Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared on HireAHelper.
One of the dominant trends in the U.S. economy in recent decades is the concentration of economic power in larger, established firms. Since the late 1970s, the share of startup firms in the economy has dropped from nearly 14% to just above 8% today.
As larger firms’ market power has grown, the share of jobs created by new businesses has fallen significantly.
The share of total employment at newly-opened businesses neared 8% in the late 1980s, but today, new firms employ just 3.9% of the total labor market.
The top industries generating jobs from new businesses include real estate (rental and leasing), accommodation and food services, administrative and support, waste management, and remediation services.
New businesses are responsible for more than 5.5% of total employment in each of these industries.
Job creation from new businesses also looks different across the country. Economic, demographic, and public policy differences across cities and states can create varying conditions for new businesses to thrive.
To determine the locations with the most jobs created by new businesses, researchers at HireAHelper calculated the share of total employment attributable to business establishments that opened in the past 12 months. The data used in this analysis is from the U.S. Census Bureau.
See our detailed methodology at the end.
Here are the U.S. metropolitan areas with the most jobs created by new businesses.
15. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
- Share of total employment at newly-opened businesses: 4.4%
- Total employment at newly-opened businesses: 152,206
- Share of total businesses that are newly opened: 11.0%
- Total newly-opened businesses: 17,199
14. Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO
- Share of total employment at newly-opened businesses: 4.5%
- Total employment at newly-opened businesses: 62,780
- Share of total businesses that are newly opened: 11.5%
- Total newly-opened businesses: 8,790
13. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
- Share of total employment at newly-opened businesses: 4.5%
- Total employment at newly-opened businesses: 81,256
- Share of total businesses that are newly opened: 10.1%
- Total newly-opened businesses: 9,659
12. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA
- Share of total employment at newly-opened businesses: 4.5%
- Total employment at newly-opened businesses: 257,404
- Share of total businesses that are newly opened: 12.3%
- Total newly-opened businesses: 40,922
11. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL
- Share of total employment at newly-opened businesses: 4.6%
- Total employment at newly-opened businesses: 123,560
- Share of total businesses that are newly opened: 12.7%
- Total newly-opened businesses: 22,127
10. Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX
- Share of total employment at newly-opened businesses: 4.6%
- Total employment at newly-opened businesses: 131,581
- Share of total businesses that are newly opened: 10.7%
- Total newly-opened businesses: 14,312
9. Fresno, CA
- Share of total employment at newly-opened businesses: 4.7%
- Total employment at newly-opened businesses: 13,842
- Share of total businesses that are newly opened: 9.6%
- Total newly-opened businesses: 1,530
8. Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV
- Share of total employment at newly-opened businesses: 4.7%
- Total employment at newly-opened businesses: 44,271
- Share of total businesses that are newly opened: 12.2%
- Total newly-opened businesses: 5,203
7. Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL
- Share of total employment at newly-opened businesses: 4.8%
- Total employment at newly-opened businesses: 57,801
- Share of total businesses that are newly opened: 12.3%
- Total newly-opened businesses: 7,539
6. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA
- Share of total employment at newly-opened businesses: 4.8%
- Total employment at newly-opened businesses: 63,604
- Share of total businesses that are newly opened: 11.9%
- Total newly-opened businesses: 8,475
5. San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA
- Share of total employment at newly-opened businesses: 4.9%
- Total employment at newly-opened businesses: 118,203
- Share of total businesses that are newly opened: 10.4%
- Total newly-opened businesses: 12,458
4. Oklahoma City, OK
- Share of total employment at newly-opened businesses: 5.0%
- Total employment at newly-opened businesses: 28,023
- Share of total businesses that are newly opened: 9.5%
- Total newly-opened businesses: 3,097
3. Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX
- Share of total employment at newly-opened businesses: 5.1%
- Total employment at newly-opened businesses: 47,157
- Share of total businesses that are newly opened: 12.0%
- Total newly-opened businesses: 6,172
2. Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, TN
- Share of total employment at newly-opened businesses: 5.3%
- Total employment at newly-opened businesses: 49,859
- Share of total businesses that are newly opened: 9.7%
- Total newly-opened businesses: 4,087
1. Jacksonville, FL
- Share of total employment at newly-opened businesses: 6.7%
- Total employment at newly-opened businesses: 43,541
- Share of total businesses that are newly opened: 11.4%
- Total newly-opened businesses: 4,026
Methodology
The data used in this analysis is from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Business Dynamics Statistics 2020 datasets.
To determine the locations with the most jobs created by new businesses, researchers at HireAHelper calculated the share of total employment attributable to business establishments that opened in the past 12 months.
A business establishment is defined as a single physical location where one predominant business activity occurs and businesses may have multiple establishments. In the event of a tie, the location with the greater total employment at newly-opened businesses was ranked higher.
To improve relevance, only metropolitan areas with at least 100,000 residents were included.