
                ],
                [
                    "Mar 1999",
                    "650,661",
                    "79.1%",
                    "48.2%"
                ],
                [
                    "Mar 2000",
                    "674,530",
                    "78.4%",
                    "48.2%"
                ],
                [
                    "Mar 2001",
                    "671,299",
                    "75.7%",
                    "48.1%"
                ],
                [
                    "Mar 2002",
                    "659,111",
                    "78.3%",
                    "50.1%"
                ],
                [
                    "Mar 2003",
                    "662,416",
                    "79.3%",
                    "49.9%"
                ],
                [
                    "Mar 2004",
                    "653,766",
                    "78.9%",
                    "48.4%"
                ],
                [
                    "Mar 2005",
                    "679,797",
                    "80.1%",
                    "46.8%"
                ],
                [
                    "Mar 2006",
                    "715,597",
                    "78.3%",
                    "45.4%"
                ],
                [
                    "Mar 2007",
                    "703,704",
                    "77.3%",
                    "46.4%"
                ],
                [
                    "Mar 2008",
                    "677,939",
                    "75.2%",
                    "47.8%"
                ],
                [
                    "Mar 2009",
                    "608,547",
                    "76.7%",
                    "50.1%"
                ],
                [
                    "Mar 2010",
                    "560,391",
                    "78.6%",
                    "51.1%"
                ],
                [
                    "Mar 2011",
                    "582,349",
                    "79.4%",
                    "50.9%"
                ],
                [
                    "Mar 2012",
                    "631,634",
                    "79.2%",
                    "50.1%"
                ],
                [
                    "Mar 2013",
                    "628,840",
                    "79.6%",
                    "50.6%"
                ],
                [
                    "Mar 2014",
                    "652,518",
                    "79.7%",
                    "50.8%"
                ],
                [
                    "Mar 2015",
                    "677,876",
                    "79.6%",
                    "50.2%"
                ],
                [
                    "Mar 2016",
                    "732,856",
                    "79.6%",
                    "50.7%"
                ],
                [
                    "Mar 2017",
                    "733,286",
                    "79.1%",
                    "51.6%"
                ],
                [
                    "Mar 2018",
                    "733,721",
                    "79.4%",
                    "51.9%"
                ],
                [
                    "Mar 2019",
                    "770,523",
                    "79.2%",
                    "51.5%"
                ],
                [
                    "Mar 2020",
                    "767,573",
                    "80.9%",
                    "51.3%"
                ],
                [
                    "Mar 2021",
                    "839,297",
                    "79.1%",
                    "47.2%"
                ],
                [
                    "Mar 2022",
                    "1,065,228",
                    "76.3%",
                    "not yet five years"
                ],
                [
                    "Mar 2023",
                    "1,049,106",
                    "78.2%",
                    "not yet five years"
                ],
                [
                    "Mar 2024",
                    "988,310",
                    "77.7%",
                    "not yet five years"
                ],
                [
                    "Mar 2025",
                    "976,437",
                    "78.9%",
                    "not yet five years"
                ]
            ],
            "row_ids": [
                "h-1994",
                "h-1995",
                "h-1996",
                "h-1997",
                "h-1998",
                "h-1999",
                "h-2000",
                "h-2001",
                "h-2002",
                "h-2003",
                "h-2004",
                "h-2005",
                "h-2006",
                "h-2007",
                "h-2008",
                "h-2009",
                "h-2010",
                "h-2011",
                "h-2012",
                "h-2013",
                "h-2014",
                "h-2015",
                "h-2016",
                "h-2017",
                "h-2018",
                "h-2019",
                "h-2020",
                "h-2021",
                "h-2022",
                "h-2023",
                "h-2024",
                "h-2025"
            ],
            "note": "BLS BED Table 7, Total private, edition last modified 28 Oct 2026. That update added March 2026 and revised earlier years: in the edition we read on 23 Oct 2026 the group opened by March 2024 had 77.9% first-year survival (now 77.7%) and the group opened by March 2020 had 51.4% five-year survival (now 51.3%). Our arithmetic: the five-year rate averaged about 49.3% over the 28 groups from 1994 to 2021, between 45.4% and 51.9%.",
            "source": "bls"
        }
    ],
    "sources": [
        {
            "name": "Occupational Outlook Handbook",
            "publisher": "US Bureau of Labor Statistics",
            "type": "official",
            "url": "https://www.bls.gov/"
        },
        {
            "name": "Frequently Asked Questions About Small Business; Small Business Profiles",
            "publisher": "US Small Business Administration, Office of Advocacy",
            "type": "official",
            "url": "https://advocacy.sba.gov/"
        },
        {
            "name": "Business Formation Statistics",
            "publisher": "US Census Bureau",
            "type": "official",
            "url": "https://www.census.gov/"
        }
    ],
    "content_changed_on": "2026-10-30",
    "page_url": "https://digitaltreed.com/statistics/small-business/small-business-survival-rate",
    "csv_url": "https://digitaltreed.com/statistics/small-business/small-business-survival-rate.csv"
}